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All I can say that while you are theoretically probably right, all of this ends up not being a problem in practice. 1. Resin shrinking tends to be uniform, whi
by torginus 2y ago
All I can say that while you are theoretically probably right, all of this ends up not being a problem in practice.
1. Resin shrinking tends to be uniform, which is something to be taken into account if you plan on making parts that fit into holes, like screw mounts.
2. Peel force is absolutely a problem, that's why you need to minimize contact surface with the print film. With 28mm minis, this tends to be not a problem, but for large models, its recommended you hollow them out. This saves resin and prevents partially cured resin from being trapped inside. Bending tends not to be an issue.
3. Again not a huge problem in practice. If you look at a sliced model, you will see, that below each layer the layer below is almost the same, with most pixels shared between the 2, and with overhangs that stick out by 1-2 pixels. This means that leaking light will likely hit parts of the model that are supposed to be solid anyway. But both underexposure and overexposure can happen, with the former meaning that resin doesn't properly cure, leading to thing features disappearing, and the latter meaning that light leaking will cure unintended resin, which leads to thin cavities disappearing. This can be fixed by dialing in the exposure.
4. PLA in my experience is just as prone to shattering as resin is. While truly TPU-like rubber resins might not exist (at least I've never used them), there are ton of resins with a slightly rubbery texture, which are solid, but are flexible enough that thin features don't break when you manhandle the models. Most official wargaming and board game minis tend to be made of a similar resin (which is probably not UV resin but has a similar feel)
- michaelt 2y ago> All I can say that while you are theoretically probably right, all of this ends up not being a problem in practice. I experienced every issue I mentioned first-hand, in practice. I suppose it's possible I was uniquely naive in attempting to get engineering quality prints out of a consumer resin printer? It seems there's a good reason every resin 3D printer promotes itself with pictures of figurines rather than anything more demanding. My experience was that getting good results when printing something like a plastic bottle cap wasn't just a matter of dialing in the exposure - I had to dial in the exposure, the room temperature, the conditioning of the resin, the support placement, the orientation, and design the item geometry with printing in mind. Even then the results were adequate rather than impressive.
- torginus 2y agoPeople who use resin printers usually go for the high detail instead of engineering properties - main users tend to be either cosplayers or mini modelers. Engineering prints are certainly possible I think, but you'd need some specialist resins. Personally I'd stick with FDM for making functional prints.
- ipsod 2y agoThanks for sharing your experience. Did you try engineering resins, like Siraya Tech's "Build", "Sculpt", etc.? I make some small parts that I FDM print, then CNC mill for accuracy. Was hoping to switch to resin printing, instead.