SLA /MSLA 3D printing with an Elegoo Mars Ultra - with a model making inclination

[Neil Merryweather]

Bad day ..... first major print failure ...... the stand/base for the ''v'' character , everything else on the plate printed , so going to see about setting up supports on the ''unsupported'' version and see if it was a support failure.
Will post the successful bits later

welcome, welcome..... :tongue-out3: :nerd:

[Gary MacKenzie]

Niggle 2 : I was printing some fuel drums ,

rendered versions


All looked fine, I printed them, threw away the damaged base for the statue, and then proceeded to clean and cure.
Then I realised that the writing was mirrored ...... ok says me, one of the mirror settings in the slicer must be wrong, only the head can't work out which, so tomorrow afternoon will revolve around working out why horizontal text is ok ( the exposure tests had text the right way ), but text on a vertical surface is wrong ........ ( but was right on the cones of calibration ) ....... if everything else is symmetrical, hard to work out if anything else was mirrored ......

Also agree with many of the reviewers that the new version of the release material they use in the Mars 4 Ultra ( ACF ) leaves a weird effect on the surface of smooth surfaces, It is nowhere near as noticeable on miniatures/statues etc, where the materials hide the effect.
Looks like I will need to buy FEP/Nfep to replace the ACF if I want ultra-flat surfaces.
Will see if a coat of paint can hide the effect.

[Gary MacKenzie]

The no1 rule : everything at approximately 45 degrees , very quickly breaks down.
flat surfaces, especially large flat surfaces are a nightmare at an angle.
at least the flat stuff I am trying isn't anything essential, but I will have to reprint a couple of things .... having said that, the resin is a lot more robust than the styrene sheet when I tried the same idea.

[JR]

Interesting to try to read and understand Gary, you must be thrilled at the progress you've made since the start of this . I'm like Paul it's all beyond me

[Gary MacKenzie]

Interesting to try to read and understand Gary, you must be thrilled at the progress you've made since the start of this . I'm like Paul it's all beyond me

one step forward, and no idea how far back again some times.
it's like cutting pieces of wood to make an insert for something where you have to take into consideration the thickness of the materials along with the dimensions it needs to fit , to get all the pieces the correct size, long time since I did all the calcs at once and not by cutting inserting and then working out dimensions of next piece, where you can see a mistake straight away,
At least its keeping the brain busy .....

[Dave Ward]

Gary,
it's absorbing isn't it - I found that, with FDM printing - I tended to spend far more time on it, than I intended! All the tech manuals & 'how to videos' are no substitute for handling the first successful print! I'm in the process of pushing my printer to its' limit - I'm still one handed at the moment, so I can't get any real benchtime, so the printer is a good alternative....................
Dave

[David Lovell]

Hi Gary, as always intresting reading, just a thought regarding UV lamps/torches ,a few Christmases ago my daughter wanted this certain set of nail varnishes only to find they wouldn't dry turned out they hardened under UV light ,so had to purchase a lamp you put your fingers in to cure the varnish ,im sure that this wasn't that expensive on flea Bay (else she'd still be sat there now waiting for it to dry) just wondered if it was viable/possible to butcher one to your needs ,

[Gary MacKenzie]

Gary,
it's absorbing isn't it - I found that, with FDM printing - I tended to spend far more time on it, than I intended! All the tech manuals & 'how to videos' are no substitute for handling the first successful print! I'm in the process of pushing my printer to its' limit - I'm still one handed at the moment, so I can't get any real benchtime, so the printer is a good alternative....................
Dave

Absorbing is one word for it, exasperating, annoying and then feeling happy when it works.
The research helped me start from a hopefully better place, and yes, hands on is definitely the only way to do it, and anyone starting needs to understand that to begin with, even if all goes well, you will use/waste a lot more resin/filament than you ever expected.
The smaller the item printed the greater percentage of material used to print will also need to be washed off the final item, even leaving overnight to drip back into the vat , there is still a layer of liquid resin attached to the prints.

Hi Gary, as always intresting reading, just a thought regarding UV lamps/torches ,a few Christmases ago my daughter wanted this certain set of nail varnishes only to find they wouldn't dry turned out they hardened under UV light ,so had to purchase a lamp you put your fingers in to cure the varnish ,im sure that this wasn't that expensive on flea Bay (else she'd still be sat there now waiting for it to dry) just wondered if it was viable/possible to butcher one to your needs ,

i have seen many use these nail varnish light units and some using UV floodlight units, but my wash n cure can do the big things , and the LED and Battery Clip worked well yesterday doing the internal curing of the ''v for vendetta'' bust.
All I need to remember is that any drain hole has to be at least 5mm in diameter of the led won't fit inside.
I am sure that if I am still doing this in a years time things will have been adjusted in the work area

[Dave Ward]

Absorbing is one word for it, exasperating, annoying and then feeling happy when it works.
The research helped me start from a hopefully better place, and yes, hands on is definitely the only way to do it, and anyone starting needs to understand that to begin with, even if all goes well, you will use/waste a lot more resin/filament than you ever expected.
The smaller the item printed the greater percentage of material used to print will also need to be washed off the final item, even leaving overnight to drip back into the vat , there is still a layer of liquid resin attached to the prints.


i have seen many use these nail varnish light units and some using UV floodlight units, but my wash n cure can do the big things , and the LED and Battery Clip worked well yesterday doing the internal curing of the ''v for vendetta'' bust.
All I need to remember is that any drain hole has to be at least 5mm in diameter of the led won't fit inside.
I am sure that if I am still doing this in a years time things will have been adjusted in the work area

I wonder how many people buy the gear & expect to get perfect results out of the box?
It's not something to attempt unless you're willing to spend time, tinkering & tweaking settings. sometimes with no rewards! My wastage at the beginning was well over 50%, but now it's low - I know what's impossible to FDM print & I've learnt the foibles of my printer - and the slicer!
Dave

[Gary MacKenzie]

I wonder how many people buy the gear & expect to get perfect results out of the box?
It's not something to attempt unless you're willing to spend time, tinkering & tweaking settings. sometimes with no rewards! My wastage at the beginning was well over 50%, but now it's low - I know what's impossible to FDM print & I've learnt the foibles of my printer - and the slicer!
Dave

I am about to mess with Cura to see what its support options are, as I have a lot of flat plates to print and rethinking how I am going to do it.
Cura allegedly allows painting an area for supports to be attached to

[Dave Ward]

I am about to mess with Cura to see what its support options are, as I have a lot of flat plates to print and rethinking how I am going to do it.
Cura allegedly allows painting an area for supports to be attached to

I use PrusaSlicer 2.7.0, and that also allows you to 'paint' supports, I've used it to prop up unsupported overhangs, I had to experiment a bit, before I got it to work............
Dave

[Gary MacKenzie]

Paint on supports ( prusa slicer ) don't get enabled for SLA , and the FDM style of supports wouldn't work on sla.
will look at cura

[Gary MacKenzie]

Was having real problems getting a print off the plate this morning, It finished printing last night at 23:00 so left it to drip excess resin back into tank , while I slept.
Took the plate off and couldn't budge the print, so put the print and plate into wash n cure ( 75% of the plate below the level of cleaner, vertically, ran it for 4 mins, turned it around reran it.
Took it out, still couldn't budge it.
Thinking laterally, if I use hot water to soften the connection points on the model and supports, what happens if I warm up the plate too in hot water ..... shazam, off came the print and supports.
Then removed supports from the model and 5 minutes curing it.

[Gary MacKenzie]

I spent over an hour this morning on an Anydesk and WhatsApp conference call with the Voxeldance Tango support team in China.
Highlighted a problem that initially looked like it was localised to me, only for them to realise it affects the newest software version and wifi printing.
Will be having another call when they work out a fix and we will test it outside their network and see if it works, and it will be updated for all users.

Sometimes it is worth complaining that something isn't doing 100% of the claimed abilities.

Poor guys will be working overnight on the problem, it was after 17:00 their time when the call ended.

[Scratchbuilder]

Just had a read through your blog and all the replies, very interesting, both informative and logical.
Question - Do I really need a 3D printer??? Answer - not yet, Logic - I do not have enough items/parts I need printing so the cost at the moment would be a waste.
Solution - download one of the many CAD programs and use the tutorials, get the experience first and go from there.
As Dave Ward stated - how many people have jumped in at the deep end and now have an extra piece of furniture as a display item like a vase....
Will keep watching and reading...
Mike.