First print with new resin printer

I had an idea my first print wouldn't go well, I expected total failure. The FEP film at the bottom of the resin vat had small ripples in it, I don't know how or when they got there, but the film is supposed to be flat and under tension. An hour after pressing start I could see the build plate emerging from the resin vat, I had put too much resin in so I couldn't see what was going on before. I saw that there was some sort of failure, so I stopped the print to have a look. I had 5 items on the build plate, 3 had printed OK, 1 had failed and the 5th hadn't had time to get going. IMG-2061 shows a small name plate, the green one is from the resin printer, the blue one from my Ender3. IMG-2064 is the closest my old camera could get. The fillet is half a mm. IMG-2065 is 55mm across and shows how flat the surface is, it's glass smooth. I am now wondering if I should try another print with the existing FEP, I think some of the ripples have lessened.

Sort the FEP out first or you will just get failed prints or trash the FEP.
If you bust the FEP you will get resin all over the screen, you do not want to do this.

Make sure you have removed all of the peel off protective films.

The FEP is clamped into the tray with lots of bolts, if it is somehow not flat it should be possible to fix it. Most printers come with at least one spare FEP, and there are plenty of youtube videos around on how to fit them.

Edited By Cabinet Enforcer on 03/08/2022 21:29:51

I watched a video this evening on youtube where the poster's FEP had as many wrinkles as mine. It didn't seem to bother him. I think, now that I have had to think, that the problem is down to me. Not enough supports and not strong enough for the job. I will create another slice with more thought put into the position and support of the parts. If it still fails then I have to turn to the FEP.

Lee

There a very helpful groups.io forum called GaugeOne3DCircle that may be able to advise, even if you are not printing for G1. We have a weekly zoom call on Thursdays for advice too. It alternates between 4pm and 7pm to allow for different time zones and working times. Today 4th Aug is at 4pm.

Note that your missing bits may be at the bottom of the vat and will stop the plate reaching the bottom so you must decant and filter your resin whenever you suspect you did not get 100% of your print. Suitable fine mesh filters are on ebay. (we are not talking coffee filter paper, more like an old tea strainer.).

I don't do resin yet so can't give more advice but I am impressed by teh sharpness of your filament print.

3Dcircle advice: If you can find a cheap source of new FEPs (about 5 for £12) replace it and be sure to tighten the screws like a cylinder head diagonals etc, not from one end.

Bazyle, I found the missing bit at the bottom of the vat when I was cleaning it. The FEP seems to be a bit flatter after the first attempt at printing, so I think most of the problems were down to me not knowing what I was doing! I used Prusa slicer to produce an STL to import into Photon slicer which is a tad unstable on my computer. I didn't realise until today that the size of the supports in Prusa can be adjusted. I think the supports I used were too small and too few. I am now putting another file together using what I have learnt. Try two should be soon. I would like to find a source of FEP at that price, they seem to be very expensive.

Lee