TriceraDLP - New DIY Resin 3D Printer

[curious aardvark]

Is that rook print in real time ?
Bloody impressive if it is :-)
So why does it bob up and down ?

So the resin. Is that daylight resin and if so, do you have problems with it setting in the vat ?

Other than worries about that, given the cost of resin, you'd not want any to go to waste - have to say it's a very interesting looking machine.

What's the build volume ?

[wallride]

Is that rook print in real time ?
Bloody impressive if it is :-)
So why does it bob up and down ?

So the resin. Is that daylight resin and if so, do you have problems with it setting in the vat ?

Other than worries about that, given the cost of resin, you'd not want any to go to waste - have to say it's a very interesting looking machine.

What's the build volume ?

The video is not real time, it is sped up quite a bit. The actual print time would be 1 hour and 15 minutes for that print, I will make it clearer in the video description.

Print time actually depends on the resin and settings that you use. White and lighter resins would have a shorter light curing time so the print would be much faster than darker resins. Or maybe the resin manufacturer creates a fast cure resin. In the slicer settings, you need to choose the correct cure time per layer. A white resin could be a second or less per layer, and darker resin like red could be 3 seconds per layer resulting in a longer print time. I prefer darker resins with a longer print time because the longer cure time gives you a wider range acceptable settings to get better 3D prints.

The reason is bobs up and down in the video is because the printer is releasing the 3D print from the vat surface each time a new layer is cured. So, if our print layer height was .05mm the build plate moves up 2 or 3 mm (settings you choose, also affecting print time) to release the print from the build surface and moves back down to the proper height to let a .05mm layer cure and attach to the rest of the 3D print. The vat surface is a flexible teflon FEP surface that allows it to release easily. A big problem with DLP printers was getting each new layer to release smoothly, it would often stick and destroy the print. There have been some fixes like a tilting vat, non-stick silicone covered vats, and flex-vats (this type). I did not invent the flex-vat by any means, but I made it easy to assemble and replace the teflon sheets. The teflon sheets are consumables and need to be replaced occasionally.

About the resin, it is not stored in the vat in the 3D printer. The vat is removed from the printer and usually I use a funnel to pour the resin back in the bottle that it came in before storing it. Then I put the flex vat in a ziploc bag and store the flex vat and the resin in a dark place so it doesn't cure.

The build print size is 80mm x 90mm x 140mm. The actual build plate is 51mm in diameter, but you can print larger than that using supports.

[wallride]

Is that rook print in real time ?
Bloody impressive if it is :-)
So why does it bob up and down ?

So the resin. Is that daylight resin and if so, do you have problems with it setting in the vat ?

Other than worries about that, given the cost of resin, you'd not want any to go to waste - have to say it's a very interesting looking machine.

What's the build volume ?

I typed out a long reply yesterday morning, and the site said a moderator will need to approve it before it goes up, but it has been a while so I'll try again copying the post I wrote to the best of my memory.

The rook video is not in real time, it is sped up a quite a bit. The actual print time is about 1 hour and 15 minutes, I will make that clearer in the video description. The print time is actually determined by the resin. Lighter colored resins, like white, are cured faster by light than darker resins such as red. Lighter resins could cure in a second or less, and darker resins could take about 2- 3 seconds to cure (depends on layer thickness and brightness of the projector). I prefer darker resins, because they give you a wider range of usable settings to get great prints.

The build plate bobs up and down to release the 3D print from the vat surface after each layer. A big problem with DLP 3D printing is that the 3D print wants to stick to the bottom of the resin reservoir after each layer cures, and could destroy the print or cause errors. There are some fixes like tilting vats, non-stick silicone covered vats, and flex-vats (this type). The flex vat uses a clear non-stick sheet of FEP teflon film that is flexible so the cured layer never sticks.

Also, the resin is cured by light so leaving it out stored in the printer would probably waste it so I use a funnel to pour it back in bottle. I also remove the vat and put it in a ziploc back when I'm not printing with it, then I store the bottle of resin and flex-vat in a cool dark place so that no resin will cure while storing it.

The build size is 80mm x 90mm x 140mm, and the actual build plate is 51mm in diameter, but you can print larger than the build plate by using supports to offset the print from the build plate.