Things that still suck about the V1 printer - according to the founder

[android78]

I'm not saying it's not worth trying, but I would think the sound would also shake the mirror.

I don't think shaking the mirror is a problem when the laser is off.

[iplayfast]

So you originally posted this list in July, I'm wondering how things stand at this point?

1. Sometimes we still get holes in our prints.
hacker solutions - slow your print down, help us figure out why this happens.
long term solution - start doing r and d to the resin.

2. coil wires are finicky and can break off
hacker solution - solder your coil connections, when coil wires break unravel the wire and make a new connection, buy a new coil They will be cheap.
Long term solution - we want to put coils on there own pcb daughter boards, so they just plug in with a ribbon cable

3. some parts are very small and hard to assemble
Hacker solution - tweezers + patients goes a long way, oh and we are sending some extra parts in case they fly out of your tweezers
Long term solution - pre assemble some parts that are tricky for people to build.

4. salt water and hoses are messy
Note: we have done alot to improve this already, its alot better than our beta units, but could still be better.
Hacker solution - Put a towel down on your work bench and do all your printing on that towel.
long term solution - developing a sealed dripper that is very easy to take apart and clean might help, so would a pump.

5. Calibration features are needed for accurate prints
hacker solution - .... umm... dont print things that require accuracy
long term solution - build the features and do a software update.

[rylangrayston]

well since that post, some of these things have changed,

1. We have printed with a wider variety of resins now and there is much good news from this.
For one it seems that all of the resins that maker juice sells will work well with the peachy printer,
and also some of them work better! These findings are worthy of an update, so Ill leave the details out for now.

2. We have ordered coils that have connectors now, so instead of having to make the finky connections like before, the plan is to just use jumper wires, that plug into header pins. These parts havent arrived yet, but they should be here soon and were hoping to ship them.

3. on the topic of small parts, just this week I finished making some simple tools that can speed up the process of pre assembling the laser parts, so were now thinking we can do that. A few weeks ago While working on the instructions, I found that a small wire can be bent into tweezers that are just right for placing the tiny magnets in the kit, so that process while still tricky, has improved.

4. no further work has been done on this.

5. no further work has been done on this specifically, altho the software has seen massive improvements in many other arias.

[iplayfast]

well since that post, some of these things have changed,

1. We have printed with a wider variety of resins now and there is much good news from this.
For one it seems that all of the resins that maker juice sells will work well with the peachy printer,
and also some of them work better! These findings are worthy of an update, so Ill leave the details out for now.

2. We have ordered coils that have connectors now, so instead of having to make the finky connections like before, the plan is to just use jumper wires, that plug into header pins. These parts havent arrived yet, but they should be here soon and were hoping to ship them.

3. on the topic of small parts, just this week I finished making some simple tools that can speed up the process of pre assembling the laser parts, so were now thinking we can do that. A few weeks ago While working on the instructions, I found that a small wire can be bent into tweezers that are just right for placing the tiny magnets in the kit, so that process while still tricky, has improved.

4. no further work has been done on this.

5. no further work has been done on this specifically, altho the software has seen massive improvements in many other arias.

Are you still getting holes in your prints?

[rylangrayston]

These days we often have prints with no holes at all, or tiny pin holes, which we think might be dust on the mirrors.
Its still easy to get gaping holes like we used to have, if the printers exposure is set to high or to low.

[IDefINIte]

hey rylan do you think the holes could be surface tension leaving bubbles in the fluid? try a camera test of the surface while printing.

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sorry I didnt read page 3. Im still on surface tension though. have you seen a close up of the lasers z layers? maby its how the resin makes bumps when you get down to the 1 micron scale. Maby the surface tension occasionally snares, changing how the fluid acts over the wall, but yes Iv seen some staight walls like the posts have said. maby its just a bit to rare across the print to be surface tension though.

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one more edit. also the drip could leave waves depending on how long it takes to cycle the laser per z axis. if those are caught it would change z height momentarily.

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lol one more edit. just want to say i love this thing and 3d printers have been looking like this price tag from my start researching them. now on to my answer. point one and 2 were about the tension over an uneven (textured) surface. the drip fill adds resin filling the container and adding to the z axis. over time the surface tension rolls a bead over the edge of what the last layer printed untill it breaks and makes a micro wave across the entire wall. the tiny ir made bubbles from the laser hold the tension in spots untill theres enough mass to break tension. this mass is made from the full container mass and then pushed inward along bead these ir bubbles sort out liquid resin bubbles, making a wave like pattern. problem is some times the ir bubbles wont arrange in a wave nice pattern like usual resulting in a sort of meniscus like resin wall, making an air bubble. the eveness or uneveness probably happens like rylan said because of print speed. slow prints make an full almost even flat layer curing l the way up to the surface of the resin. fast prints only cure so much probably still leaving a layer of uncured resin above the cured resin. this also comes out even because of the timing of the laser on the material. fast prints right now seem in this concept to be the worst option of the two. mid speed prints are some where inbetween this high/low making for a not so even, spikey, print surface. this allows for the air bubbles to build at a higher rate. maby try over volting the laser, or running prints on a super slow scale to test this out. if both come completely clean then im somewhere close. i think that why big name sterolithography would be using an arm and elevator technique to spread a new layer before the next print.

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sorry im a bit out there. his post was literally right above mine and i still thought it wrong. but ill just leave these ramblings, semi unedited, and maby it sparks something. could try printing a plate or block you might see it aswell.

[rylangrayston]

IDefINlte:
I often find it impressive to see the depth to which many people here are able to theorize about the printer with out ever having one.

Ive done many time lapses of the peachy printing, and often tried to catch a bubble with a diameter of aprox 1-3 mm making a hole... but ive never been able to produce that, the bubles meniscus seem to repel the air from ever getting close enough to the wall of the print to stop it.
But I see how the bubles you are proposing are different, they are possibly created right on the wall and are very small. Iv never seen this effect but its a very interesting idea, its in my head now, so I will be looking for it.
Thanks for rambling Oh what do dose the "ir" stand for in "ir bubbles" ?

[Deadbot1]

Rylan, could you try an experiment for me? Could you try heating the tank of salt water and the build tank, say by using an aquarium heater? My thought is that by heating the resin to around 100 to 120 degreesF (37-48C) the viscosity of the resin will go down and reduce surface tension. If it is a surface tension problem causing the holes then this should make it go away. Also, I'm curious as to what effect a thinner resin would have on the print quality.

edit: heated thinned out resin may also make faster prints possible?

[IDefINIte]

this water idea HAS GOT TO DIE! SERIOUSLY lol. it would work yes but theres a simpler answer here. go ahead and try and salvage your resin with the water on top. probably youll just end up with less dense resin and a changed uv substance that wont print properly. the community needs to move on on this one. sorry but its a fail/hack.

[IDefINIte]

this water idea HAS GOT TO DIE! SERIOUSLY lol. it would work yes but theres a simpler answer here. go ahead and try and salvage your resin with the water on top. probably youll just end up with less dense resin and a changed uv substance that wont print properly. the community needs to move on on this one. sorry but its a fail/hack.

btw ir stands or uv damn laser technology...