3D Printing

I use a combination of different 3D printers to produce all my parts. I currently run (3x) Tevo Tornadoes, (8x) Ender 3 Pros, and (1x) Photon Mono X.

My FDM print farm (above) is currently holding 11 machines. The Ender 3 Pros are much more space efficient than the Tevo Tornadoes, so I can fit up to 4 per shelf. I occasionally take advantage of the larger build volume of the Tevos, so it's good to keep those around.

I have a resin printing workstation (above) that I keep separated from the FDM printers. This is where I keep my Photon Mono X, the Wash & Cure Station+, and all my resin supplies. Uncured resin is known to cause allergic reactions with prolonged exposure, so it's important to keep this area contained. I use nitrile gloves, silicon dog mats, a respirator with carbon filters, and strict handling protocols to protect myself and my products. Once resin has been cured with UV light for about 4-6 minutes, then it becomes safe to handle without gloves. Then I sand, paint, and clearcoat to finish the parts.

   

My materials include various types of 1.75 mm spools of PLA (Polylactic Acid) filament and resins as seen in the images above. Though I have access to many different colors of PLA, I primarily use Red, Black, and Dark Purple. As for my Resin colors, Clear and Black are the most useful. Most of the resin printed parts are painted or dyed after printing, but it's still good to have a matching undercoat if possible, that way if the paint rubs off it won't hurt the look of the part.

Resin Print Cleaning Process

The images below show some resin printed parts after they just finish printing. The resin is uncured and is only handled with a good pair of nitrile gloves.

   

After taking the parts from the print bed and washing them in IPA 99%, they get loaded into the curing station (as seen in the images below). The parts sit on a turntable while a strip of powerful UV lights expose the parts from all angles. Depending on the number of parts, I'll keep them curing between 4-6 minutes.

   

Once they parts are cured, you can safely handle them without gloves. In the next step, I remove all the support materials and sand the parts with 800 grit sandpaper.

   

Once sanding is done, I'll either paint or dye the part in the appropriate colors. Below are some images showing how this is done. I use an airbrush to apply the black paint, once dry I'll go over it with a tough clearcoat.

   

For the clear resin parts, I'll dye them using alcohol inks and a brush. These are also clear coated to give them a shiny finish.