Upcoming Resin Re-formulations

Looking forward to the Dental LT Clear, but can’t pre-order in the store, yet? I am worried that there will be a long waiting list.
Any help getting the native language on my version of the Formlabs.com switched from French to English? I am doing OK with it, but there is the potential for me to misunderstand something. I don’t know if it was because I was teaching in Europe, and somehow that short location change got propagated across all my mac stuff. Will there be any explanations about the durable future trays?: any decreased initial resolution due to material properties, but long term resolution stability, etc? I am just ordering one or two trays at a time, being in the dark, and would prefer to save the environment by combining more in each order. Thank you.

Also, will the Dental LT not only need its own tray, etc., but tend to chew through trays faster? Based on your resolution testing, will you eventually post a graph of typical tray durability/accuracy for each resin type. I realize that the Gv3 ages the tray faster than Clrv2, but there are times I prefer the trade-off, so it will be nice to have access to testing results as a guide. Thank you.

DentalLT Clear won’t be available for pre-order, but you can sign up for updates through this page. We’ll do our best to ensure that all of those looking to purchase DentalLT Clear are able to do so.

If you navigate to the main page and scroll towards the bottom, you’ll see a dropdown to change your language. You might give that a go and let me know if it works for you.

More information about Resin Tank LT will be coming out shortly :slight_smile:

Curious why the Print Time is so much higher for Clear V4 as opposed to Clear V3 if the change was negligible. See below for example. That is a major step backwards to me, even if there are improvements to quality since I have never had quality complaints about this resin with previous formulations/print settings.

Clear Resin is a bit of a confusing case. The current version is Clear v2 rather than Clear v3. Clear v3 was available for a short while before it was discontinued.

The current jump is from Clear v2 to Clear v4. If you compare the settings for those two, you’ll notice that they’re the same.

Still a major difference. I just switched over from V2 to V4 which is why I noticed this. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated, like maybe this is just a Preform estimation error and not actual build time. If it is really this different, I would prefer the older formulation/settings.

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Wow, definitely not the same settings. I was just getting ready to order more Clear, since, from my experience, the vats last the full 2 cartridges (vs. less for the Grey), and it tended to print a little faster than the grey V3 (which really is a nice resin, otherwise). Any help would be appreciated before I place my order… We do have a local distributor that might have a few more clear 2 in stock.

Since the official word is that the settings are the same, I am glad I saved my Clear V2 cartridges. With a funnel and some paper towels I have a never ending supply of Clear V2. Still, I am hoping there is a more concrete response and solution to this.

Thanks for pointing this out - helped to highlight a bug on our end. It does look like the settings for Clear v2 and Clear v4 are different but this was a mistake. The current Clear v4 material profile is using overly conservative print settings and this will be corrected in the next PreForm release at which point you should see that these are much more similar :slight_smile:

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Sorry to butt in, but I think you need to be more clear about this.

What exactly do you mean by “overly conservative”.

I though the print settings are always “fixed”, optimized for speed and quality. If there is such a thing as “variable” settings, why not make it an option, like a slider (speed vs. quality). I’m sure that would be something a lot of users would appreciate, as sometimes, being able to print something faster at the expense of quality (or vice-versa) might be desirable.

Agreed, that was a bit ambiguous.

This isn’t a difference in print quality but rather a change in the behavior for the base layers of a print. Increases in the wait time between base layers and increases to base layer exposure account for the difference in print time. These were testing parameters and admittedly weren’t intended to be shipped. They won’t negatively impact print quality but will slow those base layers down a bit. A fix for this is scheduled to go out this week.

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Thanks Frew, looking forward to it. Now you can boast a 30 minute reduction in print time as part of the release notes :wink:

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Hello, We are currently using last bits of Grey V2 and are awaiting Grey V4. Are these two resins mixable or do we have to use new tank for V4 resin?

I would like to ask the same question. using last bits of Grey V2 and are awaiting Grey V4. Are these two resins mixable or do we have to use new tank for V4 resin?

You can add my wish for a better formulation to castable resin too. I find its VERY hard to get a good surface. Absolutely every step in the casting and investment process has to be 100% perfect or the results are really poor. Its a very unforgiving material. To get a good result you have to let the plaster harden for at least 8 hours, you have to cure the heck out of the resin - don’t even think of doing thicker items and you have to burn out long and hard all of which adds many hours to the process and unfortunately time is money in the casting business.

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@jhanuska @WiltonShagpile Grey v2 and Grey v4 are not mixable. The re-formulations are mixable with their previous version which in this case would be Grey v3. Your Grey Resin v2 tanks can be cleaned and used with v4 resin, it just tends to be easiest to use a different tank for each material.

Still waiting for an answer on this one… Frew???

Is it possible to use the White V3 tank for White V4 resin?

Yes. Frew mentioned the reins listed in the first post can be mixed with their prior versions.


Speaking of which, @Frew, Did Dental Model V2 undergo any FDA etc. testing (like I think the other Dental resins did) and if so would a mix of V1 and V2 still be considered certified? I read sometimes those guys go nuts over subtle process changes.

Dental Model isn’t designed for bio-compatible use and doesn’t go through the same certification procedures that Dental SG and Dental LT Clear Resins have. We haven’t explicitly tested whether mixing Dental Model v1 and v2 affects accuracy (it shouldn’t), but to remain on the safe side, it might be best to keep them separate.

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