3rd Party Resin from ApplyLabWork

Excellent! I like the FL grey V3 for showing off 25 micron details straight out of the printer. I think will will try out both colors.

Here are a couple of shots highlighting the amount of detail you can get with this resin. Both models were printed together at 0.05mm. Each of these had the supports removed, but they needed to be primed so I can see where they need further cleanup (not yet done).

The only issue is the sword. I didn’t think to thicken the blade prior to scaling the model down, so it’s literally paper thin, which accounts for the ragged edges and messed up tip.

Also Preform got pretty heavy handed with the supports. Maybe for something this small I’ll reduce the amount of supports, especially those that touch some of the fine surface details, but it’s pretty darn good for the size.

I have another print going right now, of the same models, but this time they’re being printed at much larger scale (1:25). When I have those ready, I’ll post a couple more photos.

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I just finished printing my first flexible resin print, using ApplyLabWorks Prototype Flex. I printed an iPhone 6 case for my wife, and this stuff is… Interesting to say the least.

This morning I just pulled it off the printer, and it was a pain to remove off the build platform. Because it’s so flexible, it doesn’t “pop off”, I had to work the spatula under the whole thing, but it’s off now, and after about 5-6 minutes in the IPA, it’s now drying off as per instructions. Later this evening, I’ll remove it from the supports and post a couple of pics.

So far, it looks and feels like TPU rubber, very soft and flexible. We’ll see if it’s still as flexible this evening.

Stay tuned.

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Forgot to mention. There is a slight smell to the Flex resin (a bit stronger and different than the beige), but with the cover closed, it’s not noticeable (at least not to me).

This is much better than the FormLabs flex, which was strong enough to give me headaches. I couldn’t be in the same room with it when it was printing.

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glad you were able to try the Formlabs and have a comparison for the flexible. I was wondering if the dry process water soak process for curing was the same

about a year ago, I bought a bottle of flexible so I could print some tires for a fiend’s MiniZ RC cars. I honestly don’t remember what I did at the time, I’m sure I followed whatever instructions there were available.

The only thing I do remember is the smell, and that I got a headache from being in the same room with the printer while it was doing that print. I haven’t used that resin since, and I’m sure it’s expired by now.

This time around I printed a phone case, which in hind sight should have been printed in regular resin. This resin from ALW is very soft, and this open front case is not the right design for it, as it’s not stiff enough to “hug” the phone. I will print a few other thing, but right now I don’t have anything in the pipeline.

So far, after the print, I dunked the model into the IPA for 5-6 minutes, then left it for about 10 hours to air dry. Last night after all the drying time, the model was still sticky and soft enough to roll up, so I washed it in IPA for about 1 minute, which made it a bit less sticky, but not entirely so.

I then put it into my UV chamber for 4 hours, while checking on it every 1/2 hour or so, and it didn’t really change in terms of stiffness. Today, I’ll take it and put it out in sunlight, so I’ll see if the properties change at all.

So in terms of soaking it in water to prevent further curing, I’m not there yet. Maybe I’m doing this all wrong, but so far, this stuff is still soft like a noodle., which is also a byproduct of the model design which large flat thin surface.

BTW, the rough edge facing the camera, was the bottom edge of the model. Printing the model on that edge, rotated 45° on the Z axis was the only way I could fit it on my build platform. Angling it at a 15°/20° off the vertical, produced supports that were more than 3 times the volume of the actual model. The model by itself is a bit over 18ml. With the supports it would have been 78ml. So I opted for a layout where it was standing on it’s side so the overall volume including supports was about 38ml.

Wonderful follow up I’ve done prints with the cure in water and the cure without. results seem the same to me. After about two weeks one part I did finally seems to be dry and less tacky. When I get the cure and the wash then I will really be able to tell

Maybe a stupid suggestion but does the manufacturer state that you should clean the parts in IPA? I know that photo centric resin cures very, very difficult when you clean it in IPA. Only water+soap works.

For a lot of these materials it’s important to have some heat along with the cure light. I just cover up the front of my nail salon with a piece of cardboard and the parts cure a lot better. Might be worth a try here.

Heated cure worked really well with the modeling plus resin.

Yes, the instructions say it should be washed in IPA for 5 minutes.

NOTE:
I also stand corrected on the curing and use of water. I was originally under the impression that dunking it in water would prevent further curing. I was wrong. The idea is to immerse the model into water while it’s being cured (in a UV chamber or out in the sun). The water is supposed to help promote better and more even curing.

I have the front of mine covered and also have the parts dunked like suggested still sticky got a set in now have set for 4 hours in water in the cure station we will see if the results differ

been about 4 days and another print I did is much better than the prints I did that took two weeks the water makes a difference for sure.

Hi Guys, I’ve been reading up on the Apply Labworks resin and getting ready to order some to test out. I have a few questions though:

  1. Can you use it with Open Mode on a Form 2 and just manually fill the tray? Or do you have to have a V1 old cartridge?

  2. Several people have mixed the beige and black resins to get a grey similar to FL’s grey. Do you mix them separately in a container and then fill the FL tray?

Thanks in advance.

  1. Select settings in Preform and pour into tray.
  2. For the safety of your PDMS layer, don’t mix in the tray. Measure and mix externally.

Answers:

  1. You can’t run it any other way. Open Mode is for all NON-Formlabs resins.
  2. I keep empty bottles and pour 1/2 a liter of the black between 1 liter of beige back and forth between three bottles until I have them totally mixed. It’s a bit messy but you don’t tend to loose resin like you would if you did it in a large container. I’m guessing a lot of resin would stick to the sides of that large container and unless you could cover it the residue might not be usable later on.

One thing I would like Apply Labworks to do is come up with a “Catsup” type funnel type nozzle with a cap. It’s a mess pouring resin out of their bottles. Also it would make it A LOT EASIER pouring resin into the tray as the build plate doesn’t lift very far when it stops for refill, at 100 ml, mid build.

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Awesome. Thanks for the replies guys. I wonder if we can just use standard “squeeze” bottles at Walmart. I’ve seen them, but they’re either clear or that yellow and red color. Would it be safe to transfer to those bottles or would it harden due to the clear bottle exposing light to the resin?

To be safe look for HDPE bottles for dispensing. Those should not have issues holding resin. LDPE may or may not have issues.

I would keep any clear bottles in a dark cabinet. They’ll be fine to take out just for the filling.

Maybe I’ll look for a screw on pour spout for the apply labworks bottles. I’ll have to dig out my used bottle and see what screw thread it has.

As far as 3rd party resins go, most can be run in auto with proper cartridge.

I really don’t like Apply Lab works bottles. I just started pouring all the resin out of them and into my left over isopropyl bottles. These bottles are made of metal. One has set for about a week and I will be using whats in it to mix with some beige to try out their grey in a cartridge running in open mode.

So we will see. So far I’m liking the idea of using the metal cans. they have a nice spout and nice lip for catching drips of resin if it comes down to it.

You can get small empty metal paint cans from HomeDepot pretty cheap. I had used one for a 3rd party resin and it worked great. They are easy enough to re-use and clean out.

Good to know thanks