Alternative Resin review?

#41

I’ve tried the Olive Grey in Open mode and not totally happy with it for my particular use. Small parts are too rubbery even after 2 hours in the UV cabinet. Kevin suggests I use the Black. Might order some of that.
Larger pieces seem to work OK and I now have 24 1/4" scale brick chimneys running in the OG with the print to take 14 hours. Long time for me to tie up the printer so I might use those for masters to make two part silicone molds which is the way I’ve done these in the past.

#42

This is going to be something of a double post (here and on my own post on ALW). 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.

At the moment, it’s air drying as per instructions, so 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

#43

I only have Grey V3 empty cartridges. Can the Apply Lab Works Black be used in those cartridges and if so what settings?

#44

We’re all still experimenting with what cartridges work best. I would try the Grey V3 cartridge on a small part and see how it goes. Just keep an eye on it during filling (I pre-fill the tray most of the way). Print with 100 microns first and experiment with lower settings from there.

#45

The resin settings will be set by our cartridge.

#46

Isn’t olive grey the durable one? It is meant to flex to absorb impact.

#47

whew nice come back folks ill chime in on a few

#48

I agree depending on the thickness of the walls of your parts, printed a relatively small part and experienced the same with the modeling plus. But for other parts it was the perfect material and I like how it has some give (if the part is dropped) and doesn’t shatter

#49

telllll me about it this stuff is super interesting I messed up my first print (didn’t follow instructions and was let down by the material) Kevin contacted me and told me what I did wrong. Ive done what was suppose to be done per then instructions and honestly my results have been the same. What I have found, is time is what cures this resin.

Once printed it is sticky for days and even up to a week. it does flex and return to its normal shape which is nice. while it is sticky tho it does lead a residue on things that touch it ( your case will probably have your wife iPhone a bit sticky if it doesn’t dry for about a week or come in contact with stuff to take away the stickiness.

now the positives is it is STRONG! which is nice. I like how elastic it is. I also started printing it under closed mode in a v3 grey cartridge. my results where the same as the specs in open mode.

It does smell worse and drips from the build platform much more than any other resins in closed mode I’m sure that doesn’t matter. I have a case for my AirPods printing now can’t wait to see what this looks like in the end.

Just ordered the ivory and another liter of black. Applylab works needs to start sponsoring me with this money and R&D I’ve been spending.

#50

I can let you know in a few days

#51

this is true it has some flex to it but not nearly as much as the flexible engineering resin

#52

Here is my post from this morning on my thread regarding the print, with a couple of photos.

Yes, this stuff is sticky, but that seems to go away. This morning I had planned on putting out in the sun, but forgot, so I’ll have to do that tomorrow. I also got a PM from Linda from ALW, and she suggested I put the print in a container and fill it with just enough water to cover the the model, the put it in the sun. That will help with the curing, and also remove some of the tackiness.

She also agreed that this type of application (phone case) is not well suited for the resin:
“We developed Flex for applications such as tires, sole of footwear, or any application that requires bending, flexing without tear or breakage, but it does require higher than normal light power for curing.”

And yes, I noticed this stuff is strong. It can stretch quite a bit too.

#53

Hi I’m after a resin similar to Durable but with faster elastic snap back ( and preferably a bit stronger too.) I’m making very thin live hinges. Any thoughts - ALW Modelling Plus, ALW Flex? Also anyone experienced 3Dresyns?
Many thanks

#54

I have some ALW Flex resin and find it “gooey” sort of like Karo Syrup. Doesn’t clean well with IPA, you have to use ethyl alcohol and even with that it’s a job.
I was mixing it 1 to 2 with Grey ALW resin but still found it hard to clean. I was looking for a bit of flex in my prints. I now add about 10% Flex to the Grey. It helps some but also helps to use it up.
Be sure to mix it well both before using and also before and after adding to another resin.

#55

Hi, so I know this is a year old thread but this conversation has been great to read through as a beginner. I was gifted a Form 2 during all this to fix up and use at my leisure from work until we return to the office in 2021. Anyways, do any of you have a recommendations for a starter resin? I am just trying to avoid the $150+ charge when I’m still learning the design aspect and spending most of my time doing test prints or little stuff to fix toys for the kids.

#56

I use Applied Lab Works (ALW) Modeling Gray, Formlabs Printers Compatible. This works the best for me. I use V3 specs in Preform and have great results. $70 a liter buy 2 or more liters and it’s free ground UPS shipping.

#57

I was reading about Photocentric grey resin where they recommend using Black V4 settings for prints with fine details. I think MakerJuice recommends something similar. I would like to hear from anyone who has tried using black settings with grey resin.

#58

I’ve started pushing ALW to come up with a biodegradable resin so we can move away from IPA as a cleaner.

#59

The Photocentric Firm Grey resin arrived today and I ran a test on some small parts. They recommend using the Black V4 setting for fine details, so I gave it a try. The result was not good, see photo. Walls and posts came out too thick. Does this mean the laser is overcooking the resin? The part on the left has the correct dimensions.

photoC

#60

I’ve got a couple of litres or so of the Photocentric Grey Firm that I inherited from someone and I’ve never been happy with the results. It warps all over the place, lacks a lot of detail and always seems a bit tacky however much you wash and post-cure it (even under water). I’ve never been sure whether it was because of its age though. I’ve also tried their Flexible resin and that’s awful, it tears and crumbles if you do much more than look at it.

I must say though, that after an initial bad batch (confirmed by a very long and protracted (almost 4 months!) back and forth between me and PC doing test print after test print) I really like their UV Laser High Tensile Black. I’ve only printed a few things but in my experience it comes out nice and crisp and dimensionally as well as geometrically accurate. Although PC recommend using Black V4 in open mode I found that the prints came out much too soft with some parts of the print missing. I found by trial and error that the best settings for this HT Black resin are Black V2, again in open mode.

I hope you find this info useful.