I just received my gray resin and I shook the bottle to mix it before pouring in the resin tray. I noticed a lot of small bubbles in the resin that aren’t yet to the surface, or are at the surface but haven’t popped. Will these affect print quality? I know the build tray presses against the silicone layer, but can air bubbles be trapped in between and cause voids? Wonder if that’s what happens sometimes. I didn’t notice bubbles in the white resin, presumably because it’s much harder to see.
Fl recommends waiting ~30 minutes from last agitation before starting a print to let the bubbles dissipate. I have found the bubbles can and do ruin a print from time to time. After waiting the recommended time, I have noticed some bubbles still there. Those left behind can still mess up a print but the chances of a mess up print are reduced.
David
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Reviving an old thread…
ANYONE WITH MORE RECENT EXPERIENCE?
I don’t see any better information on the FL customer service site/
Thanks.
@DavidRosenfeld so do you try and get rid of the bubbles in the tray after 30 mins or wait longer or just go ahead with the print?
Thanks,
Well, I would love to see FL respond to this to see an updated “official” response.
But, since you asked.
If you have a bunch of small bubbles near the surface I would just run the print. If you have a whole lot of bubbles throughout the resin…
A very long time ago, I had multiple discussions with FL about this and made a suggestion.
Create a build routine that actually builds nothing. I had found the best way to get the bubbles out was to have the machine work them out with the plunging and pealing action.
It seems that nothing has been done with my suggestion.
Since I no longer own a Form 1, I have not tested the latest software versions to prove my suggestions were not implemented…
… You could create a model that is relatively small (a .25" cube) that you can position in a corner near the pealing hinge and print it. You will wast a small amount of resin but the machine working should help dissipate the bubbles. Then you can top off the vat (depending on how large a print you are working with, then print the part you initially wanted to print.
Good luck!
David
In our testing, we haven’t found issues caused by the initial bubbles that may appear in the resin when a print begins. As David implies, the basic peel mechanism does go a considerable distance in taking care of that issue — and they do work themselves out naturally over the course a print. In shaking the resin, you don’t have to go nuts and over-agitate it, but some bubbles on the surface are normal.
@Sam_Jacoby @DavidRosenfeld if you place a small cube to print near the hinge, i assume you’d have the parts you want to build further from the hinge, wouldnt the printer begin to build the supports for my intentional print?
Thanks,
Sam, The bubbles are not the bubbles caused by the plunging of the build tray. They are the ones introduced by shaking up the bottle before pouring into the vat. As you pointed out, one does not have to go nuts but sometimes even “normal” agitation of the bottle contents produced an excessive amount of bubbles.
David, When I suggested printing a small part in the corner, I mean only the 1 small part. Yes, you are going to waste 30 to 60 minutes building the raft, supports, and part BUT most if not all of the bubbles that are suspended in the resin will dissipate. Then setup your print as you normally would.
Is this a normal amount of bubbles?
Its kind of surprising there is no reply from our FL-team on this tread as this is problem is always imminent 
Did you mix the resin with other solution? like Alcohol? I never seem this on my Form1+.
I’ve seen this happen to me a few times. It didn’t affect the print though. The build platfom presses all bubbles out from underneath the build plate when it touches the PDMS layer.
Here is the problem with the froth in the new gray resin… it lays on the print and doesnt flow off like it did with the previous resin. After cleaning 2 prints my first IPA tank is like milk. You cant see the bottom of the tank. Now with the new gray3 I have to replace my alcohol every 2 prints?!
The froth is getting worse I think. I just did a low res print and the patterns appear to be porous on the surface as a result, I believe.
Hmm, we’ve done a fair bit of testing to verify that the froth doesn’t have a negative impact on print quality. Is it possible that something else is happening here like dust on that optical window? If you could upload pictures of the artifacts you’re seeing, that would be a big help in working to identify the cause.
I no longer have the patterns. I’ve done a couple prints since then and haven’t seen a repeat in this issue. The froth is still significant though.
I’m finding the froth with V4 grey is so bad it’s actually resulting in micro pits from tiny bubbles in the resin. V3 never gave me these issues.
Micro pits aren’t from the bubbles, and are present in Black as well.
It’s a consequence of the additional pigment/filler they’ve added ever since making grey/black matte and fully opaque. At least my hypothesis. I’ve seen 0 correlation between frothiness and micro-pitting, and i’ve never seen micro-pitting in old (non-matte) black and grey, even when they were bubbly/frothy as hell.
My Grey V4 tank is showing about the same amount of froth and I have had no issues with my prints, ever, while using Grey resin.
I’m not saying the reason for your issues aren’t related to the froth, but maybe there’s more than just the presence of froth behind all this…