Right now I use a Wash L with IPA for post-processing, which means I need ~40 L of fresh solvent to fill it. I want to switch to TPM because of its safety advantages and lower evaporation rates.
So far I only found one from googling, so I was wondering if anybody knows any other good suppliers for bulk purchasing. My budget isn’t that tight, I just like finding the best deals.
my personal experience is that one can save a significant amount by using SimpleGreen as a primary cleaner for 5-10 minutes, then transitionning thru a ‘splash bath’ of old IPA, and a final wash in IPA.
I did a write up in here about 8 separate tests we ran on this. We have even set up an inexpensive method of re-claiming IPA, and as such, we’re able to recycle 75-80% of the IPA repeatedly. You can look in this forumn for post production cleaning…
i really would do that, rather than dumping hundreds into another cleaning liquid (which must then be handled as another potential chemical problem).
@Davidwedge’s post has some great first-hand insights, you should definitely check that out. I will say, I used TPM to clean parts back in college for my research project, and I didn’t love it. Just in case you haven’t considered it yet, Formlabs Resin Washing Solution is a proprietary composition that is non-flammable and has a high saturation like TPM. Where Formlabs Resin Washing solution differs from TPM is in washing performance. TPM tends to leave parts with an oily surface. Our internal testing and beta users found Resin Washing Solution to provide much better wash quality – on par with IPA. You can refer to the EU SDS for a little bit more info than the US SDS. I would still prefer IPA for my own use, but given that you mentioned wanting to switch for safety advantages and lower evaporation rates, I would personally recommend RWS over TPM, but I would also give David’s recommendation of SimpleGreen a try and see which you like better. I’d be curious to hear your thoughts and pass on any feedback to our internal team.