Closing cartridge cap when not in use?

General Discussion
1

Hey all, Just wondering is it best to close the cartridge cap at the top when not using the printer? Or fine to leave it open all the time?

2

Hello. I suggest to close it if you don’t need to print in the next hours after the previous print.
Best regards,
Mattia

3

Ok cheers. I couldn’t find any info on this. Does leaving the cap open affect the resin in any way or emit the resin smell?

4

I’d imagine the resin in the tray is generating most, if not all, of any odor, not the tiny hole in the bottle cap. But closing the cap would relieve the rubber bite valve of being the only thing keeping the resin in the bottle, and this surely has to be more security against leakage.

5

ok thanks. I do get worried about leakage. Has it been known to happen when the printer is not in use? Those horror posts where people find their printers flooded with resin, not sure if that was during a print or when the printer was not in use. So closing the cap can prevent this? Or is it best to take the whole cartridge out after each print?

6

AFAIK this happens when the PDMS layer fails, I have no idea how often that happens though.

Keeping the lid closed would prevent any leakage due to the valve failing. If it did failed, my guess is it would only leak a few drops and if you look closely just under the valve inside the printer there is an area that is suited to retain quite a bit of resin without it spilling on the glass or elsewhere in the printer.

7

Usually the leaks happen when using a new cartridge where the valve is faulty and it doesn’t close fully, or in cases where people refill a cartridge the valve can wear out after refilling the cartridge a few times.
It would definitely help to prevent leaking to close the cap at the top, and if your cartridge didn’t leak when you first started using it then it’s not going to leak after that.

8

ok cheers guys. Do you always take the tray and or cartridge out after every print or just leave it in the printer?

9

I’ve been leaving the tray in the printer and then I have a box that happens to fit over the printer pretty well so I put that over it to keep dust out. You can remove the cartridge, just remember to do that before removing the tray so that it doesn’t potentially drip into the printer without the tray to catch it.

10

Yeah that’s good thinking Zac, I would definitely remove the cartridge if I went away and didn’t use the printer for a while. Would be great if there was a plastic cover for the tray that included the wiper as an extra dust prevention.

11

By the way, is constantly removing and putting back the cartridge ok? Does it mess up the chip reading in any way?

12

I always close it when not in use.

13

Someone I know said their resin cartridge valve was faulty and leaked resin all over the printer when not in use over night. So I now just take it out the printer when I’m not using it just for peace of mind.

1 Like
14

I think it is best for your printer because it protects your cartridge from drying.

15

I would do it, but i forget it over and over again…

Would be cool if the printer displays a message after a print… “PLEASE CLOSE THE CAP DA****”