I’ve changed over to Formlabs Resin Washing Solution from IPA and I’m having trouble with my parts warping (see image) after washing using the recommended settings for Black V4.
When the print comes out of the printer it looks good but after washing the warpage is noticeable, and the print seems very soft? As if the print is absorbing the washing solution?
The wall thickness of the warped area is 0.5mm if that matters. After curing the parts become stiffer but the warpage is still there.
Has anyone else noticed this difference from using IPA and going to Formlabs Resin Washing Solution?
Hi @Andrew_W,
Thanks for sharing the details and the image. Can you confirm the details of your workflow for me, especially the time for/between steps? The warping and softness could be related to the parts being exposed to the washing solution for an extended period of time.
Formlabs Resin Washing Solution can cause parts to swell if they are left in the solution or remain wet for too long (more than ~8 hours). To avoid this, we recommend following the 10-minute washing time for your prints with the increased agitation with Form Wash (2nd Generation), then rinsing them in water immediately after the wash and drying the parts off with compressed air to prevent the absorption of excess solution.
If you’re already following these steps, it could be helpful to check the time between washing and rinsing to ensure that there isn’t too much delay in the process.
For the wall thickness you mentioned (0.5mm), that could also contribute to the warping, especially if the resin hasn’t fully cured yet. Once you follow the recommended washing and curing steps, this should help reduce or eliminate the warping. I can’t tell what’s on the other side of that part, but if it’s flat, it looks like it would print well flat on the Build Platform, and should help with warping issues if the walls are printed straight up vertically. You would also see a lot less of the stair-stepping artifact near the top edges of your print.
If the issue persists after making these adjustments, feel free to reach out to our support team here for further investigation. Let us know how it goes!
Warping like this post cure can be dependent on a lot of things, but in my experience, the biggest one is improper drying of your parts.
You might be seeing a difference because the resin may absorb the new wash solution differently than IPA…or it could just be coincidence if you do not have a rigorous or standard operating procedure for drying parts (eg you switched to the new wash solution but this time were in a rush and didn’t dry the parts as much as last time).
I would bet that if you allowed your parts to air dry for 24 hours, or accelerated drying with a fan or a dehydrator, your part either wouldn’t warp, or you’d see less of it.
1 Like
Hello @henryqiu and @leonhart88, I printed off some more parts and washed some in IPA and the other in the Formlabs solution.
The ones in IPA were washed for 10min (as recommended) and came out OK. The ones washed in the Formlabs solution (for only 5 min) and then rinsed in water still showed signs of warping, notice the increased gap of the slot in the images (IPA on the right).
So it looks like they are still absorbing after only 5min? Is this expected with the Formlabs solution and this resin?
1 Like
All resins absorb chemicals at a different rate (there is a table in the datasheet, although I’m not sure if they have an absorption spec for the new wash solution).
Thin walled parts will be more affected than thick wall parts.
Did you cure these immediately after wash? Or did you have a drying step to give time for any absorbed solvent to evaporate?
I used compressed air to dry them quickly after the wash and water rinse before placing into the Cure station. So maybe about 5min.
I am willing to bet that’s your issue.
Let the parts dry for 12-24 hours, or put it in a dehydrator.
If this is anything like how I see absorbed IPA cause post cure warping, it might help. It’s possible this resin absorbs the new wash solution at a higher rate than IPA.
1 Like
So, I ran another batch of parts and washed them in IPA and experienced the warping immediately.
Could my resin be too old? They seemed very soft before washing, I could flex the raft quite easily.
Ran the same print again with Draft resin and all was fine.
