How Long Can you Store Used Trays?

Support & Troubleshooting
1

We have some aging trays. Some have been in operation for almost a year. We usually toss them when the silicone becomes cloudy and starts to impact print quality. But with materials we use less often, there may be no indication of wear, so we keep the tray.

But once we had an especially old tray, I think it was like a couple years old, it looked fine, but suddenly the bottom silicone completely fell out while in storage. Resin EVERYWHERE. Thank goodness it wasn’t in a printer!

Certainly got us thinking though. How long can trays last in storage after use? Should we pour resin back into the tanks if they’re expected to not be used for a while? Any tips on storage of tanks with resin in them?

2

Out of curiosity, what kind of tray was that? Form 2 (Standard / LT?) or Form 3?

3

Please follow: Pouring resin out to extend tank lifetime?
That’s were @DKirch promised feedback :slight_smile:

4

The used tank shelf life is an exclusive “feature” of the Form 3.
We have some Form 2 filled tanks that have been on storage for one year on black resin.
At this point, the resin had thickened and needed to be replaced. Bit the tank was fine and is still running ( LT tank ).

Ghosting would appear on the older Form 2 PDMS tanks, though after over a year of storage. Massaging the PDMS layer usually restores most of it if due to storage,

5

It was a standard Form 2 tray.

6

I’ve had good luck after patiently stirring it for about 10-15 minutes.