Improved Resin Management

I’m printing a big job as I write this. 150cc part with another 150cc in supports, for a total of 300cc. I have to drive a couple miles to my shop, so it is inconvenient to run over there every couple hours to check in on the print. I don’t have a good idea of how high I can fill the tank, while a print is in progress. So I have a couple thoughts on resin management features that I’d like to see.

First, Preform could monitor the print progress and calculate the volume of cured resin up to the fill line and then calculate the volume of uncured resin available for the build.  Given the volume of material remaining to be cured, the software could calculate the necessary resin level in the tank to complete the job, or how long it will be until more resin is required, and finally, how long a user can top off the tank to complete the print without further resin additions.

When the build platform drops into a full resin tank, the resin level rises well above the normal fill-line. Adding a few additional fill-levels for in-progress fills would help make this feature even more useful.

I’m sure there are a few details to work out, but this could be a really helpful feature for folks printing big parts.