We just got the Form 1+ and now waiting on the PPE and IPA to arrive.
I have been reading some of the posts to learn how to deal with the IPA after bathing printed parts in it.
Firstly - is it a good idea to keep the IPA in the fridge just to be on the safe side? I don’t want to come in the next morning to find the building has burnt down (Of course it will be kept in a separate fridge, not the common one people store food in).
If not, is it fine to have the bottles of IPA just on the bookcase shelf assuming the room temperature remains around the ~24 degree mark?
Secondly - After bathing a print in the IPA tank, is it fine to just tighten the lid and place those IPA filled containers next to the bottles of IPA mentioned above? And just keep using the same IPA that is in the container to bath future parts, until it eventually turns gooey then empty it out and pour in fresh, pure IPA?
Lastly - If the IPA bath has reached the gooey stage, can it be poured into Tupperware and placed out in the sun? Would the IPA evaporate without risk of catching fire as the uncured resin in the same mixture will be curing same time and keeping the concentration of IPA relatively low?
Shaye here from Formlabs. The IPA is pretty safe if it’s closed up in the rinse tubs (there is gasketing on the inside of the lids of the rinse tubs), but it should be in a well-ventilated area. As long as the area is well-ventilated and room temperature, the IPA should be fine.
We keep our IPA in bottles in a separated cabinet with a warning on it to let people know that there is IPA inside. It’s fine to keep the IPA in the rinse tubs, as long as the lid is fully on. The gaskets inside the lids should keep them pretty well insulated. You can keep using the same IPA in the container to keep bathing future parts until it looks like it needs to be changed. This is kind of at your discretion, but our rule of thumb is that if you can’t see the bottom of the rinse basket when it’s submerged, it’s probably time to change it. You’ll find that you might have to change IPA more often after using grey or black (or castable) than you will if you’re using white or clear.
The IPA will have to be disposed of depending on the local disposal laws of your city or town, so we wouldn’t recommend putting it out in the sun. You can dispose of extra resin this way, but not IPA. The IPA won’t really get gooey enough to cure completely, so it will have to be disposed of according to the hazardous waste laws of your particular area.
I hope that this is helpful, and please let us know if you have any questions!
(Of course it will be kept in a separate fridge, not the common one people store food in).