We have now received the Form4L as an addition to our existing Form 4 setup. The Wash requires quite a lot of IPA, and up to now we’ve always used 70% IPA in the smaller station. How good is TPM in comparison, and how often does it need to be replaced? We mainly print with ESD Resin, and occasionally with Grey and Tough
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Hi @KuemmeMl,
We have a support article about washing with TPU that gives a good overview of the workflow and difference in results. The article does not mention ESD Resin, but according to the experiences of our internal print farm team, TPM is not ideal for this material - they suggest Formlabs Resin Washing Solution, if using IPA is a concern.
Hope this helps!
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I still use the Wash that came with the Form3 as it’s, generally, large enough to contain parts. If not, I wash the parts twice with an end-over-end flip after the 1st cycle. As for using a lot of IPA, I highly recommend buying a Vevor alcohol still off Amazon. All sizes available up to 13 gallons. Mine is 3 gals and yields about 80-83% reusable, clean IPA in about 3 hours of running. Well worth the minor expense for the system and induction heating plate. If you have an option when buying the still get one with a submersible pump … you’ll need that in a 5-gallon bucket of cold water to condense vapor into an empty gallon jug.
Thank you very much for the recommendation. Unfortunately, my employer does not allow something like this because the risks are considered too high.
We suffer from the same problem, the Resin is too strong for the IPA and only takes 2-3 months of normal usage to get 60 L of IPA fully contaminated; not sure if there is a more cost effective way to deal with this
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IPA fumes can be a problem in enclosed environments. I run my 3-gal still outside to avoid issues but a friend of mine runs a 5-gal system with chiller inside with no issues.
Could you elaborate more on why this could be a problem ?
It’s a problem because IPA fumes are bad for your health. Make sure the area you work in is well-ventilated.
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It’s the fumes. IPA vaporizes at around 183F and, as long as your still’s connections are tight, vapor is controlled for the most part. I’ve also learned that keeping the water that circulates around the coil as cold as possible reduces vapors. About halfway thru the 3 gallon distillation cycle, I dump the water from its 5 gallon bucket and refill with cold tap water. I once used ice packs to help but they got to be more trouble than beneficial. The distilled IPA flows into a gallon jug that once contained new IPA … I drilled a hole in the cap to fit the tube and wrap a shop rag around that area to reduce vapors but it’s impossible to seal my system so I just roll the equipment outside on a cart and let it “do its thing”. I’m very happy with 80-83% reclamation of dirty IPA. The sludge is scraped out of the bottom of the pot, spread on a piece of scrap cardboard, and I let the sun cure the rest, then put the dried residue in the trash. It’s inert and environmentally safe after the sun-curing.
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