MakerJuice resin vs formlabs

General Discussion
1

Morning all.

I decided to carry out a comparison between the makerjuice and formlabs resins. I wanted to carry out a proper stress test and so I picked out the following engine block model.

This model is a good one as it has several flat surfaces, several curves of varying degrees, thin walls, holes and text. I printed it at a 50% size (just to fit it in the printer) and printed at 100micron layer thickness. I printed the formlabs using the black setting and the makerjuice on the grey setting as they recommend for all their resins. Black resin was used in each case. I used a brand new resin tank, printing the makerjuice first, emptying it, cleaning it then printing the formlabs. The build platform was properly cleaned before and after each print as well. Prints were removed straight after printing and dipped in 99% alcohol to remove excess resin.

I guess I should say at this point I have no affiliation to either company and have done my best to keep the test fair between the two resins (but if anyone wants to send me some free resin I would grudgingly accept!). I am using my printer for a business application so this kind of comparison is obviously important to my bottom line!

Here are the prints in preform with supports added. If anyone else wants the file let me know. It’s around 24mb big so we will need to work out how to transfer!


There were no issues during the printing process. The printer worked well in both cases.

And now on to the results. I should mention that I haven’t removed all the smaller supports and haven’t sanded the parts at all. For all photos, formlabs on the left, MJ on the right.

On first inspection it doesn’t appear to be too bad a print in both cases. The MJ is noticeably lighter in colour and and lets light through on the thinner parts.

As I moved around the models, I was impressed at how sharp the various holes and flanges were on the FL print. MJ not so much.

Not too bad on this end. You can see the light coming through the MJ print. Again the lines aren’t as sharp.

Pretty much the same story on this side. You can also start to see areas to the left at the top that didn’t properly cure on the MJ print.

And now it really goes wrong :frowning: This is the side that was most supported and pointed towards the build platform. The MJ print looks horrific. A lot of detail missing and it looks like extra resin has set all over it. There is a bit of work required on the FL side but it’s nowhere near as bad.


The text barely came out on the MJ print but was clear to see on the FL print.

Again the underside was heavily supported and it shows on both prints, MJ being worse again.

In conclusion, for small detailed, dimensionally important pieces I could not recommend the MJ resin. If dimensions aren’t as important and you are dealing mainly in curves the you could get away with the MJ. This result really disappointed me as the MJ is a good bit cheaper than the FL.

I’d be interested to see if anyone else has done a similar comparison.

1 Like
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I don’t have pictures to back this up, but yes, the makerjuice resin produces softer features in my experience. The larger/thicker the surfaces adjacent to edges the worse it seems to be. It also smells bad. The only advantage it has is that the parts I have made out of it, even after days of sun exposure, remain a bit flexible and don’t snap if they are bent. Other than that (and price I guess) there is no contest.

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All good to know. I am about to place my first 2 bottle replacement order.There is always the thought of trying to save some money.

I would let others do the experimentation, and be very glad they reported it. I will stick with the real goop for now even though it is pricey.

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Not surprising. Makerjuice resin is much less viscous and has less pigment than the Formlabs stuff.

Less pigment == more overcure on the side facing the platform and fuzzier details.

On top of that, the longer the print, the stronger the difference, because the pigment will settle faster in MJ.

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The FL is great for detail. Just out of curiosity, did the MJ get printed with the “Black” setting? It looks a bit overcured, so maybe the Grey setting would be more appropriate?

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It was done on the grey setting as they recommend. I think the complexity of the print really pushed it to it’s limits.

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Now we just need a similar comparison with MadeSolid.

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If someone wants to do the same test I can send them the preform file.

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I just ordered a liter of Vorex, I’d be happy to run a test of this file. I’ll know when it’s scheduled to arrive once they update shipping info.

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Perfect. I’ll upload the preform file to my dropbox and pass on the link this evening.

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I was thinking their regular resin as it is focused on detail, while Vorex is about strength, but Vorex will be an interesting comparison as well.

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Yeah, I decided to try Vorex because I am looking for more elasticity in my parts… The fact that a bump can often shatter the FL resin to pieces is a big turnoff and unexpected result since they market it as “ABS-like”.

Hopefully Vorex stands up to madesolid’s claims… I also ordered some flexible resin and plan on trying the 10% mix some have attempted.

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That should hopefully work for you and anyone else interested in the print

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Thanks Gary, I’ll give it a whirl.

Madesolid called me yesterday to let me know the black Vorex is on backorder 2 weeks… so they are sending me orange instead. My test won’t be apples to apples black like I wanted. It will still be interesting, no doubt.

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It’s the sharpness and clarity of the print I’m most interested in!

How much is the vorex resin?

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$135 + shipping … so it better be a lot stronger than FL otherwise a $15 savings isn’t really worth it.

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I ordered both Vorex and MakerJuice SF. The SF arrived today.

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First part printed with MakerJuice SF. The resin is significantly less viscous than the FL resin, but this does not appear to have mattered to the printer.

I was stupid and oriented the part flat to the build plate, so the downfacing surface on the bottom is curved around the edges. I had been considering printing it without a base or any supports, and didn’t keep thinking after I decided not to. But besides the base of the part, everything else printed cleanly, with nice sharp edges. I did observe a fair amount of thin flakes in the IPA wash, but I think they’re from the poorly printed bottom portion of the part, there are no observable defects in the portions visible to me to suggest the flakes came from someplace else.

The part sounds significantly more “dead” when you drop it on a surface. Giving it an hour in the UV tank for post cure before I try busting off the supports and base. But it feels a lot different from FL resin so it looks pretty promising at this point!

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Reprinted, this time properly positioned. Finished print is excellent. And the resin is significantly more flexible than FL resin, while still showing excellent stiffness. I’m encouraged enough to print something larger…

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Randy, that looks nice. Was there any blobbiness on the support side? That is what I am struggling with with the makerjuice. I don’t have a photo to share right now but you can see it clearly in the video I took of the test part I printed https://vimeo.com/120773703