I think FL resins have more body thus the reason they are heavy. The prints are dense not semi-transparent like ALW. Also ALW resin tends to smell. I can smell it all the way to the other end of the house. I don’t notice that with FL resin. If FL resin was less expensive I’d stay with it as it’s been consistent. Maybe they are following the HP model where they sell the printers cheap but the ink cartridges are expensive. [grin]
This is what I learned from a chemist specialized in polymers:
The thicker the resin is, the more energy is needed to cure, and less heat is released during the curing process. This means less shrinkage and longer PDMS life. The downside is that high viscosity resin often needs to maintain a higher temperature to print consistently (hence the heater), and it is not as adhesive e as the thinner resins with higher content of monomers and photoinitiators. (think Makerjuice/Funtodo). Another downside with heavier resins that it requires more support and thicker base to stay on the plate as seen in preform’s software generating very thick support and base. And it is not very good with thin walls. I guess the heavy support/base is a good thing, for Formlabs as we will use more resins. 
In contrast, the Peopoly resin I tested is not as thick but not watery as Makerjuice which I also tested. I first noticed it because I saw some of the Moai users doing acrobatic prints with minimal supports that I didn’t think it is possible on my Form2 and got me looking at their resins.
1 Like
Good review. I’ve tested the ApplyLabWork Olive-Green and black resins and like their print ability. But, the green is too fexible. I even mixed the two and still the features of the Olive-Green came through. Now that it’s all black it’s much better with nice sharp corners and straight flat edges. Next is a mixture of 3 parts beige to 1 part black of ALW to get a grey that’s compatible to the FL grey V3.Actually I feel the ALW’s resin is more syrupy than the FL resins.
I do think that the wiper should be enabled, even is a software setting, to be used in Open Mode. That way the resin would be mixed. But, possibly with the syrupy-ness of the second source resins that might not work well.
ALW specifically states the Modelling Plus (Olive gray) is much more bendable and flexible than Modelling (Beige or Black), 25-35% elongation vs 3-8%, which gives it a much better impact resistance. So if you’re planning on printing a rigid object then the Modelling resin it the correct one, but if you need something that has some flexibility or higher impact resistance, then the Modelling Plus is the right one.
So far, I have tried the ALW beige, which I think is perfect for 95% of my work, and I also tried the Prototype Flex, which for me it’s way too rubbery, so it has very specialized uses like tires, belts, bellows, rubber soles, etc. but not very useful for the average model.
I also have a bottle of the Olive Gray plus, but haven’t had a chance to try it yet. I plan on using it to print 1/27 scale MiniZ chassis and 1/32 scale Slot car chassis, which get quite a bit of abuse and rough handling. We’ll see how well the Olive gray holds up.
2 Likes
Exactly where I was going to go with that topic. It seems there was some confusion on types and uses of ALW resins.
The Olive-Grey worked real good on large 1/4" scale items that were solid. Nice defined detail. The Black does a good job but tends to show a very fine layering that looks almost like a sand finish. I’ll post the results of the beige/black mix and how it works and looks once I get the change to run it.
I saw Paul Braddock (www.paul-braddock.com ) posted couple pictures using Moai resin on Form2. It looks amazing. I wish I have the design skills to make it .
OK, here’s my findings on mixing ALW Beige and Black resins.
Formula, as given by ApplyLabWork is 2 parts of Beige to 1 part of Black. I did this by weight to get it as close as possible. Then on mixing I poured it between two large cups a number of times so that the resins are totally mixed.
I’ve run a few jobs and find that although the resin runs fine with the FL Grey V3 settings in Open Mode the color is not near as dense. FL grey is a solid grey even in the supports. The ALW mix is not with the supports almost transparent. Also it’s more brittle and less forgiving on small pieces. Trying to cut the supports loose will most likely break the area it’s attached to.
So, for larger more solid objects i’t’s excellent and the color look pretty good. For smaller finely detailed pieces I think it might be best to use the FL Grey. For me that doubles the cost of these fine parts so I need to pick carefully which resin I run various pieces in. Might end up going back to ALW Black as that worked OK except for the dark color which makes it hard for older people to see the very small detail on many items.
1 Like
Is the ALW black more flexible on it’s own or does mixing it make it more brittle?
Brittle as compared to the FL Clear 2 or more?
As for support trimming I usually saw off the base on touchy pieces with my jewelers saw then snip away after. I also trim them up before post curing where it is less likely to chip. Not sure if that would help.
No, the ALW Black is more brittle. The addition of the Beige makes it more like the FL’s Grey V3 but not as much density on thing things. Sort of looks transparent there like on supports where the FL Grey is a solid grey. But it’s still brittle on small things and will break easily if stress. I lost some fine details cutting the supports.
1 Like
That is really good to know because I am working on a product that has threads and a gear assembly and housing. Not sure if I just stick with FL clear 02.
Thanks Walter
The ALW Olive Green is flexible. It’s not solid in color, again, sort of transparent. But it’s flexible by far compared to the Black. I mixed some Black and Olive Green and got a workable finish. These all run as Tough resin in Open mode. The Black and Beige mix runs as FL Grey V3.
That might work fine then, gears can be tricky and prone to shearing and threads on SLA love to bind up so I’ll give that a whirl. Might work out better for the housing too.
I don’t worry about the color, use the parts for internal purposes and are used for either master patterns or prototype parts.
Eventually the final part will be nylon most likely.
If your having trouble with supports breaking off tiny features did you ever try a rotary tool with a cutoff wheel? I sometimes use that if the part is really delicate but it can be a little dusty. If you have a flex shaft you can wet cut the supports off. Just dunk the cut off wheel in a little water occasionally as you work. Contenti and Harborfreight both have import flexshaft units in the $50 mark and work fine.
Thanks!
My prints are products and I print 25 to 100 or more at a time. Sitting cutting stuff off with a Dremel tool is way too time consuming. That’s one thing I like about the FormLabs Grey is the supports just snap off. I usually use .35 or .40 support points and add extra so they don’t break off in printing.
Color is important to me, again, these are products. The mixture of 1 part black to 3 parts Beige renders a translucent very light grey. Seeing that they are about the same thing except for color I’m either going to try 1:1 or adding a Black resin colorant to darken and make the prints less translucent.
I’ve been reading Walter’s posts regarding the ALW resin, and I have a somewhat different opinion.
I have been using ALW beige for the last months or so, and have already gone through one bottle and I’m now on my second one. I found the beige to be much more “giving” than FormLabs Gray v2 or Gray V3. If anything, Gray v3 is very hard and brittle, and will not take even a moderate drop. It also shatters easily at the support contact, which for me, necessitated that I remove the support prior to any curing.
On the other hand, the ALW white is much more flexible and can be worked with even after some exposure to UV light. I have some models with very thin parts, that are still partially flexible yet sturdy. The same model in FL Gray v3, would have shattered by just accidentally brushing up against it.
Something else that was mentioned, was the resin mix of black and beige being translucent. I find the beige opaque, even on the supports. I have printed a few of models with 1mm walls and it would take a relatively bright light behind them to tell they are hollow, when they sit on a desk they appear quite solid and opaque. Models with 1.5mm thick walls are really opaque. I would think that adding some black to the mix would make it even more opaque, not transparent.
So is the black more brittle than the beige or is it basically the same resin but different color? Is the Olive too stretchy?
I’ll be printing out a 16 pitch acme thread external collar with a 2 part internal case with matching thread. The FL Clear02 should handle this ok at 50 micron but I know it will require some extra finishing to get the proper fit so it doesn’t stick.