New digital forge 3d resin

General Discussion
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I thought it would be good to post my discovery of a new Formlabs compatible resin I started using: DFGrey by DigitalForge3D. I had been using the more expensive Formlabs GreyV4 for a long time and thought it was really quite good. But it is quite expensive for the size parts I was creating. So I always try to hunt for other 3rd party materials, actually with very little success. Often my prints don’t come out nearly as well as with the Formlabs Grey.

This has now changed. I stumbled across DigitialForge3D web site and ordered some of their new DFGrey. Before this I had used ApplyLab Works ( good but parts often deformed) resin and tried Maker Juice ( terrible!). So I wasn’t sure what to expect. I have to say after a few prints it’s just like Formlabs Grey!

I know that a lot of other Formlabs users are always looking for cheaper resin. I wanted to share my experience with this new resin as I believe this small company has finally got it just right. You have to use the printer on Open Mode ( I miss the wiper, so cool actually ) and pour it in the tray by yourself. I go beyond the little arrow just to be safe. It sticks to the build platform perfectly, and the supports are totally correct as they appear in pre-form. The material is thin enough so excess falls back in the tray easily I noticed ( much less waste ). The DigitalForge3D website makes a big deal about this on their website. They compare thick material to waste, this is very true as I’ve done a lot of printing.

Is anyone else using DFGrey? I would like to know about your experiences. They offer more discount on larger quantity. Maybe someone wants to split a pale

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Do you have any pictures and measurements of the objects? Always nice to find new working resins for this printer!

There are solutions to that. :wink:

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I have printed loads of parts, but they’re all painted just now. I’ll post some cool pics when I can of just the parts.

The DIGITALFORGE3D material is very fine so I really like using my machine at 25 micron layer with it ( the material is really great I have to say ). With the ApplyLabs material I couldn’t print at a fine resolution so I had to buy the Formlabs Grey: it was so expensive with the volume I was trying to do.

So what solutions would you suggest to negate the open mode limitations?

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Have you tried this material in the Grey mode and it failed to print?

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Yes the DF Grey that was formulated has been the best we’ve seen in regards to print success. We did try other competitors and we had a lot of failed prints, Or the material was so heavy that the VAT just emptied out even though the preform estimator showed just 80ml needed for a given part. This is especially prevalent with the ALW resin. Its just too heavy and sticky with some sort of dilutant that’s being used to grow the volume of it. It ended up costing us so much more as we needed to use double the amount the estimator showed was required. We’d remove the part and see about 1 mil to 2 mil of resin just coating the part everywhere, so sticky. There was no way to get it off and back into the VAT: what a waste. We have no idea what their adding to the formulation but you end up using a liter up way too fast.

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No not at all ( the DF Grey ) printed perfectly. Actually its all I use now. I had been using ALW resin but as I wrote above I got very frustrated with how much was wasted cause of the heavy viscosity. It is a bit cheaper I think though, that was nice but after all the waste it actually cost me more.

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Joris Peels posted a very informative article about DIGITALFORGE3D in 3D PRINT magazine ( online pub ). Folks should definitely give it a read:

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Great article. I can’t believe the quantity these guys are doing with the Form2! Amazing. I just received my first 20 liter pale of the DigitalForge3D Grey and got a great discount on it. Now I need more Form2’s :slight_smile:

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Expiration still the same about a year before it goes bad on you?

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I don’t think I saw an expiration date. Most resins (even outside the printer industry) have dates of about a year.

At least you don’t throw as much money away if you let this stuff set for a year.

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Yeah I figured it would be about the same. I’m curious about the drum for sure. But don’t know if I would have that much going on. I wish there was a way to store it so it lasted longer like vacuum seal or something and keep in the dark

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The 5 gallon buckets sound interesting.

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Let me know what they end up charging for em lol

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I don’t go through nearly enough resin to get a 5 gallon lot. Plus I can charge for the Formlabs resins when I print for others.

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The is no date on the bottle just this:

Screenshot%20from%202018-09-12%2011-57-45

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Has anyone run this stuff in an LT tank?

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Yes, I’ve run it in the LT tank in open mode. worked fine.

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Just finished my first print run with DF Grey. All the problems with edge rounding and missing overhangs that I had with Formlabs Grey V4 gone. One thing I should mention is this resin has a much stronger odor than any of the Formlabs resin I’ve tried ( that would be grey and black).

Here are some N-scale truck parts, the DF parts on the right Formlabs on the left.

Cabs
Cabs856×368 483 KB
beds
beds866×438 537 KB

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Here are some N-scale fire hydrants printed with DF resin, when I tried to print these with Formlabs Grey V4 the small spigots on either side of the hydrant were not properly formed.
Screenshot%20from%202018-09-14%2016-16-28

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I find it superior to Formlabs material as well. I am half way through an entire pale. Loving it!!!:sunglasses: AND ITS CHEAP! YA YA!