# New digital forge 3d resin

**URL:** <https://forum.formlabs.com/t/new-digital-forge-3d-resin/20029>\
**Category:** General Discussion\
**Created:** [August 13, 2018, 8:49am UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/new-digital-forge-3d-resin/20029 "2018-08-13T08:49:16Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![vilija1024](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c57346/32.png) [@vilija1024](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/vilija1024)\
**Post date:** [August 13, 2018, 8:49am UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/new-digital-forge-3d-resin/20029/1 "2018-08-13T08:49:16Z")

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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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**Author:** ![fantasy2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e4f/32.png) [@fantasy2](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/fantasy2)\
**Post date:** [August 14, 2018, 9:28am UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/new-digital-forge-3d-resin/20029/2 "2018-08-14T09:28:03Z")

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

> [@](#):
>
> You have to use the printer on Open Mode ( I miss the wiper, so cool actually ) and pour it in the tray by yourself.

There are solutions to that. 😉

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**Author:** ![vilija1024](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c57346/32.png) [@vilija1024](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/vilija1024)\
**Post date:** [August 14, 2018, 7:31pm UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/new-digital-forge-3d-resin/20029/3 "2018-08-14T19:31:05Z")

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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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**Author:** ![sKempshall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@sKempshall](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/sKempshall)\
**Post date:** [August 16, 2018, 6:13pm UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/new-digital-forge-3d-resin/20029/4 "2018-08-16T18:13:23Z")

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

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**Author:** ![oberst3221](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/aca169/32.png) [@oberst3221](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/oberst3221)\
**Post date:** [August 17, 2018, 7:42pm UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/new-digital-forge-3d-resin/20029/5 "2018-08-17T19:42:21Z")

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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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**Author:** ![vilija1024](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c57346/32.png) [@vilija1024](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/vilija1024)\
**Post date:** [August 19, 2018, 9:30pm UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/new-digital-forge-3d-resin/20029/6 "2018-08-19T21:30:56Z")

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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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**Author:** ![oberst3221](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/aca169/32.png) [@oberst3221](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/oberst3221)\
**Post date:** [August 22, 2018, 12:17am UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/new-digital-forge-3d-resin/20029/7 "2018-08-22T00:17:41Z")

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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:

> **[A Miniature Company is Now Selling 3D Printer Resin for Formlabs Printers](https://3dprint.com/222494/miniature-company-resin-formlabs/)**
>
> Lately, I've been super intrigued by the open and closed ecosystems in 3D Printing. On the one hand, you have very top-down arrangements that Stratasys, 3D Systems, and Formlabs have where everything is very Apple-like.

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**Author:** ![vilija1024](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c57346/32.png) [@vilija1024](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/vilija1024)\
**Post date:** [August 23, 2018, 4:28pm UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/new-digital-forge-3d-resin/20029/8 "2018-08-23T16:28:44Z")

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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 🙂

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**Author:** ![gholson2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/eb8c5e/32.png) [@gholson2](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/gholson2)\
**Post date:** [August 29, 2018, 4:23am UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/new-digital-forge-3d-resin/20029/9 "2018-08-29T04:23:35Z")

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> [@oberst3221](#):
>
> A Miniature Company is Now Selling 3D Printer Resin for Formlabs Printers

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

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**Author:** ![FredB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@FredB](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/FredB)\
**Post date:** [August 29, 2018, 11:51am UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/new-digital-forge-3d-resin/20029/10 "2018-08-29T11:51:58Z")

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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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**Author:** ![gholson2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/eb8c5e/32.png) [@gholson2](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/gholson2)\
**Post date:** [August 29, 2018, 3:05pm UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/new-digital-forge-3d-resin/20029/11 "2018-08-29T15:05:18Z")

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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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**Author:** ![FredB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@FredB](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/FredB)\
**Post date:** [August 29, 2018, 6:43pm UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/new-digital-forge-3d-resin/20029/12 "2018-08-29T18:43:51Z")

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The 5 gallon buckets sound interesting.

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**Author:** ![gholson2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/eb8c5e/32.png) [@gholson2](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/gholson2)\
**Post date:** [August 30, 2018, 11:56pm UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/new-digital-forge-3d-resin/20029/13 "2018-08-30T23:56:07Z")

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Let me know what they end up charging for em lol

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**Author:** ![FredB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@FredB](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/FredB)\
**Post date:** [August 31, 2018, 12:59pm UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/new-digital-forge-3d-resin/20029/14 "2018-08-31T12:59:54Z")

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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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**Author:** ![eaelec](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/13edae/32.png) [@eaelec](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/eaelec)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2018, 2:59pm UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/new-digital-forge-3d-resin/20029/15 "2018-09-12T14:59:03Z")

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The is no date on the bottle just this:

![Screenshot%20from%202018-09-12%2011-57-45](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/uploads/formlabs/original/2X/e/ee02888b56b479eb2675f6f6573d90fc95f81e86.png)

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**Author:** ![sigmazero](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/forum.formlabs.com/sigmazero/32/9684_2.png) [@sigmazero](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/sigmazero)\
**Post date:** [September 13, 2018, 7:31pm UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/new-digital-forge-3d-resin/20029/16 "2018-09-13T19:31:14Z")

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Has anyone run this stuff in an LT tank?

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**Author:** ![FredB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@FredB](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/FredB)\
**Post date:** [September 13, 2018, 7:35pm UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/new-digital-forge-3d-resin/20029/17 "2018-09-13T19:35:00Z")

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

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**Author:** ![eaelec](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/13edae/32.png) [@eaelec](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/eaelec)\
**Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 7:12pm UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/new-digital-forge-3d-resin/20029/19 "2018-09-14T19:12:33Z")

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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](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/uploads/formlabs/original/2X/e/ee262ff8c086c72025b7c32cf9c15736b4443e9b.png) ![beds](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/uploads/formlabs/original/2X/b/b02d40d1a8362a8fae3517a8cfefd69ccdf3b11d.png)

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**Author:** ![eaelec](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/13edae/32.png) [@eaelec](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/eaelec)\
**Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 7:16pm UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/new-digital-forge-3d-resin/20029/20 "2018-09-14T19:16:54Z")

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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](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/uploads/formlabs/original/2X/8/81e64be7a38f9a38d9f1c505aa338732c9459136.png)

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![vilija1024](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c57346/32.png) [@vilija1024](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/vilija1024)\
**Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 9:36pm UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/new-digital-forge-3d-resin/20029/21 "2018-09-14T21:36:33Z")

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

[Next page](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/new-digital-forge-3d-resin/20029.md?page=2)
