It’s the first time for me to post items here as a beginner of using Form 3 printer. Using Grey V4.1 resin, printer precision set as fastest with 1-click support generation.
I have design a jig, with upper and lower parts. The parts bite in each other by mortise and tenon. Considering the precision I have made the receiving slot 0.2mm larger in X and Y direction.
However, when I got the parts, the teeth are still unlikely to go into the slots, some are too big, also due to the surface is a bit un-flat. I cured the device as default 60 degrees 30 minutes with support on.
I have attached images of a simple frame that got both problems I mentioned, hope they explain it better.
The only few things I know is that it shouldn’t be printed purely vertical or horizontal for mechanical strength, and a little bit on cupping but I think 1-click print have them adjusted.
Just from guessing, is it due to small protrusion get bigger due to thermal expansion while slots to hold the protrusion also expand and become smaller? I usually give them offset values and do post processing like sanding to deal with this but for small holes I am struggling. Is there any better way of doing this?
Also for un-flat surfaces, as you can see in the image, I kept the support, but maybe it is due to support only on one face? But if on both faces, I guess the UV light can’t get in.
The orientation here is decent, especially if you are trying to maintain aesthetics on the outer surface with minimal post processing. With that said, the supports will nearly always distort the dimensions some, so having supports in contact with the “pins” on your joints will likely cause some distortion. Ideally you can find an orientation that will leave the pins free of supports. The prints can handle some cupping; in fact there is a cup mitigation feature in the print settings editor that can further help at the expense of some print speed.
SLA has isotropic mechanical properties when printed so you don’t need to worry as much about that when orientating parts. I would also make sure you follow FL’s recommendations on wash time and allow the part to dry prior to curing to make sure you don’t cure in any swelling from IPA exposure.
Typically I have found that auto-supporting uses too large of touch tips. You could also try bumping them down 0.1-0.15mm and seeing how that goes.
I may try alter the settings on support next time, smaller tips away from “pins”.
I always leave the item to be dried for a day, or at least hours. However, I still suffer from the bent, un-flat surface. It became much less obvious after I tried other’s suggestion to keep the support during curing, but can’t be 100% eliminated which annoyed me. The lid from the thing I previously attached is in a curve after curing at 60 degree C 30 min. Could you please advise any tricks on this? I used AI that suggested to do double curing time with heater off, which I am not convinced.
Sorry to hear you’re having issues! As a beginner user, I would definitely urge you to contact our Support team by opening a case here. Please provide all the details of your issue, as well as the .form-file. My colleagues can help set you up for success, they can also help you check whether everything’s working well with your printer’s optics and nothing contributes to print inaccuracy.
Are you curing with the supports still attached? High aspect ratio parts or parts with thin walls (which it looks like you have) can benefit from curing with supports attached to help maintain the profile of the part. I would also leave the parts in the cure station without opening it to cool off as slow as possible. With that said, no heat is the best option if the mechanical property hit is acceptable.
Also I just noticed that the tops of the pins and holes on your part don’t have chamfers. This would definitely help insertion.
Thank you once again for your support and patience.
That’s a very fair point to let it cool slowly. As my friend told me to straight open the lid after curing which may cause the issue.
