First time trying the Rigid Resin. I see Formlabs recommends post curing 80C for 15 minutes. I have a Curebox but 60C is the highest temp it reaches. Others who have tried the Rigid, do you actually (somehow) post cure it at 80C or do you find post curing it at a lower temperature works okay (like 60C)? Any suggestions / alternatives for post curing at 80C?
Thanks
Formlabs’ Form Cure goes up to 80°C, however it does take some time. There is a kinda old pdf file from Formlabs demonstrating that temperature does play an important role in increasing the mechanical properties, but Rigid wasn’t available when this way released so there’s no data for this resin. I have not tested Rigid parts post-cured at 60°C though…
If you do manage to get it up to 80 C, you need to let it cool down REALLY SLOWLY, otherwise the parts will warp. Ask me how I know…
thanks for the feedback. I tried curing it at 60C. As mentioned, first time I’m trying the Rigid Resin. The parts were for a flex clutch. The arms snapped off soon as I tried it. So maybe rigid is not the resin for this particular application. I usually use Durable for something like this… but thought I’d try the Rigid. Stuff sure is brittle… not sure if that is due to it curing at 60C instead of 80C… but from what I’ve read, the Rigid just seems brittle.
rigid is rigid
That implies a certain brittleness… more likley to crack than bend.
It is also Glass Filled- that means it has a fine grit suspended in the materiel that can prevent or complicate the long chain polymers that add elastic strength from forming.
But that fill also significantly reduces shrinkage, and that reduced warpage.
What it is Great for is objects that you want to Stay the same shape you printed them to be.
Thin walled structures that don’t come out warped.
For something called a “flex clutch” it sounds like you need some flex- and some abrasion resistance.
Durable is flexible, and unlikely to snap. You might also try Tough resin, which we use for things like Clamps, Knobs, and bushings.