Questions for EDU setup

General Discussion
1

Greetings everyone- I’m new here and this is my first post.
I will soon be ordering a 4L for use in a community college make type space. We already have 12 Prusa filament printers and a Stratasys F370. This printer will probably become a workhorse for us and I’ll be ordering it after July 1 (grant funding timing, not mine). I’ve done my due diligence and think I’ve got all the equipment/accessories/materials in my grant or order quotes, but there are a few issues I’m still trying to figure out.

  1. Mixer paddles. We’ll start with a total of 4 resin tanks. Our quote only comes with a total of 2 mixer paddles. Should I order a mixer paddle for each tank and do they store in the tanks without any problem? Ideally I want to be able to easily swap out tanks for different printing needs. We’ll just use white, grey, black, and clear resins in the 5L bottles for now along with pumps…which brings me to the next item.
  2. Resin Pumps. We’ll only have two, but i’m ordering 7 pump maintenance kits to allow us to swap out materials easily. Is there a lot of wasted material that gets lost in the swapping out of the pump lines? Once used, can the lines be cleaned and used again or is there buildup of residue that requires tossing them? Do you clean such items by placing them in the Wash L?
  3. Color Resins. I see that there are pigments that can be purchased to tint the resin “Color Base” material. But everything I see for that does not mention the 4L, only the 4. Is there a color pigment tinting option available for the 4L system?
  4. Air Quality. We’re charged with our Enviornmental Health and Safety team with making sure we do our best to not have students and staff in toxic spaces. I’d like to provide outside venting for the 4L and the Wash L. I see there’s a small vent outlet on the back of the 4L, but I don’t see anyone ever using it. Is there an adapter for it or do I design/fab something myself? How about the Wash L, how might it be vented? We’ll be using the Formlabs Wash (non-flammable and low odor) so that’s a plus but I KNOW our EHS team will want it vented. (Does it seal pretty well when the lid is closed???) What about the Cure? Does it outgas much in the curing process and if so, is there a venting outlet on it?

That’s it for now- but expect more as time goes by from me!

Robert

1 Like
2

Thanks for sharing your questions @Grandmaison!

  1. Mixer Paddles: For convenience, we recommend having one Resin Mixer for each Resin Tank. At the least, we recommend one per material, as it will be submerged in the material.

  2. Resin Pumps: We recommend one tubing system per material. I see your point about waste in the pump. The small bit left could likely be pushed out with a syringe and potentially cleaned out by pushing IPA through the channel, but again, we do recommend one tube per material. General rule of thumb for the Resin Pumping System tubing is that it must be changed out every 6 months.

  3. Color Resins: Good news, yes that color base system is available for 4L. Anything available for Form 4 is available for Form 4L, as all materials that work for Form 4 also work for 4L, as the 4L just uses 2 cartridges of the same resin that the Form 4 uses. For any compatibility info, make sure you check the “compatibility” section of our product pages.

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  4. Air Quality: Using the Form Wash is a great step to removing the volatility and fumes of traditional Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA). You’ll find air quality considerations, protocols and tips for setting up your 4L in this documentation Safety with Formlabs Resin Products.

Also, one of our favorite resources for new and current customers (I can always use a refresh!) is “Getting Started with the Form 4L” in our Support area

hope this helps!