Rigid Impresses

#1

So I have been running my first liter of Rigid resin… and I have to say I am extremely impressed with the results thus far.

This print is essentially as big a thing as will fit in the Form2 print volume, and a challenge because of its 1.5mm wall thicknesses, and its long dead flat and dead straight sides.

For dimensional accuracy I printed it at 0.1 layer height.

You can see the shadow ribbing inside… those 1.5mm ribs stick out only 4mm inside the exterior wall.
its hard to tell in the pictures… but the bottom edge is NOT parallel to the build plate- I canted it about 2 degrees just so I would not be printing the entire length of that edge at once- but would build up length over time to reduce the chances of warpage. Printing similar models in durable and tough resulted in wavy walls between the ribbing. None of that evident in this print fresh from the printer.

For all intents and purposes, this is as close to a perfect print as I have seen. the edges are dead straight, flat surfaces dead flat showing only the periodic patterning of the layers that comes from the mathematical moire rounding of this particular incline of 0.1mm steps with the stepover size of the laser.

The real question will be how much it warps from post cure- i’ll post later with those results.

I Like the color better than the white- or the durable. Its solid enough to appear white but has a slight depth that makes for a good analog to injection molded parts in white Polypropylene or nylon.

Rigid also has a good hefty feel to it- heavier than the other resins because of the glass fill.
Cross your fingers that post cure doesn’t warp it all to hell.

one weird thing, tho- I have noticed that unlike the other resins, when I go to wipe down the build plate with ISP after getting the print off- it turns the paper towel BLACK. I rub and rub and rub- and the paper towels keep coming up black- it takes a lot of cleaning of the platform to get the otherwise invisible black stuff off the platform.

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#2

The Rigid prints I’ve done seem to have very little warpage in post cure.

I’ve noticed the grey transfer from the build plate also. My guess is that it slightly corrodes or oxidizes the surface. I lean it a little and let it go. Never had a problem with adhesion.

#3

I printed a smaller version of this same basic shape- and cut off the supports before post curing… I got some noticable warping.

I printed the file again and post cured with the supports still in place ( tho removed from the build plate ) and the warpage was almost imperceptible.
I’m gonna try and shoehorn this into the CureBox with supports on- even tho it will have to lay on its side… and hope for the best… but the straight edges really are 7 full inches long… so its gonna be a real test.

#4

Couldn’t put it better myself. I have not been through a full liter yet but I have the same impression : incredible reliability even at low wall thickness, minimal warping (I always cure with the supports so I wouldn’t know how this resin behaves without).

I also especially love the color and final aspect of the parts. The mat white hides the layer lines very well, and even at 0.1mm layer height it’s hard to tell it’s a 3D printed part from 50cm away.

#5

Update- post curing the part with supports on resulted in a very stable print. Cure induced Warpage was insignificant.

Rigid may well be worth investing in a second wash station for.

#6

Why a second wash station for?

#7

You don’t want to wash rigid prints in the same IPA tanks you rinse other resins in. Rigid has a glass powder filler, and when washing off rigid prints some of that glass powder will get in the tank. When you go to wash some other resin part in the same tank some of that glass powder might get stuck to your part and then get post cured in, leaving a gritty texture- or scratching the finish when you try to polish it.

for now I have a tupperware bucket I am using for washing rigid prints- but rigid might become one of my Go To resins given the dimensional accuracy it achieves- in which case I’ll spring for a second full wash station.

#8

Wow pretty interesting… and more expensive this is getting lol

#9

you can use a tin can, if you want…
the tupperware works fine, too and cost 9 bucks.

#10

I haven’t had problems mixing the wash for any of the resins including rigid but the glass reinforcement is something to keep in mind.

I’m washing manually the old way for all resins in one tank.

#11

Same here, haven’t had any issues although I have only been washing Tough, Grey Pro and Durable since I started using Rigid. I read that Black might show white particles on it when getting out of the IPA.

Using Form Wash btw.

#12

I’m coming late to this, but I have several comments.

First, I suspect that the black coming off the build platform is very much like the black you get off of almost any aluminum, if you wet sand it. The fine glass particles are acting like fine sandpaper.

I really like how Rigid prints come out, but when using it for threaded parts, the grit becomes an issue that you have to work around.

Being one of those engineers who seldom reads instructions, I was not aware of the separate wash recommendation. Sooo, I last printed with Rigid 6 weeks or so ago and washed the in the Form Wash like everything else. In the last several days I’ve printed and washed four fairly large parts in Black V4 with large flat surfaces (trying to replicate the look of black ABS. So far they’ve all come out great, black with no snow noticed. Maybe the grit settled to the bottom and isn’t sucked up by the pump?

After having good results with my first two black prints, I did a little surfing here and found that many seemed to have issues with Black V4. FWIW, my parts are coming out great. Four down and eight more to go, each is about a 6 hour print. After the Patents are granted, I’ll post some images. :slightly_smiling_face:

Scamp (It’s a '71 Big Block)