Hi Everyone,
I want to share some of my tips i used all the time.
The first and i think the most important is how to set up supports in preform.
My basic setup is quite simple, i’m using less supports possible.
Why ? Because :
- it will print faster
- uses less resin
- your print looks better because of less supports marks
- you will have more chance of success ! Yes, because the suction effect will be less important. ( but i tend to add few supports in critical areas)
Basically, i put the density to his minimum, flat spacing to 6-7 and slightly increase the point size.
-It as already been spoken a lot in this forum, but don’t put your model horizontally because you will have more pressure during the peel process and the quality of the print will be low. don’t put the model totally vertically because, depending of the geometry, you could have small shift during the peel process and therefore more visible lines.
Given a slight angle is the best.
-At first i was thinking that having the shortest support near the peel side and the longest near the hinge side is the best, but i think opposite now, because you have to protect the shortest supports from the peel process, it’s better to have it near the hinge side. Pressure from the peel process won’t break the longest supports .
I think the critical part is the touch points, they are brittles and prone the break, keep it away from the peel side. Because they are the first in line, if they break all of your print will be compromise.
-i won’t talk to much about cleaning it as already been spoken a lot, i use a comb tick to remove small cured resins inside the tank, but more often the 100 micron paint strainer.
-And my last and maybe coolest tips : I usually print more often near the peel side, my resin tank tend to be more cloudy in this area, and almost clear in the peel side. Whatever, i simply inverse the resin tank, it’s working perfectly and nearly double the life of my resin tank. Maybe formlabs could put handles in the opposite side to manipulate it more easily ? 
4 Likes
I will try your settings next print
Thank you for communicating your findings. This is very interesting information.
It seems best to orient parts, especially large and tall parts, so that the longest supports are near the hinge side and shortest supports are near the peel side?
Does this also relate to the shape of the part, where the largest cross section or region of the part volume is on the peel side and the smallest/thinnest cross section is near the hinge side? I ask this because it seems to help my recent large prints. Previously, the part would have failures long the layers when oriented differently.
You might want to check out our support article which has a few tips on effective model orientation as well.
Yes it’s related to the shape too. In fact, i don’t think that there is a general rule. Big prints and small prints act differently. And depending of the shape, you will have to orient it in different way.
I don’t really know what mean “cross section” but big area for a given layer have to be the closest possible to the hinge side.
You have to take in account that it’s usually the first layers that is the more critical ( the time the build platform get out from the resin )
On the article Sam Jacoby refer to, it said that the longest supports have to be near the hinge side, but i have the feeling from all my prints that it’s the opposite …
Actually it’s true the longest supports have to be in the hinge side, but the smallest too, and i think the smallest are more prone to break because the first peel processing are strongest than the lasts and touch points are more fragile than supports. If they are near the peel side, they will break more easily.
But as you said you have to take in account the shape also, and the orientation ( i tend to orient it that less area are in “front” of the peel process, i took screenshots of a cube to show you what i’m taking, cos it’s hard to explain in english )
But again, there is not a commun rule, for exemple the quality of a print will be better for meshes facing the hinge side, so if you want the best quality sometime you don’t have the choice to orient it.
I’m open to any other suggestions or experiments because maybe i’ve not totally right.
Excellent idea about rotating the tray - one of those ‘how did I not think of that’ moments!