Has anyone created a small chamber/enclosure to control the local environmental temperature for the Form1? I work with a 3D Systems Viper, and the environmental temperature is carefully controlled. The resin manufacturers claim a strong relation between the environmental temperature and green strength, and we cranked the temperature up to 30C.
I’ve had very mixed results with my Form1, with more than my share of print failures. I’m wondering if increasing the environmental temperature will increase my print success rate, as I’ve seen others claim. Rather than controlling the temperature of an entire room, I’m thinking of creating an “enclosure” that encompasses the Form1, but not much bigger. Has anyone done this, and if so what did you use as a heating mechanism and temperature sensor to control the heater? You can go low-tech with a hair dryer and no temperature sensor, but I’d like to be a little more scientific about it. I figure there’s no need to reinvent the wheel if someone has already gone through the exercise.
Thanks,
Rob
Hey Rob,
You can try it, but I bet you will so no difference at all. The 3d systems SLA is an upside down system. Meaning viscosity plays a big role in how well the process works. Temperature can affect viscosity of some resins, thus they are controlling it to yield optimum results. The form1 doesn’t work that way, therefore temperature of the resin doesn’t make a difference.
I have "heated enclosure"on the list. Currently I keep my shop heated to ~80F. I’ve found the resin cures much better when it’s kept warm. A thermostat and insulated box are next on the list, as I don’t want to keep wasting electricity heating the whole shop. I’m guessing the laser would perform better in a cooler environment. It would be a bit more involved to heat the resin tank directly or the air inside the cover, and add a fan to cool the electronics, but I’m guessing that would improve the reliability of the unit for people printing chunky parts.
Best of luck to you. Let us know what you try and how it works.
-Andy Hudson
You definitely don’t want to be below their minimum rating (64 or 68 F I think.) The resin gets pretty thick and I had problems in a room that was around 60F.