Printer Go Brrrrrrrrt
Hi everyone, I hope you all have been doing some productive hobby recently!
I’ve had a couple of questions about my 3D printer, setup and preferred resins - so I thought I’d share it here for everyone.
I should start by saying that I have quite a modest setup. Outside of the actual printer and resin, all my tools and equipment is nothing special and is generally made up of repurposed/recycled common household items. And it goes without saying that I use PPE while handling this stuff, especially rubber gloves.
Software:
I only use Lychee. With the most recent version, the autosupports tool is really intuitive and I generally only need to add a few more supports here and there manually in order to ensure extra strength when printing.
Printer:
Phrozen Sonic 8K Mini S. Super easy to setup and troubleshoot with Phrozen’s support and Youtube tutorials. The build quality is excellent and I’ve had no issues with hardware in the two years I’ve had it. Compared to other models it is on the smaller side, but you can easily print 10 marines on the build plate, and with the 8k resolution, prints end up really high fidelity.
Resin:
I only use the original Phrozen 8k resin (grey, vanilla or clay preferred). I have experimented with other offerings from Phrozen such as the Hyperfine Resin, but I found I wasn’t yielding the results I was 100% happy with. Phrozen resin tends to be one of the most expensive on the market, however I wait until it’s on sale on Amazon and load up. The cheapest I’ve bought is approx $50AUD per litre.
Washing Up & Curing:
I use 99% pure Isopropyl for cleaning prints. I submerge the prints into a tupperware container, give them a good slosh around with the lid on and then clean them thoroughly with an old toothbrush. Once washed, I separate them and wait 24hrs for them to air-dry. After this, I stick them outside in direct sunlight for approx 10mins a side. A hand held UV light works too.
Troubleshooting:
Much like getting into airbrushing for the first time, printing has a steep learning curve! It can be frustrating at times, especially when waiting hours upon hours only to find your print has failed and you need to clean it out and go again. A really helpful resource and FAQ I found was this website here: https://adonaelresinprinting.weebly.com/
It’s got pretty much everything you need, and it’s easy to read and follow.
If you have any other queries about printing that I haven’t covered, please let me know.
If you are still on the fence about investing in a printer I hope this is encouraging for you. It’s been two years since I started printing, and it’s completely revolutionised the whole way I approach most hobby projects. From a creativity, flexibility and cost-effective aspect, it has paid itself back several times over!
That’s it for now, I’m off to build some more Dark Elves for The Old World.
- Adam