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3D resin printers - do they smell ?


Thomas Lund

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Hi guys

 

I've heard conflicting opinions on this... do resin printers smell ? 

 

The thing is that in my current house setup, my man cave build room is the only place suitable for a printer, and it's right next to my (and the wife's) bedroom. I just know the amount of noise it will generate if I get one and it stinks up the place...

 

I know about the IPA for cleaning, and that doesn't bother me too much. Use a lot of IPA with no complaints...

 

So what's your experience ?

 

Thomas

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So having just set up and run my 3D printer for the first time yesterday, I can categorically say that they stink! Or at least, the resin I used in mine did. I'm about to place an order for the little filter that Elegoo makes to fit inside the hood and absorb the smell. Apparently they work quite well.

 

Kev

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The smell is dependant upon the brand/type of resin.  I may be "one-of-a-kind" here but I have the Elegoo Mars and use their brand of resin and to me, it doesn't smell at all, especially if you leave the cover on the machine while it's working.  Its not odorless but it doesn't create an offensive smell either.  I'm going to be dumping the Isopropyl alcohol cleaning and am transitioning to water washable resin.  I haven't used it yet but all reports say that it's better than the IPA cleaning resins and you don't have to worry about disposing of the alcohol when it becomes saturated.  Even so, you can just leave the alcohol tub outside in the sun and it will eventually cure all the resin in suspension until it precipitates out at the bottom, then you can safely filter the alcohol and dispose of the cured resin.  That process does take awhile though.  I also have the Elegoo cleaning and curing station which works very nicely.

Edited by Juggernut
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7 hours ago, Juggernut said:

The smell is dependant upon the brand/type of resin.  I may be "one-of-a-kind" here but I have the Elegoo Mars and use their brand of resin and to me, it doesn't smell at all, especially if you leave the cover on the machine while it's working.  Its not odorless but it doesn't create an offensive smell either.  I'm going to be dumping the Isopropyl alcohol cleaning and am transitioning to water washable resin.  I haven't used it yet but all reports say that it's better than the IPA cleaning resins and you don't have to worry about disposing of the alcohol when it becomes saturated.  Even so, you can just leave the alcohol tub outside in the sun and it will eventually cure all the resin in suspension until it precipitates out at the bottom, then you can safely filter the alcohol and dispose of the cured resin.  That process does take awhile though.  I also have the Elegoo cleaning and curing station which works very nicely.

 

I'll be interested to see how you get on with the water-washable resin. There must be a trade-off somewhere, or the entire industry would have flipped to it already. The only bottle of resin I have so far is Elegoo-branded, and is simply labelled "ABS-like Photopolymer Resin". The smell was pretty strong, though not as offensive as lacquer paints, for example.

 

Kev

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I don't mind the smell at all.  I'm using the standard Elegoo grey resin.  

 

I tried the water washable stuff and didn't find any advantage to using it.  It takes a lot of water to clean the part off, and you're not supposed to pour the used water into the sewer.  I found the IPA-washable stuff cleans more readily.

 

I keep the printer in my office in the Winter, and as son as the temperature outside gets to 75F or so in the Spring I move it out into the garage.

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These just arrived:

 

3w0mMO.jpg

 

I'll try another test print soon, and report back on their efficacy. Luckily they're pretty cheap (I paid AU$40 with free next-day delivery on Amazon), so I don't feel I've wasted a ton of cash if they don't work that well.

 

Can anyone recommend a good source for pre-supported STL files for a rookie like me? I really have no interest in printing Elegoo's test pieces again.

 

Kev

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On 6/2/2022 at 6:50 AM, Juggernut said:

The smell is dependant upon the brand/type of resin.  I may be "one-of-a-kind" here but I have the Elegoo Mars and use their brand of resin and to me, it doesn't smell at all, especially if you leave the cover on the machine while it's working.  Its not odorless but it doesn't create an offensive smell either.  I'm going to be dumping the Isopropyl alcohol cleaning and am transitioning to water washable resin.  I haven't used it yet but all reports say that it's better than the IPA cleaning resins and you don't have to worry about disposing of the alcohol when it becomes saturated.  Even so, you can just leave the alcohol tub outside in the sun and it will eventually cure all the resin in suspension until it precipitates out at the bottom, then you can safely filter the alcohol and dispose of the cured resin.  That process does take awhile though.  I also have the Elegoo cleaning and curing station which works very nicely.

+ 1. Smell varies a lot with the type of resin. The green one it came with stunk bad, but the gray one I use now doesn't, both are from Anycubic. I just set the printer in my paint hood and run it while printing, problem solved.

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@BiggTimm If I may, which gray resin are you using? From your comment, I'm assuming when my first batch of resin comes it'll probably be that green stuff that you mention. I just clicked 'Resin' when I ordered the printer. :whistle:

 

Thanks

Dave

 

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23 minutes ago, denders said:

@BiggTimm If I may, which gray resin are you using? From your comment, I'm assuming when my first batch of resin comes it'll probably be that green stuff that you mention. I just clicked 'Resin' when I ordered the printer. :whistle:

 

Thanks

Dave

 

It's a pretty good bet they'll just send you whatever they have lots of - in my case it was Anycubic "green" 250g, but it could be anything. The green in translucent, and prints very nicely, but as I said it's pretty smelly. I have since bought a couple of 500ml bottles of Anycubic "grey", which is more opaque, and far less stinky. Link to the grey on Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/ANYCUBIC-UV-Curing-Precision-Excellent-Fluidity/dp/B07G3663HD/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=3V93UJ83M5BXV&keywords=anycubic%2Bgrey%2Bresin&qid=1654459017&sprefix=anycubic%2Bgrey%2Bresin%2Caps%2C236&sr=8-1-spons&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzTVlUUko2SDdVV1VLJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNzI0MTA0MjVJWkJNQVVZTEFBUSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNzI5NzQ5NTRRRURaQ1FDVzZQJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ&th=1

 

I also have a bottle of Nova3D "clear blue", but I have yet to test it out. Reviews seem to indicate it works well with this printer, and it does not smell as bad as the green did. Link: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07WKM55HL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

If you need some ideas on a curing box, I used the white foam packaging from the printer and lined it with these: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07K6BK639/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1. Works perfectly and is quite cheap.

 

Hope that helps!

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Tim,

 

Thanks. I'll check out the basic gray. I purchased a wash/cure station while I was spending money.

 

I was also looking on their web site and wondering about the DLP Craftsman Resin too.

 

I'll see what I receive and probably purchase more resin to check out some of the other choices.

 

I've already got my first job. My grandson (7) has a project that one of the parts has broken and another has gone missing. But "you've got a 3D printer, you can make the parts for me." Oh the faith! :coolio:

 

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