[Molbot]

#901 |

Hi All,

how do you treat your print-outs before post-curing them? We’re making chips with little channels (that are often still partially full of uncured resin after the print) and now flush them with air and then water before we cure them.

I had tried ethanol and 2-propanol but found those too aggressive – they would dissolve/pit the cured resin.

What have you tried?

Cheers!

[maesebit]

#902 |

I use ethanol and it works well for me. I use slightly longer exposure times in the printing proccess than those recommended by the Miicraft crew, so maybe is because of this that my patterns are not spoiled by the ethanol.

[bottenus]

#1204 |

Molbot,

Did you find an effective strategy to treat your print-outs before post-cure?  We are having similar issues.  Thanks in advance

[chiphydes]

#1286 |

Molbot & maesebit & bottenus,

Sorry it took so long to get in on this thread.

I do the following post cure procedure:

1. I remove the stage with product and place into a container.

2. I then fill the container with isopropyl alcohol until the design and stage are covered.

3. I gently swish the container with contents around. This tends to loosen liquid resin.

Note 1: Prior to using the ultrasonic cleaner I run it for 3 minutes to degas the water. This allows the water to work perfectly.

Note 2: Ultrasonic cleaners and isopropyl alcohol can produce a highly explosive gas. No sparking electronic/electrical device nearby. No open flame. I run an exhaust fan when the ultrasonic cleaning is going on. If you don’t have an exhaust fan, use a regular fan to blow air over the ultrasonic cleaner towards a window.

4. I then place the container into an ultrasonic cleaner filled with water and run it for about 60 to 90 seconds. I have run it for as long as 3 minutes, but 60 to 90 seconds works for me.

5. I remove the container and contents and gently swish the alcohol in the container again.

6. I drain off the isopropyl alcohol (heavily saturated with resin) from the container into a 2nd container.

7. I then wash the the stage and content with ambient temperature water using a gentle spray. I do this until I don’t see any more liquid resin.

8. Finally, I gently dry the stage and design using a can of air (keyboard cleaner).

9. At this point I place the stage in the ultrasonic side of the machine and start the final post cure process.

10. Finally, I place the second container with the used alcohol/resin outside in the sun to dry out so I can dispose the used resin legally.

On a second note, I only run the exposure times as suggested. The MiiCraft support team informed me that exposing too long can cause the resin to swell.

I hope all this is of some use to somebody.

I don’t have the time to be on the forum all the time so if you ask a question, I might not get back to you for some time. Please be patient.

On a third note, can the person who runs the forum clean up threads with unrelated junk. What a complete waste of time.