How To Succeed with LayerLock SLA Resin 3D Printing Construct Surfaces

Like FDM 3D printing, guaranteeing a printed half sticks to an SLA machine’s construct plate is important to profitable resin 3D printing. Robust mattress adhesion is very essential when printing with resin resulting from a big majority of SLA machines favoring the stereolithography methodology of producing a print that’s hanging the wrong way up. Add on the truth that SLA printing includes some suction between the print and a further floor–an FEP movie–and now there’s one other issue that may have an effect on the print’s attachment to the construct plate.

With gravity pulling in your hanging print and the additional pulling power occurring from an FEP movie (if it is not hooked up excellent), it is no marvel that customers strongly recommend printing on a construct floor with a texture that the resin can maintain onto. Most, if not all, resin 3D printers include a textured construct platform proper out of the field. Nevertheless, over time, the crevices in that texture naturally get stuffed up by resin after a few Liters. It is then really helpful to sand the construct platform to breed a few of that texture.

Understandably, the intestine response to listening to you could take sandpaper to your machine that prices tons of of {dollars} is not nice. So what’s an alternate choice to protect the integrity of your construct platform whereas nonetheless ensuring these prints stick with it? Enter LayerLock SLA Resin 3D Printing Construct Floor–a improbable answer to attaining sturdy mattress adhesion for Laser, DLP, and LCD/MSLA resins. This construct floor is manufactured from phenolic-like materials that gives the mandatory texture that resins can maintain onto. As a substitute of scratching up the construct platform, you possibly can take the sunshine 220g sandpaper supplied with each LayerLock SLA sheet to this LayerLock floor as a substitute, preserving your construct platform pristine of any sanding. Efficiently produce the attractive intricate elements made out of many common supplies reminiscent of Peopoly Phenom Deft, AnyCubic UV Resin, Siraya Tech, MatterHackers’ MH Construct Epoxy-Free Photopolymer Resins, and lots of extra with LayerLock SLA Resin 3D Printing Construct Floor.

Set up for Varied Printers/Strategies

Set up of LayerLock SLA Resin 3D Printing Construct Surfaces is pretty straightforward, but additionally essential for profitable digital fabrication. Take a look at the steps under on learn how to correctly set up this sheet onto printers just like the AnyCubic Photon, Elegoo Mars Professional 2, Peopoly Phenom L, Creality LD-002H, and extra.

Don’t personal one in all our LayerLock SLA construct surfaces? Take a look at the sizes we have now in inventory for numerous resin 3D printers right here.

Step 1 – Verify Placement on LCD Display screen

• Clear off any mud, resin, and particles which will nonetheless be in your LCD display.
• Earlier than making an attempt to connect the LayerLock SLA sheet onto the construct platform, we suggest you place it in your printer’s LCD display.
  • This ensures you might have the proper dimension on your SLA printer and that the sheet attaches to the proper spot in your construct platform.

Observe: After attaching the sheet onto the construct plate in Step 4, you’ll discover that the sheet doesn’t cowl the whole construct platform. That is intentional as some resin 3D printers use thick tape to carry the LCD display and a bit bit of 1 fringe of the construct platform lays over it. This will often trigger uneven mattress leveling–a contributor to poor mattress adhesion. Some printers might have extra exaggerated points than others.

By sizing the LayerLock sheet to the LCD display somewhat than the construct platform, not solely does this resolve the difficulty detailed above, it additionally ensures that you’re nonetheless maximizing the whole print space so no print quantity is misplaced.

Step 2 – Sand Construct Sheet Floor

• When you’re happy with placement and compatibility, seize your LayerLock SLA sheet and evenly and evenly sand the floor that can be printed on. It’s the aspect that doesn’t have the tan adhesive liner.
  • Use the 220g 3″ x 3″ piece of sandpaper supplied together with your construct sheet.
  • Observe that it is vital to sand the floor earlier than first-time use. Should you print with out sanding it beforehand, it’ll have an effect on the effectiveness of the adhesion between the sheet and printing materials.
• When you end sanding, use isopropyl alcohol on a paper towel or microfiber fabric to wipe away the mud accrued on the sheet till clear.

Step 3 – Pull Off the Adhesive Liner

• When you’re happy with placement and compatibility, seize your LayerLock SLA sheet and take away the adhesive liner on the again of it.
  • Keep away from having your fingers contact the now revealed adhesive.
• With the adhesive aspect dealing with up in the direction of the construct platform and away from the LCD display, place the LayerLock construct sheet again on the LCD display.
  • Ensure that to line up the sting of the SLA sheet towards the sides of the tape/LCD display.
• As soon as aligned, proceed to step 3.

Step 4 – Prep Construct Plate

• Ensure that your construct platform/construct plate has texture on it. Should you do not see or cannot really feel any texture on it, you have to to scuff it up a bit with sandpaper. If the floor is totally easy, then adhesive won’t stick with it.
• As soon as you have confirmed there’s texture in your construct platform/plate, seize a paper towel and pour some isopropyl alcohol (ideally with an IPA of 90%+) on it.
• Use that paper towel to wipe down the floor of the construct plate you can be attaching your sheet to.
  • LayerLock SLA Construct Surfaces could be hooked up to construct platforms and versatile spring metal plates.
• Clear the floor till there isn’t any mud, particles, or resin on it.

• Observe: If you’re attaching a magnetic base in tandem with a LayerLock sheet, comply with all the magnetic base’s pointers for putting in their system on a machine earlier than making an attempt to calibrate your resin 3D printer with a brand new construct floor.
  • Some machines require a brand new Z cease spacer to be put in earlier than calibrating. Please set up these new spacers as they’ll permit sufficient play to soundly modify your printer’s construct platform.
  • The next printers want a brand new Z cease spacer if putting in a magnetic base system:
    • Photon
    • Photon S
    • Photon Mono X
    • Elegoo Mars 2 / Professional 2
    • Elegoo Saturn
      *Observe that this checklist includes machines that LayerLock SLA has suitable sizes for accessible magnetic base methods. Should you resolve so as to add a magnetic base system and LayerLock SLA sheet to an incompatible printer or unlisted suitable printer, you have to to find out if a brand new spacer can be wanted to account for the extra Z top.
• Reattach the construct platform again onto the resin printer.
• Loosen all leveling screws till the construct platform can freely modify up and down.
• Ensure that the LayerLock SLA sheet didn’t transfer from its place throughout this step. If it did, realign the sides of the LayerLock sheet in step with the sides of the tape/fringe of the LCD display.

Step 5 – Connect LayerLock SLA Construct Floor

• Once more, in case you are putting in the magnetic base system on the similar time you are putting in a LayerLock construct floor, please be sure you adopted the magnetic base’s directions for set up earlier than continuing additional.
• Together with your LayerLock SLA sheet completely positioned on the LCD Display screen inside the tape, transfer your Z to the house place.
  • To maneuver your Z to the house place, comply with your particular resin printer’s directions.
  • As your Z strikes to the house place, don’t modify something till it finishes the homing course of.

• As soon as the printer finishes homing, apply gentle strain on the construct platform down towards the LCD display. The quantity of strain try to be utilizing needs to be the equal strain you utilize to maintain the construct platform leveled towards the LCD display as you tighten the leveling screws.

Step 6 – Verify the Edges Caught to the Plate

• Increase the Z top in your construct platform excessive sufficient to the place you possibly can safely detach it from the printer with out it hitting the LCD display.
• Detach it from the printer.
• To ensure your LayerLock SLA sheet maximizes its adhesion to the construct platform, verify all the LayerLock SLA sheet’s edges are flat towards the construct platform/construct plate.
• Use your hand to firmly press the whole construct floor towards the construct platform to additional guarantee every part is touching towards the construct platform.

Step 7 – Calibrate Z Peak / Construct Platform Leveling

• Connect the construct platform again onto your machine.
• Ensure that the leveling screws on the construct plate are nonetheless loosened.
• Observe your SLA machine’s regular really helpful calibration directions.
  • Not all resin 3D printers have the identical adjustable Z top or comply with the identical steps so we suggest following the producer’s particular required/really helpful pointers.
• As soon as you have adopted your printer producer’s directions on leveling and have tightened the leveling screws, proceed to Step 8.

Step 8 – Load Your Take a look at Mannequin

• Select any mannequin you wish to take a look at the mattress adhesion for the primary layer of your take a look at print. We suggest one thing that’s small and fast like this skinny sq. so you possibly can fine-tune your settings and modify your Z top correctly if wanted earlier than leaping to testing a bigger print.

Step 9 – Print and Alter If Essential

• Print the skinny sq. take a look at print from Step 8. Should you’re printing a unique mannequin, ensure that is both 0.05mm tall or cease your print after it completes its first layer.
  • Once more, earlier than printing, be sure that the LayerLock sheet has been sanded. If not, comply with Step 2 earlier than printing.
• As soon as the print is accomplished, permit extra resin to drip again into the vat or rigorously wipe any extra resin from the construct platform again into the vat with a silicone spatula or plastic putty knife.
• With a nitrile glove nonetheless on, gently rub your finger throughout the print.
  • If it requires a scraper and light-moderate power to take away it from the platform, you are good to go!
  • If the next points come up reminiscent of…
    • The half simply slides off the platform with simply your finger
    • Lifted corners
    • Air pockets beneath the print
  • …then think about these attainable resolutions:
  • Verify you adopted Step 5–sanding the construct sheet and cleansing off the mud ensuing from sanding
  • Guarantee sufficient resin was within the vat to print your take a look at print
    • Not sufficient resin within the vat could cause sometimes trigger air pockets/bubbles
  • If none of those resolutions resolve the difficulty, resetting the Z=0 top and re-leveling the construct platform could also be wanted. Repeat steps 6 – 8 till the primary layer requires a scraper and light-moderate power to take away it from the platform.

Observe: Please be sure you aren’t additionally printing with new resin if that is your first time printing with the newly put in LayerLock SLA Resin 3D Printing Construct Floor. New resin means a brand new variable which may be affecting mattress adhesion. We suggest first confirming mattress adhesion could be achieved with a resin you might be accustomed to printing. As soon as that’s confirmed, then print with the brand new resin utilizing ideas from this How To Succeed information on learn how to usually fine-tune most photopolymer resins to your SLA printer.

That’s it for set up! Your new construct floor is hooked up, every part is correctly calibrated and also you’re now prepared to begin efficiently printing.

Last Printing & Upkeep Ideas

• Re-leveling your construct platform is really helpful when fine-tuning printing with a brand new resin.
• The next elements outdoors of LayerLock SLA’s management are nonetheless needed for mattress adhesion success:
  • Utilizing the proper resin profile settings
  • Ensuring the pigments/dye of the resin haven’t settled to the underside earlier than printing
    • Instance: It is best apply to often stir/shake inexpensive resins earlier than printing so all of the dyes/pigments are distributed evenly. If left settled on the backside, the sunshine won’t shine by that means no profitable curing will happen. It’s possible you’ll must stir the vat of resin once more after a specific amount of hours, relying on the model you have chosen.
  • Having correct drainage holes on prints
  • Guaranteeing your FEP movie is not too loosely or tightly hooked up to the vat
  • Having a calibrated Z top / leveled construct platform
    • A leveled construct platform could be troublesome to realize if the resin 3D printer has thick tape across the LCD show. With the LCD display under the best level of the thick tape, this may trigger an excessive amount of of a spot between the LCD display and FEP sheet.
  • Printing in an setting that’s room temperature (ideally inside 68°F – 77°F)
    • Something decrease than 50°F or larger than 100°F extremely will increase the possibilities for mattress adhesion and curing points.
• Evenly sanding your LayerLock SLA Construct Floor is really helpful for first-time use and both after each 5L of resin printed or at any time when mattress adhesion is noticeably misplaced.
  • Keep in mind to put on a masks whereas sanding to keep away from inhaling any particles.
• As with different construct surfaces, watch out when utilizing sharp objects to take away prints from the construct floor to keep away from unintentional knicks, scratches, and grooves on the floor.
• Clear the floor with 90%+ IPA isopropyl alcohol after each sanding.
• Wipe the floor and construct platform clear of any resin if switching between materials/colours.
• Keep away from soaking the construct platform with LayerLock SLA hooked up in any solvent for lengthy intervals of time.
  • There is a chance that solvents might erode the adhesive on the again of the LayerLock SLA construct sheet, thus lowering the adhesive’s lifespan.
  • Wiping the floor with a light-weight quantity of IPA won’t be an issue.

As all the time, MatterHackers has your again.

With this information underneath your belt, we do not count on you to run into any issues; however when you do, please don’t hesitate to contact a MatterHackers Technician at assist@matterhackers.com or by cellphone at (949) 613-5838. We’re right here to assist!