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 crucial to profitable resin 3D printing. Robust mattress adhesion is particularly essential when printing with resin because of a big majority of SLA machines favoring the stereolithography technique of producing a print that’s hanging the other 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 may be 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 pressure occurring from an FEP movie (if it is not hooked up excellent), it is no surprise 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. Nonetheless, over time, the crevices in that texture naturally get stuffed up by resin after a few Liters. It is then really useful to sand the construct platform to breed a few of that texture.

Understandably, the intestine response to listening to it is advisable to take sandpaper to your machine that prices a whole lot 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 unbelievable resolution to reaching sturdy mattress adhesion for Laser, DLP, and LCD/MSLA resins. This construct floor is made 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, protecting your construct platform pristine of any sanding. Efficiently produce the gorgeous intricate components made out of many common supplies similar to Peopoly Phenom Deft, AnyCubic UV Resin, Siraya Tech, MatterHackers’ MH Construct Epoxy-Free Photopolymer Resins, and plenty 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 crucial for profitable digital fabrication. Try 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 certainly one of our LayerLock SLA construct surfaces? Try the sizes we’ve in inventory for numerous resin 3D printers right here.

Step 1 – Verify Placement on LCD Display

• Clear off any mud, resin, and particles which will nonetheless be in your LCD display screen.
• 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 screen.
  • This ensures you will have the right dimension on your SLA printer and that the sheet attaches to the right spot in your construct platform.

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

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

Step 2 – Sand Construct Sheet Floor

• When you’re glad with placement and compatibility, seize your LayerLock SLA sheet and frivolously and evenly sand the floor that might be printed on. It’s the facet that doesn’t have the tan adhesive liner.
  • Use the 220g 3″ x 3″ piece of sandpaper offered along with your construct sheet.
  • Notice that it is necessary to sand the floor earlier than first-time use. For those who print with out sanding it beforehand, it can 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 material to wipe away the mud accrued on the sheet till clear.

Step 3 – Pull Off the Adhesive Liner

• When you’re glad 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 facet going through up in direction of the construct platform and away from the LCD display screen, place the LayerLock construct sheet again on the LCD display screen.
  • Be certain to line up the sting of the SLA sheet in opposition to the sides of the tape/LCD display screen.
• As soon as aligned, proceed to step 3.

Step 4 – Prep Construct Plate

• Be certain your construct platform/construct plate has texture on it. For those who 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 is not going to stick with it.
• As soon as you’ve got 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 may be attaching your sheet to.
  • LayerLock SLA Construct Surfaces will be hooked up to construct platforms and versatile spring metal plates.
• Clear the floor till there isn’t a mud, particles, or resin on it.

• Notice: In case you are 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 are going to enable sufficient play to soundly regulate 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
      *Notice that this checklist includes machines that LayerLock SLA has appropriate sizes for accessible magnetic base techniques. For those who resolve so as to add a magnetic base system and LayerLock SLA sheet to an incompatible printer or unlisted appropriate printer, you have to to find out if a brand new spacer might 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 regulate up and down.
• Be certain the LayerLock SLA sheet didn’t transfer from its place throughout this step. If it did, realign the sides of the LayerLock sheet according to the sides of the tape/fringe of the LCD display screen.

Step 5 – Connect LayerLock SLA Construct Floor

• Once more, if you’re putting in the magnetic base system on the similar time you are putting in a LayerLock construct floor, please ensure 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 throughout 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 regulate something till it finishes the homing course of.

• As soon as the printer finishes homing, apply mild strain on the construct platform down towards the LCD display screen. The quantity of strain try to be utilizing must be the equal strain you employ to maintain the construct platform leveled in opposition to the LCD display screen 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 screen.
• Detach it from the printer.
• To verify your LayerLock SLA sheet maximizes its adhesion to the construct platform, affirm all the LayerLock SLA sheet’s edges are flat in opposition to the construct platform/construct plate.
• Use your hand to firmly press all the construct floor in opposition to the construct platform to additional guarantee all the pieces is touching in opposition to the construct platform.

Step 7 – Calibrate Z Top / Construct Platform Leveling

• Connect the construct platform again onto your machine.
• Be certain the leveling screws on the construct plate are nonetheless loosened.
• Observe your SLA machine’s regular really useful 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 useful pointers.
• As soon as you’ve got 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 regulate your Z top correctly if wanted earlier than leaping to testing a bigger print.

Step 9 – Print and Alter If Needed

• Print the skinny sq. take a look at print from Step 8. For those who’re printing a unique mannequin, guarantee that is both 0.05mm tall or cease your print after it completes its first layer.
  • Once more, earlier than printing, make sure that the LayerLock sheet has been sanded. If not, comply with Step 2 earlier than printing.
• As soon as the print is accomplished, enable extra resin to drip again into the vat or fastidiously 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 pressure to take away it from the platform, you are good to go!
  • If the next points come up similar to…
    • 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 may cause sometimes trigger air pockets/bubbles
  • If none of those resolutions resolve the problem, 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 pressure to take away it from the platform.

Notice: Please ensure you should not 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 that could be affecting mattress adhesion. We suggest first confirming mattress adhesion will be achieved with a resin you’re conversant in 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 typically fine-tune most photopolymer resins to your SLA printer.

That’s it for set up! Your new construct floor is hooked up, all the pieces is correctly calibrated and also you’re now prepared to start out efficiently printing.

Remaining Printing & Upkeep Ideas

• Re-leveling your construct platform is really useful when fine-tuning printing with a brand new resin.
• The next elements exterior of LayerLock SLA’s management are nonetheless essential for mattress adhesion success:
  • Utilizing the right resin profile settings
  • Ensuring the pigments/dye of the resin haven’t settled to the underside earlier than printing
    • Instance: It is best observe to repeatedly stir/shake inexpensive resins earlier than printing so all of the dyes/pigments are distributed evenly. If left settled on the backside, the sunshine is not going to shine by means of which means no profitable curing will happen. You could have to stir the vat of resin once more after a specific amount of hours, relying on the model you’ve got chosen.
  • Having correct drainage holes on prints
  • Making certain 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 will be tough to attain if the resin 3D printer has thick tape across the LCD show. With the LCD display screen under the best level of the thick tape, this could trigger an excessive amount of of a niche between the LCD display screen and FEP sheet.
  • Printing in an atmosphere that’s room temperature (ideally inside 68°F – 77°F)
    • Something decrease than 50°F or greater than 100°F extremely will increase the possibilities for mattress adhesion and curing points.
• Evenly sanding your LayerLock SLA Construct Floor is really useful for first-time use and both after each 5L of resin printed or each time mattress adhesion is noticeably misplaced.
  • Bear 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 risk that solvents could erode the adhesive on the again of the LayerLock SLA construct sheet, thus lowering the adhesive’s lifespan.
  • Wiping the floor with a lightweight quantity of IPA is not going to be an issue.

As at all times, MatterHackers has your again.

With this data below your belt, we do not anticipate you to run into any issues; however in the event you do, please don’t hesitate to contact a MatterHackers Technician at assist@matterhackers.com or by telephone at (949) 613-5838. We’re right here to assist!