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I made a quick video with Formlabs Engineer Caitlin Reyda on how to make an easy UV cure box. Hope this gives you some ideas!

Also make sure to subscribe to the Formlabs Underground channel for more videos.

Jory

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Thanks for posting this, Jory - you seem to have all the Form tricks. Just a few questions - is there a certain UV wavelength that is recommended/ how long does a full post-cure typically take? Is there any benefit to having a part cure in water - I’ve heard of this method.

Also, I’ve started working on an IPA filter system, as I think a cloudy alcohol bath can also affect the ‘stickiness’ of the part. Any videos or tips on this - do agree that this is a good practice? Of course, you could just dump and fill with new IPA, but this can add up ($$) and just feels wasteful in general…

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405 nm wavelength should be sufficient for curing resin parts. Cure times can depend on the type of resin you are using:

Castable - 2 hours

Tough - 45min

Everything else - 45min to 1hr

The water method is interesting, as it’s a good way to have the UV light diffuse around the piece. If you have something like the solar powered turn table recommended…this essentially achieves a similar effect. I haven’t tried the water method myself, but people seem to be getting good results.

IPA saturated with resin will lose it’s cleaning effectiveness over time. Honestly, I’ve never really looked into filtering the IPA…but now that you’ve mentioned it, I’m going to speak with some of our material techs today. If I find an easy filtering method, I’ll definitely do a post about it.

Jory

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Thanks a lot for the thorough feedback and response. Much appreciated - now I’m thinking an underwater turntable :wink:

Let me know if anything comes about with the alcohol filtering! BTW -I’m one of the early-releasers with the Form 2 - great machine!

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Ooooo, underwater turntable would be very cool!

So I did a little digging on IPA filtering and what I’ve discovered is that it’s possible to filter out larger chunks, but to truly clean the IPA…it would have to be distilled. This requires specialized equipment most people don’t have.

Also, even distilling IPA will not get you pristine pure IPA, and the distilled IPA won’t be able to clean parts with the full effectiveness of fresh IPA.

Hope this helps and glad you are enjoying your Form 2!

Jory

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I have a similar UV lamp, but I’d never be brave enough to attach it to flammable stuff and leave it unattended.
Instead of tinfoil, I use mirrors, they’re not too expensive but much more effective.

Cheers,
Thomas