🛠️ 3D Printing Tip : Slicer Settings for Resin (Patreon)

Hello Everyone!

Last week I went over flexible build plates, this week I want to cover something more fundamental. Slicer Settings! 

I am covering resin slicer settings now, and I will cover FDM printers next week!

If you don't know this, it can make troubleshooting impossible. So let's get to it!

📝 First, what exactly is happening in the resin vat?

Since you can't see what is happening like FDM printers, let me de-mystify what is happening. Overall, it is very similar! 

1. When the print begins, the build plate lowers into the resin vat and gets very close to the screen. 

2. The UV light under the screen turns on, and illuminates one layer. The UV light causes the liquid resin to harden into a solid which adheres to the build plate. 

3. Once the layer is done, the build plate lifts a little bit and the next layer cures, building up the print layer by layer.

📝 What are slicer settings?

It is all of this stuff, picture below! (screenshot taken from Chitubox, but you'll see these in pretty much any slicer) I ignore most of these settings. I'll give you quick notes on the ones that matter most. 

LAYER HEIGHT : how thick each layer is printed. The smaller the layer, the more detail it allows.

BOTTOM LAYER COUNT : these are the FIRST layers printed and are affected by bottom layer exposure time.

BOTTOM LAYER EXPOSURE TIME : determines how long each bottom layer cures. We cure the first layers longer to help them stick to the build plate.

EXPOSURE TME : determines how long each layer AFTER the bottom layer cures. This number is always much shorter than bottom layer exposure.

*LIFT SPEED : how fast the build plate raises after a layer is cured. Honestly, I never mess with this. However, with more fragile prints tweaking this setting can help so I want to mention it. 

📝 Where to find this information? 

Your resin and printer configuration matters! Some printers have stronger screens than others, and some resin takes longer to cure than others. As a result, we have these nifty spreadsheets to reference. 

Elegoo : CLICK HERE  

Anycubic : CLICK HERE 

📝 Calibrating your resin 3D printer!

Using the spreadsheets I linked above doesn't guarantee perfect prints. Your best bet is fine tune your settings yourself for each resin you use. 

There are 3D prints designed to test your machine. There are full of tiny details and overhangs (example below) Essentially you print a bunch of these at different exposure times and see what looks best! I will do another post covering these in detail. 

Hope that was helpful! Let me know if you have any questions!
Mia Kay