B9 Bonanza!

[Bexley]

Not entirely. The not-flat table is uncommon. As for the exposure/curing problems, those are mostly due to me experimenting with 3rd party resins, which I then further alter with different pigment concentrations. The printer software comes with standard settings for B9 resins. B9's resin is about $110 a liter, the stuff I'm using is about $55 a liter. It's also a faster resin- about twice as fast as   B9. The B9 stuff is designed primarily for jewelry, so it has a high wax content, and can be burned out for investment casting. That wax causes a little loss of crispness, though. That is the primary reason for using the 3rd party (MakerJuice SubG+) resin, though the speed and price difference are also big factors.

That said, B9 will be shortly releasing a non-burnable fast resin, which I will certainly try out once it becomes available. If it's as good as the MakerJuice stuff, I would have little problem trading cost for consistency and pre-determined settings.

And that said, the machine is intended as sort of an experimental machine. If it were a computer, it'd be an Altair 8800- a DIY kit that attempts to rival commercial machines.

[SandiaPaul]

Bexley,

I will make a suggestion on the piece of aluminum you use to bond to the build table. Use "tooling plate" of "jig plate" This is aluminum that is cast and its surfaces are then ground. It is used for making jig and fixtures in machine shops and because it is cast it is much likely to warp when cut. You can get it from Mcmaster:

http://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-aluminum-sheets/=woukbw

How thick and how big of a piece do you need? I might have some...

Paul

[Bexley]

Printing again tonight. I needed a ton of 1/35 bottlecaps for a diorama. Since they are so small, I re-calibrated for 30 xy. What's kind of interesting is, it's actually a faster print, as moving the projector that close increases the strength of the projection, meaning shorter cure times, even though I'm slicing at 25 microns z.

Still waiting for the aluminum plate I ordered. Since the 30xy build area is centered on the part of the table that isn't warped, it should still work.

Anyway. These might be too small to look like much more than slightly ribbed discs, but we'll see. I'll likely run another batch of them if I have no problems, and if that's the case, I'll give Ed's part a shot at the higher xy resolution.

[Bexley]

Success! Photos later. The bottlecaps don't look like much, but under a 10x loupe, I can actually see the little ridges. I think I will need to redesign them to be a little out of scale (larger) so that they read in the diorama.

Also printed Ed's part, x3. All printed, and look pretty good. Ed- did you ever get these printed at Shapeways, and if so, do you have photos?

[Bexley]

Bottlecaps!

[Hauk]

I can for the life of me not think of what theme for a diorama that needs a ton of bottle caps.
Perhaps it is a scene with an army of warriors like this?

[Bexley]

It is a Fallout inspired scene. Post apocalyptic, bottlecaps have become the standard form of currency. I needed a pile of money.

[marc_reusser]

I think any scene in Russia....would have this many bottle caps....or on one of the duty free ferries from Finland to Tallin.

[Bexley]

New print. Fallout laser rifle, frag mines, and microfusion cells. 1/35 scale.

I'm particularly surprised that the thin (.4mm) rod on the gun printed. I considered leaving it off the model, and using brass wire. But I figured I'd give it a shot and see what happened.

[Bexley]

Also, a 30xy vs. a 50xy. The 30 is on the left. I was happy with what I got at 50, but the 30 is noticeably better. It's just a shame the print area at 30 is only about 30x50mm, otherwise I'd never need to go back to 50xy.

[billmart]

The 30xy print really is nice.  Thanks for keeping us informed.  I'm impressed and a bit in awe of 3D printing.  Perhaps I should start learning Sketchup or something similar.

Bill Martinsen

[eTraxx]

Success! Photos later. The bottlecaps don't look like much, but under a 10x loupe, I can actually see the little ridges. I think I will need to redesign them to be a little out of scale (larger) so that they read in the diorama.

Also printed Ed's part, x3. All printed, and look pretty good. Ed- did you ever get these printed at Shapeways, and if so, do you have photos?

Long story .. shortened. They sent me the wrong print that looked almost like my watercannons .. they not only re-printed them .. but my entire order! They are in-route and should be here Monday.

[Bexley]

Also, I got word from B9 that they'll be taking orders on their new fast black resin next week. They haven't posted any prints done with it yet, but based on what they're saying, it'll behave a lot like my custom mix. More importantly, they've already done all the trial and error for determining printer settings for it, so I should be able to dial it in much faster. Not to mention, not having to mix the resin myself anymore.

[finescalerr]

Gorgeous prints. -- Russ

[eTraxx]

lousy photo of the water cannon. It would be better primered but gonna send these off to they guy I made them for 'as is'.