Optimizing Form 4 and 4L Setups
I'd like to share some things that are working for me and ask the community for some advice.
I run a space with Form 4, 4L, and 4B printers. We use most of the Formlabs resins for a broad range of prototyping work.
What's working well
1. Separate IPA buckets for each resin family
I've got two high-quality buckets (one for rough cleaning, one for finishing) each for the Tough series, Flexible series, and Rigid 10K. They're manually agitated, and I use restaurant pasta strainers for small parts and tea strainers for even smaller ones. I store them in a flammables cabinet and swap them out when resin contamination reaches ~5%.
2. Plastic dog kennel mats to protect tables
I was tired of sticky, gross tabletops, so now I have sticky, gross dog kennel mats instead. They're easier to clean, and in a shared space they make it obvious which tables are for resin prints.
3. Aquarium pump/filter for the water bath
I'm using Form Wash Solvent instead of IPA for the standard resins, and it's working completely fine. I'd generally pick IPA for everything, but I've been asked to limit how much flammable material I keep on hand. The secondary water bath gets gross faster than I'd like, so I'm adding an aquarium filter to cut down on mold and scum.
4. Laminated post-processing reference sheets posted on the wall
I'd put gloves on, pull parts off the printer and then have to look up wash and cure times or special handling on the Formlabs website. Now I have hard copies posted so I can read them with goopy gloves on. It is quite nice.
What I'd like to do better
1. Form 4L build plate storage
Has anyone found a good way to store clean 4L build plates? I've thought about just putting them on a Metro rack shelf, but I imagine someone has a better answer than I do.
2. Cleaning and reusing Form Wash Solvent / IPA
I'd really like a solvent reclamation setup sized for a small operation like mine. The off-the-shelf options are expensive and look like they need a lot of cleaning. The DIY options all depend on trusting home electronics to behave next to 99% IPA. Is there anything in between?
Thanks in advance, and I hope this helps other folks who are dialing in their setups.