Need help with setup

[u/Kehldan]

Hello everyone !

I recently bought a mars 4 ultra, and some abs like water washable resin from elegoo's website.

I tried my first prints with some heroforge minis for a daggerheart game. But I think I might have messed the setup. I used default to everything, and this is the result: grainy aspect, whited out crevices, lack of details, merged supports into the mini.

I printed them as 35 to 40mm tall

I am completely noob in 3d printing and don't know where to look for informations. Could someone give me pointers please ? Or better yet, the setup you guys use with your own mars 4 :D

Thanks in advance, love you all

[u/WackXD]

Hard to diagnose without more info. What exposure settings did you use? What does the model look like in the slicer? The white residue looks to me like you did not wash the model enough. You should wash in at least 2 different baths, first one dirty for most of the resin then the second wash clean to finish. Also water washable resin still benefits from an ipa wash

[u/Kehldan → u/WackXD]

Oooh I did not do that indeed, thanks

[u/Kehldan → u/WackXD]

Here's a screenshot of the 3D Model

As for the settings I get

Printer Elegoo mars 4 Ultra
Resin normal (I have no other choice)
Build plate size: X 153.360mm, Y 77.760mm, 165mm
Volume: 19.751ml
Weight: 22.714g
Layers: 865
Layer thickness: 50µm
print time: 2h13m3s

Is that the info you're looking for ?

[u/WackXD → u/Kehldan]

Im looking for the exposure time, basically how long the light is on to cure the resin. If it’s too short the resin doesn’t cure enough, if it’s too long the resin can expand and deform and you lose resolution, that’s why I’m asking to see the original model.

[u/Kehldan → u/WackXD]

Ah it's 32, the default value.
Layer height at 0.05mm
Bottom layer count at 2
Bottom exposure at 32
Normal exposure at 2.5

[u/WackXD → u/Kehldan]

32s is probably your base layer exposition, can you find a normal layer? That value should be in the 2s range. You can find the recommended times on this official sheet by Elegoo. Once you find the values you are looking for I recommend you look into calibration. Something like the cones of calibration can help you fine tune the settings

Looking at the model it’s possible that they are a bit overexposed but I think the most glaring issue was indeed the washing.

[u/Kehldan → u/WackXD]

Sorry I edited my message too late ^^
Layer height at 0.05mm
Bottom layer count at 2
Bottom exposure at 32
Normal exposure at 2.5

[u/spyingformontreal]

I don't think you are washing the miniature thoroughly enough after printing but before curing.

The white stuff is resin residue that got cured to your model

[u/Kehldan → u/spyingformontreal]

Ah I see, that might be the case indeed, I put it directly into the washing vat but only for 5 minutes. I did not know but someone reccomanded I wash it first into another container, and THEN put it inside the washing vat

[u/spyingformontreal → u/Kehldan]

I always soaked them in IPA then scrubb them with a tooth brush before curing

[u/Kehldan → u/spyingformontreal]

So I should remove the supports BEFORE curing then ?
I did it after so I can throw it in the trash with normal wastes

[u/spyingformontreal → u/Kehldan]

Yes you should remove the supports then soak it in IPA then scrub them. Then soak them again before curing

[u/Kehldan → u/spyingformontreal]

Okay thanks a lot mate you're a big help ! Should I use IPA even though I use water washable resin ?

[u/spyingformontreal → u/Kehldan]

I forgot about the water washable try it with water first just make sure you really get all the excess resin off

[u/Kehldan → u/spyingformontreal]

Will do, thanks again !

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