1. User Guide
  2. Preventative Maintenance
  3. Cleaning the Printer
  4. Clean Resin Trays

Clean Resin Trays

You must clean the resin tray if:

  • You believe the resin tray has foreign debris or partially cured material in it, and you do not believe a resin-tray cleaning has removed all the debris.
  • You are using a different material in the same resin tray, according to the section Resin Tray Material Cross-Usage.

Every time you remove the resin tray for any reason, you should also inspect/clean the catch tray, as in the section Clean/Replace the Catch Tray.

NOTE: For ease of removing the resin tray, the elevator should be at its upper limit and the print platform should not be in the printer during this procedure.

NOTE: Two iterations of this process tends to be enough for a fully cleaned resin tray. If you find that you need to repeat this process more than once, consider spending more time brushing the membrane/tray in Steps 6-8.

NOTE: Avoid touching the bottom of the membrane during this procedure. If material is observed on this surface, spot clean with >90% alcohol solvent by squirting/pouring solvent on the area with uncured material. Finish by drying with compressed air. Do not touch Part-Cleaning Brush or any other tool to the bottom of the membrane.

Procedure

  1. Ensure the printer is idle and mark it as "not ready" by tapping the gui-power-btn.jpg button. To ensure the Material-Delivery Tube does not drip while the Resin Tray is absent, place provided cap on fill nozzle (1, below) and disconnect the tube from its holder (2, below). Remember to remove the cap before starting your next print.

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  1. Push the Tension toggle button to release the tension arms.
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  1. Using nitrile gloves and holding a drip tray underneath, slowly lift the resin tray out of the printer.

CAUTION: Take care not to hit the resin tray on the MCO tube, Material-Level Sensor, or other printer components during removal.
remove-resin-tray-2.jpg
  1. Pour the contents of the tray over the tray corner into your hazardous waste container. The Resin Mixer may be used to guide material and debris out of the tray. If you wish to retain this material, you could pour into another compatible resin tray and place that tray in its garage for later use.

CAUTION: Do NOT use the Platform Scraper to clean the resin tray, as it will easily puncture the membrane at the bottom of the tray.

CAUTION: Do NOT pour the material back into the cartridge. Doing so risks contamination, and/or improper mixture of material in the cartridge. This could result in undesirable build quality or build failure.
  1. Place tray in its garage.

TIP: You may place a paper towel or clean-room wipe on your cleaning surface, so as not to get material and/or solvent directly on it. This can also prevent foreign debris from dirtying or puncturing the tray's membrane. If you use this tip, be sure to discard the paper towel/wipe after each cleaning, according to all government regulations.

  1. There are two different cleaning solvents you might use in this step, depending on which material was in the resin tray:

    1. For any material EXCEPT for Figure 4 RUBBER-BLK 10: Pour approximately 250 mL of >90% alcohol into resin tray and use the Part-Cleaning Brush to gently agitate the material on the membrane and tray edges.

    2. If cleaning Figure 4 RUBBER-BLK 10 out of the tray: Pour approximately 250 mL of Propylene Carbonate into resin tray and use the Part-Cleaning Brush to gently agitate the material on the membrane and tray edges. RUBBER-BLK 10 has some material components that do not dissolve in >90% alcohol. Do not use >90% alcohol for this step.

  2. After brushing all surfaces that were in contact with material, discard dirty solvent according to all government regulations.

  3. Rinse the resin tray with clean (not contaminated) >90% alcohol and discard solvent according to all government regulations. It is okay to use alcohol for RUBBER-BLK 10 in this step.

  1. Gently dry membrane with dry, compressed air using an air gun attachment at 30 psi, or allow tray to air dry for one hour.

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  1. If uncured material remains within the tray, repeat steps 6-9.
  2. If uncured material remains on the outer edges of the resin tray:
    1. Wipe clean with a lint-free paper towel soaked with >90% alcohol (~15mL). Discard used paper towels and gloves according to all government regulations.
    2. Gently dry resin tray with dry, compressed air using an air gun attachment at 30 psi, or allow tray to air dry for one hour.

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  1. Inspect the resin tray to ensure no uncured material and/or foreign objects remain.

  1. Be sure to discard all paper towels/wipes used throughout this procedure according to all government regulations.

The resin tray can now be stored in the Resin-Tray Garage or be reinstalled in a printer, according to the section Resin-Tray Material Cross-Usage.

NOTE: Even though you have cleaned the tray of all material in this procedure, it is still necessary to store the resin tray via one of the methods below to ensure protection of the bottom and top of the resin tray.

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You can also store the resin tray in the printer with the cover from the garage on top, as seen below.

CAUTION: When covering the resin tray inside the printer, do NOT press down on the cover. The resin-tray membrane is sitting on the membrane lip while in the machine, meaning that even a small amount of pressure can damage the membrane.

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