True, the sticking can be quite the hassle. I personally (carefully) sanded down the metal print plate, as to make it more rough and therefore more sticky, and then bought some new film from fepshop.com which should be less sticky than the original on my Elegoo Mars Pro 1.
That worked really well, minimizing layer shifts quite a bit and allowing me to use less supports without the print going haywire.
Your cleaning procedure should be fine, I do the same but by hand.
I meant shaking the resin while it’s still in the bottle, before you pour it out into the reservoir of the resin printer. The resin can separate into it’s base components, giving bad prints, and might sometimes need a LOT of shaking to properly mix.
One should also clean the bed/reservoir and “reshake” the resin at least every 24 hours if possible.
First off, remove supports while washing, and before curing.
Regarding the cloudiness, you did properly shake the resin before usage, right? And yes, letting it dry entirely is rather important, so don’t skip on that part! ;)
Regarding the layer shifts: your print settings are most likely sub optimal for your setup, you’ll need to readjust them, this can be very tedious, but if you are using a popular brand of resin in a popular brand of printer, then you should be able to find settings which worked for others.
Regarding the layers: correct, it’s support failure! That, and perhaps a mix of bad settings for the chosen resin. Make sure that you have at least 1 heavy support for each large freehanging extremity, and finish it off with a LOT of smaller supports in the area. Especially if it’s a larger flat area!
If you put it into a temperature regulated environment, then no. If you have it standing unregulated where night will cause a large (±5~10°C) change in temperature, then yes.
Also, when printing for more than ~16 hours the resin might set, resulting in minor color changes, or bad prints if allowed to set for more than a day. So even if you intend to continue printing, you should clean the resin basin at least once every day.
Im personally very satisfied with the Mars series from Elegoo. Got the old Elegoo Mars (1) Pro, but thinking of an upgrade soon for slightly bigger print space.
Build volume is usually around 60x60x180mm and up to double that for the bigger ones.
Printing procedure goes: supporting and slicing (supports vary greatly from FDA printers, you make a few strategic “fingers” instead of low-fill platforms), printing, cleaning (in a separate alcoholic bath), and curing (in a separate curing box).
Some printers can do both printing and curing, though I have no experience with those.
Also, be aware that resin plays a big role, and that different types of resin need different settings for different printers. I’m personally very fond of the eSun resin from fepshop.com.
At last, please don’t put your resin printer anywhere near your living room or any closed room inside your house for that matter. Even if it has filters, the garage is a great place to put it. But this comes with a problem, as the printer needs a stable, ~25°C temperature, which you usually don’t have in the garage. I’ve built myself a “hotbox” for this purpose. The hotbox also shields for sunlight when doors are open, so you don’t have to worry when entering or leaving the garage. Just make sure to shade all doors and windows when opening the printer. And don’t forget masks and rubber gloves.
That’s awesome, I’m happy your date liked it!
Print times can be a little off putting, but rushing can lead to a lot of lost time in this hobby. 10-12 hours seem rather realistic for that size, but I imagine it’s a hurdle when coming from FDM printing. :)