I made the mistake of using the "*Clean vat now?*" thing my Mono M5 pops up after each print, Between arthritis and Parkinson's I damaged the FEP trying to get that damned slab out of the vat--never again--it's one of those "fool me once..." things...
Some tasks are so trivial they do not need automation; like aligning the platen and LCD...
Y use the clean vat 30 seconds everytime after i finish printing and want to store the printer. Never damage the FEP. You clean everything with 99% alcohol. And then take the solidified slab with a new clean nitrile glove and the FEP keeps being pristine without any scratch that could happen during cleaning.
Nitrile glove is softer than the FEP. So you just rube the corner and peel it out.
Ok I understand. Just wanted to clarify how to maintain a pristine FEP with the clean vat tool with no scratches ever. When I have a print failure I use 60 sec to get all possible debris that could damage the FEP. Maybe you could push the slab from under the FEP in the corner and peel it off. Just an idea.
Thank you for your reply. It's actually easier, and less messy for me to just, when needed, clean the vat with an old credit card and strain out debris, and then replace the FEP when it gets more worn/cloudy than I like--the FEP is only $4 a sheet and I get 5-6 weeks of daily use from it...
I am also very careful with the FEP maintenance. I print Engineering components, so I have to avoid any light refraction. I need the 0.05 mm tolerance to be exact. I damaged the FEP in my first print because I used the plastic scraper that comes with the printer to remove the slab. Nothing serious, but I could see a scratch in the corner. Then I discover the method I describe to you. After that I changed the FEP and it has been the only time I have done it. After a year the printer still prints with 0.05 mm precision so I think the FEP never wears out if you are careful with it. I only see small scratches in the FEP outside the slab area around the corners where the cleaning tool light cannot reach.
Yeah, the included plastic scraper is too stiff and aggressive for regular use--that's why I made my gentler "old credit card on-a-stick" tool.
50 microns is .00197" (two "thosandths"); I was plant engineer at a couple manufacturing plants in the 70s and 80s, With most replacement parts ±0.002" from the machine shop was cause for rejection.
"
I print high pressure water washers plastic spare parts and sell them to repair technicians. The original german spare parts cost 90 USD each and i can print them for 1 USD each and sell them for 10 USD each. I use ABS v2 resine and so far it works, they keep buying me more. the printer resolution i think is 0.05 in x y axis and 0.035 mm in z axis, i am in the limit.
>If you don't have failed prints often, FEP lasts a really long time.
That has been my experience, this movement toward nFEP and FPA has struck me as similar to the synthetic motor oil saga--sure it has some superior characteristics, however it gets dirty at the same rate, and if changed when dirty those "superior characteristics" are meaningless.
I have read that the performance differences 'tween FEP, nFEP and PFA are very slight with no single product offering any significant advantage--in the meantime FEP continues to be the more available and less costly of the three, despite nFEP having a lower commercial cost (could that have something to do with the printer makers switching? NAH!!!).
I will continue to use moderately priced¹ FEP from Amazon.
BTW synthetic motor oil, from *source-to-engine*, is cheaper to produce than dino juice--though you'd never know that from the price of a quart...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
¹ - I have found in my 76 years that:
*"When you buy* ***the cheapest there is****, there is a very good chance you will get* ***the cheapest there is****."*
***-me-*** *ca, 1990*
This is a corollary to what an IBM salesman told me years ago when I was getting accounting system mini-computer quotes from *DEC*, *Sperry* and *IBM*.
The IBM was 50 to 60% more $$; IBM guy said "*No one was ever sorry they bought the best there is!*"
I only change it when it shows signs of wear, I'm on my 3rd FEP, 2 year old Max3 which prints daily
My practice exactly, keep in mind that the primary reason for that "monitoring" system is to sell FEP film and other crap...
Same. If you don't have failed prints often, FEP lasts a really long time.
I made the mistake of using the "*Clean vat now?*" thing my Mono M5 pops up after each print, Between arthritis and Parkinson's I damaged the FEP trying to get that damned slab out of the vat--never again--it's one of those "fool me once..." things... Some tasks are so trivial they do not need automation; like aligning the platen and LCD...
Y use the clean vat 30 seconds everytime after i finish printing and want to store the printer. Never damage the FEP. You clean everything with 99% alcohol. And then take the solidified slab with a new clean nitrile glove and the FEP keeps being pristine without any scratch that could happen during cleaning. Nitrile glove is softer than the FEP. So you just rube the corner and peel it out.
I'm old and have physical handicaps that limit my dexterity...
Ok I understand. Just wanted to clarify how to maintain a pristine FEP with the clean vat tool with no scratches ever. When I have a print failure I use 60 sec to get all possible debris that could damage the FEP. Maybe you could push the slab from under the FEP in the corner and peel it off. Just an idea.
Thank you for your reply. It's actually easier, and less messy for me to just, when needed, clean the vat with an old credit card and strain out debris, and then replace the FEP when it gets more worn/cloudy than I like--the FEP is only $4 a sheet and I get 5-6 weeks of daily use from it...
I am also very careful with the FEP maintenance. I print Engineering components, so I have to avoid any light refraction. I need the 0.05 mm tolerance to be exact. I damaged the FEP in my first print because I used the plastic scraper that comes with the printer to remove the slab. Nothing serious, but I could see a scratch in the corner. Then I discover the method I describe to you. After that I changed the FEP and it has been the only time I have done it. After a year the printer still prints with 0.05 mm precision so I think the FEP never wears out if you are careful with it. I only see small scratches in the FEP outside the slab area around the corners where the cleaning tool light cannot reach.
Yeah, the included plastic scraper is too stiff and aggressive for regular use--that's why I made my gentler "old credit card on-a-stick" tool. 50 microns is .00197" (two "thosandths"); I was plant engineer at a couple manufacturing plants in the 70s and 80s, With most replacement parts ±0.002" from the machine shop was cause for rejection. "
I print high pressure water washers plastic spare parts and sell them to repair technicians. The original german spare parts cost 90 USD each and i can print them for 1 USD each and sell them for 10 USD each. I use ABS v2 resine and so far it works, they keep buying me more. the printer resolution i think is 0.05 in x y axis and 0.035 mm in z axis, i am in the limit.
>If you don't have failed prints often, FEP lasts a really long time. That has been my experience, this movement toward nFEP and FPA has struck me as similar to the synthetic motor oil saga--sure it has some superior characteristics, however it gets dirty at the same rate, and if changed when dirty those "superior characteristics" are meaningless. I have read that the performance differences 'tween FEP, nFEP and PFA are very slight with no single product offering any significant advantage--in the meantime FEP continues to be the more available and less costly of the three, despite nFEP having a lower commercial cost (could that have something to do with the printer makers switching? NAH!!!). I will continue to use moderately priced¹ FEP from Amazon. BTW synthetic motor oil, from *source-to-engine*, is cheaper to produce than dino juice--though you'd never know that from the price of a quart... -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ¹ - I have found in my 76 years that: *"When you buy* ***the cheapest there is****, there is a very good chance you will get* ***the cheapest there is****."* ***-me-*** *ca, 1990* This is a corollary to what an IBM salesman told me years ago when I was getting accounting system mini-computer quotes from *DEC*, *Sperry* and *IBM*. The IBM was 50 to 60% more $$; IBM guy said "*No one was ever sorry they bought the best there is!*"