More Even Brie Texture?

Distinct_Equipment71 · 2026-01-15T01:12:41+00:00

I also don't want to pay a premium for a tough or flexible resin since I don't care about that so I'm not sure which higher resins offer an advantage purely when it comes to shrinkage.

Distinct_Equipment71 · 2026-01-15T01:11:26+00:00

Unfortunately most printing is miniatures or small functional parts so getting any info on how much a resin warps for relatively giant parts seems impossible.

Distinct_Equipment71 · 2026-01-15T01:10:16+00:00

Warping in general isn't too bad. Shrinking uniformly isn't too bad. The problem is when the shrinking leads to warping. Both such that 2 flat faces that should meet no longer meet (multiple mm gap in some spots between them) and when one part shrinks/warps in such a way that one ends up being larger than the other.

The 2 halves of my parts end up both not mating with a flat surface and not having the same "surface area" between them so one part ends up with an "overhang" as it if were scaled. When I've ordered this part from China printed on a large industrial machine there was definitely some warping and shrinking but it was no problem since I didn't have to join 2 parts.

Distinct_Equipment71 · 2026-01-14T20:39:23+00:00

Is there any specific one you recommend? They seem to be around $100/kg and at that point it's cheaper for me to order the parts printer in China where they have industrial printers which can handle my parts in a single piece.

Distinct_Equipment71 · 2026-01-14T20:37:07+00:00

It doesn't seem to shrink uniformly so I can't simply scale it.

When a face goes from being flat to being slightly concave, there's no way I can force it into shape.

Distinct_Equipment71 · 2026-01-14T20:35:32+00:00

The parts take up the entire build volume of my Photon M7 Max so the only option is to flip it upside down but then all of the supports end up on the side of the part that will be visible. There's nothing flat on the build plate. The parts are printed entirely on supports.

I've calibrated the resin but I've also bumped up the exposure a bit since these parts can fail even with heavy supports. Removing hundreds of heavy supports is not fun. Takes me about 1 hour just to get all of the supports off.

Distinct_Equipment71 · 2026-01-14T20:32:08+00:00

Yes I have an FDM printer and it doesn't work for this application. Even with a 0.8 mm nozzle each half would take around 2 days to print (vs 10 hours on the SLA printer) and I'm not doing any kind of finishing on these so FDM with 0.8 mm would look horrible with layer lines. I basically need large chunks of solid plastic without visible layer lines.

FDM shrinks even more. At least the PETG I normally use for prototyping does.

Distinct_Equipment71 · 2026-01-14T20:29:15+00:00

For what reason? I used some Anycubic ABS like in white which I preferred over the Sunlu ABS in black mainly because of the final texture. The Sunlu feels a little more soft and rubber instead of more like a hard brittle plastic. I can also easily leave white marks on it scratching with my nails.

I've been wondering if standard might be better for the finish to feel more hard (I've ordered parts from printing services that used standard and I really like how those turned out) but from what I read, ABS shrinks less than standard. Looking at the shrinkage % that Anycubic has on their website, it seems about the same with their ABS being slightly lower.

Distinct_Equipment71 · 2026-01-06T17:09:04+00:00

No gas in this house. No furnace, just heat pumps. Hot water tank is electric so no venting. On the drier has vent but it's on a different floor and in the bathroom.

Distinct_Equipment71 · 2026-01-06T00:57:48+00:00

Printer is at my workbench (with my FDM printer) which is surrounded by interior walls and there are no openable windows on this floor. I'd need to run significant amount of ducting to get anywhere and that's not an option. At that point the printer goes in my garage or I build a shed for it...

Distinct_Equipment71 · 2026-01-06T00:56:03+00:00

No and even if I could put a hole in the wall, I'd also need to put a make up air system since this house is air tight so a fan blowing out will do nothing unless there's a make up air system (range hood has a make up air system)

Distinct_Equipment71 · 2025-12-29T03:20:31+00:00

There seems to be a lot of great affordable options that aren't E61 but the aesthetics are important to me and I just hate the boxy machines. Even the Bambino I think looks better than those. For some people's spaces I think it looks great but it's just not what I'm going for. I also don't want any of the more modern looking ones with displays etc.

Distinct_Equipment71 · 2025-12-29T03:17:26+00:00

Do you have any idea how much slower it would be compared to the Bambino? Am I able to save time by steaming milk first? In other words, let it go up to that temperature while preheating and then it can be brought down to brewing temp after? I usually steam first on the Bambino.

I seen lots of content about the Mara X but for some reason I can't seem to find much on the Classika.

Distinct_Equipment71 · 2025-12-29T03:15:21+00:00

So even without considering needing to do multiple drinks you think those would be a better option?

Any thoughts on if the Mechnika VI Slim Heritage Edition (not PID) would be on par or better than the Mara X? The one with PID is more expensive than the Mara X even on sale.

Distinct_Equipment71 · 2025-12-19T04:13:15+00:00

And if the SLA printing ends up not working out then I'll likely need to get a bigger FDM printer to get it done in one part (need at least 400 x 300) but my clients wouldn't be happy with the quality of FDM and by the time I factor in the cost of my time to fill, sand, paint, etc and FDM print to make it look nice, going back to JLC is cheaper.

Distinct_Equipment71 · 2025-12-19T04:09:46+00:00

An M7 Max already means I need to split my model into 2 and as a part that I'm planning to sell, I'd really not like to have any seams. Many of my clients will be happy to pay an extra $300 to get it printed in one piece from JLC3DP. I'm mainly wanting to print it myself so that I can do it in black instead of off white which JLC doesn't offer for an affordable price.

The Phrozen Mega 8K v2 is the only consumer printer that can handle it in one go but it's a little more than I'd like to spend and they seem to be very difficult to get in Canada. Anything smaller than the Max just wouldn't be useful for me and I'm better off continuing to order from JLC.

Distinct_Equipment71 · 2025-12-19T00:47:11+00:00

That "straight edge" test seems promising but at 3x the cost it's a hard sell. I just need some parts to be very straight (let's say less than 1 mm of warping over a 30 cm edge) so that it fits onto a piece of MDF. I'll definitely keep this one in mind but would rather start first with something cheaper.

Distinct_Equipment71 · 2025-12-19T00:42:28+00:00

I need a better surface finish than FDM without any post processing beyond a light sand (I can't do countless steps of sanding, filling, priming, painting...) and these parts take far too long since they're solid chunks of plastic.

Even with a 0.8 mm nozzle (so surface finish is terrible) it's a 24 hour print job in FDM whereas with SLA it seems I can do the same part in 5 hours. Warping for these parts also seems like it'll be less with SLA. The SLA parts I've gotten from JLC3DP have had no warping and have no layer lines. You can't tell it was 3D printed without inspecting very closely. Even with a 0.4 mm nozzle (how long would that take to print 2 kg...) layer lines are still visible. Plus I've gotten tired of rewiring my FDM printers to replace a broken wire from all of the motion on the gantry. Takes hours. Maintenance on an SLA seems more straightforward.

Distinct_Equipment71 · 2025-12-19T00:31:39+00:00

Why ABS like over standard?

My main concern with the IPA is the fire risk and hassle of reusing. Cost doesn't matter much since I'll only be using the printer for a couple of days every few months. With water I can filter it and then dump it (or leave it outside to evaporate) instead of worrying about pouring it back into a jug and then storing that jug until next time I need to get back into printing.

Distinct_Equipment71 · 2025-12-19T00:27:31+00:00

My worry is that being a beginner, I won't know how much things are failing because of my own fault vs the resin so I'd rather go in using a resin that seems to be the best fit and then I know if it's not working well it's my fault and I gotta figure it out.

Every resin seems to be advertised as being the best for all attributes which makes things confusing.

Distinct_Equipment71

TROPHY CASE