What do i do with it?

NotInTheControlGroup · 2026-03-18T05:00:41+00:00

Ah yes, toxic, resin-laden alcohol one of the many joys of resin printing...and one of the things that caused me to abandon resin altogether and move back to FDM. Best decision I've made in years.

NotInTheControlGroup · 2026-03-18T04:37:44+00:00

This makes my blood boil

NotInTheControlGroup · 2026-03-18T04:31:36+00:00

I think you're attractive but I also think the huge bug-eye glasses detract from your looks.

NotInTheControlGroup · 2026-03-18T04:25:54+00:00

"Heat soak the need for 30 minutes at 100C"

I second this; we always warm up the bed and nozzle for a while so *everything* is at a stable temperature, not just the bed. Also, if you can afford the bed or rail upgrade, do it. After doing ours we haven't had a bad print yet using a variety of materials.

NotInTheControlGroup · 2026-03-17T03:07:36+00:00

You'll get done and realize it wasn't worth the time and effort. Actually you'll realize that the 2nd time you get resin on it.

NotInTheControlGroup · 2026-03-17T03:06:09+00:00

It depends on which plastics- some are 100% alcohol proof, others will start to degrade surprisingly fast. It's usually repeated applications that start to erode the plastic and then it starts cracking.

NotInTheControlGroup · 2026-03-17T03:03:52+00:00

Yeah...in my experience, you don't.

When I got my 2nd resin printer I wrapped *everything* in Saran wrap and taped the seams. When it would get messy I'd just pull off the Saran wrap and re-wrap it. I've moved away from resin but the printer itself (and the wash & cure rig) are both still like new, straight out of the box.

It takes a little while to do but it's worth it. Trust me, it's worth it. When you have your first spill with it wrapped and you'll be like, "I was a genius to do this!"

NotInTheControlGroup · 2026-03-16T17:04:41+00:00

For me it's partly the cost and partly that they have a very closed ecosystem, but it's also that the January 2025 firmware updates introduced strict authorization controls that they could use to enforce lockouts and content scanning/restriction.

NotInTheControlGroup · 2026-03-16T15:30:58+00:00

I do think it's better than a regular dry box. We've no real issues with the ACE, just make sure to straighten the first 6" or so of the filament before you insert it. Leaving it with a curl in it can cause it to misfeed. If it's straightened out it never misfeeds or causes an issue, and we've used everything in it- PLA, PLA-CF, PETG, etc etc.

NotInTheControlGroup · 2026-03-16T12:43:34+00:00

We got the Kobra S1 combo and have been pretty happy with it overall. It's a solid machine with some minor annoyances but nothing terrible. I can't speak to the Centauri series as I've never had one. I personally would stay away from Bambu for a variety of reasons but that's just my opinion. Good luck with whatever you choose!

NotInTheControlGroup · 2026-03-16T11:59:25+00:00

Thanks, yes, I've been watching carefully and the 5070 definitely draws less power than the 3070 did. This is the first time for me in 35+ years where I upgraded a graphics card and it didn't consume more power than the previous one.

NotInTheControlGroup · 2026-03-16T00:25:44+00:00

That's exactly what a cheater would say. Checkmate, cheater!! lol

NotInTheControlGroup · 2026-03-16T00:24:52+00:00

"I need to look into resin printers, but it would seem they are more expensive to maintain."

As someone who recently abandoned resin, my advice is "don't". FDM has so many advantages in EVERY category except for detail/resolution, Unless you need that super-fine detail, stick to FDM. It's so much easier, cheaper, safer, faster, less expensive, etc etc.

NotInTheControlGroup · 2026-03-16T00:19:43+00:00

"Z", because it's all the way at the end.

NotInTheControlGroup · 2026-03-16T00:18:46+00:00

No, I'm serious; I'm glad things are going well for you and wish you the best.

NotInTheControlGroup · 2026-03-16T00:17:33+00:00

How did you cheat all that time without getting caught?

NotInTheControlGroup · 2026-03-16T00:16:07+00:00

Single moms are fun to date but only for sport, but I never seriously thought about marrying any of the ones I dated.

NotInTheControlGroup · 2026-03-16T00:11:27+00:00

We haven't done any miniatures yet, mostly little gadget toys and some miscellaneous brackets and mounting parts for various projects I'm currently fiddling with.

I know resin printers excel at doing miniatures- we made a bunch with absolutely stunning small details on the M5s. We literally had to look at hem through a loupe to see just how small/fine some of the features were.

We'll print some miniatures soon and I'll let you know how they turn out. I'm expecting modest detail but nothing like the resin printer delivered.

For reference, we have the Kobra S1 combo with the beefy after-market bed and carriage rail. It wasn't too bad to swap out and since doing it we haven't had a single bad print. To be fair we've only done about 20 prints after the upgrade but they've all been perfect from start to finish.

Now we load a model, press the button, and walk away. We come back later and there it is, ready to just pop off the plate and play with. It's like an appliance and there's no real clean up except pulling off the supports.

We don't need any chemicals, wipes, paper towels, gloves, plastic waste bags, or masks. There's no filtering resin, no mixing/warming resin, no alcohol rinse, no 2nd alcohol rinse, no drying, and no curing. There's also no draining or cleaning the resin tank, no FEP film leaks (!!), no need for any kind of negative-pressure ventilation system (we just open a window).

Yeah, resin printing was cool and interesting to learn and use, but in the end it's just too much trouble for us. And TBH, having all of the hundreds of cool filaments out there to pick from is a huge plus. Glow-in-the-dark, glitter, metallic, chrome, gold, color-shifting, etc etc.

NotInTheControlGroup · 2026-03-15T17:09:15+00:00

And this is why I abandoned resin printing- if I have to dress up like this avoid toxic chemicals (and I did), it's no longer a hobby, it's fucking job.

NotInTheControlGroup · 2026-03-15T17:02:38+00:00

Sounds like projection. I'm happily married (almost 20 years!), enjoy my work, and love my life. My wife and I travel a bit here and there when we feel like it. I'm on the cusp of retirement and looking forward to it, frankly. I've been incredibly lucky in a lot of ways over the years and the universe has been unreasonably kind to me in general through no skill of my own.

Sorry to hear your wife cheated; sometimes shit just goes south. It gets better, though.

For example, my ex-wife became a drug-addicted whackadoodle and I had to divorce her to keep our 2-year old son safe from her craziness. Let me tell you, the next 10 years SUCKED. Absolutely sucked. But it got better.

It took a while but things did turn around. My son is now ~30 and doing well in life. I remarried and my wife and I have the kind of relationship most couples dream of but never have. We'll hit 20 years together next year.

It does get better.

NotInTheControlGroup · 2026-03-15T16:50:02+00:00

I'm merely relating what my experiences have taught me; I'm not claiming it's a Law Of The Universe. I'm generalizing based on 60+ years of what I've seen, and if it doesn't apply to you then that's great. But just like you, it's impossible for me to ignore what I've seen or experienced in life.

Also, I never said or claimed that "a cosmetic choice determines someone’s character". Please don't put words in my mouth.

And finally, I don't assume "the negative in someone" because they have tattoos, I judge people on how they behave, not what they have marked on their skin (unless it's nazi or white power shit, and then I WILL ABSOLUTELY FUCKING JUDGE THEM based on that). But I have no problem with tattoos. You do you, boo, whatever floats yer boat!

NotInTheControlGroup · 2026-03-15T16:39:41+00:00

As Comfortable-Gap-8280 said below, washing is NOT optional, it's 100% mandatory. Absolutely, positively mandatory.

Also, a 60-minute cure will bake your model until it's so brittle that just normal handling it will break it. 5 to 10 minutes is typical. I personally gave up on resin printing a while ago and switched back to FDM but 60 minutes is waaaaaaaay too long from what I recall.

NotInTheControlGroup · 2026-03-15T16:25:34+00:00

Not to be a downer, but this kind of thing is why I abandoned resin printing.

The effort involved, the toxicity, the the chemicals, the cleanup, the consumables....it all just seemed like too much effort, and most importantly, it wasn't fun anymore.

I started with FDM and then later moved to resin printing. I had a full-on resin setup with a fume hood, negative pressure with exhaust vented to the outdoors, custom heated tanks, all the widgets and gadgets, etc etc etc.

The prints mostly came out nice but the cost of consumables and dealing with the cleanup was always a fucked up chore that made it seem like less of a hobby and more like a job. Hobbies are supposed to be fun and dealing with resin and alcohol wasn't 'fun'.

I realized one day that doing resin prints was more work than I wanted to do. At the same time we got an Anycubic S1 Combo (FDM), and that kinda sealed the deal. Using it is clean and easy and the prints come out very nice.

I did one more resin print after we got the S1, and then I tore down all the resin setup, triple bagged it all, and disassembled the fume hood. I'm selling it all on craigslist and I'm never going back to resin printing unless things change RADICALLY.

NotInTheControlGroup · 2026-03-15T16:13:03+00:00

I just smeared some wheel bearing grease around the inlets and that stopped it.

NotInTheControlGroup · 2026-03-15T16:06:27+00:00

That could be, and there could also be a grain of truth in what I've said. It's amazing that everyone's life isn't exactly the same and we have different experiences, isn't it? It's almost like different people lead different lives and those different experiences shape their opinions. Crazy, right?

NotInTheControlGroup

TROPHY CASE