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3D Printing

I've got an Elegoo Mars and just getting a little frustrated with the whole hobby. When I get the prints to work, they come out fabulous. I'm a big nerd, so I use it to print minis for Dungeons & Dragons. It's not that the print settings are bad. I upped the bottom exposure time and used the WD-40 trick to stop prints from sticking to the FEP in the resin tank. However it just seems like every third or fourth print I wind up with some issue that causes a partial failure.

Twice now I've had the FEP leak in the middle of a print. I have a gasket over the screen for extra protection, so the machine is fine. But now I've got to shut down and clean the whole thing and replace a gasket again. Of course I've had prints stick to the resin tray rather than the build plate, which led to an entire tray getting ruined. So I've also replaced a tray, and I have extra FEP sheets so I can swap those out.

Sorry for the rant, but it's just that there's a lot more down time and need to replace parts more than I thought there would be. Plus having to purchase the rubbing alcohol, WD-40, rubber gloves, UV light, etc. a bunch of extra cost I didn't consider. I don't want to quit on this yet, but does anyone have tips, or a checklist they follow to get quality prints with little downtime?
 
Just got my first printer, a Prusa XL, and so far I'm loving it. I've gotten frustrated with Hatchbox translucent filament, but the other filaments I've bought have been great. I've printed useful things, not-so-useful things and stupid things so far. Now I need to take CAD/3D design classes to learn how to make the things I want and need when there aren't any on offer on any of the usual sites.
 
Like the Top-Loc part ?

LOL
 
DustinCropsboy said:
Just got my first printer, a Prusa XL, and so far I'm loving it. I've gotten frustrated with Hatchbox translucent filament, but the other filaments I've bought have been great. I've printed useful things, not-so-useful things and stupid things so far. Now I need to take CAD/3D design classes to learn how to make the things I want and need when there aren't any on offer on any of the usual sites.
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I have used pro-Engineer (now called Creo) since 1996. If you need help with making models, give me a shout and I can see what I can do. I am busy (still working 40 hours a week), but I love to help. STL or STP files are the typical output for 3d printing, STP is more accurate.
 
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