Adventures in 3D printing (Large scale IG-11 with lights, tips and tricks)

Calling this one done! I finished painting the bandolier and used my Molotow Chrome Pen to really give it some shine. I used a few pigments and some highlights to finish IG's look. Fiber optics were glued in and the single LED was run for his lighting effects.

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I have been using a new process to clean my resin prints. As much as I like the stronger more durable resins, I do hate how much IPA the process uses. In an attempt to find an alternative or at least make it last much, much longer I purchased this huge ultrasonic cleaner:

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I picked up a few galls on Mean Green (the cleaner holds 4 total gallons so I put 1 gallon of water in also):

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So far this has worked really well for a few reasons. One, I do my pre-cleaning in the ultrasonic tank and that really helps to get a lot of the resin off. I normally run this for about 15 minutes. The nice part is that it does not seem to affect the resin at all, IPA is great but you really should only put the printed parts in it for a minute or two at a time (at least with the resins I use).

The second is that it's heated... So I normally set it to about 35C and this really makes taking the supports off the print super easy.

In summary, my current process is:

15 minutes in the ultrasonic at 35c.
1 to 2 minutes in the Wash & Cure station.
If the resin is stubborn, I will blow dry the part and run it through IPA again.
5 minutes in the ultrasonic again to get any IPA out of hidden places.

If you use water washable resins, this cleaner is a must-have.
 
Also, a few had expressed interest in what I planned to do in order to vent the 3D printing area, which is this weekend's project. I plan to build out both a fan-driven exhaust system for the printers and then install a diverter so that I have an area that can be used to airbrush in also.

I think the parts below pretty much outline what I plan to do:

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The round 'tube' motor is an HVAC accelerator or air assist, it's nice because it's very powerful and is not very loud.

Here you can pretty much see how this will work. The external exhaust will be just like installing a dryer or bathroom vent. I will have some ducting going to a hood along with a second run that I can turn off and on for the printers.

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Also, a few had expressed interest in what I planned to do in order to vent the 3D printing area, which is this weekend's project. I plan to build out both a fan-driven exhaust system for the printers and then install a diverter so that I have an area that can be used to airbrush in also.

I think the parts below pretty much outline what I plan to do:

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Would love to see more details as you complete this project because I had the exact same idea for my printing / painting area. Look forward to seeing how it turns out!

Sean
 
Would love to see more details as you complete this project because I had the exact same idea for my printing / painting area. Look forward to seeing how it turns out!

Sean

Sure thing, here goes!

When I am not using the paint hood I don't want it taking up any counter space, so I will show how I solved that later when more of this is set up and ready for testing.

First, we need a cheap container to act as the hood. I will be running a bunch of LED's so that you can more easily see what you are working on.

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This is how I decided to build the hood. The black part on the top is used to remove dust in woodworking shops. I just measured it out and cut the hole:

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After sealing up those 3 holes in the side with aluminum tape, I cut out the hold and installed the hood into a small existing shelf.

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Next up is to get the assembly installed onto the shelf and seal it up with some more aluminum tape.

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Those threaded rods were left long on purpose so that I had a way to install a filter. Even though this will vent outside, I don't want to just spray paint all over the internal workings of the system.

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Picked up some of the largest zip ties (36") that I have ever seen along with a few other parts needed to finish this off.

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One item of note is that the fan is not strong enough to open the triple flaps on the white exhaust cover on the right so I had to pick up this black one and remove the door on that. At full speed, it would open it partway but it really interfered with the airflow. Plus, when venting for 3D printing I don't need to run the motor at full speed so I don't want to obstruct the airflow.

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Here is the first part of the motor assembly:

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Okay, time to put it all together.

I am mounting the fan and diverter to a board in order to make hanging it up easier:

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One path goes to the paint hood:

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And the other goes to the printers. This part still needs some work but you can open and close that gate so that all the suction goes to the paint hood when it's in use:

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The motor is variable so you can just have it on a bit when exhausting fumes from the back of the printers, or you can crank it up when you need to airbrush:

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Now, I just need to cut a 4" hole in the side of my house :)
 
Well, this is just about wrapped up.

All I can say if you are planning to put a hole in the side of your house, make sure you know what you are doing :)

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All connected up and it seems to be working.

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A little heavy-duty paper taped to the hood helps to direct the flow of air. I use this heavy paper all the time and most carpet/home improvement stores sell this in huge rolls for pretty cheap.

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Now I just have to track something down to give this a test:

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