Washing
- Remove the platform from the printer per printer protocols
- Wash parts per preferred method and follow details in this course
- Smart Part Washer (recommended)
- Manual Washing
The following items will be needed for washing printed parts. Where noted, certain items will only be needed for manual washing or for using the Smart Part Washer respectively.
Additional items may be needed when using supplemental washing methods.
As always, be sure to wear appropriate personal protective equipment when washing parts or whenever you are in the lab/production area.
These powered devices offer automated washing in an enclosed chamber. Use these products for production applications that require more control and greater part volumes.
- Orbital shaker - Powered table that oscillates to agitate solvent.
- Washtub - Lidded container that contains parts and solvent while sitting on the orbital shaker.
- Timer - Used to keep track of time so parts washed on orbital shaker are not overexposed to solvent.
- Scraper - Razor-edged tool used to remove parts from the platform.
- Deadblow hammer - Used to gently strike the scraper when removing parts from the platform.
- Tweezers - Used to remove supports from parts.
- Flammable storage container - For storing DPM consumables. Smart Part Washer only.
Different solvents are required depending on the resin and method of washing. Solvents include:
- IPA (isopropyl alcohol)
- VF 1
- DPM (Di(propylene glycol) methyl ether)
Consult the protocol sheet for the specific resin to be washed.
These devices use centrifugal forces to spin resin and solvent off of parts. Can be used before washing or in some cases instead of washing.
- Commercial salad spinner - Manual 5 gallon spinner
- Honey spinner - Motorized spinner
- Heinzen spinner - Industrial spinner compatible with L1 platforms.
- Blue shop towels - Industrial-strength paper towels.
- Swabs - Foam cleaning implements used to touch-up parts after the initial wash. Available in many sizes and shapes.
- Do not let parts sit too long before cleaning. Always wash parts within the pot life of the resin.
- Parts will not achieve final strength until secondary curing, so use care when handling parts in the partially cured green state, especially delicate features.
- Green state refers to the initial UV curing of the parts during printing. Parts remain in this unfinished state until final mechanical properties are reached with secondary curing.
The Smart Part Washer provides an effective, repeatable, and traceable washing process to improve part quality and reduce labor for production.
Carbon recommends washing parts with the Smart Part Washer instead of manual washing.
Always check that the printed resin is compatible with the part washer and the solvent loaded in the washer.
Go to Smart Part Washer to learn how to operate and optimize this Carbon product.
Read the full Smart Part Washer guide for more information about operating, optimizing and maintaining the washer.
Manual washing involves placing parts into a container of IPA and placing it on an orbital shaker. Parts can be washed off the platform or the platform and parts can be washed together. See below for details.
The basic workflow is
- Remove parts from platform.
- Place parts in washtub on orbital shaker.
- Fill tub with IPA.
- Set timer.
- Turn on orbital shaker.
- Remove parts from washtub.
- Dry parts.
- Parts should not be exposed to solvent for more time than specified in resin protocols. Longer exposure negatively affects mechanical properties.
- Solvent exposure is cumulative.
- Example: Orbital wash 2 min + orbital wash 2 min + squirt with solvent/ dry in compressed air cabinet 30 sec = 4 min 30 sec.
- Solvent can be used, on average, for 3-4 washes, or until the solvent has turned opaque (unless noted otherwise in the solvent protocol).
It is often preferable to leave parts on the platform during manual washing.
- Recommended for M Series prints.
- Washing on the platform is especially useful when printing many smaller parts at once.
- The platform serves as a handle throughout post-processing and reduces the chance of abrading the parts during washing.
- More solvent and a larger washtub are needed.
Parts may also be washed off the platform. Follow the steps for removing parts from the platform first.
- Required for L1 prints.
- The L1 platform is too heavy (~12 lbs) for manual washing on the orbital shaker.
- Useful for parts that have platform-facing geometries that may be difficult for solvent to reach if left on the platform.
- Useful when using a spinning wash method.
Outlined below is the most common recommended breakdown listed in the resin protocol sheets. You may make adjustments as needed to suit your application, so long as you do not exceed the total maximum solvent exposure.
Example adjustments
- Reduce or increase the recommended RPM (lower for delicate geometries, higher for stable geometries).
- Reduce or increase total number of washes (one longer wash if the geometry doesn't require touchup, multiple shorter washes if the geometry requires more touch-up in between).
- Do not remove parts holding the platform suspended in mid-air. Always put platform on a sturdy surface and hold in place to avoid injury.
- Always go slow and cut away from yourself when using the scraper.
Elastomeric Resins
- Securely hold the platform against a flat surface
- Clean blue towel on tray
- Press scraper blade on platform firmly enough to flatten curve in blade
- This ensures full platform contact to prevent part damage
- Use scraper blade to carefully and slowly detach part
- Always aim blade away from you
- Do not use the blade as a pry bar. You will tear the part and/or damage the platform.
- Elastomeric resins require the blade to release all areas of platform contact. Reposition the platform and blade as needed to access all areas.
Rigid Resins (01:09)
- Securely hold the platform against a flat surface - Clean blue towel on tray
- Press scraper blade on platform firmly enough to flatten curve in blade
- This ensures full platform contact to prevent part damage
- Use scraper blade to carefully and slowly detach part
- Do not use the blade as a pry bar. You will break the part and/or damage the platform.
- Always aim blade away from you and down towards the table
- Rigid resins will break free from the platform suddenly and you want the blade's momentum aimed at the table, not you.
Using the Deadblow Hammer
Most of the time the scraper tool alone will remove your parts. When too much force is needed with this method, you risk breaking the part. In these cases of strong adhesion, you may use the dead blow hammer.
- Align the scraper blade with the part
- Tap the back of the scraper tool LIGHTLY like a chisel.
- Use a very gentle tap. Let the weight of the hammer do the work and do not use force.
Using Release Film
Release film can be used with resins and parts that have strong adhesion. For detailed information, refer to Release Film.
- For most parts, it is best to remove supports before curing, as cured supports are much stronger and more difficult to remove.
- Remove supports from parts using gloved fingers (tweezers or clippers may be used CAREFULLY as needed). Supports come off easily, but be gentle.
- Remove supports with gloved fingers.
- Or carefully use tweezers if supports are difficult to reach.
- Touch up parts to remove shiny areas of wet resin.
- Foam-tipped swabs (shown in the video below) are very useful for this task.
- Lightly dampen swabs with resin specific solvent.
- Blot swab on towel to remove excessive solvent.
- Lightly wipe parts to remove resin residue.
Touchup describes detailed, manual cleaning to remove residual, uncured resin from the part that was not removed by the primary washing technique.
Uncured resin typically appears as shiny areas on the part.
These shiny areas need to be cleaned or "touched up".
There are three ways to touchup parts:
This step only applies to parts washed with DPM solvent in the Smart Part Washer.
DPM may linger in small corners or features, even after the IPA dunking step. This lingering solvent will also appear shiny. To confirm if shiny spots are solvent instead of resin:
- Method 1 - Allow parts to air dry for at least one hour to see if shiny spots have evaporated.
- Method 2 - Bake a test print without touchup to see if shiny spots evaporate in the oven.
Test swabbing shiny spots is not recommended to tell the difference between lingering solvent vs resin. Resin color may appear on the swab from abrading the part surface rather than from remaining liquid resin, thus offering misleading results.
Swabbing parts with foam swabs is a great way to remove residual resin. Swabs are gentle on the part surface and come in many different shapes and sizes to reach into holes and tight spaces.
When swabbing parts, pay particular attention to
- inside corners
- edges that printed on the platform
- small holes
- blind holes
Dry swabs can be an effective method for a final wipe of solvent or shiny spots.
- Using a dry swab, gently wipe any areas that appear shiny.
- Be careful to wipe with the face of the swab. The seams of swabs can scratch the parts in their green state.
Damp swabs are effective for trouble spots that a dry swab cannot fully clean. Do not exceed maximum total solvent exposure time.
1. Squirt IPA on a swab and blot on a towel.
Wiped parts should evaporate quickly. Swabs that are too wet will leave behind too much solvent.
2. Gently wipe parts to remove shiny spots.
The compressed air cabinet is an effective method of removing resin & solvent by using pressurized air. Compressed air can make quick work of cleaning a full platform of parts. Parts with small features, corners and other difficult or impossible to access features are ideally suited to using compressed air.
- Put on a fresh pair of gloves before using the blow-off cabinet to avoid getting resin inside the cabinet’s gloves.
- Holding the platform with a towel inside the cabinet can help maintain your grip.
- Follow a methodical path with the air. The purpose is to follow the flow of resin rather than blow it around.
- The air gun trigger is pressure-sensitive. You can pull lightly to get a feel for the pressure. Watch parts closely. If parts are flexing too much, lighten up on the trigger to reduce pressure.
- Use caution on delicate parts or features.
- Always start far away and get closer to the part to minimize your chances of damaging the part.
It is strongly recommended to keep parts on platform. The operator can use the platform as a handle to maneuver parts without touching them.
- Use compressed air to blow off liquid resin.
- If there are areas that air alone are not cleaning, you may use additional solvent.
- Squirt parts with solvent from a squeeze bottle.
- You can also dip the parts and platform into a container of solvent inside the cabinet, instead of squirting from a bottle.
- Use compressed air to blow off solvent and liquid resin.
- Do not exceed total solvent exposure time.
Product manual
Specifications
Spinning parts is an effective method of removing resin and solvent by utilizing centrifugal force. Parts with small features that are difficult to access with swabs and parts that are too delicate for compressed air are ideally suited to spinning.
Spinning can be used before parts are washed. This is especially useful for latticed parts that can trap large amounts of liquid resin. Spinning removes much of the liquid resin making the washing process more effective.
Solvent-free Washing
Industrial spinners such as a honey spinner or the Heinzen spinner can replace solvent washing entirely. The high centrifugal forces generated are able to completely remove all resin from the part surface.
Elastomeric lattices benefit greatly from spinning as the relatively small strut sizes are sensitive to overexposure to solvent. Production applications can also benefit from the cost savings of a solvent-free process.
Parts need to be properly designed to take full advantage of spinning so that
- resin is not trapped in blind holes or cavities.
- features survive the centrifugal forces.
- parts can fit into the spinner.
Best suited for parts with many small features that are difficult to access while parts are on the platform, including lattices.
- Remove parts from platform and place in the Part Washer Basket.
- Override the Air Spin Only wash profile by selecting one of the wash cycles (Gentle, Default, or Extreme) at the part washer to run a solvent wash before and/or after air spinning.
Spinning parts still on the platform is also an option, best suited for many parts at once and lattices with medium to thick struts (> 1.0 mm strut diameter).
The Heinzen Spinner requires parts to be on an L1 platform.
- Leave the parts on the platform.
- Attach the Part Washer Adapter if using an M3 platform.
- Override the Air Spin Only wash profile by selecting one of the wash cycles (Gentle, Default, or Extreme) at the part washer to run a solvent wash before and/or after air spinning.
