RESIN filament in Batumi

How resin printing differs from filament

An FDM printer extrudes molten filament in layers of 0.1-0.2 mm. An LCD printer cures liquid resin with a 405 nm ultraviolet screen, layer by layer at 0.02-0.05 mm. The difference is visible without magnification: a miniature shows the folds of cloth and the features of a face that FDM simply cannot reproduce.

What you need besides the printer

• Nitrile gloves. Liquid resin irritates skin, and sensitivity accumulates - a reaction can appear after months of working without protection.
• Ventilation. Printing releases vapour; this is not a machine for a closed living room.
• Isopropyl alcohol for washing - or water, if the resin is water-washable.
• A UV lamp for curing. Without it the surface stays tacky and the part stays soft.

The workflow

1. Print - the machine lifts the model out of the vat layer by layer.
2. Wash - 5-10 minutes in alcohol or water to remove uncured resin.
3. Dry - let the liquid evaporate.
4. Cure - 2-5 minutes under a UV lamp; only then does the resin reach full strength.
5. Remove supports - easiest right after washing, while the part is still yielding.

Types of resin

• Water-wash - rinses in plain water, no alcohol. Cheaper and simpler to work with; the used water must not go down the drain - cure it in sunlight first so the residue polymerises.
• ABS-like - resin with raised impact toughness. Standard resin is brittle: a thin part snaps under light pressure. ABS-like behaves closer to plastic and forgives handling.

What to print

Miniatures and figures, dental and orthodontic models, master patterns for jewellery casting, small technical parts where tenths of a millimetre matter.

What resin cannot do

Large functional parts. A resin part is more brittle than any filament, degrades under UV - yellowing and cracking in sunlight over time - and costs more by volume. Housings, brackets and mechanism parts belong to filament.

Storage

In the dark, at room temperature, out of reach of children and animals. Resin cures in light - a clear bottle on a windowsill turns into a block of plastic.