AnyCubic Wash & Cure Machine - Anybody have one?

[C855B]

https://www.anycubic.com/collections/anycubic-photon-3d-printers/products/anycubic-washing-curing-machine

My normal wash process is a lab squeeze bottle over a catch pan, sort of a "pressure wash". That method works fine for small stuff especially since I can direct the stream into voids. However, larger prints never seem to fully rinse and they're consistently sticky after the post-cure under a 405nm bulb.

I think a bath rinse of some manner is in my future, but I'm looking again at the AnyCubic post-process machine for a more hands-off method that can be started and let run. Can anybody advise before I drop $189 on something that might not work as well as a good manual procedure?

[peteski]

I have a feeling that an ultrasonic cleaner (like the one @Lemosteam used on his FUD parts) will do as good (or better) job.  Much cheaper too, but UV no post-curing.  Well, unless this gizmo uses ultrasonic waves (the website does not mention how the parts are washed).

[C855B]

Deducing from the photos and video, the wash process is a beaker with a magnetically-connected impeller circulating the solvent. The video depicts it going around fast enough to develop a vortex. The models being washed remain attached to the build platform, held by an adjustable bracket. OK, I get all that. The curing is the same drive wheel in the base running as a (much) slower rotisserie turntable. A line of 405nm and 365nm LEDs shine on the rotating object.

I have questions about the turntable approach, however. What's holding the model down? The photos and demo show a figure with some sort of a base, or base with a build raft sitting on the turntable, removed from the build platform. What happens when the model is tall and very narrow, and by itself unstable in the vertical position? Such as an N scale boxcar?

Another question is whether the AnyCubic resins benefit from the 365nm exposure. The curing lights/ovens I think most of us are using are 405nm. I have a strip of 365nm LEDs I could coil around the parts if I thought it might yield a faster or more thorough cure, and skip the fancy machine.

I won't use ultrasonic cleaners with flammable solvents. But that's me, others may be OK with the risk.

[Chris333]

I saw the video a week or two ago and my first though was I want to see what that container looks like after a few weeks of cleaning resin parts.

My little plastic containers full of IPA have been working just fine.

[narrowminded]

I have found that the washing step isn't such a big deal with resin prints.  I use 99% IPA and reuse it until it's cloudy.  With resin, the solvent does the job and doesn't really need much physical intervention as the wax of FUD needs. 

I use old jars with lids, appropriate size and shape for the parts I'm washing.  With longer parts, using an old olive jar, I lay the jar on its side.  I make sure that there's just enough alcohol to cover the parts which is often less than a third full.  Let them soak for a few minutes at most, give them a swirl, another minute or so and another swirl, nothing too vicious or for very long, then rotate from the first wash to the newest, used as a final wash.  In the final I might give it a swirl but by then it's not doing much, evidence how long that wash lasts.  The fresh, final wash, becomes the first rough wash when it gets cloudy.  Sometimes with a lot to do I'll do a third rotation, oldest solvent first. 

This is what I have arrived at after using various methods including an ultrasonic cleaner, multiple washes, long soaks, soap and then water rinse after alcohol wash.  What finally became apparent is that the alcohol does the job largely by itself.  All of the other has seemed to be witchcraft or a sort of alchemy. 

NOW, with that said, I'm not sure if clear resin when used for light pipes or windows, where super clarity might be desired, I may need to revisit this a little.  I suspect that at least new, clear solvent will be appropriate.  This I just don't know yet.

[Ian MacMillan]

I use Mean Green in an ultrasonic cleaner
 Works really well. Built my own cure chamber for ~$25.

[Ian MacMillan]

Ok, as a follow up. I got my wash and cure last month to try and I love it. I still use my ultrasonic cleaner, but now it's just simply the last step and with water to make sure the MeanGreen is off before curing.

Anycubic offered me a deal on the WnC that I just couldn't pass up to try.

[C855B]

Thanks. I'll look at it again once I return to production. Life has been in the way the past month or so and the poor Photon has been sitting on its table all alone and forlorn.

However, I need to do something because recent projects have had apparent rinse/cure issues and I've been varying procedures with inconsistent success.

[robert3985]

Thanks. I'll look at it again once I return to production. Life has been in the way the past month or so and the poor Photon has been sitting on its table all alone and forlorn.

However, I need to do something because recent projects have had apparent rinse/cure issues and I've been varying procedures with inconsistent success.

The Wash & Cure was on sale for 129 bucks...which was/is a steal and maybe it still is. However, it is being superceded by a new Wash & Cure which looks to have an improved LED array and a different way of attaching the build plate as well as a more "interactive" control protocol.  I've only used mine once to clean a failed print as well as the build plate and vat...and I'm using denatured alcohol fuel as the deresinator (is that a word?) which works great, without a water wash.  No stickiness or shinyness using Anycubic Green.

Photo (1) - Anycubic 2nd Gen Wash & Cure on my 3D printer workbench:


Reviews of the 2nd gen (the one that I have) Wash & Cure are very clear that it cleans better than anything else out there, including ultrasonic baths...which is why I bought mine, and I have a couple of large dental ultrasonic baths.  However, since I'm brand new at this game, I don't have a wealth of experience to tell you about, or comparisons to make.  All I know is that from both a washing and curing aspect, it worked as advertised for me, and was very un-messy in its operation and use.

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

[reinhardtjh]

Seems to currently be $179 at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/ANYCUBIC-Photons-Printer-Cleaning-Machine/dp/B083GTS8XJ
and $129 at Anycubic (5th Anniversary sal still going on)  https://www.anycubic.com/products/anycubic-washing-curing-machine

So the choice is $50 more for Amazon deliver in a couple days or $50 less for Anycubic and delivery in 5-12 days.

And I just noticed at the top of the page on the Anycubic Anniversary sale page there is a countdown... 5 days 7 hours 51 minutes to go from right now.

[C855B]

Seems to currently be $179 at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/ANYCUBIC-Photons-Printer-Cleaning-Machine/dp/B083GTS8XJ
and $129 at Anycubic (5th Anniversary sal still going on)  https://www.anycubic.com/products/anycubic-washing-curing-machine

So the choice is $50 more for Amazon deliver in a couple days or $50 less for Anycubic and delivery in 5-12 days.

And I just noticed at the top of the page on the Anycubic Anniversary sale page there is a countdown... 5 days 7 hours 51 minutes to go from right now.

The "sale" on the wash'n'cure directly from Anycubic with free shipping was still on last week, so I jumped on it. I say "sale" because apparently this is the new price; I've noticed for quite a while that their countdown timer is somewhat meaningless, there's always a supposed price break going on all the time.

Oh - they quoted the same 5-12 day delivery, but it arrived in two. This actually caused a minor problem since we were going to be out of town for the week. I ordered and was counting on the five days to be back home to receive. The shipment notice surprised me on the road and I had to impose on a neighbor to secure the box.

Frankly, this thing has upped my 3D printing game big time. I was clearly not getting a good rinse previously nor a decent cure, even with the homemade curing "oven" I fabricated out of DIY-store UV bulbs. Anything larger than small details were "soft" if not slightly tacky. And that was after spending a lot of effort and time with both post-processes for the poor result. With the new machine, a full wash and cure is under 15 minutes and the resulting output is crisp, clean and sharp. Mikey likes it! Hey, Mikey!

[Sokramiketes]

So does this thing take the whole build plate?  I've found it's easier to break off the supports before final cure, so is it still possible to use the cleaner with free floating parts post sprue removal?

[C855B]

Sort of a mixed answer, Mike. The wash process has two special brackets to hold the build platform, one adjustable so smaller builds are deeper into the solvent vat so you don't have to fill it all the way (3 liters) for smaller work. The other is fixed to dunk full-height builds into the solution. Then there is a basket for builds you've popped-off the platform, with the caveat that they can't be smaller than 10x10x10mm. The basket is not going to work for me most of the time, and, frankly, leaving things on the platform has worked well so far.

Curing requires removal from the platform for placement on the turntable. However, if you don't pay attention to the wash/cure setting and intend a curing cycle but have it set on "wash", it'll fling your parts off the turntable. Haven't done that yet, but I know it's in my future. I'm slightly surprised it doesn't automatically detect whether you have the solvent vat or turntable in place.

Curing is what amazes me. Everything I've cured at 6 minutes (max setting) is crisp. It used to take overnights or 24 hours with my old rig, and even then they weren't "done". Evidently inclusion of the 365nm lights - it has both 365 and 405nm LEDs - makes a big difference.

[Chris333]

I still want to see this wash & cure after about 20 runs to see how gummed up it is and if it even still works then.

[Sokramiketes]

Along these same lines, man is 91% alcohol hard to find in Chicagoland these days.