Every print is a fail

[simsuper80]

I'm almost ready to give up. Ive been trying 3d printing for almost 2 years, and I have never had a perfect print... ever. The prints I have managed to paint do have imperfections, but they are not as easy to notice. I've tried different resins, different ways to support, every orientation imaginable. Nothing. As you can see, this locomotive has an obvious bent on both sides, as well as lines going up from the bottom too the top

I'm at a loss for what to do.

[Lemosteam]

You did not share the printer you are using, but I have found a Mono X Facebook page that has an extremely knowledgeable gent on it.

[simsuper80]

You did not share the printer you are using, but I have found a Mono X Facebook page that has an extremely knowledgeable gent on it.

Oops, forgot about that. It is an epax e10

[timwatson]

A few things

1. The e10 is a great solid printer so I don't think you have any machine issues. Check that off the list.
So from there you start looking at the human aspect of what you're doing.

2. Keep the print 90 degrees or parallel to the build surface. Angling prints I have never had good luck with. So try up and down or parallel.
3. Your cleaning doesn't seem to be doing the job for you. Your prints shouldn't be sticky when rinsed and cleaned so make sure you're curing them.

Are you using Prusa Slicer? The supports look cool but I am not sure there are enough of them.
There are some things to try.

[Chris333]

Try attaching supports to the inner side walls.

[simsuper80]

A few things

1. The e10 is a great solid printer so I don't think you have any machine issues. Check that off the list.
So from there you start looking at the human aspect of what you're doing.

2. Keep the print 90 degrees or parallel to the build surface. Angling prints I have never had good luck with. So try up and down or parallel.
3. Your cleaning doesn't seem to be doing the job for you. Your prints shouldn't be sticky when rinsed and cleaned so make sure you're curing them.

Are you using Prusa Slicer? The supports look cool but I am not sure there are enough of them.
There are some things to try.

I have heard the complete opposite from other people when it comes to #2, so I have never been sure about what to do about orientation. And I am using lychee slicer

[Erock482]

I add bulkheads that bridge from side to side on my freight cars to help support the walls from bowing.

I agree it does not appear like the ceiling is supported enough.

Printing flat has not had any issues for me, and printing at an angle so far has not yielded any dramatic improvements to make it worth it.

Also, the walls look fairly thin. I would try making them thicker.

[simsuper80]

This is another example of what I get with 3d prints. I wish there was a way to fix them but it appears like it is a limitation of the printer

[timwatson]

Try printing parallel that will stop. If it’s not working, try something different. There are lots of good suggestions here.

What does your resin calibration look like?

Switch to chitu to slice it as well. The idea would be to keep changing things until you get a win.

[dem34]

Also what Resin are you using, I have had a bear of a time trying to get Water Washable Resin to work withought my models becoming bannanas thinking it would more convenient than the standard stuff.

I would also suggest, for the purposes of Model Train prints looking at some of @Chris333 stuff on his Thingiverse page and seeing how some of his stuff is designed. I 've been using the LIRR boxcab as a test model for the last week.

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5199307

[simsuper80]

Also what Resin are you using, I have had a bear of a time trying to get Water Washable Resin to work withought my models becoming bannanas thinking it would more convenient than the standard stuff.

I would also suggest, for the purposes of Model Train prints looking at some of @Chris333 stuff on his Thingiverse page and seeing how some of his stuff is designed. I 've been using the LIRR boxcab as a test model for the last week.

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5199307

I was mostly using siraya tech fast grey. This last print was with anycubic standard grey.  I'm going to try epax hard for the next try

[timwatson]

When you make changes make only one at a time. Every resin you switch to will mean you will have to switch exposure times and add extra variables to troubleshoot. Use something you know works and then print a resin calibration file to get a good exposure time.

[dem34]

Here is one specific for Siraya Tech Resins
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5181804

[mahcr450]

I have an Epax E10 also.  I've worked on a body shell to replace the HO Atlas RS3 for some time and also struggled with getting a usable print.  Different resins didn't help.  I used Siraya fast but switched back to Anycubic grey.  It's cheaper and results weren't any better with Siraya.  I tried multiple orientations and 90 degrees was always the best.  I also tried bridging supports and drawing supports prior to the slicer with no change in result.  I've tried different slicers and haven't seen one much better than others.  Slicer software seems to come down to user preference.

The issue was always the transition from the body shell sides to roof.  Angled orientations usually made the warping and print artifacts worse.  It also lengthens the print time.

I finally cut the roof off the drawing at the transition.  The body shell sides print fine this way.  Since the roof is split by the cab on this model, I print each roof section vertically at 90 degrees. 

I think I now have acceptable prints.  The roof seam is minimal and the warping is gone.  I don't have any current pictures but will take a few and post later. 

On stickiness, it is all about the cleaning.  I use IPA.  Once it gets too cloudy it won't remove all the residual resin. 

Mike

[John]

There is vodoo magic in 3d printing ... sometimes it takes a while to get it dialed in .. the most useful thing I've done is join the facebook group for my printer type .. you will find every possible thing that can go wrong on these groups being discussed .. as long as the snark doesn't bother you - there are some good nuggets in there ..

Every model I've ever printed has had 5 or more failed prints before I got it right .. don't get discouraged ..

The best advice so far in this thread though -- only change one thing at a time and see what happens ..

My suggestions to eliminate some simple stuff

1) If the printer came with some sort of example file, make sure you print that to see if it works

2) shake the resin for a few minutes before using it

3) make sure the temperature is above 70 or more in the printing space

4) run the exposure test for your printer type against each bottle of resin and dial it in ..

5) You can fix some warping by using warm water ..

6) Bracing may be needed in some places