I dont tend to use warm watter since I try to make supports as thin as possible that they will come out just with a small touch but I guess it might help. My only concern is not to leave it too long as in more mechanical parts it might deform the part.
Unc!...I need your help!!! - Thank you for your content, inspired me to get an Elgoo Saturn - ive got a shape similar to a 'mace'- failed :( tips on support pleeeeeaseeee!!!!! Hero!!!!!!
I've had warm water dissolve away tiny features on miniatures before, so I've got mixed opinions about it. Definitely works well for 'chonky' figs tho!
Thank you. It's amazing how many "Support removal" videos I watched before someone answered the question: Do you remove supports before or after curing?
I gotta say, this seriously changed my whole 3d printing game. Before I was just popping the supports off pretty much right after it came out the cleaner but the hot water trick seriously makes it so much easier. Thank you for sharing this incredible tip with everyone
I see so many people curing models and then removing supports. Good to finally see someone with your reach explain how resin supports need to be taken out before curing for better parts quality and avoid damaging parts. Thank you!
@@UncleJessy I hated getting almost to the end and snipping a cured support and bam. broken model! With uncured support I'm still very careful but its much simpler
Why... from the getgo I was like "hmmm, I should remove the supports while they are still soft and easier to break away." I had no clue people actually cure before removal, oof.
When it's sunny in the summer I like curing my prints in water, in the sun. I think the water helps remove any stickiness from resin that didn't totally clean off. It always helps avoid white spots from the oxygen getting in the model as it cures.
Love the feeling of velcro when removing supports. And always team remove supports then cure. This also helps to ensure that when you DO cure, all parts of the final model are hit with the UV LEDs
Okay. Here is the thing. If you remove supports before curing your object, you do risk warping and twisting. If you print a figurine you won't notice but if you print something that need low tolerances, like parts for engineering, then taking the supports off before curing can be a big problem. There is no 1 fit all solution for it. Taking them off before makes it better looking and less post processing. Taking them off after preserve the shape better. .... why do all 3d print channels only focus on figurines? I'm sure i'm not the only one doing engineering with these machines of wonder
I've been printing for about 6 months now and I've used the cure-then-remove method, but it's a ton of work to make sure that I don't damage anything (about an hour for a few bases or small minis). I'm going to give the pre-cure method a try because it looks so much simpler!
Exactly the same here. I water cure so doesn't take alot of time but I have been getting pitting from where my supports are with auto supports. So iam definitely taking my time to sand the bumps from the supports or do custom supports
Hey man I just wanted to thank you for this video, the hot water trick would have never occurred to me if you hadn’t post this video. 😃 I just had my first heavy support resin model come out like a dream because of this trick, thank you so much
If I may make a suggest for another video. LCD screen replacement on these printers. Elegoo doesn’t state that there is a glass layer attached to the LCD that needs to be transferred over. Seems like a lot of people are throwing that piece out with the old screen with no knowledge it’s even there. Elegoos install video doesn’t even mention this.
The glass cover should come already attached with replacements. Speaking from experience, it is quite difficult to remove that cover without damaging it, and definitely beyond the average user. Some alternative sources for the screen ( such as aliexpress ) can come with the LCD and cover separate requiring the user to attach it themselves though.
Thank you for all the advice up to this stage on Resin printing, greatly improved my prints. I am now curious as to what you do after this in regards to sanding and what not to finish a print up.
I do something similar but actually remove the supports under the water which stops any little peices from flying everywhere. I never thought about using warm water though. I'm gonna give it a Try!
I like the idea of using the warm water, I'll have to try that. I never use the clippers to remove the supports directly from the model. Instead I use the clippers to chop up the base and break the supports away from each other so that I can peel the supports off and smaller groups which makes it easier to strip them away slowly.
That's a particularly tricky print to remove the supports from. The "floating" bits are long and the attachment points are small so the figure is especially prone to breaking during the process. (When I printed the figure, I was able to avoid breaking, but it was touch-and-go.) FWIW, I use the same process and still get tiny divots that need to be fixed before painting. That said, because the flaws are so small, repairing them isn't much more difficult than removing gates and mold lines from injection molded plastic, resin, or metal figures.
I read an amazon review with the ABS-like resin that recommend soaking the uncured print in warm water and they come off very easy, but haven't personally tried it yet.
@@rogg0224Just experiment man, don't expect perfect results straight up. Get some cheaper resins to 'play' with and learn about support types and placement because it is the most important thing to learn first.
Thank you so much for this! Still trying to figure out the whole 3d printing [got both pla and resin ones] and was really struggling getting the supports off the resin to the point i would get angry at myself. Will try this now later as it seems sooooo much easier than going through each individual support and hoping you dont get any firing at you.
Unkah J: X-ACTO BLADES/KNIVES! Def use the clippers for most removal but you can't beat the precision of an xacto knife when it comes to preserving fine details.
Great video! How do you dispose of your cleaning solution? Is the residual resin safe to go down the drain? Also how long can you reuse cleaning solution before needing to change it out? Please continue with basics videos :)
Technically you should follow your local guidelines for disposal. They can vary from place to place quite a lot. You do NOT pour it down the drain though. In practice, the usual approach is to first cure out all of the resin you can, filter that out and keep using the cleaner. The filtered out garbage is dried and you might want to hit with some more UV to make sure it's all done curing, then just toss in the trash ( It should be basically just acrylic plastic at this point ) or take to your local dump. Some will leave outside to evaporate the cleaner and then toss the solids, but I recommend against this as animals can easily get to it, especially birds which would be extra sensitive to the chemicals. Cleaners can last very long, but it depends on the cleaner. Alcohols will tend to evaporate the alcohol, and some can also absorb water from the air, which both result in the concentration going down over time, eventually causing it to lose its effectiveness. ( You can buy more high-proof alcohol and add it in to get the concentration back up while still keeping the old cleaner. ) I prefer to use all-purpose cleaners though and these shouldn't really lose their effectiveness. Any time I'm having problems with parts getting clean, I just cure and filter out the resin.
Just one question: the warm water is now contaminated with uncured resin so how do you dispose of it safely? Water doesn't evaporate as quickly as IPA so I can't imagine leaving it in the sun and waiting for the uncured resin to settle is the best option
He did recommend cleaning the minis before the water step, ideally there should be no liquid resin on the print after the cleaning step. I recommend using two cleaning basins, both filled with IPA. The first basin will get most off and become cloudy quickly, the second basin will clear any resin that made it past the first. If you do this right the second basin will remain clear for a long time.
I watched this before and after printing on my new Photon mono x, I personally like prying it off, washing the entire thing, and then curing it. This way I can sometimes of I'm careful I can keep on or two supports attached (or reattach temporarily) for painting
Awesome video, what do you do with the hot tap water after removing the supports? Is it safe to poor down the drain because it’s post washing? Or should you add it to your chemical waste?
I just discovered a way to fix dents in fep sheet, basically use a hair drier and then wave the vat in the air after each pass, the fep will sag a bit from the heat and then get back to it's original shape when waving it, then place the vat back onto the screen and using a plastic spatula try to flatten it. Did it with mine and can't feel the dent anymore with the plastic spatula.
As I'm expecting my first midsize resin printer to arrive very soon now as I'm readying a buttload of models into the production chain, this is actually one area I've been concerned about versus FDM. Guessing from how previews and such look, resin supports are fused into the model and depend on having only as much material supporting the printed area as necessary (optimally) and will require a flush cutter on larger areas (?). Watching this one with close eyes. Add: Aha, that makes sense! I've ordered a few bottles of water washable resins to try out, so perhaps the warm water method can be combined with support removal? Hmm! On the curing front, I ended up getting one of those long UV LED strips and doing the reflective tape inside a bucket approach, and from testing, it should work a treat. Very much looking forward to getting my resin journey started!!
mostly use the same method but i use the monocure resin away for models , its REALLY good for models and things with hi detail, i also have a second bucket of cool water, so once the supports are off i put it in the cool water for 30 seconds just to wash off any residue thats left , then a soft towel pat down and then the bright aussie sun does the rest :)
Other than picking out those supports harder or easier, i find it so hard to pick them out without damaging the print itself. usually when i remove the supports some tip of the print(the surface) comes out with the support too, making the print so many holes on the surface. is there any easy way to fix this or avoid it from happening? I also wonder if there are some layer lines on the print making the smooth surface so rough can we use paint brush to put resin on it to smoothen the surface?
@@UncleJessy For sure, thanks for your quick response. I have been placing all of my water and IPA from the cleaning process into a large glass container and then leaving it in the sun until the resin cures and the IPA/water evaporates, wasn't sure if the water from this support softening step should go in there too. I suppose it will always be better to be on the safe side. I have also ordered some Mean Green to try some IPA alternatives per another of your videos, although I am unsure as to how well that with evaporate.
@@5FSF You should be extremely careful leaving any such containers outside. It's very easy for animals to get into them. Almost all of the time you can also just reuse the cleaner. Hit it with your UV light for a little while to cure out the resin, filter it out, and reuse. Alcohols will lose their potency over time, but all purpose cleaners and water should stay pretty much just as effective. With the alcohols, you can buy a new overly-high proof ( like 99% ) to mix in and effectively increase the concentration. Of course, eventually everything will need to be tossed out, but you can easily go dozens and dozens of prints.
@zemerick13 I want to believe that animals would not be keen on the idea of being anywhere near isopropyl fumes, but I've definitely seen animals work against their better interests so noted. I have things sectioned off and with a mesh atop the container to allow for evaporation without letting birds or squirrels or something physically enter the container, and I have a small brick barrier around it to prevent it from being able to tip over without like... excessive force. Ideally I would stage it in a small greenhouse or shed, but I mean, rodents would still find a way I suppose. Obviously, recycling and reusing is appealing in many ways, but introduces some degree of risk. Given how hyperbolic people on the internet can be, it is hard to divine exactly how worried about the liquid resin contact I should be. My rule of thumb is to be more cautious than I reasonably think that I should be, but this is not a no-negatives compromise considering the implications for reuse and exposure control. My biggest concern right now is when things get "tossed out," like, what exactly does that entail? It doesn't go down the drain. I can't dump liquid into a trash bag and call it good. Evaporating the the solvent while over curing the liquid resin neutralizes the potential hazards, but if the all purpose cleaners don't evaporate as quickly and cleanly, should I be using some kind of actual neutralizing agent, like a sand or mulch to absorb it?
@@5FSF I would use an absorbent material like kitty liter, then take that to the dump and they should have someone to take it and dispose of it properly.
Nice! I have my Ultra Sonic cleaner with Mean Green and I’ll have the heater on around 30c and that works really well. Will have to try the warm water - thanks for this!!
After the print is done, I rinse it with IPA for about 5 minutes. Once they dry use warm water for a minute or 2 and then the supports soften and are easily removed. Then cure.
Just bought a printer, anycubic mono 4k with the washing and curing station, printed the same 2.5 mm mini twice, got it broken every time while trying to remove the supports
Here is my method for success: 1) rinse with IPA (I use Methyl Hydrate - stronger, cheaper, quicker - 1-3min depending on nooks within the models). I find that both methyl hydrate and IPA leave a sticky residue post rinse... 2) let dry a couple of minutes 3) Mr. Clean in ultrasonic cleaner heated to 40celcius for 10min - this neutralizes all remaining resin; this heats up the resin more uniformly as Uncle Jesse describes. 4) rinse with water 5) remove supports with ease...
Doesn't really work, after curing everything becomes hard and brittle, warm water won't weaken the supports and be flexible at that point, it will still just snap off. I suppose if you used some super hot water you could weaken the connection but at that point why wouldn't you just do the second method normally before the cure instead? Another downside to curing while the supports are still on is that it prevents an equal amount of light from getting to the print during the curing process because the supports are in the way, while it unlikely that this will really affect anything I have had a couple of prints that after trying to cure it first I needed to recure it again because some of the resin on undersides like arms or legs was still tacky to the touch because the supports were in the way.
@@drizzitdude Thank you for your response. I don't have a resin printer but thought the question needed asking for people like myself. Great answer very thorough.
No problem dude, and this hobby is super welcoming and there are a lot of resources and guides to look for help. I only started at Christmas and I am loving it so far!
Since the warm water is coming into contact with resin which is not fully cured, how are you disposing the contaminated water? And is the container also contaminated, meaning you should dedicate a container to this process rather than wash it and put it back in the kitchen?
Never cut the supports directly to the model bet 5 mm under. When you removed all the supports, then cut the last 5 mm to the model. That gives much less or no damage. Even on a cured model. Have a nice day, Uncle Jessy.
I've got a reptile heater in an open box and preheat the print from 15-60 minutes and the supports peel right of. But if you heat too long then it gets brittle.
Did you edit your video showing the buildplate coming out to only show the upwards movement and not hopping? Or did you reduce the amount of hop so much that it's almost imperceivable?
That’s Uncle Jessy’s product RESINLAPSE - a device that lets you photograph your printer everytime the UV light activates so that when the pics are stitched into a movie it’s a perfect video of your print emerging.
First off always use eye protection when cutting off supports. I prefer not to use warm water as it can warp the print, if u immediately begin removing the print after it completed the supports will be softer then later as it tends to cure over time,. For my method before curing i just remove most of the supports and a part of the raft and keep some for grabbing when i dunk and swirl it in IPA and water, ill either dunk it manually or use a magnetic stirrer, the supports get softer a bit even in room temp water.
I am just starting - and I am making very tiny miniature doll accessories- the supports are killing me - I think I am using too many ? I am letting lychee auto add light supports - but there is sooo many supports
In terms of working with resin, I remember seeing you use reusable gloves in earlier videos. How do you remove the uncured resin from gloves, tools, the mats, etc without creating a giant waste of paper towels? Do you soak them in the iso alcohol and let them air dry?
Paper towels will be wasted unfortunately. The best way to be safe with resin is to cure anything resin touches after wiping it down with alcohol, and then cleaning it up with a paper towel. I have the same thick resuable gloves and I still wipe them down with a paper towel before leaving them in front of the window to make sure any resin is cured, same goes for tools like the scrapers. Poor some Isoproyl on a paper towel, give it a wipe down, dry it and then leave it with the gloves. Unfortunately the thick gloves remove a lot of your dexterity, so I recommend switching to the disposable gloves AFTER cleaning the model in alcohol and water. At that point you can basically reuse those gloves because they aren't touching raw resin, and anything remaining was likely cleaned up from either the alcohol bath or the water wash. Then have the dexterity you need for clipping supports or cleaning up certain areas.
Most of that stuff would be dedicated to the printer, so they don't need to be cleaned. You're wearing gloves any time you would touch them anyways, so it's not an issue. In fact, I've actually gotten removing my gloves down without touching the inside/etc. so I can reuse them without washing. That being said, yea. You'll go through paper towels. It happens. Resin is one of those annoying liquids, where it will transfer to anything and spread like crazy if you let it. Paper towels are the main thing to stop that. ( Note: I still wipe any bulk liquid resin off of everything with paper towels anyways. I just don't "clean" them, which can include using a "dirty" paper towel many times before it needs to finally be cured and tossed out. )
Jesse: Your methodology seems a bit flawed to me. Is there a reason you wouldn't soften the fully cured model in warm water? As shown, you made two changes to the support removal procedure (pre-cure removal AND warm water bath) and declared the second superior. I would like to see you print the same model a third time, cure it prior to removing the supports but give it the warm water bath treatment and show the results alongside these results.
One of the main issues to not cure supports is that there's a much bigger chance of breaking the model while taking the supports. If the supports are well setup they will come out with no marks and without any effort. Curing the model will definitely leave marks on the model when removing the supports. Warm water is not always needed with uncured supports.
Fully cured supports are much harder, so warm water doesn't really cut it for softening them up. That's more of an extra kicker to help, rather than its own separate thing.
Can I ask you a question? For some reason, I have fingerprints that let marks everywhere even if I wear a pair of gloves. I usually wear two pairs of gloves, but I'm scared of touching the uncured prints too much, so I cure them and then I remove the supports without fear of stamping my prints on them. Would it be too risky for me to try the warm water method? I'm feeling I'm gonna let my prints everywhere on the figures if I do that >.
You can try to get in really close with the clippers and clip it away. I can usually get pretty clean breaks, if not some light sanding or filling the hole slightly with a drop of resin and then cure it with a UV light/pen
If that's on a model you supported in the slicer, try using thinner supports on parts that are less critical to support the model. If you have the right settings those supports are super thin and will leave not marks.
Heating the print ( as in warm water in this video ) helps a lot here. Softer supports mean they are much less likely to break a chunk out, but rather peel off cleanly. Make sure not to rush the support removal: If it's starting to cool down and harden back up, stop and heat it up again.
