Drying and Curing
I just, found to my surprise, that my Prusa CW1 drys but then doesn't cure by default!
Make sure you go into [Advanced Settings] and change <Dry> to <Dry/Cure>
I had an interesting discussion with the fellas at Monocure3D this week about curing times. I told them how I'd cure (or so I thought) in the Prusa CW1 and then leave out in the Australian sun. I'd previously been told that parts get much stronger if left in the sun for a day, would peak after about a week and then begin degrading. Also, and chemists don't understand why, resins will continue to cure on the inside even when not exposed to direct UV.
They told me to think of a curing station as providing a gentle cure (little UV constrained by bandwidth and power) whereas the sun is a strong cure (lots of UV across all bandwidths). I should feel whether the part is getting hot in the sun, because too much heat and too much UV can make them yellow and brittle. Its apparently ok if curing in the sun but not getting hot. Given that I've been post-curing in the sun here during a Canberra winter my parts haven't been getting warm let alone hot, and yet they've become (yellowed) strong with Tuff resin or brittle with Rapid resin.
As to how long to cure in the CW1? They advised I should be aiming for 15 minutes in a post-curing station. The CW1 only goes up to 10 minutes, and that's not by default...
RE: Drying and Curing
The CW1 is a lot stronger than other curing and washing machines. I usually use 3 minutes, but you can double that if you like.
RE: Drying and Curing
I just, found to my surprise, that my Prusa CW1 drys but then doesn't cure by default!
Make sure you go into [Advanced Settings] and change <Dry> to <Dry/Cure>
I had an interesting discussion with the fellas at Monocure3D this week about curing times. I told them how I'd cure (or so I thought) in the Prusa CW1 and then leave out in the Australian sun. I'd previously been told that parts get much stronger if left in the sun for a day, would peak after about a week and then begin degrading. Also, and chemists don't understand why, resins will continue to cure on the inside even when not exposed to direct UV.
They told me to think of a curing station as providing a gentle cure (little UV constrained by bandwidth and power) whereas the sun is a strong cure (lots of UV across all bandwidths). I should feel whether the part is getting hot in the sun, because too much heat and too much UV can make them yellow and brittle. Its apparently ok if curing in the sun but not getting hot. Given that I've been post-curing in the sun here during a Canberra winter my parts haven't been getting warm let alone hot, and yet they've become (yellowed) strong with Tuff resin or brittle with Rapid resin.
As to how long to cure in the CW1? They advised I should be aiming for 15 minutes in a post-curing station. The CW1 only goes up to 10 minutes, and that's not by default...
What, why? I was actually suspicous about (only used CW1 twice) this and its true... damm. Should be by default both curing and drying... its even reffered in manual as one thing""
RE: Drying and Curing
Different resins will react to the curing process slightly differently, so there really isn't a one size fits all. The print itself (really dense or delicate) also plays a roll.
That said, I print with Elegoo's water washable grey and have been doing a 30 minute dry (had to modify the firmware) and 10 minute cure. So far everything is coming out really well.
RE: Drying and Curing
Make sure you go into [Advanced Settings] and change <Dry> to <Dry/Cure>
With "Dry" (or other) selected you can also just long-press the knob to change the default option from Dry <> Cure <> Dry/Cure. Faster than going down in the settings each time.