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Manual

for Elegoo Mars 3 resin printer

Safety​

Resin can irritate your skin, so make sure to wear nitrile gloves and safety goggles.

How do resin printers work?​

Resin is added to the resin tray in liquid form. UV lights that shine through the screen hit the transparent bottom of the resin tray. The resin will harden in those spots.

For every layer of the print, the screen will emit UV light for a few seconds. The build plate will rise and lower between layers.

Resin​

Different resins behave differently in look, toughness, brittleness, flexibility, temperature resistance, etc. and require different exposure times.

Some resins are water-soluble, while others will have to be rinsed/removed with 99% isopropyl alcohol.

Do not, under any circumstance, pour any of these liquids (with resin in them) down the drain.

The 3D printer

Specs​

  • Technology: UV Photocuring
  • Light Source: UV Integrated LED (wavelength 405nm)
  • XY Resolution: 0.035mm (4098*2560)
  • Z Axis Accuracy: 0.00125mm
  • Layer Thickness: 0.01-0.2mm
  • Printing Time: 1.5-3s per layer
  • Build volume: 14.336cm (L) * 8.96cm (W) * 17.5cm (H)

Printer parts​

Build plate

Resin tray

Screen with FEP film (FEP = Fluorinated Ethylene Propylene)

"PFA release liner = less release tension and higher printing success rate" (?)

Troubleshooting the printer​

Leveling the build plate​

  1. Remove the resin tray
  2. Loosen the two bolts on the side of the build plate (don't remove them)
  3. Add a piece of paper to the screen (taking care not to scratch or damage the screen)
  4. Lower the build plate
  5. Raise the build plate by 0.1 mm and see if the paper moves slightly but equally on all corners
  6. Press the "z=0" button

Test the screen​

  1. Remove the resin tray
  2. Add a piece of paper to the screen
  3. Navigate to the menu exposure and test the screen for a few seconds
  4. Don't look directly into the UV light. (That's what the paper is there for as well.)

Cones of Calibration v3​

In order to test your settings for the resin you're using, print the so-called Cones of Calibration. It's a free file that should print in one hour and that tests a number of settings on your machine.

the cones of calibration (link)

Printing

Files​

Slice your file with Lychee slicer or Chitubox and save as a .ctb file. Transfer the .ctb file to the Mars 3 with a USB drive and load the print from the printer.

Cleaning​

  1. Dunk the print in the dirtiest alcohol jar first and swirl it around for half a minute
  2. Do the same with the medium dirty jar
  3. Use a very soft (bamboo) toothbrush to clean off the last bits of resin
  4. Do a final rinse in the cleanest jar

See instruction card

Removing supports​

If needed, dunk your print in warm to hot water for half a minute to a minute. (The warmer the water, the less time you want to leave it in.) This will soften the uncured print. There's a risk to prints with very fine detail, though.

Sources