Cura is the advised software for preparing 3D print files. 3.7 on 23 votes. Ultimaker Cura can be used to prepare your model for 3D printing.
If you haven’t yet, check out our review of the Monoprice Mini SLA.
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Slicing with Cura. There are many different applications that we can use to take 3d models and slice them into the gcode language that the Select Mini uses to print. Cura, Slic3r, Repetierhost and Simplify3D are all good choices with a large community of support. For the beginner, Cura is by far the best option. Creative Anger is a new channel dedicated to technology, science, and the arts. Link to Cura Download: https://ultimaker.com/en/products/ultimaker-cura-softw.
The Monoprice Mini SLA and SLA Deluxe printers are DLP, digital light processing, style printers. Instead of using a laser to trace out a pattern to harden resin, as traditional SLA printer do, DLP printers project UV light into a vat of UV sensitive resin.
The Monoprice MIni SLA line of printers are clones of the Wanhao Duplicator 7 series of printers. So much so that the instructions included with my printer reference the Duplicator.
Before you Start
It may be exciting to get an new 3D printer. But before you get your printer, there are a few things you need to have on hand.
Disposable Gloves
The resin that you will be using is incredibly toxic. You do not want to get any on your skin.
Get several box of disposable gloves like these. These gloves should be worn any time you are working with your resin printer.
Isopropyl Alcohol
Isopropyl alcohol, or IPA is a solvent that you will use to clean excess resin. You will need a higher concentration, at least 90%.
When your print comes out, there will still be a thin layer of liquid resin on the outside. Place the print into a contain of IPA and agitate. This will help remove the excess resin.
You will want to rinse off the print in IPA after removing it from the bath. Is apple microsoft. This is to ensure that the alcohol from the previous bath that contains the uncured resin in it is completely removed so that you can safely begin post processing.
UV Light
Part of the post-processing process is to finish curing the print. This is why you want the excess resin removed.
You will need a UV light to finish the curing process. Get a light similar to this one that I use.
You want a light source that is at least 30 watts. Too low a wattage and it will take too long for your print to finish using. Too high and it will quickly over cure and become brittle.
This light can also be used when you inevitably spill resin. Using a paper town soaked in IPA and wipe up the resin. Shine the UV light to safely cure the resin for disposal.
Setting up the printer
Setting up the printer is rather straight forward. Tighten down the star knobs on the resin reservoir.
Before connecting the build plate to the platform, be sure to lightly sand the plate with fine grit sand paper. Your prints will not adhere well to a smooth build plate.
Before lowering the build platform down into the vat, loosen the hex screws on either side of the build plate. Your printer should have come with the correct screw driver for this.
Once the screws are slightly loose, the build plate should loosely hang from the build platform. Lower the plate into the reservoir using either the on screen menu in the Deluxe model.
If you have the regular SLA, use the Creation Workshop on your attached computer. You’ll need to click the connect button at the top in order for the software to establish the connection with the printer. Click on the Control tab then click the Z home button. If you do not have the software setup, check the section below for instructions.
As the platform lowers into the vat, the build plate will touch the bottom. This ensures that the plate is correctly leveled. Tighten the screws back up.
Pour some resin into the reservoir until it is about 1/4 full and you are ready to set up the software.
Setting up the Software
The software that comes with a Monoprice Mini SLA printer is called Creation Workshop. With SLA technology being relatively new to the home market, there are not nearly as many options for software as there are for filament based 3D printers.
There are a few sections you will need to configure for your printer. There are settings for the printer itself and then there are settings for slicing.
Configure Machine
When you click on the Configure tab, you should have the options to Configure Machine and Configure Slicing Profile.
You shouldn’t need to change any settings on this screen. If your settings match those shown, you should be good to go.
The options on the far right determine what controls you have enabled on the Control tab. This software does have the capability of connecting with filament based 3D printers. For our Monoprice Mini SLA printers, the only settings that matter are the Z axis and shutter.
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The Z axis controls the up and down movement of the build plate while the shutter turns on and off the UV light below the resin reservoir. Be careful not to turn the shutter on manually when you have resin the reservoir. Since the printer acts as a second monitor and your computer does not know the difference, if the shutter opens the UV light will project an image just like a second monitor.
Configure Slicing Profile
This screen allows you to configure a slicing profile. There are several profiles already prebuilt for you to use. I created a 35 micron or 0.035 mm layer size profile for extremely
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high quality prints.
There is a default profile for 50 microns which should give you excellent quality prints, better than is possible on most filament printers.
Your first print
Now that you have your printer set up, the next step is to load an stl file. Click on the first button, the one that looks like a folder, at the top of the Creation Workshop screen. This will allow you to navigate your file system to the location you saved your stl file at.
Supports
Before you print your item, you may want to consider adding supports.
On the left side of the screen is a plus sign icon. Clicking that icon brings up the Support Generation options. You shouldn’t need to mess around with the settings here.
Under Automatic Supports there are 2 options. The default option is Bed of Nails, which creates a simply set of nail supports, spaced at constant intervals. The other option is Adaptive Supports, which will attempt to place supports exactly where they are needed.
I find that Adaptive Supports is too aggressive, placing multiple support nails next to each other resulting in supports that are too strong and not easily removed. What works best for me is to use Bed of Nails and then add manual supports where needed.
At the very top of the Support Generation options are 4 buttons. The first button has a small plus sign in the upper left corner and a large dash at the bottom. This creates a raft like support below your model. This can be used to increase the area of contact with the built plate and improve adhesion when printing.
The second support button is the manual supports button. This allows you to create nail supports exactly where you want them.
Automatic supports are generated with the third button. Once you have selected the type of automatic supports, click and they will be generated. The fourth button sets whether supports are to be added to all models you have loaded or just the one selected.
Scaling, Rotating and Moving
The options on the right side of the screen allow you to scale, rotate or move the selected object on the screen. When you click any of these button, the features or options in the section appear.
Scene displays a list of all objects you have loaded, including all the individual supports. The plus button allows you to make copies of the object you have selected, the minus button removes the object, and the X button clears the build space.
Object Info give info about the current selected object on the screen.
Move (mm) gives you precise movement control of the object you have selected. You can move objects by dragging them but these controls allow you to specify a precise distance to move using X/Y/Z.
Mirror allows you to create a mirror image of the object you have selected. This is nice for D&D minis to give the prints some variety when making multiple copies.
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Scale % allows you to scale the object. You do have to be careful. Scale applies to the current size of the object not the original size.
Rotate allows rotating the selected object around a specific axis.
View Options gives you some options for changing how you see the objects on screen and does not affect how the objects print.
Once you have the 3D image positioned the way you like with any supports you need, click the second button on the top of the Creation Workshop screen, the one that looks like an old fashion floppy disk. The will save the location for the sliced file.
Next you need to actually slice the image. To do that, click the fifth icon on the top row, the one that looks like a wedge. You will get a drop down menu to select which slicing profile you want to use.
Once the progress bar is complete, the file is ready to print.
If you have the Deluxe model, copy the file you saved onto the thumb drive and take it to your printer. If you have the regular SLA model, click the play button on the top bar. If they play button is grayed out, be sure to click the third button to connect to the printer.
Conclusion
Setting up the Monoprice Mini SLA printer is not too difficult. After a little while, printing will start to become natural for you.
Don’t forget to join the Monoprice Facebook page if you have any questions.
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Happy printing.