processing instructions for Liqcreate Premium Tough 3D-printing resin

1) Shake before use.

For most resin, shaking for a couple minutes is advised, especially after longer storage to get a homogeneous mixture before printing. Same goes for Liqcreate Premium Tough. Shake for a couple minutes and let the resin rest for a couple minutes before using. During shaking the resin is homogenized, but some air bubbles will be present. If you start a print job right after shaking, air bubbles might be present in the first layers of the part.

2) 3D-printing parameters.

Liqcreate Premium Tough 3D-printing resin is designed for open compatibility on 405nm and 385nm DLP, MSLA, LCD and laser-based resin 3D-printers. It is important that the 3D-printer is open for 3^rd party resins and parameters can be changed. A lot of parameters are already prepared and listed here. Click on your actual printer to see if Liqcreate Premium Tough parameters are available. If that is not the case, send an e-mail to our technical team at info@liqcreate.com and they will try to help.

3) Support settings.

Support settings are depending on the type of resin in combination with the type of printer, release mechanism, material on the bottom of the resin tank and also the secondary settings like print speed. With the extreme growth of available resin 3D-printers in the past years, it is impossible to give validated support settings for each printer. In this section you can find settings for some generic printers, design and print speed. We tested a standard design with different settings. If your part is more bulky / large cross-section for each layer, then the support tip thickness or intersection might need to be increased.

Image: support settings of Premium Tough with our generic test parts.

 4) Cleaning, washing and post-curing your part.

Washing is similar to other Liqcreate resins. wash in either IPA, Ethanol or Liqcreate resin cleaner. For resin cleaner the cleaning instructions on that webpage can be used. For IPA and Ethanol they can be used in an ultrasonic cleaner or cleaner with agitation (like the new low costs Anycubic / Elegoo washing unit). Preferably 2 times 2 minutes washing and the second time in fresh IPA / ethanol. If there are small cavities that are not cleaned by this method, then use a soft brush to clean them out and wash in fresh solvent again for 1 minute. Then let the part dry. Before post-curing, inspect that the part is dry and completely free from solvent (no shiny resin spots on the surface). Otherwise wash again in fresh solvent for 1 minute. Do not wash for longer than necessary as parts can deform when exposed to IPA / Ethanol for >60 minutes when not fully cured. Also be careful if your parts are thin (<2mm) and the IPA in the ultrasonic cleaner is warm (>30°C), parts can warp. If you notice this, either make the parts thicker or wait until the temperature of the IPA is below 30°C.

When small holes and tight corners are difficult to clean, then brushing with a soft brush is advised to clean these specific areas. After brushing, rinse in fresh IPA / ethanol to get all resin leftovers cleaned.

If you have a heated curing unit, then cure for 30 minutes at 60°C to achieve optimal properties, otherwise 60 minutes at room temperature is sufficient. Extended post-curing information and testing of different curing units can be found in this link.

5) Discoloration of parts after extended UV-aging

After extended UV-aging or higher temperatures, Premium Tough will discolor. In worst case this is what to expect from a fresh part (left) and an intense UV-aged part (right). This discoloration can be masked by coloring the resin with for instance black colorants.

6) How to clean / filter the resin?

When a part failed during printing, it is always advised to clean your resin tank. This is usually done by filtering the resin to make sure all rigid plastic pieces are gone. If cured resin parts are present when you start a new print, they can damage your FEP film of even your LCD screen. A standard resin filter will work sufficiently to filter Premium Tough resin.

7) Minimum wall thickness.

The advised average minimal wall thickness for Liqcreate Premium Tough is 2,0 mm. it is possible to print finer details in local areas. Also larger thin walls can be printed but will require extra support structures for successful printing.

8) Part orientation and over-hang.

It is not advised to print large and relatively flat parts on supports. if possible, always print at an angle to prevent large bottom surfaces as the quality when printing in an angle is much better. In this test we printed a part from Thingiverse and also made a modification on it to see at which angle the parts can be printed. The thingiverse file was rather solid, while our own modification had a wall thickness of 2.0 mm.

Image: Testing printing angle with the Thingiverse (Thing 40382) file and a small modification of it with thinner walls (2.0 mm).

It is possible to print 2mm thick walls in Premium Tough at an angle of 70 degree. However, the bottom surface will be better when supporting parts with an angle above 40 degree.

9) Part surface finish or sticky surface.

The surface finish might be smoother compared to other resins as the Premium Tough. When parts look fuzzy, then the print parameters are often not correct. Over-curing and under-curing can lead to a poor surface definitions and a sticky surface. Dialing in the printing parameters is the first step to smooth and non-sticky parts. Furthermore there is more information in the washing section to get cleaner parts and prevent stickyness. Our engineers are happy to help, please contact info@liqcreate.com for assistance.

10) Through-cure / bleeding / inaccurate parts

Clear 3D-printing resins are susceptible for through-cure or bleeding. This means that the exposure of the current layer will penetrate beyond the current layer and can cure some of the previously printed layer. When there is liquid resin near (which is nearly always the case) it can start the polymerization process on these unwanted spots. Through-cure is very depending on the resin, wavelength and power of the printer. Clear resins will suffer more through-cure at 405nm wavelength in high-power printers. When present you will see these through-cure defects on the surfaces that are facing the build-plate. For instance were the supports touch the part and in holes on the top side. Using a too high exposure time for the regular layers can also cause excessive through-cure. To solve this you can start by using as low as exposure time as possible; reducing the UV power of the printer; or add colorants (yellow, orange, black, opaque colors) to the resin. In the example below you can see a minor through-cure which happens with optimized settings on the Mars 4 when printing Premium Tough at 0,1mm. For this printer this is the best possible with Premium Tough and it can only be further improved by adding colorants. Results might vary between printers. For help reach out to us at info@liqcreate.com and our engineers will support.

11) Part opacity and color

Liqcreate Premium Tough is a clear liquid. During the printing process it changes to a milky-white part. The perception of opacity can be different due to part thickness, surface toughness and the angle. In the images below there are a variety of parts photographed with different geometry to showcase the color and translucency/opacity of printed parts with Premium Tough.

12) Shrinkage compensation.

Tested on the Uniformation GKTwo, the shrinkage compensation in Chitubox to get better accuracy can be found in the picture below. If you need super accurate parts, it is worth to read this article. As that article explains that the accuracy for thick and thin parts may deviate when the parameters are not correctly set.

Image: Shrinkage / tolerance compensation for Premium Tough in Chitubox tested on the Uniformation GKtwo.

13) Resin temperature.

It is advised to print with Liqcreate Premium Tough resin at least at 20°C / 68°F and maximum at 25°C / 77°F. Printing at lower temperature causes random failure in the material. Printing at too high temperature can cause defects like over-curing and warpage. In most cases an external heater is not needed except during cold winters in areas that are poorly isolated or not heated.

14) Solving print failures with Liqcreate Premium Tough resin.

There are a lot of common resin 3D-printing issues. In this article you can find 10 common resin 3D-printing fails and how to solve them. If you have need support, send is an e-mail at info@liqcreate.com and our technical team will try to assist.

15) Storage conditions.

Store the product in its original bottle, plug and cap at minimal 5°C / 41°F and maximum 30°C / 86°F. Avoid sources of heat, radiation, static electricity, sunlight and contact with food.

16) Additional documentation

• – Liqcreate Premium Tough product page
• – Chemical compatibility of Liqcreate Premium Tough
• – Technical Datasheet Liqcreate Premium Tough
• – 3D-printing parameters of Liqcreate Premium Tough

If you have any questions when working with Liqcreate Premium Tough resin, send us an e-mail at info@liqcreate.com.

Premium Tough

Liqcreate Premium Tough is a tough and impact resistant resin for Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) and Digital Light Processing (DLP) 3D-printers. Liqcreate Premium Tough is perfect for manufacturing functional prototypes that require toughness and durability. Liqcreate Premium Tough is a transparent resin which turns into a beautiful milky white polymer during polymerization. The high impact strength and exceptional scratch resistance of Liqcreate Premium Tough makes it perfect for the functional prototypes and industrial spare parts.