Aim of the test: We set out to test how different resins from 3Dresyns.com react to being: 1. cured under UV light, then 1.1 being cleaned with isopropyl alcohol 1.2 not being cleaned with isopropyl alcohol 2. cured in water under UV light, then 2.1 being cleaned with isopropyl alcohol 2.2 not being cleaned with isopropyl alcohol The aim was to see which of the resins - turn yellow or - become cloudy or - remained sticky during throughout this test run. The list of resins we tested are: 1. HTR-HF clear 2. OD-Clear Bio 3. HE clear 4. HF clear 5. UHF clear 6. CR-HF clear
Method and results: Using earbuds I carefully placed droplets of each resin onto see-through rulers as the clear background would allow me to see any yellowing and the clarity of the results after the various steps I'm testing. I wrote the name of each resin above its matchine droplets on masking tape which I stuck to the top of the rulers. Sample 1 (below) would be cured under UV light. The first line of droplets would then be cleaned with isopropyl alcohol while the second line of droplets would not. Sample 2 (below) would be cured in water under UV light. The first line of droplets would then be cleaned with isopropyl alcohol while the second line of droplets would not.
Sample 1 and 2
The resins appeared to be perfectly clear on the rulers with no yellow showing on any of them when they were still wet. Next, I placed both sample rulers in a UV curing box for 20 minutes to harden them.
Sample 1 and 2 in the UV curing box
All the resins were still clear after taking them out. Interestingly, all the UHF Clear resin dots were glowing when I opened the box while the rest of the droplets appeared clear (not sure why).
Both samples in the UV curing box just before taking them out - UHF Clear resin drops were glowing.
Next I placed Sample 2 inside a bowl of water inside the cure box (the entire sample was completely covered with water).
Sample 1 (left) curing in direct UV light and Sample 2 (right) curing in a container of water inside the UV curing box
I took both samples out after 20 minutes and all the resins were still clear apart from the following ones on Sample 2 that was cured in the water: - HE clear - CR HF Clear which had white spots - HTR HF also had white spotting The white spots wiped away when I dried off the resin dots with a tissue. I then noticed some of the dots were more sticky than others in the following ways: Sample 1 (Cured out of water): HTR-HF clear - seemed to still be wet OD-Clear Bio - still wet HE clear - just sticky, not set HF clear - rubbery feel, not wet UHF clear - felt wet still CR-HF - clear - still wet
Sample 2 (Cured in water): HTR-HF clear - very sticky OD-Clear Bio - didn't seem sticky at all HE clear - very sticky HF clear - felt rubbery UHF clear - was very sticky CR HF - very sticky It was clear that the resins of sample 2 cured completely in 20 minutes of curing in the water while the droplets of sample 1 hadn't finished curing in that time.
Next I cured Sample 1 (out of water) overnight. In the meantime, Sample 2 (cured in water) was ready for the next step. I used earbuds and cleaned each of the top line of dots individually with isopropyl alcohol by rubbing over it from side to side.
The next morning I took the Sample 1 (cured out of water) out of the UV box and continued testing.
Results for testing if any of the resins turned yellow:
I placed both samples on a white page - the drops that showed the most yellowing was UHF clear on both samples.
The bio resin also seemed to have a tiny bit of yellowing on both samples.
The rest appeared clear at this point.
Result for testing if any of the resins were cloudy: I tested the clarity of all of the drops on both samples by holding them over a black line that I drew with a pen on white paper.
There didn't seem to be one that appeared less clear than the others. Result for testing if the resins remained sticky: I then rubbed the top drops of Sample 1 that cured out of water with isopropyl alcohol on earbuds just as I had cleaned Sample 2 (cured in water) earlier - using fresh earbuds for each drop
At this stage, any of the droplets of Sample 2 that had been cured in water and cleaned with isopropyl alcohol wasn't sticky at all. I did rub it quite a bit though. I could later confirm that cleaning the droplets with alcohol definitely removed any stickiness while not making the drops cloudy. One resin that stood out for me is HF clear - it didn't show any scratches from being rubbed with the earbuds, tissues and sharper points when checked if it had cured.