Tank Heating
Heat can act as a catalyst in the photopolymerization process that takes place during a print job in your SprintRay Pro 3D printer.
Warmer resins
- Print faster
- Adhere more consistently to the platform
- Have lower viscosity
Tank heating ensures that this important variable stays in a controlled range for the best results possible.
How to Enable
As of RayWare 2.7 and PrintOS 6.31.10, tank heating is on by default. If you need to, you can turn it off by going to the ‘Tank Heating’ setting in your printer’s General Settings. When enabled, it will automatically activate during printing to ensure a consistent temperature is maintained throughout your print. Previous versions of the software and firmware have it disabled by default, but you can use these same instructions to turn it on. Note that in previous versions, heating may behave differently than outlined here as it was still in Beta.
How it Works
At the start of each print, SprintRay Pro measures the temperature inside of the print area. If the ambient temperature is lower than the minimum threshold for the selected resin, the Pro will enter a preheating cycle. This will continue until the chamber reaches that threshold or has been heated for up to 20 minutes. The platform will periodically move up and down to stir the resin during this process.
With most resins, continuous tank heating is not necessary throughout the course of a print. Enough heat is typically generated through the photoinitiated reaction to maintain the minimum heat threshold.
Due to this ambient heating effect, it is possible for the ambient temperature to exceed the max threshold. When the printer reaches this heat ceiling, it will pause until the temperature has returned to the ideal window.
Important!
The heater is built into the metal cradle that holds your Pro 3D Printer’s tank. This metal frame can become very hot when tank heating is in progress. Take care when touching the cradle! For most resins it heats to 35°C, but for others it can get to 60°C.
As always, make sure you are shaking your resin prior to printing, or thoroughly stirring the resin in the tank to ensure it is mixed homogenously. This will help ensure successful prints!