Phrozen Sonic Mini 4K Help

[Car 54]

RE: slicers, Prusa slicer is very good for job setup and part refinement- it has excellent supports, allows hollowing, hole drilling, part slicing and automatic hole+pin alignment features for sliced parts, you can add embossed/engraved text or primitive shapes, etc etc. I don't use it for actual slicing/job files, because my Elegoo printer required Chitubox for the final step, but you can just export your Prusa build as an STL, so it's great for prepping models for printing, then exporting as an STL, and nesting + slicing that with another program. Even though we have Asiga printers and use Composer for creating jobs, I still set up some parts in Prusa because its supports and extra functionality are far better than what Composer offers.

Very helpful, thank you tuyere, I appreciate it

 

[Car 54]

For wash I use a small ultra sonic can’t remember if it’s from Harbor Freight or Amazon but it was no more than $50. Thing you want to make sure is it large enough for what you’re washing. So if you do a lot of models then get a bigger size if it’s for a few models (3 or less) the smaller sizes work great.

My step up is not the most time friendly but it’s efficient.
1) Dirty bath first for 3 minutes
2) Remove parts, use paper towel dabbed with IPA and scrub lightly.
3) Take dirty bath pour into container for use later (usually something smaller than the gallon it came in).
4) Pour clean IPA in empty ultra sonic and parts and clean for 1-2 minutes.
5) Repeat step 2 and 3 but with a separate container for the clean IPA.

I’ve been printing models, custom tray and night guards and have yet to use 2 gallons of IPA because it’s measured and specific to my print job. As opposed to a huge container.

In terms of curing unit think long term. Unless you can find a cure box under $500 that’s validated for your resin. It’s better to future proof the cure unit as resins are constantly being validated for use in dental.

Yep, that's what I was seeing, too as far as the oversized ipa containers.

When you say future-proof a cure box, what I'll be using this for, at least for now, are printed solid models for wax-up, and occasional opposing .stl file sent from my accounts and for solid contacts. The liquids for Phrozen cure at 405 nm, and I have one of those fingernail cure units at 385 for GC stains and glazes. Would both of these get me by for a while, until I learn more about what I'm doing and how all of this works?

 

[mightymouse]

Thank you mightymouse, I appreciate it Would I be pushing it too far by asking what slicing software you use? I've seen their list:

Collection / Accessories

Make 3D printing easy with reliable tools and accessories

phrozen3d.com

as well as this:

Download the latest version of Lychee Slicer for SLA/Resin 3D Printers

Download the latest version of Lychee Slicer, for your favorite SLA 3D printer. Avaialble for Windows, Mac and Linux

mango3d.io

So I use the free version of Chitubox. Chitubox is Phrozens own slicing program that actually works with its competitors which is pretty cool. It’s preloaded with all available resins. You select your printer and all the resins including keystone are preloaded and ready to go. The supports are AI generated and you can manually adjust as needed. It’s about the only thing in terms of 3D printing ecosystem that’s plug and play. I believe if you get the Sonic XL or the new Sonic XL (forget the name) you have to pay for the Pro version.

 

[Car 54]

So I use the free version of Chitubox. Chitubox is Phrozens own slicing program that actually works with its competitors which is pretty cool. It’s preloaded with all available resins. You select your printer and all the resins including keystone are preloaded and ready to go. The supports are AI generated and you can manually adjust as needed. It’s about the only thing in terms of 3D printing ecosystem that’s plug and play. I believe if you get the Sonic XL or the new Sonic XL (forget the name) you have to pay for the Pro version.

Thanks again for helping me out It's good to know Chitubox is something I can use right out of the Chitbox I started watching a YouTube video about it last night, on what the settings are, and mean and will probably download it for easy reference and review.

Apologies, NDA for my sideways hijacking your thread, but since it was in the same family of printers, I hope you didn't mind

 

[mightymouse]

Yep, that's what I was seeing, too as far as the oversized ipa containers.

When you say future-proof a cure box, what I'll be using this for, at least for now, are printed solid models for wax-up, and occasional opposing .stl file sent from my accounts and for solid contacts. The liquids for Phrozen cure at 405 nm, and I have one of those fingernail cure units at 385 for GC stains and glazes. Would both of these get me by for a while, until I learn more about what I'm doing and how all of this works?

For those applications you’re good to go. None of those resin products will go into the mouth. I mentioned it before but don’t bother with the dental model resin their 4K Aqua is great. Happy to help.

 

[NDA]

Late Update:
It took a while, but I figured things out with Phrozen and fixed the issue I had. If someone buys Phrozen printer and has white screen issue, it probably means that the firmware update on their page is not correct for your printer. You'll need to contact Phrozen to get the correct files for the firmware printer. After I updated the firmware, the models improved a lot. I no longer have that issue of fluffy surface or blooming as someone mentioned. I honestly didn't think it would be the firmware update issue, because the printer was new and I would have expected the company to already update the printer with the latest firmware. As of now, I keep printing more test models to see how the fit goes. I still have a problem of using Itero articulator with the printed model. The holes are too tight to connect to Itero articulator for some reason. It could be the dme issue though. I'm also referencing the Ameralab's Calibration piece to play with the setting. I can't seem to get the 0.1mm openings right. It says I need to decrease my exposure duration, but it's not working. I'm starting to think it's just limit of my 4k printer.

Re: IPA bath. I've been brushing it because the resin seems quite viscous and tends to stick with the model on the crevasse. I had to brush it to get rid of the stickiness. Also, the wash & cure kit I bought from Phrozen is big. It's for all their printers, so I think it was created to fit models created by their mega printers too. That's why I needed to use quite a bit of IPA to get the best use of it.

Re: Slicer program. I use chitubox. There is limit to it, but it does the job. I just bought the pro version to try it for a month. I haven't had time to learn its features yet. Also, I really wish there was selective hollowing and hollowing all the way to the bottom feature. If there's one, if someone could let me know that would be greatly helpful.

Quick question. How long does it take for other people to print their models? It takes me a little more than 2 hours to print the full arch models (pictures I posted earlier in this thread) flat on the plate. It takes more than 5 hours to print the full arch models angled as suggested by Phrozen (75 degrees).

 

[Car 54]

Re: IPA bath. I've been brushing it because the resin seems quite viscous and tends to stick with the model on the crevasse. I had to brush it to get rid of the stickiness. Also, the wash & cure kit I bought from Phrozen is big. It's for all their printers, so I think it was created to fit models created by their mega printers too. That's why I needed to use quite a bit of IPA to get the best use of it.

That's what I was wondering, and maybe what @mightymouse implied in one of his posts on page 2. That the Phrozen wash and cure seems pretty big, so I'll go on Amazon and check out Anycubic and Elegoo.

And as @bigj1972 mentioned, this has been a good thread.

 

[mmbh]

I have a mighty 8k and it is slower than I was expecting. I print all models flat anyway. Angled takes way too long. There has been issues with dimensional accuracy for bridge cases. For single cases seems not to bad. Its not one of my main printers but I really like their vanilla colored resin for models. My Employees use it a lot for printing mini figures and stuff. I let them print whatever they want as much as they want with it as a learning curve and for testing. In the end the Phrozen printers have not been reliable enough to use as one of my main printers for the volume of models we need. I think it could get there though. If your only doing a handful of models per day its probably fine as long as it meets your dimensional accuracy needs.

 

[mightymouse]

Re: Slicer program. I use chitubox. There is limit to it, but it does the job. I just bought the pro version to try it for a month. I haven't had time to learn its features yet. Also, I really wish there was selective hollowing and hollowing all the way to the bottom feature. If there's one, if someone could let me know that would be greatly helpful.

So they do have a hollow out setting. It’s the 4 or 5 option from the top menu. It’s not selective like you mentioned but it hollows out according to the object.

Quick question. How long does it take for other people to print their models? It takes me a little more than 2 hours to print the full arch models (pictures I posted earlier in this thread) flat on the plate. It takes more than 5 hours to print the full arch models angled as suggested by Phrozen (75 degrees).

Using exocad model creator I adjust the model just at the peripherally role. As a removable tech I can’t get any lower. At this height I can print in about 1:45-2 hours flat. With model creator it creates a flat surface with no need for supports. So I print right on the build plate. You can also adjust the height in the slicing program to seat just below the build plate to reduce the layer height thus reducing your print time even more. Just be careful how close they are laid together. Don’t over crowd. When it comes time to separate it from the build plate it can be a headache with lots of bandaids on your hand due to accidental cuts from the scraper.

 

[mmbh]

Quick tip. In Exocad model creator put a chamfer on the back of the models. You can pop them off the build plate very easily.

 

[Car 54]

@NDA apologies for busting into your thread again...but, So I finally got my Mini 8K-S up and running, and the first print came out excellent, the surface is very smooth. The resin cured wonderfully. The 2nd one has a bit of tweaking to do. I did want to run the Cones calibration, but can't figure out how the get the file on the USB to be recognized by Phrozen on the screen, it only shows the two samples that are included with their files, which are a .phz file.

I unzipped the Cones file, opened it in Chitubox, and tried saving it to the USB as a .phz a .ctb, and the .stl file that it unzipped as, but it's not showing up on the screen. What foolishly simple thing am I missing, maybe besides watching a video like below?





Thanks for any suggestions you can give me

 

[mightymouse]

Try the firmware update from Chitubox. I believe it was solution for NDA’s problem. It should be on the Chitubox website. If I remember correctly you select your printer and it gives you the firmware file to download. Use the same usb that came with the printer and download the newest firmware and install that into the printer. Should solve the issue. Just be careful it’s done right as it can brick the printer. In either case if you need Phrozens help consider a few days before they get back. Good luck.

 

[erykd1]

Try the firmware update from Chitubox. I believe it was solution for NDA’s problem. It should be on the Chitubox website. If I remember correctly you select your printer and it gives you the firmware file to download. Use the same usb that came with the printer and download the newest firmware and install that into the printer. Should solve the issue. Just be careful it’s done right as it can brick the printer. In either case if you need Phrozens help consider a few days before they get back. Good luck.

This is correct! The new version of Chitubox requires a firmware update to your Phrozen printers due to a change in the print file format. All you need to do is download the new firmware from the Phrozen website, put the files on a blank USB, and restart your printer.

 

[Car 54]

Thank you both, @mightymouse and @erykd1 for your help. I'll go through those steps

 

[NDA]

@NDA apologies for busting into your thread again...but, So I finally got my Mini 8K-S up and running, and the first print came out excellent, the surface is very smooth. The resin cured wonderfully. The 2nd one has a bit of tweaking to do. I did want to run the Cones calibration, but can't figure out how the get the file on the USB to be recognized by Phrozen on the screen, it only shows the two samples that are included with their files, which are a .phz file.

I unzipped the Cones file, opened it in Chitubox, and tried saving it to the USB as a .phz a .ctb, and the .stl file that it unzipped as, but it's not showing up on the screen. What foolishly simple thing am I missing, maybe besides watching a video like below?
View attachment 43515
View attachment 43517



Thanks for any suggestions you can give me

I'm sorry, I only just now saw this message. I'm sure you've already fixed the issue at this point, but I'll post my reply just in case. As for the files not showing up within the printer screen, I've had the same issue before and I realized that only the ctb files show up on the screen. I've tried printing the files with different file formats and they just weren't showing up on the screen. As everyone mentioned, updating firmware was a way to fix my issue, which was different than this issue. I also highly recommend contacting Phrozen if you continue to have problems with firmware. The firmware listed on their website wasn't working for me. I contacted them and they told me the firmware wasn't installing properly because my printer had new version of touch panel(?) and gave me the correct version of firmware for my printer, which worked out.

 

[Car 54]

I'm sorry, I only just now saw this message. I'm sure you've already fixed the issue at this point, but I'll post my reply just in case. As for the files not showing up within the printer screen, I've had the same issue before and I realized that only the ctb files show up on the screen. I've tried printing the files with different file formats and they just weren't showing up on the screen. As everyone mentioned, updating firmware was a way to fix my issue, which was different than this issue. I also highly recommend contacting Phrozen if you continue to have problems with firmware. The firmware listed on their website wasn't working for me. I contacted them and they told me the firmware wasn't installing properly because my printer had new version of touch panel(?) and gave me the correct version of firmware for my printer, which worked out.

Thank you for the reply I had tried downloading the firmware from the website and will confirm what file format I was using, as I haven't gotten back to the printer since my above post. I'll also email them if needed, for their recommended firmware version