Sunlight/UV curing times for UV cured resin?

[bootneck]

Hello everyone,

During the past dark winter months, which aren't actually over yet and we are having dark days still, I have been curing my prints in a UV lit box, as per this design.  What I would like to know is:  how long should I expose the printed piece to direct sunlight or UV lamp before it is done;  a few minutes, all day?  Any recommendations?

I use an Anycubic Photon S printer and ECO plant based resins.

 

cheers,
Mike

[hendie]

I can't answer your question directly Mike, but I can tell you what I do.

I only use the UV lamps as a last resort or unless I need something very fast - the heat from the UV's can warp delicate parts very easily.

I generally stick parts on the kitchen window cill - it gets sunlight, but not direct sunlight.  I'll leave things there from 30 minutes to a few hours (mainly as I'll be doing something else) depending upon part size and wall thickness.  

The parts 'feel' different after curing and that's about as definitive as I can get. Sorry if that's not much help.

[The Spadgent]

On 26/02/2021 at 16:32, hendie said:

I can't answer your question directly Mike, but I can tell you what I do.

I only use the UV lamps as a last resort or unless I need something very fast - the heat from the UV's can warp delicate parts very easily.

I generally stick parts on the kitchen window cill - it gets sunlight, but not direct sunlight.  I'll leave things there from 30 minutes to a few hours (mainly as I'll be doing something else) depending upon part size and wall thickness.  

The parts 'feel' different after curing and that's about as definitive as I can get. Sorry if that's not much help.

Thanks. I’ll use that method to cure my first prints. I have seen some folk put their prints in water before popping under UV lamp or window cill. Apparently the water helps reflect/ refract the light onto the model. Have you ever tried this? 
 

Johnny