Carving out the inside of your resin 3D creations is a crucial maneuver many enthusiasts tend to bypass, a technique I was once oblivious about. Once I gained insight into the inner world of hollowing, I felt a strong urge to share this knowledge. To carve out your resin 3D artworks, simply navigate to the “Hollow” option in the resin slicing tool of your choice, be it Lychee Slicer, PrusaSlicer, ChiTuBox, or other tools like Meshmixer. Configure the Wall Thickness, Infill, and various parameters to birth a masterfully hollowed resin artifact. Dive deeper into this guide for enriched insights, and elevate your resin craft!
Why Hollow Your Resin 3D Creations?
The art of hollowing your resin 3D masterpieces is primarily about material conservation. By doing so, not only are you preventing a full, solidified model but also enhancing the print’s success rate by lowering its weight on the build platform. Do ensure your wall thickness stands robust for optimum durability. For a myriad of designs, hollowing is a brilliant choice, barring when it comes to miniatures. With miniatures, the resin savings are minimal and hollowing might disrupt the design.
Mastering the Hollowing Technique
Hollowing is a breeze! Activate the hollowing function in your slicer and let the journey begin. Define your parameters, such as wall thickness and infill, to your liking.
Hollowing with Lychee Slicer
In Lychee Slicer, the gateway to hollowing lies under “Supports”. This zone also lets you introduce supports, holes, rafts, and more. Engage the Hollowing tool, fine-tune the settings, and voilà! With default settings, you can achieve a 2.5mm Wall Thickness and 20% Infill. You could either opt for infill or craft custom supports inside, ensuring the areas within remain supported.
How It Looks: A hollow model can greatly conserve resin. A non-hollowed counterpart, however, only adds weight and consumes more resin. The perfect blend? A hollowed model with infill. Lychee Slicer lays a sturdy foundation within your resin artwork ensuring flawless printing.
Hollowing in ChiTuBox
In ChiTuBox, the hollowing realm is a click away. Define your Wall Thickness, Precision, Infill Structure, and other preferences. The entire process is visually delightful!
PrusaSlicer’s Hollowing Realm
For PrusaSlicer enthusiasts, the hollowing realm lies on the left toolbar under “Hollow and drill [H]”. Tweak the parameters like Wall Thickness, Accuracy, and more to your liking. The default Wall Thickness stands strong at 3mm, a standard many adhere to.
Hollowing in Meshmixer
For the Meshmixer fans, the hollowing path begins with the “Edit” button, leading you to “Hollow”. Tailor settings like Offset Distance, Solid Accuracy, and more. Once satisfied, seal the deal with “Accept” and export your masterpiece!
Curing the Hollowed Wonders
Curing your hollow creations is a standard affair with UV light. To elevate the curing process for the insides, employ a compact UV torchlight, ensuring you’ve meticulously cleaned the residual resin.
Addressing the Uncured Resin Dilemma
Facing issues with uncured resin trapped inside? Minimize infill and ensure a thorough cleaning post-printing. For cleaning, tools like Wash & Cure machines or ultrasonic cleaners work wonders. Additionally, ChiTuBox even offers a handy feature where you can print plugs for the drainage holes you create.
Filling the Hollow Creations
Wish to add some heft to your hollow artifacts? Employ materials like expanding foam, epoxy resin, or even fine-grained silica sand. Post-filling, seal the deal with a touch of your base resin, cured using UV light, ensuring a robust and weighty masterpiece.