3D printing has come a long way in just a few short years. Many entry-level 3D printing enthusiasts utilize a newer method of 3D printing that uses plastic filament as the printing material. However, an older and more complex method utilizes liquid resin to create highly detailed and durable pieces.
Leftover 3D printing resin can be reused for your next printing projects or thrown out. In order to safely reuse 3D printing resin, there are several processes involved. Working with resin is more complex than filament because of the chemicals involved in making it.
This article will detail the best practices to follow with leftover 3D resin, whether you intend to reuse it on your next 3D-printed model or simply throw it away. We’ll cover both unused liquid resin and hardened resin used in the creation and support of the model. Additionally, we will look into the best practices for storing resin and maintaining your 3D printer’s resin vat.
What To Do With Leftover 3D Printing Resin
3D printing resin comes in bottles, which can be poured into the 3D printer’s resin vat or tank for use. After the project has been printed, there may be unused liquid resin remaining in the tank.
There may also be a resin that has been hardened and printed to support the construction of the model but will be removed as the piece is finalized.
You might be wondering what to do with this leftover 3D printing material.
Unused Liquid Resin
Liquid resin is made with hazardous chemicals that can be dangerous if mismanaged. If not properly stored or disposed of, you will—at best—end up wasting perfectly good resin or—at worst—cause damage to you, your printer, or the environment.
When the liquid resin is exposed to ultraviolet light, it hardens and eventually cures. In this state, it is harmless and non-toxic. However, it can’t be used again.
If the leftover resin is in a liquid state, you’ll likely want to save it. The raw resin is perfectly safe to keep in the 3D printing tank, provided it is adequately shielded from heat and ultraviolet light to prevent it from hardening.
After printing, ensure that there are no pieces of cured or semi-cured resin inside the tank. If there are, you’ll want to remove or filter them out first. You can then cover the tank and store any leftover resin if desired.
As an added precaution, it is recommended that you also cover the printer itself. This keeps the temperature cool and provides another layer of protection against UV light. It could also increase the lifetime of your printer.
If you can’t shield the resin tank from heat or UV light, experienced 3D printers suggest filtering and returning the resin to the UV-resistant bottle. Carefully remove the resin tank and pour it back into the bottle using a filter and funnel.
This will catch any hardened resin pieces and allow the usable liquid back into the bottle, where it can be stored for up to one year. Resin is still usable beyond its one-year shelf life but may not be as strong upon hardening and curing.
Cured and Semi-Cured Resin
Once you’ve finished your 3D print, you’re likely to be left with semi or fully hardened resin in the process. Fully hardened and cured resin can be safely disposed of. In the case of structural supports made by the printer during the build, these can be simply thrown away.
However, if excess hardened or semi-cured resin leftover can’t be reused, it must be handled with care. Ensure that you follow standard safety protocols by wearing goggles, gloves, and a mask to block fumes if necessary.
Isopropyl rubbing alcohol should be used to clean up any excess resin leftover that you don’t plan on reusing. Wipe all surfaces and the tank, if you emptied it, out with a paper towel.
Next, gather up any cured or semi-cured resin, as well as your gloves or any other tools that may have resin on them, and ensure that they are fully cured and dry before tossing them out.
It is recommended that you leave this material in the sun to cure.
However, UV or heat lamps can also be used. Just make sure that the resin is 100% cured and non-toxic before disposing of it.
Other Tips for Conserving and Reusing Resin
The resin used in 3D printing is not cheap, especially compared to the much more accessible filament material. As such, you’ll want to make sure you conserve and reuse it when you can.
If you use different types of resin depending on your build, 3D printing experts suggest purchasing multiple resin tanks for your printer. That way, you can easily switch between tanks and store them away when not in use.
Having multiple tanks cuts back on the time-consuming process of filtering, emptying, and cleaning the tank after switching resins. Just make sure that you remove any hardened pieces of resin in the tank.
Additionally, cover and store the tanks away from sunlight and heat to ensure they do not cure. The resin should be stirred or swirled before using it again. If not properly stored, you’re essentially wasting the resin and thus, wasting money.
Finally, before throwing away empty resin containers, you must leave them open in a warm, sunny, well-ventilated area before throwing them away to ensure that the resin is hardened and non-toxic.
Conclusion
For newcomers to 3D printing, filament is the best material to start with. Resin is strong, versatile and allows for more detailed models, but the toxic chemical compounds involved in the production of resin should be handled with care.
If you find yourself with leftover 3D resin after a print, you should save and reuse as much of it by storing it in a cool place away from sunlight.
However, any resin you intend to throw away must be dried and cured before disposal to ensure it remains non-toxic. Keep this in mind when working with 3D resin.
FAQs
Basically, cured resin is safe resin. Once you're done with printing, your gloves will have some resin on them, as well as the paper towels used. We suggest putting your gloves and paper towels into the sun, if possible, to cure the leftover resin so that you can dispose of that waste with the regular trash.
How do you store excess resin? ›
The best place to keep resin is in a closet in a climate-controlled environment. UV light exposure speeds up yellowing, and temperature swings form condensation inside the lids. Keep your resin in the dark and at a temperature between 60 and 80 F.
Can you melt 3D printer resin? ›
They will burn before melting, not undergoing significant chemical changes until oxidation temperatures of 250 °C are reached. Post-cured prints should be usable up to their maximum Heat Deflection Temperature (HDT).
Can you recycle failed resin 3D prints? ›
A recycler system is a great way to turn your excess filament or failed prints back into usable filament. The system grinds up and melts the plastic. Then extrudes it and coils it onto a spool. Many machines only grind or only melt, meaning you may need two machines.
Can you pour unused resin back in the bottle? ›
Unused Resin
If you won't be using the remaining resin within three days, return resin to the bottle and clean MoonRay's tank. We recommend using a mesh tea strainer when pouring resin from the tank back into the bottle. This ensures that any cured pieces of resin are strained out of the liquid.
Can you save unused resin? ›
Yes, you can store unused resin. Before storage, it is important to make sure that the resin has been tightly sealed in its original container, and that the lid is tightly closed. If the original lid is not airtight, you can use a resealable bag or food storage container.
Can you wash resin down the sink? ›
How should you not clean up unused resin? Never ever, ever pour them down your drain, sewer, sink, toilet, septic system. Basically, anything where the resin will contaminate water. Never, ever, ever include unused epoxy liquids in your trash.
How many times a resin can be reused? ›
To avoid performance loss during protein A chromatography cycling, manufacturers often use sodium hydroxide for cleaning as it has the ability to hydrolyze proteinaceous residues and simultaneously sanitize the resin [6-8] yet the maximum number of times a protein A resin can be reused remains variable, ranging from 50 ...
Can you put resin in a plastic container? ›
💡 TIP: Use plastic containers to mix your epoxy resin. Epoxy resin doesn't stick to plastic, which makes these mixing vessels easy to clean and re-usable.
Is 3D printing resin bad for the environment? ›
Environmentally harmful
3D printing resins are harmful to the environment and should be classified as toxic waste. This means they should never be poured down the drain or directly into bodies of water, but should instead be safely bottled up and disposed of through dedicated toxic waste channels.
A simple way to liquefy crystallized resin or hardener is to place the bottle in a water bath. The water temperature should be 140-150°F; change the water, as needed, to maintain this temperature. The material should be liquefied in 1-2 hours.
What happens if you touch 3D resin? ›
Irritating to the skin and respiratory system: You should never expose your bare skin to the liquid chemicals of 3D printing resin! They can create contact dermatitis, which is a surface rash that could develop into an allergy if you expose yourself to resin for long periods of time. This goes for your lungs as well!
Is 3D printing resin toxic when cured? ›
Sensitization can be prevented by always wearing gloves and working in a well-ventilated environment. In its hardened form, 3D printing resin is akin to plastic, and is non-toxic.
What to do with failed 3D resin prints? ›
5 Ways to Recycle a Failed 3D Print
- Turn it into recycled 3D printer filament.
- Get crafty.
- Turn ABS prints to slurry.
- Repurpose your scraps into tools.
- Use it as demo materials for 3D printing newbies.
While fully cured resin is safe, liquid resin is toxic and should not be touched. Similarly, vapors generated by SLA 3D printing and curing can have negative effects with enough exposure. That's why you should always 3D print and cure SLA parts in a well ventilated space.
How long can you let resin sit? ›
Doming - you can apply your resin right after the 5 minute rest period, or let the resin thicken for up to 25-30 minutes. Varnishing - best applied by pouring, or spreading with mixing wand, right after rest period, or up to 20 minutes after mixing.
Can I wash resin off with water? ›
Soap and water will remove some epoxy resin from skin, but it may not remove the resin entirely. It may leave a residue of resin on your skin which could cause irritation. To remove resin most effectively, it's best to use an exfoliant based cleanser first, followed up with soap and water.
What can ruin resin? ›
It's best also to avoid it coming into too much contact with hair spray, perfume (if alcohol based), cleaning solutions, anti-bac products…all these things can potentially cause the resin to become scaly, yellow, or break down. Oils from your skin can also eventually start to ruin the surface of resin.
Does resin ever go bad? ›
All solvent-free epoxies have essentially unlimited shelf lives so long as they are stored in sealed containers. The resin may crystallize or the hardener may darken (YELLOW) but this does not affect its performance. If the material is more than a year old do a test to satisfy yourself that it cures properly.
How long does unused resin last? ›
Epoxy resin and hardener formulations have a long shelf life compared to many polymers. The minimum shelf life for the standard INF and LAM products is 3 years for resins and 2 years for hardeners (with the exception of LAM-251-HT). The minimum shelf life for LAM-251-HT and all ADV resins and hardeners is 18 months.
Dispose of liquid resin by adding it to your chemical waste stream or by fully curing and discarding it as household waste. Do not pour liquid or partially cured resin or solvent into drains or dispose of it as household waste.
Does hot water remove resin? ›
Warm water is best, if available. If the resin hasn't already cured to your skin, it should come off pretty easily. If you're having trouble removing it, try using a rag or cloth you don't care about to loosen it through gentle abrasion.
How do you dispose of 3d printer resin bottles? ›
Once you use all the contents of a resin kit, switch the bottle caps. This will cure them shut. Or, if you have a small amount of resin and hardener in each, you can pour one bottle into the other, then allow it to cure. Once it's hard, throw it away with your household trash.
Should I spend all my resin? ›
There is no specific time frame on when players should start using Fragile Resin, but as a general rule of thumb, players should save a decent amount of Fragile Resin until they reach Adventure Rank 45. Reaching Adventure Rank 45 will provide access to domains that will drop five-star items.
Can you stick two pieces of resin together? ›
Superglue Even though resin is a type of plastic, glues used for plastic kits are not effective at sticking resin pieces together, a good superglue is required instead. Epoxy Glue For larger and heavier parts, a two-part epoxy can be used to provide a very strong bond.
Can you remold resin after it dries? ›
There are two methods for applying additional epoxy resin coats: 1) sanding down your first layer after having let it dry for 24 hrs or, if you're in a hurry, 2) you can pour a new resin layer every 3-5 hrs. Either of these methods work very well, allowing for a very strong bond between resin layers.
Does resin stick to Ziploc bags? ›
ArtResin epoxy resin does not adhere well to disposable plastic paint tarps, plastic sandwich/grocery bags, silicone molds, and the non-sticky side of shiny tape. Artists can use these properties to their advantage when creating their pieces (e.g. jewelry made from resin poured in silicone molds).
Can you pour resin into a glass jar? ›
If you've spent time creating with resin, you may have wondered, can epoxy resin be used on glass? In a short answer, yes.
Is resin worse for the environment than plastic? ›
Plastics being manufactured from synthetic fibers contain few organic materials. So plastic is more dangerous to the environment than resin. Resin is recyclable because it is manufactured from organic materials and is biodegradable. It can be broken down into smaller pieces.
How long is resin toxic? ›
Wait at least seven days and keep the room well ventilated to ensure that any lingering harmful fumes have time to dissipate. After seven days, your new floor should be fully cured and ready to serve you well for years to come! Still have questions or concerns?
One of the greatest dangers of using resin 3D printing is the fumes, so it is important to only use printers in well-ventilated areas, even outside, if possible. It is also a good idea to wear a mask, such as a half-mask respirator, to protect against fumes.
Is resin dust toxic? ›
Epoxy chemicals remain reactive until they have cured, and when inhaled these particles get trapped in the mucus lining of your respiratory system where they can cause severe irritation and/or respiratory allergies.
What to do with 3D print supports after? ›
Once you've removed or broken off most of the support structures you can then go over the rough spots with some damp sand paper. This will smooth out the surface where structures were attached and polish the printed part.
Do you remove resin supports before or after curing? ›
Most parts should be post-cured before removing support structures to preserve their shape and prevent warping. While some parts may fit on the turntable more easily without supports, long or tall prints may require special arrangements to stand on the turntable without support.
