Peopoly Moai FEP VAT - FDM Printed

grabcad

EDIT: A new revision for the Formlabs Form 1 and Form 1+ is currently being tested. The new revision does not have any laser cut parts and can be built with off the shelf components.FEP Vat for Peopoly Moai and Form 1+. Optimized for printing on a FDM 3D printer. I've had this in my Form1+ for about a week with zero leaks. It works great. This is an iteration of a model that was created by Leonardo Delgado from openmachines.xyz Note: Edited the STP file on April 11, 2020 to repair some issues with the metal plate.The vat is assembled with M3 flat head screws and M3 heat set inserts (use an old tip on your soldering iron to press them in). It is designed for the specific parts I had on hand when I built it. I may end up editing it to use hardware that is more commonly available around the world. Note that the back wall of the vat that is thinner than the other walls. The parts are not square and will only assemble one way. I am only uploading STP files for now. I may add STL files for the printed parts and DXF files for the laser cut parts at a later date. For the Form1+, you will need to measure the thickness (bottom of base plate to top of FEP) once you have assembled the vat. Compare that dimension to the original Form1+ PDMS vat in order to find your Z offset for the SD card in your Form1+. Acrylic has a wide variance in thickness and your FDM parts will vary in thickness depending on how you print them, so it would be pointless to post my dimensions here since it will be different for every vat.For those who are concerned about putting resin into an FDM printed part, I have been using PLA vats on resin printers for several months with no issues. I chose PLA because it is not soluble in most commonly used solvents (hopefully you don't use benzene, tetrahydrofuran or dioxane to clean your printer) and it is rigid. Other filament materials may not be ideal for prolonged resin exposure. ABS should be avoided since it does seem to react with most UV resins. It is notable that PLA does degrade with UV exposure, so I will monitor my vats for any long term effects. I don't expect it to be an issue since many plastics suffer from UV degradation, including acrylic, and that hasn't stopped the manufacturers from using them in their own commercially available vats.Materials used:- M3 inserts from McMaster-Carr, part number 94180A331 (EZ Lok part# TH-M30-SV should work - I have some on order to test)- Flat head M3 x 0.5mm thread, 10mm length (8mm threaded length, 10mm overall length). McMaster-Carr 91294a130 would work fine for this.- Acrylic plate and tensioner, 3mm thick laser cut cast acrylic (often sold as 1/8 inch or 0.125 inch in the US)- Silicone gasket: 1mm silicone sheet, laser cut- FEP Film: 1 sheet (approximately 0.127mm thick) needs to be larger than 170mm x 170mm- 3D printed parts: PLA, four 0.45mm perimeters, four top and bottom layers, 30% infill, 0.2mm layer height.