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(WORKING) Nicks-Fix "Continuous IPA Filtration" system

Cleaning alcohol gets slimy like snot after washing only a handful of resin prints; fortunately for me this issue now has a solution!

The "Who"

Nick Wilson of the Youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/@nicks-fix posted a video about a new Continuous IPA Filtration system he had created.  The breakthrough for me was seeing someone pairing up the cheap water filters I had already rejected, with an alcohol safe diaphragm pump to handle the pressure needed to use the cheap filters!  (...and WHY didn't I think of that?)

Resin Printer Mods and Continuous IPA Filtration!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfM1CXBOZns

 

The Basics
  1. Expose the resin containing alcohol to a UV light source
    • Creates a suspension of tiny & hard to remove plastic particles within the alcohol
  2. Separating out these miniscule plastic particles is harder than one might expect
    • Nick's design used a diaphragm pump to push alcohol through easily changeable water filters

Background

There have been many unsatisfactory attempts to reclaim usable alcohol from the pigmented resinous sludge left after exposing the mix to UV; these are MY opinions and observations.

    • Cheese cloth - Soaks up the alcohol and can be wrung out to squeeze and separate the solids
      • LOTS of time and effort splashing contaminated alcohol around
    • Filter paper - Clogged almost immediately and didn't really trickle through even over time as I expected
    • Cotton cloth - Used to "wick" from higher "dirty" container to lower "clean" container, but too slow for me
    • Waiting - Settling out solids takes longer than I am willing to wait, since 90 days was not even a start!!!
    • Vacuum filtering caused far too much loss of alcohol with my setup (I'm clearly not a chemist)
    • (I chose not to use alum or other chemical additives to aid the precipitation of particles out of solution)

 

The "What"
  • Silicone tubing - flexible and mostly resistant the these specific chemicals
    • Gets alcohol from dirty container through the UV exposure and into the filters
    • Returns the cleaner alcohol back into a clean container
    • OR could be used to simply recycle from and to the same container making it progressively cleaner
  • Hose barbs - hollow threaded fitting with a nozzle for the hose to slide over
    • Connects filters or pump to the silicone tubing
  • Plumbing Nipples - Hollow tube with threads on each end
    • Connects filters to each other
    • Connects pump to filter
  • Diaphragm pump - Liquid pump capable of moving alcohol without danger
    • Pushes our alcohol through the system
  • 10" x 2.5" water filter elements - 
    • .....

The "How"

 

 

The "Why"

Nick's continuous filter system enables me to run resin prints through my wash and cure station without additional alcohol rinses.  

My previous workflow (15 minute minimum):

  1. <1min - Parts have already been dripping for at least a few minutes, Tilt parts 45 degrees and drip for another few minutes
  2. <2min - Rinse in gooey slimy alcohol to get most of the excess resin off (Nasty alcohol)
  3. <variable> - Remove supports
  4. <2min - Run through a 30 minute wash cycle (medium cleanliness alcohol)
  5. <5min - Hand spray with New alcohol (unused alcohol)
  6. <5min - Dry with compressed air

New workflow (8 minute minimum):

  1. <1min - Parts have already been dripping for at least a few minutes, Tilt parts 45 degrees and drip for another few minutes
  2. <variable> - Remove supports
  3. <2min - Run through a 30 minute wash cycle (clean? alcohol)
  4. <5min -Dry with compressed air

 

 

 

 

 

 

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