Don’t Throw That SLA Resin Vat Away, Repair It With The ReCoat Kit

DruckWege calls the ReCoat kit “the world’s first DIY repair kit for SLA printers,” and the pair of German engineers responsible for the kit say it arose from their work as popular service providers. Situated near Cologne, they say they began working in 3D printing back in 2009 with a RepRap Mendel Kit to discover “the magic of 3D printing technologies.”

As the pair have kept up to date with new developments and achievements in the technology, they decided to start their own 3D printing business.

As they operated their business–DruckWege is German for “printing ways”– they say they found some issues in maintaining SLA printers. As they amped the number of their contracts and print jobs, they found that the failure of resin vats over time was one of their main production costs.

Being forced to purchase many new, costly resin tanks – and the time it took to get those printers back online – they decided there must be a better way.

So rather than go with the flow and continue to purchase new vats, they developed a way to repair older vats rather than constantly buying new ones.

After running some numbers, they found that the average hobbyist might require 4 vats in a year, designers would need perhaps 6 vats per year, engineers would be forced to replace around 10 vats a year and, as service providers, they were burning through 20 or more vats each year.

At approximately $70 per vat, those numbers add up fast.

DruckWege say their three-step process cuts costs and requires no special skills. Using the kit doesn’t call for major manual preparation, and each ReCoat Kit is designed for more than one ReCoating. The kit provides excellent adhesion to the substrate, avoids yellowing effects, has excellent flame resistance and dielectric properties, and is highly durable throughout a broad range of temperatures.

They add that ReCoat reduces adhesion forces, and they say that means fewer print failures – and as a result, higher quality prints.

The Kickstarter campaign for the ReCoat Kit is underway now, and although they already have a robust and reliable source of base components, the funding will allow them to drive down the cost of raw materials. The campaign goal is to raise €15,000 (approximately $17,000 USD) by July 15th.

Some of the funding will be used to locate the best possible service provider for the filling and packing the ReCoat Kit materials.

Will you consider using the ReCoat Kit from DruckWege to repair the resin vats for your SLA 3D printers? Let us know in ReCoat Kit forum thread on 3DPB.com.