Replace PDMS on SLA/DLP 3D Printer Resin Vat ~ Step by Step Guide ~ DIY Professional #4

It can be a little daunting to try and recoat a vat with PDMS without completely ruining a resin tank (aka Vat). This video will show you the do's and dont's of refurbishing a well used vat.

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Polydimethylsiloxane more commonly known as PDMS is the most widely used material to coat vats in SLA/DLP 3D Printers due to it's non-stick properties and optical clarity(remember that SLA stands for stereolithography). Unfortunately over time this coating clouds and makes it difficult or impossible to continue printing. When this occurs you must either buy a new vat or replace the PDMS coating on the vat. Since recoating PDMS is significantly cheaper many people attempt to refurbish their vats.

This video will show you exactly what to do as well as things you should avoid doing. Most importantly is that silicone sealant inhibits the curing reaction in the PDMS and so it should never be used on the inside of any vat that uses PDMS as a non-stick coating.

You'll also see in this video that I use FEP film as an additional non-stick surface because it also has extremely good non-stick qualities and has been proven to last much longer than PDMS before needing to be replaced. Since FEP naturally sticks to PDMS it makes it very easy to apply FEP film to further increase the life span of any vat.

Link to Sylgard 184 PDMS used in this video:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004IJENBG/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B004IJENBG&linkCode=as2&tag=garagescience-20&linkId=684af698bf0a9a00d3f536fa68a75aff

Link to FEP film used in this video:
https://flexvat.com/products/fep-film

Link to PDMS datasheet:
http://www.dowcorning.com/DataFiles/090276fe80190b08.pdf

Link to FEP film datasheet:
https://www.chemours.com/Teflon_Industrial/en_US/assets/downloads/h55008_FEP_Film_Properties_Bulletin.pdf

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