How to Add More Resin While Printing – Running Out of Resin

For users with a resin 3D printer, some of them wonder if there is a certain method on how to add more resin while printing. I decided to write an article that gives you the basic answers on how you should do this.

Keep on reading to find out.

How to Add More Resin While Printing

Here’s how to add more resin while printing:

• Shake the resin
• Preheat the resin
• Add more resin

Shake the Resin

The first step to properly add more resin while printing is to shake the bottle of resin. The reason this is done is because when bottles of resin sit for a while, the pigment starts to separate.

I usually shake my bottle of resin for 20-30 seconds and things print fine, while some people recommend doing it for 1-3 minutes.

One user mentioned that when they have opaque white or pastel colored resins, there is heavy pigment that settles at the bottom of the vat, meaning the same thing happens in the bottle of resin.

In order to get that pigment mixed back in with the resin, you’ll need to shake it quite vigorously. Do keep in mind that shaking the bottle of resin creates bubbles, so it’s a good idea to let it sit for a few minutes before adding it to your resin vat.

You can pour the resin into the vat slowly and from a decent height to help with the bubbles.

Another user actually mentioned that he 3D printed a 2.5cm cube on his resin printer and it had bubbles throughout the model, including on the top layer since he didn’t wait for the bubbles to settle.

Giving the resin bottle a firm swirl rather than a shake can work as well to mix the resin pigments and not create bubbles.

Just remember to make sure the lid of the bottle is closed tight.

Preheat Your Resin

The next thing you need to do in order to add more resin while printing is to preheat the resin you plan to add.

There are a few ways you can preheat your resin:

• Put the bottle of resin in a bowl of hot water
• Use a heat gun

The ideal temperature for most 3D printer resins is around 77°F (25°C).

If you don’t heat up your resin and you are 3D printing in a cold environment, it can definitely contribute to more printing failures like many users have experienced. You can get print imperfections such as visible lines and artifacts in your models.

One user mentioned that they use a simple bowl of hot water and place their bottle of resin in there to warm it up.

Another technique is to use a heat gun. Another user said he shoots his resin with a heat gun for a minute or two before starting a print, for a resin 3D printer in an unheated warehouse. He said he hasn’t tried it on really long prints, but for 8 hours prints, it works fine.

Do be careful with a heat gun though because they can get hot very quickly. A good quality heat gun that you can get is something like the Mini Heat Gun from Amazon. It’s not a full size one, so it’s better for this use.

One user who purchased this said they use it when they need to warm up their 3D printer resin, as well as other applications like drying paint.

Add More Resin

Once you’ve shaken up and pre-heated the resin if the environment is cool, then you can simply add the resin to the resin vat.

You’ll want to open the lid of your 3D printer and slowly pour the resin over the top edge of the build plate and let it drip into the resin vat.

If you have a resin vat that is flat at the top, you might want to add the resin through the gap between the build plate and resin vat.

For some 3D printers that have the mounting screws on the build plate like the Anycubic Photon, you want to avoid getting resin on them since they might be able to seep down and affect the ball joint.

Some users recommend using a large plastic syringe to add resin.

You can find these nice Frienda Large Plastic Syringe on Amazon, they will hold up to 200ml and they come sterile and sealed, in a pack of four, perfect for multiple uses.

Here is a nice video showing a user adding resin while printing.

When it comes to pausing the model while adding resin, it’s not necessary. I’ve added resin plenty of times without pausing the model, as well as many other users. You can actually end up getting layer lines when pausing resin prints.