I really hate to ask this but I’m old and decrepit and apparently my brain is shot.
So I’m begging for a bit of assistance.
I’m running an original photon ver 4.2.12
First bit of begging- updating the firmware
I can find the firmware, or pretty sure I’ve located it.
What are the precise file names I need, and hopefully the precise order to update my firmware to 4.2.18. Please assume I’m a total moron and need to be lead by the hand. Assume I’m Jon Snow and I know nothing.
Second begging - getting and using the exposure file (more than one??)
I think i want to use the flat one rather than the little buildings.
What are the steps for using it? The files(s) I require. I’ve seen references to, if I find a good exposure number I need to double it? And a reset file??
Again I need to be lead by the nose and the reference to Jon Snow stands.
All assistance to my abject begging will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
At least I know how to pin the replies for later reference.
Fyi i did search but my results were indeterminate.
翻譯年糕
Niall Forrester
2020-03-27 13:28:37
Niall Forrester
2020-03-27 13:52:56
Regarding exposure range finder files, the 'flat' one with 10 columns will work on your Photon original model. There are different version for different layer heights and one for slow resins. Most likely you will want to use the 0.05mm / 2-20 seconds v
ersion
You get three files. First you 'print' one file to put the printer in a special mode. Then you print the range finder. Finally you 'print' the third file to restore the printer to normal (don't forget this one!). The whole process takes a few minutes.
The columns are exposed progressively more from left to right, with the left column getting only 2 seconds of UV and the right column getting 20 seconds.
You will want to cure the print while it is still on the plate, and take a photo at a good angle to show the detail as well as possible, then people here will be able to help you interpret it. Generally you are looking for the first column that gives a good balance of positive space (small details showing) and negative space (holes are not filled up with cured resin). As you go further to the right, more positive detail will show, but at some point the negative space detail will degrade. Further to the right also means longer print times, so typically you are looking for the leftmost column that gives reasonable detail without the negative spaces getting worse. Multiply the column number by 2 to get the exposure time
The 'small town' is probably the one from Ameralabs. This is just a normal .STL that you can print, with a bunch of details to help identify under/over exposure . I did a series of prints at different exposure times to compare with each other so I could dial in my exposure time more accurately.
The newer Photon models allow for a different kind of range finder test where you choose a model and print 8 copies at different exposure levels, but I have no experience of this one
Whatever you do, remember that there will be a range of expo sure times that will 'work' and that you will likely not see ALL the details included in the files: they go down to sizes that are virtually unprintable on the Photon.
