Resin Beginner Path

Resin printing has more steps than filament printing, and the first ones are about protecting yourself. This path puts safety before the first print on purpose. Read your resin's safety data sheet (SDS) before you open the bottle.

Mark each lesson as read when you finish it, and this page tracks your progress in this browser. Printing with filament instead? Take the FDM beginner path.

1. Day 1Equipment and materials

   Know the parts of a resin printer and the kinds of resin.

   • Parts of a Resin Printer
   • Resin Types
   Try it

   Find the SDS for the resin you plan to use, on its maker's website, and keep it where you print.

2. Day 2Protection and ventilation

   Have the right gloves, eye protection and ventilation before any resin is open.

   • Resin PPE: Gloves, Eye Protection and Ventilation
   • Setting Up a Safe Workspace
   Try it

   Check your gloves and eye protection against what your resin's SDS asks for, and plan where fumes will go.

3. Day 3Set up the printer

   Level the platform and prepare the vat as your maker describes.

   • Setting Up a Resin Printer
   Try it

   Follow your printer maker's setup guide step by step, with the printer's own leveling procedure.

4. Day 4Orientation and supports

   Orient a model and support it so it survives the peel.

   • Resin Orientation and Supports
   Try it

   In your resin slicer, compare a model laid flat with the same model tilted, and look at the supports each one needs.

5. Day 5Exposure

   Understand exposure and dial it in for your resin.

   • Resin Exposure Settings
   • Resin Exposure Test
   Try it

   Print the exposure test your resin or printer maker recommends, and record the result.

6. Day 6Hollowing and drainage

   Know when to hollow a model and where its drainage holes go.

   • Hollowing Resin Prints and Drainage Holes
   Try it

   Hollow one model in your slicer and add drainage holes, then check where uncured resin could be trapped.

7. Day 7Washing and curing

   Wash and cure a print safely and completely.

   • Washing and Curing Resin Prints
   Try it

   Wash and cure your first print following the resin maker's instructions, wearing the protection from step 2.

8. Day 8Cleaning and waste

   Look after the vat and film, and dispose of waste safely.

   • Vat, Film and Build Plate Care
   • Resin Waste and Disposal
   Try it

   Set up a container for contaminated paper towels and gloves, and find out how your local authority handles this kind of waste.

9. Day 9Troubleshooting

   Recognize the common resin failures and what to check first.

   • Resin Print Stuck to the Film Instead of the Plate
   • Only the Supports Printed: Resin Model Missing
   • Resin Layers Separating (Delamination)
   • Sticky or Tacky Resin Prints After Curing
   Try it

   When a print fails, find the matching lesson before you change any setting, and change one thing at a time.

10. Day 10Finish a complete project

    Take one model from slicing to a finished, cleaned-up part.

    • A First Resin Project
    • Finishing Resin Prints
    Try it

    Print, wash, cure and finish one small model start to finish, wearing the protection from step 2 at every stage.