Stupid things you shouldn't do...

Okay. Where to start.

Generally speaking there are a lot of stupid things you shouldn't do. But I'd like to be a bit more specific in what I would advise against.

That's why this short "story" instead of the next installment of one of my many ongoing projects.

As I've previously mentioned I own an Anycubic Photon 3D printer. So far so good.

I might previously also have mentioned that my housekeeping skills might be good (enough), but my motivation to execute these skills isn't always present, so to say...

Why might that be important, you might ask?

Well, since making my last print I hadn't emptied the resin vat of the printer. I mean, what could possibly go wrong? On Facebook there are more than enough users stating that it is no problem to leave the resin in the vat for a prolonged period of time. You only need to gently stir/mix the contents before starting your next print.

So again, so far so good.

Until you drop your printer (...), onto your freshly laid laminate flooring(...), with the resin still in the vat (before the drop, that is).

Because that is exactly what happened. Sort of.


My innocent looking (former) bedside table	My not so innocent looking (former) bedside table

The (former) bedside table I use for the printer came apart when moving said table across the (tiny) room with the printer still on top of it. This led to me losing the balance of what was left clasped in my hands, thus dropping the printer to the floor.

Which resulted in:

A hefty dent in the laminate flooring.
The resin vat spilling its contains all over the 3D printer innards.
Resin seeping out of the printer onto the laminate flooring.
Leaving me utterly speechless and kicking myself for being so stupid.


The dent (not so bad actually)	The sticky 3D printer

So. What did I learn from this experience?

Empty the resin vat when not printing.
Move stuff separately instead of all in one go.

How long will it take me to forget this useful (and painful) lesson?

Probably until the next time I want to do something quickly in between other things...

To finish off:

Up till now I'm still not sure if the printer survived the fall and if the resin didn't damage the pcb's or other delicate stuff inside the printer as I still haven't cleaned it (yet)...

But judging by the sticky gooey resin that is present everywhere inside the printer, I think I can safely say that this printer won't be printing again...

To end on a positive note: 3D printers have moved on a bit since I bought the Anycubic Photon several years back. So this mishap is as good a reason as any to purchase a new one...

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