Leaking FEP in Anycubic Photon Mono SE

marco -

This chirstmas came with a bad suprise for my printer. After a failed print I was pouring out the leftover resin, and found the LCD covered in a layer of cured resin. After doing some research the layer should be hard to remove, but removable. A new display on AliExpress costs 65 euro's, so I've got that motivation to clean it up.

However after multiple hours of cleaning with all kind of tricks I managed to scratch more surface and only remove 1/1000th of the spilled resin. What I've tried:

  • Wiping with microfiber cloth
  • Wiping with IPA
  • Soaking in IPA and then wiping
  • Using a plastic card to remove some
  • Wiping more
  • Soaking more
  • Curing more
  • More plastic card

The list goes on...

So I decided I'll have to settle for a new LCD. After looking for a cheaper (available) LCD, the only place I could find with the exact same display is in the AliExpress "official store" of Anycubic. This would set me back 65 euro. Is a new printer more viable? I get lots of spare parts I can use whenever something else breaks, will it?

Let's breakdown what a new printer would bring vs. a new display.

LCD (65 euro):

  • 65 euro - LCD

New Mono SE (230 euro):

  • 65 euro - LCD
  • 31 euro - Resin tank incl FEP
  • 26 euro - Mainboard
  • 38 euro - Buildplate
  • 25 euro - Motor and lead screw
  • 16 euro - Power adapter
  • 5 euro - End stop sensor
  • 10 euro - 2x Air filter fans
  • 10 euro - UV light filter fan
  • 19 euro - LCD front display
  • 69 euro - UV light module

This totals to 314 euro excluding the casing and the parts that weren't included in the list. Besides that the LCD screen I need is currently only available for 80 euro at an Amazon seller or 89,99 at 3DJake.

Now you won't be needing all these parts and it might be cheaper to just replace the LCD. However the extra buildplate and resin vat do come handy sometimes.

I'm seriously considering the new printer.