Resin on Backend Engineering Strategy Tools

Casting Part 1 — Scout Badges

Tue, 02 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

When I was a kid and scout we cast the scout emblem in tin — naturally we had to do this again with my own troop.

I’m lucky to have a fellow scout leader who does casting professionally. I modelled the master in resin and he made the silicon moulds from it.

For the tin, I went to second-hand shops and gathered everything tin I could find to melt down. Ordered crucibles and pliers online. We melted the tin by putting the crucible in the fire, then the kids could do the pour into the mould, demould, and finish.

First real casting project — a success.

Master

Modeled in Blender, printed in resin as the master for the silicon mould.

↓scout_emblem.blend ↓scout_emblem.stl

Moulds

Silicon moulds made by my fellow scout leader from the resin master.

Silicon moulds made from the resin master.

The Pour

We set up a practice station first — gloves, face masks, and pouring water into a PET bottle before anyone touched real tin. Once they had the motion down, they moved to the actual pour.

Done in small groups: two leaders, two kids at a time. Went smoothly.

Result

Finished tin scout badges.

Resin Badges — Packat & Klart

Tue, 02 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Resin-printed ‘packat & klart’ badges for the scouts heading out on their first overnight trip, i.e. ‘Hajk’.

We had a meeting where we went through what one should bring, then ran a competition where the kids got points for guessing what was in the pack I brought along. They got a badge if they did well — they all passed. Success.

First attempt at producing physical scout items rather than sourcing them.

The Badge

Modeled in Blender, exported to STL, printed in resin.

↓packat_klart.blend ↓packat_och_klart.stl

Print

Printed on the Anycubic Photon Mono 2 in Craftsman resin for the extra detail. In hindsight standard resin would have been fine at this size.

3D Printing

Sun, 12 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Two printers: an FDM machine for structural and functional parts, a resin printer for detail work. Different tools for different jobs — the resin produces sharper geometry at the cost of more process overhead.

FDM — Anycubic Kobra X

Current machine. Workhorse for rack accessories, enclosures, and anything that needs to be durable and dimensionally accurate. Printing in PLA for most jobs.

Replaced an older Prusa i3 MK0 that still works but is no longer the daily driver. Shelved for now. CNC conversion or rebuild is somewhere on the list, parts donor if it comes to that first.


Build volume	260 × 260 × 260 mm
Bed	PEI spring steel, max 100°C
Nozzle (stock)	0.4 mm hardened steel, max 300°C
Speed	300 mm/s recommended, 600 mm/s max
Extrusion	Direct drive
Leveling	LeviQ3.0 auto-leveling
Multicolor	4-colour native (ACE 2 Pro), expandable to 19
Extras	AI spaghetti detection, HD camera, filament runout

Nozzles on hand: 0.4 mm (stock), 0.25 mm (not tried yet). Expandable to 0.6 / 0.8 mm.

Filament on hand

Brand	Material	Colour	Qty	Notes
Verbatim	PLA	Black	1 kg	Original stock
Bambu Lab	PLA Basic	Orange	1 kg
Bambu Lab	PLA Basic	Green	1 kg
Bambu Lab	PLA Basic	Magenta	1 kg
Bambu Lab	PLA Basic	Clear	1 kg
Bambu Lab	PLA Basic	Red	1 kg
Bambu Lab	PETG	Red	1 kg	Refill spool
Bambu Lab	PETG	Blue	1 kg	Refill spool
Bambu Lab	PETG	Black	1 kg	Refill spool
SUNLU	PLA	Black	0.25 kg	Sampler pack
SUNLU	PLA	White	0.25 kg	Sampler pack
SUNLU	PLA	Grey	0.25 kg	Sampler pack
SUNLU	PLA	Red	0.25 kg	Sampler pack
SUNLU	PLA	Light Blue	0.25 kg	Sampler pack
SUNLU	PLA	Light Yellow	0.25 kg	Sampler pack
SUNLU	PLA	Green	0.25 kg	Sampler pack
SUNLU	PLA	Orange	0.25 kg	Sampler pack
SUNLU	PLA	Pink	0.25 kg	Sampler pack
SUNLU	PLA	Lavender Purple	0.25 kg	Sampler pack
SUNLU	PLA	Brown	0.25 kg	Sampler pack
SUNLU	PLA	Olive Green	0.25 kg	Sampler pack
SUNLU	PLA	Oak	0.25 kg	Sampler pack
SUNLU	PLA	Skin	0.25 kg	Sampler pack
SUNLU	PLA	Transparent	0.25 kg	Sampler pack
TECBEARS	PLA Matte	Black	10 kg	High-speed rated (600 mm/s), bulk stock

Resin — Anycubic Photon Mono 2

Mono LCD resin printer. Used for detail parts — scout badges, finer geometry — where FDM resolution isn’t enough. Paired with an Anycubic Wash & Cure 3 for post-processing.


Build volume	143 × 89 × 165 mm
Screen	6.6" Mono LCD, 4096 × 2560, ~2000 hrs
XY resolution	34 μm
Z accuracy	10 μm (single linear rail)
Print speed	≤ 50 mm/hr
Leveling	4-point manual
Light source	Parallel matrix
Build platform	Laser-engraved aluminium alloy
Data input	USB Type-A 2.0

Wash & Cure 3


Wash capacity	Fits Mono 2 build plate
UV wavelength	405 nm
Cure time	~2–3 min

Resin on hand

Resin	Type	Colour	Qty	Notes
ABS-Like V2	ABS-Like	Black	~3 kg	Structural / strength
ABS-Like 2.0	ABS-Like	Beige	8 kg
ABS-Like 2.0	ABS-Like	Translucent Green	1 kg
ABS-Like 2.0	ABS-Like	Clear	1 kg	For lens work eventually
Standard V2	Standard	Black	~0.5 kg	Display / detail
Standard	Standard	Light Beige	8 kg
Standard	Standard	Translucent Green	1 kg
Standard	Standard	Clear	1 kg	For lens work eventually
Craftsman	Detail	Grey	~1 kg	Sharp detail, brittle

Detailed resin mixing notes and maintenance log kept separately.

Slicer / Workflow

Notes to follow — slicer setup, print profiles, export workflow.

Rack and homelab prints: 3D Printed Rack Parts