Build a DIY Resin 3D Print Wash and Cure Station

Our resin printing guides cover getting a clean print off the plate; what happens in the ten minutes after that determines whether the part actually reaches full strength and a tack-free finish. Commercial wash-and-cure stations automate two steps — agitated IPA washing and rotating UV exposure — that are easy to do badly by hand (uneven curing, under-washed prints that stay tacky, wasted IPA). This project builds a combined station from a turntable, UV LED strip, and a simple timer, using a wash jar stage and a cure stage in one enclosure.

Design Overview

The build has two functional stages that can share one housing or be built as two separate boxes, depending on your bench space:

• Wash stage — a sealed jar of isopropyl alcohol with the print submerged, agitated by hand or by mounting the jar on the turntable motor for hands-free swirling.
• Cure stage — a rotating turntable inside a UV-LED-lined enclosure, with a countdown timer controlling exposure time so prints don't over- or under-cure.

Build Steps

1. Build the cure chamber housing — line the inside walls of your enclosure with reflective mylar or foil tape to bounce UV light back onto the print from multiple angles instead of just straight down, which meaningfully improves even curing on the sides of tall or complex prints.
2. Mount the UV LED strip around the inside walls of the chamber in a ring or multiple rings, wired in parallel back to your 12V supply. Waterproof (silicone-coated) strip is worth the small extra cost since IPA fumes and occasional splashes will reach this area.
3. Install the turntable — mount the lazy susan bearing to the chamber floor, attach the small gear motor with a simple friction or belt drive to rotate it slowly (a few RPM is plenty; the goal is even light exposure on all sides, not speed).
4. Wire the timer relay between your 12V supply and both the LED strip and turntable motor, so a single countdown controls the whole cure cycle and shuts off automatically — this matters more than it sounds, since forgetting a print under UV for an extra 20 minutes is a common way to make parts brittle.
5. Add a viewing option if you want to monitor cure progress — a small window isn't necessary, but if you add one, use PETG or another UV-blocking material, not clear acrylic, so stray 405nm light doesn't reach your eyes.
6. Set up the wash stage separately — a mason jar with a tight lid holds enough IPA to submerge most prints; if you want agitation, a second, smaller turntable motor under the wash jars provides a gentle swirl without needing to shake anything by hand. Use a paint strainer bag inside the jar to catch resin sludge and make IPA reuse easier — filtering used IPA back into a labeled "dirty" jar for first-pass washing before a final rinse in cleaner IPA gets much more life out of your alcohol supply.

Curing Time Reference

Actual cure time depends heavily on your specific resin, LED strip intensity, and layer thickness — use this as a starting point and check manufacturer data for your resin where available.

Resin TypeTypical Cure Time (this build's LED density)Notes Standard/basic resin3-5 minutesFlip and re-cure if the chamber only lights from one side Tough/engineering resin5-8 minutesThicker parts and higher-pigment resins need longer Flexible/rubber-like resin6-10 minutesUnder-curing leaves these permanently tacky Water-washable resinWash stage uses water, not IPA — cure time similar to standard resinNever mix water-washable prints into your IPA wash jar workflow

Safety

• IPA is flammable — keep the wash stage away from any open flame or spark source, and run it in a ventilated area since IPA vapor is also an inhalation irritant in concentration.
• UV exposure — 405nm LEDs are not the deep-UV wavelengths that cause sunburn-style skin damage as quickly, but direct, prolonged eye exposure is still harmful. Never look directly at an unshielded strip, and keep the cure chamber's lid closed and opaque during operation.
• Uncured and partially cured resin is a skin sensitizer — wear nitrile gloves handling prints before and during washing, and wash hands after gloves come off, not just after handling resin directly.
• Disposal — never pour used IPA or liquid resin down a drain. Let waste resin cure fully in the sun or under UV before disposing of it as solid waste, and check local regulations for solvent (IPA) disposal; many municipalities have hazardous waste drop-off for exactly this kind of shop solvent.
• Electrical near liquids — keep the turntable motor and any wiring physically separated from the wash jar itself, and never run this build with a damaged or exposed wire near the IPA station.

A dedicated wash-and-cure station turns post-processing from a manual, inconsistent chore into a repeatable two-step cycle — and because both stages are simple 12V circuits, this build scales easily if you outgrow the single-print size shown here, whether that means a bigger chamber or a second wash jar running in parallel for higher print volume.