Cromagnon

Hi John Glad to see another one from Colorado.

I resemble this remark.

I have had very good results with Phrozen's Impact Plus resin. https://phrozen3d.com/products/impact-plus-resin The finish and resolution has been true to my renderings and I have drop tested from 1 meter on a marble slab without breaking or cracking. I have not done any water immersion testing. I do not have any interests in the Phrozen company, I just use their resins.

I have run various 3d printers in a R&D lab using SLS, SLA, and FDM. For the casual user the SLA would produce the smoothest, highest fidelity print with the lowest learning curve. There are many resin additives available to provide durability to the print for the environment that it will be used in. Water can be used for some post processing cleaning, depending on the resin that is selected. Disposal of the cleaning solutions for any of the resins I have used involved placing the solution in the sun or curing chamber for a day and filtering the solids while reusing the liquid. The solids are disposed of as plastic waste. Some are recyclable. FDM would probably be the cheapest but for close tolerance fitting it is an exercise in patience and perseverance. We did have success milling surfaces as a post processing solution for fitment. SLS is the cats meow but the cost is probably outside the scope of the casual user. They print jet engine bleed air ducts using that process and it is AMAZING.

Do keep us posted!! I have had great success with Kroil; https://www.kroil.com/ Being in the UAE I don't know if that is available to you, so an alternative is a 50/50, by volume, mix of automatic transmission fluid and acetone. DO NOT get this near any plastic housing parts, domes, ports etc., ask me how I know!!! Also if you can apply heat and cold to the threads with the Kroil that may persuade it as well. If you have access to dry ice or liquid nitrogen that would provide a cold shock to the thermal cycles. Again be mindful of any plastics.

Thank you Wolfgang for adding another location to my "bucket list." Sounds fascinating and the photos are enticing.

I am farsighted with astigmatism and I use a mask with prescription inserts from See the Sea out of Houston Tx. I had my masked marked at my local optometrist for the center of my pupils and sent it and my prescription via postal service to See the Sea. Two weeks later it was returned with the inserts installed. Very painless process and the correction is perfect for reading my computer and gauges. Did a pool session to confirm what I was seeing on land used the mask in Cozumel and St Croix. Very satisfied.

Thanks Tim for the great recommendation. My wife and I are retiring to St Croix in a few months and will put Sint Maartin on our list. Looks like we need to fly out of Miami to get there but we will see what a local charter will cost. Is there rebreather support available? Joe

Tim Thanks for sharing your information and taking the time to write a well put together article. I hope to use a LSD in March for the first time and will let you know how I do.

Just a WP refugee. Lots of travel plans to the Caribbean and learning the many facets of digital photography. Very happy that there is another resource that has been made available. Safe diving. Joe