@LM - at this point I’d have to say no, the Form1 is no good for engineers. They did publish promotional prints of functioning nuts and bolts, and planetary gear boxes, but this now seems disingenuous.
My first Form1 (NaturalChicken) had X-axis dimensional error (compression) of approximately 3%. That has been replaced and the new printer (ObtainableLamb) also has poor X-axis dimensional accuracy (expansion this time) of approximately 1.5% - eg a part 80mm in length oriented exactly parallel to the x-axis is printed 81.19 mm across, and 30 mm parts are printed 30.3x mm across.
Weirdly - Y-axis dimensionality in both my printers seemed ok (30mm parts were within 0.05mm) - and this reflects comments elsewhere on the forums. Significant X-axis dimensionality error seems quite common (amongst those that care, I’m not sure if any non-engineer users are actually measuring their figurines and busts), but I haven’t seen any reports of Y or Z axis issues - I haven’t got as far as rigorously testing Z accuracy myself.
My theory is that the X and Y galvanometer deflection amplitude is adjusted via the unglued-still-adjustable potentiometers on the galvo breakout PCBs inside the Form1. I have an open ticket regarding ObtainableLamb’s x-axis accuracy and have asked Formlabs to confirm the pots are used to adjust galvo response - if they do, then I will go ahead and void my warranty and attempt to improve the accuracy of my second printer to the point it’s actually useful, and of course will publish my results on the forums.
Kevin.