Form 2 LIfespan

I’m at 626 hours for one printer and 225 for the other.

1 Like

i double checked ,7165926555ms=82,93896475694days

Wow, that’s fantastic -some 1900 hrs or so

yes…

David any problems with the printer? Any service you recommend?

Anyone from Formlabs have any recommendations on regular service (lubing the screw, etc)?

well… no, my only issue was the stepper motor (Z axis) that got stuck by some resin spilled during a failed print, but I manage to twist manually and lubricate, working good since then.

Otherwise, nothing special

2786 hours, 362 prints, 14 months of operation.

I have my first failure this week that took the machine out of service. The cartridge sensor is faulty and randomly pauses the print for “missing cartridge”. I’ve cleaned it with IP half a dozen times, it’s done.

All in all, a $50 part that should arrive tomorrow. Not bad compared to my other machines.

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I spoke too soon. Replaced the part, no effect. Price and downtime TBD.

If that’s all that’s wrong with your printer, why not simply go into open mode and print “manually”. In open mode, most of the sensors are off, so it should stop because of a bad sensor.

I didn’t buy these machines (I have 2 x Form 2) to tinker with. That’s what my other 13 printers are for.

If I had to fiddle with settings I wouldn’t pay the $3500 for the machine.

I ran the Clear resin in open mode and the model was a total mess. Detachment in places, overexposure, and rashing. I didn’t sign up for this.

At any rate, I paid the $800 and a box should be coming to ship it back to Form Labs.

I though I’d save you some down time, but whatever… forget I mentioned it.

Isn’t it just a bad contact due to some resin that cured on the contacts? I’ve had some cartridges that would have a intermittent response as there was some resin on the chip. If it’s on the chip… it gets on the two contacts in the machine.

It’s easy to take apart to clean with some IPA and if I would have to pay 800$ for it… I’d try it myself first.

[edit]

Ahh sorry, just see you already tried it… Could still be misalignment of the spring contacts causing bad contact. If not… then it has to be the mainboard.

In Open mode the wiper & heater are also disabled, which can make an usually perfectly good file print badly, it may not be possible to take that risk.

It’s amazing to me how dependent on these features the F2 has become. The Form 1/1+ didn’t have any of these features like the wiper and heater, or the cartridge and tank sensors, yet it could deliver pretty nice prints.

On the other hand, if printing in open mode wouldn’t be possible, I’m sure that FormLabs wouldn’t have made the feature available.

Believe it or not heating the resin is not necessary for most standard resins. I don’t know how necessary it is for some of the F2 unique resins, but for the rest, it’s not. We (F1/1+ users) have managed without it since the beginning.

And combing through the resin after each layer, makes the assumption that each layer has left debris behind, which doesn’t exactly speak well for the printer’s ability to cure the resin properly.

And as far as “taking that risk”, how much of a risk is it? a failed print? It’s not like it’s going to blow up your printer…

Personally wouldn’t want to give up the wiper/heater. Far too much consistency gained by those two additions.

The cartridge and tank sensors on the other hand. I could live without them.

Sorry to jump into the thread late, but that’s the exact right lubricant we recommend.

Re: contacts - I took support’s advice and purchased/replaced the cart deck, which didn’t clear the issue. It’s something with the board. I even ohmed out the cable, all is well.

I packed it up and shipped it out on Monday. Down to a single SLA machine until it returns.

I’ve had issues reading a tray twice (same contacts as the cartridges).

The first time I fixed the issue by removing a very thin layer of clear resin with scotchbrite. There was just enough on the contacts to keep them from getting a reliable contact.

Tthe second time I had to pry up the contacts slightly so that they had a bit more preload against the chip. This was with a newer tray. All the old trays worked like a champ.

Form labs received my machine, but they will be sending another, different, one back to replace it.

They assure me the refurbished unit has passed all inspections and comes with a 90 day warranty.

I’m curious to see the shape that the refurbished unit is in when it arrives. I spent a lot of now wasted time maintaining and caring for my unit, I hope the prior owner of the refurb did the same. I asked to see the maintenance record of the refurb and I was told that it was info privy to Form labs and I can’t see it. Awesome.

This whole experience has soured my opinion of Form Labs quite a bit. Between closing off spares and charging a flat $800 for a factory repair, but then sending me some refurb that I don’t know where it has been that is “as good as new” but they will only warranty for 90 days (why not 1 year if it is “as good as new”).

I seriously tempted to sell my 2 Form 2’s and buy 5 Moais. At least then I can fix them myself, and the resin is half the price.

Why do you say that you would be abel to fix the Moai’s your self?
Are they esier to repair? I did not see many replacement parts for sale on their site.