Do formlabs have any plans of implementing an Anti-Spill Lip and other leak/spill prevention on regular resin tanks (similar to LT tanks)? It seems like a disservice to continue selling a model knowing that there are potential risk of catastrophic failure. Or are they phasing out the old tanks and force us to buy $100 resin LT tanks?
Iām not sure but someone could probably design a part you can make to add on top of the tray to help out. If anyone can post pics of the new LT tank I could come up with something.
Chris
If the $100 tanks last 20 times longer than the $60 tanks, then they are FORCING you to save $1,500 on replacement tanks.
ā¦Those dastardly villians.
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LT performance has yet to be seen. At the moment whatās clear are the price difference and the long backlog. Also I think thereās something wrong with your math.
Iām also thinking of retrofitting the existing tank but Iām not sure how that affects warranty.
Yeah- I get there is a backlog- It took 3 months to get the 2 I ordered with the printer.
But tanks that last for 2 cartridges of resin seem far more costly than tanks that last 40 cartridges of resin.
As to math- it was a ballpark estimate. Buy 20 regular tanks for $1,300 ( with sales tax) and add shipping on what would certainly be several different orders since youāre not buying them all at once at that comes to around $1500.
As opposed to one $100 tank.
Maybe they wonāt last 20 times as longā¦ but if they go anywhere over 2 times longer they are COSTING YOU LESS.
The righteous complaint is that their lack of availability is what is costing you money.
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Thank you for your time responding to my post. I get your point and I agree with you. But this post is in the feature requests & ideas section where I am asking for the future of the basic tanks more than complaining. They made improvements in the LT tank like the Anti-spill lip which I feel should also be implemented in the basic tank. Unless they plan to phase it out thatās why I was asking if there would be no other choice than to buy the newer LT version. I also believe there is going to be a big demand for a cheaper tray even when the LT is in full production. So this is not about how much savings you get from the LT but rather trying to know what our future choices are.
Also I appreciate you but please stop shouting by posting some points in all caps.
Well- I would hope that they DO discontinue a less than ideal tank in favor of a tank which may be a larger initial investment, but that will return better results over a longer period.
Why continue a tank that has more spill issues? Who needs to save 40 bucks TODAY- only to have to spend another 59 in a couple weeks time?
I only just got my 2 LT tanksā¦ and am trying to decide which resin I ought to run in them to maximize their utility.
But I sure hope they are easier to get ahold of by the time I need to replace the 3 regular tanks I had to buy just to be able to print.
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@Sculptingman - Can you please post some pictures of the LT tank? If you could get a good pic of the anti-still lips it would be greatly appreciated. I will try to come up with a design that can be used on the regular tanks to help prevent spills for people who have not ordered or received their LT tanks,
Chris
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Chris-
hereās a shot of the regular and LT tanks showcasing the differences.
You can see the standard tank has a 90 degree return lip at the top edge of the tank. This serves 2 purposes in the design- its a handle by which you can lift the tank without touching the optical window underneath- and more importantly it stiffens the sidewall of the tank and the lip by making an angle bracket out of the tankās top rim.
The only issue is that flat plane alongside the tank well at the very top- when resin gets foamy, the wiper arm can slosh it up onto this surface, and then the sloshed resin can slide over the outside edge.
The LT tank is the same outside dimensions- however they have redesigned the sidewall. they have placed the angle bracket stiffening feature and lifting lip in the middle of the sidewall, rather than at the top- creating an additional volume above the tankās ordinary fill level. The wiper runs in the lower well and stops short of this additional volume- giving a buffer space for any screeded resin or foam to slosh into without the wiper slamming a berm of resin against the side wall.
This is not a feature you could readily āaddā to the existing tank as I think the outside rim of the flange on the standard tank canāt be any wider and still allow the full range of tank motion inside the lid.
( the form2 ācoverā has a similar return at its lower edge, bending inward and the tank at its fullest extent left or right must clear this lip or you wonāt be able to open the lid without striking the tank,)
I donāt know if you might be able to hang a small catchtray- like a rain gutter, under the lip of the standard tankā¦ it would still have to stick out far enough to catch dripping resinā¦ but not so far as to cause an issue of clearanceā¦ but the one wiper fling spill I had looked like the wiper arm had flung the resin pretty farā¦ meaning a simple drip-lip type catch might not catch it.
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Sorry about that- Not all Bulletin Board front ends have an italics optionā¦ I keep forgeting to even look.
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Other nice features of the LT- A black bottom reducing light spillage into the resin.
They also printed a nice white block on the front of the tank where you can use a pen or marker to Label the type of resin the tank is running.
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@Sculptingman - Thanks for the pics. That really clears things up. I see what you mean about not being able to add to the existing tanks at least on the inside. I was thinking about something you could snap onto the top that would angle back in towards the tank. That way if the resin were to overflow it would prevent it from going outside the tank. I will try to add a pic of what I was thinking sometime today.
Chris
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I was thinking of something like the picture below (very crude quick mock-up) It could slide onto the right side of the tank where you would pick it up from and it would not interfere with the wiper. Granted it would only keep the material from overflowing on the side of the tank but it would be better then nothing.
Chris
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You can try itā¦ I would just measure very precisely the clearances required by the platform and wiper arm at the extreme limits of their motion.
Also- do not have the end triangles rest directly on top of the tank lipā¦ that would create a very tiny slot between the tank lip and your triangle and that would generate a capillary action such that any resin that splashed on that joint would flow to the other side and down the outside of the tank wall.
Better to have the triangular end plates zig zag at the bottom so their bottom edges tuck inside the tank well.
You also do not want the angled plane to reach all the way over to the edge of the resin lip, as shown. Resin would get into that corner and capillary its way down and around your catchlip to, again drip outside the tank.
You would want the face catching any overspill to tuck inside the tank well rim as well- like a drip lip on a roof- to ensure the resin flows into the tank.
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