Anyone Else Having Trouble with the new software release?

Hello,

Ever since the new software release I’ve been peeling most of my models of the bottom of the tank :frowning:   Anyone else notice a problem?  I’ve tried thicker tip points, changing to grey resin and I still have parts breaking off and even worse the skin (outer layer of the part) peeling off and flopping around like a bunch of snakes shedding in the tray.  I’m submitting a trouble ticket on this and will let you know what the feedback is.

Well considering I only had one day of VERY unsuccessful printing with the previous software I cannot compare the two. However my last few prints I have tried to back to the .05mm Clear setting and am getting the outer layer peeling off the last two prints in similar spots. I am trying the print again right now back on the Grey setting to see if this fixes it.

What is odd with mine is that it looks good when I pull it off the platform but Alcohol works in between and bubbles them apart during the 10 minute cycle in the tank… No fun to have to reprint a 10hr print after you think it came out good…

I’ve noticed something similar with the new version of the software too. The failed prints happen on the right side of the build platform, where the peeling movement is the greatest. Also, the support structures warp and deform ans tick together. I too had to fish out flat pieces of semicured resin from the bottom of the tank.

Here are a few things I noticed/learned:

  • Orientation of the model is very important. Not just for the supports, but also for what you want to print good and what will print not as good. For example, the surface that has no supports on it, always prints better for me than the side with the supports. The viscosity of the resin causes it to “hang around”, sticking to the supports using surface tension (maybe), and maybe because the resin is clear it overcures that resin, leaving bumps, etc.

  • thick walls and pieces always print easier/better than thin wall and details.

  • There are inconsistencies with the prints. I print the same part over and over, in the same location and with the same setting, always getting different results. This is not good for production purposes.

-Bubbles can be a problem. If you are unlucky for a bubble to get stuck to supports, or a surface, a whole will form on the surface of the part. This is not as common, but has happened.

-Printing on the grey setting is overkill for the clear resin, and can actually overcure some resin in the fine details, therefore you loose the detail. I would only print with the clear resin, using the clear resin setting.

  • the 100 setting is not recommended for anything other testing a part. If you don’t want to wait to see a result of a print, you should print on the 100 setting, and then if you’re happy with what you have have, print at 50. The 25 setting came our really bad for a few of my prints and takes FOREVER… Perhaps the clear resin is not designed for the 25 setting. We may need something with more pigment or photo-blockers?

I do not feel that the Grey Setting is bad in any way. I have printed the same part over and what seems like over and always get better results on the Grey setting.

I have certainly seen the effects of the viscosity keep resin in unwanted areas. I have a part with very small channels or ducting if you will running through a solid wall. I have to force it out immediately once the print is finished with either “Dust Off” compressed air in a can or the alcohol bottle. The air works the best.

Oddly enough all of my delamination has occurred on faces of the part facing to the right of the build platform(and on the right side of the part).

My part printed poorly the last two times when tried on 50 Clear but have come out great the last two on 50 Grey.

25 has just been a waste of time as it takes 4 hours to realize it wont work… Then cleanup is stressful :slight_smile:

100 is fast but is definitely for proof of concept. Yet still WAY better than what I have seen off most FDM machines.

Well I just had the same peeling issue again on the third time printing a file that printed great the previous two times.

See pics here.

http://support.formlabs.com/entries/24776776-What-does-triangles-not-closed-imply-?page=1#post_23821026

Try again?

RJ,

the delamination was already present with the previous version (http://wp.me/p3gI7M-85).

I’m starting to wonder if the laser spot mis-calibration that i see on my printer could be partially responsible.

If for some reason the spot is smaller than the theory, then the distance between the paths could be barely enough to keep the skin perimeters and the in-fill together.

As PreForm does not let us tweak all those calibration parameters, we can’t try to solve it before next revision is published…

Cheers

I’ve got a trouble ticket in on this issue.  They had me print their standard test file (5 butterflies).  The two on the peel side stuck to the tank.  The one in the middle was okay and the two on the left had half the supports fail (the leading edge of the peel).  When I touched the supports on the good model I could feel they were only half cured near the base plate.  They got a little harder further up.  Definitely some glitch in the new software.

I get similar results with the new software. Please fix this problem, form labs.

William, where did you get the test file from? I’d like to use that for some test prints as well.

I think I found it in the Resources/Models directory.

Just seems odd to get it to print great two times in a row then on the 3rd it is junk. Hard to believe that is the software.

Cannot get the machine to work wiht new software - no Form button!