Are Form 2 and Form Cell built for daily uses at a Factory level?

I once ask a company who advertised a bureau service with a Carbon printer to quote for printing a coach body similar to the ones below but slightly longer at about 200mm. They refused to quote saying that these prints would be too heavy for their printer. So the problem may not be the size of the rafts per sei but more to do with the forces on the raft during the peel cycle.

I thought that the Carbon has no peeling cycle.
I have read that it works with a continuous movement upwardsā€¦ no?

From the little I have read about Carbon that was my understanding as well. Also these parts donā€™t seem too bulky or dense to be printer in a reasonable mannerā€¦ strange.

I run 2 Formlabs2, one mine, one my employers. I also have a StrataSys 260v and a 350v in my little fleet, as well as a Lulzbot TAZ 6. Previously, we had a 3D Systems ProJet which drove me to utter distraction, and before that a 3D Systems SLA 250, which we bought, reconditioned by 3D, over 15 years ago.

I work for a leading UK design consultancy, making prototypes, rigs, jigs and fixtures ( I also get to play with 3 Datron CNC machine and a laser cutter; donā€™t tell my boss, but even after 21 years, I still canā€™t believe I get paid a salary to play with this kit all day long!!) Reliability is ABSOLUTELY top of our requirements. The machines HAVE to work. We donā€™t have the time, the money or the need to be solving ā€˜interestingā€™ problems, we are not part of the beta test program for any of these devices, and we bouht them on the promise of top quality 3d prints, as and when we needed them.

Soā€¦ The original SLA 250 was awesome, for its day. We never bothered upgrading it to Viper standard, and it did cost us Ā£110,000. It needed Ā£5000 of resin to fill it, it was a 2 man lift to change the resin tank, and the new tank needed another Ā£5000 of resin, before it would work. But it did work! Most every night for 10 years, a few visite to service it, I think 2 new lasers over that time, but it just WORKED.

So we thought getting another 3D Systems device was a good move, and bought a 3500 ProJet. What an utter, unmitigated disaster that was. It never did more than a dozen builds without falling over, usually spectacularly. Brilliant when it worked, absolutely useless otherwiseā€¦

So we then switched horses and got a StrataSys 260V. Brilliant. Easy to use, utterly reliable. So when we needed more capacity still, it was a no brainer to get another StrataSys, a 350v this time. Again, it has proved to be extraordinarily reliable.

Then I bought a FormLabs 2 for my own personal hobby use. Saw the reviews, had the samples, went to TCT, chattede with the guys and girls there, splashed the cash. It worked beautifully for a couple of months, Black v2 resin, exactly what I had hoped for, and more.

Then the troubles started. Cartridge read errors, tank errors, crashed builds, soft parts, destroyed trays, and so much more. After cleaning oil mist off the optics, swarf off the mirrors, resin slashes off the lid, replacing the cartidge floor, the display, having numerous trays and cartridges free issue from Support, eventually it went back to Hungary for, whatever it is they do in Hungary. It came back pretty quickly, but with someone elses filthy orange cover on it. After yet ANOTHER load of e mails I was snt a complete new orange cover. I then switched to Grey V4, as black v4 was continuing to be an utter disaster, and took the sweep blade off.

FINALLY, after 10 months of chaos, I finally have a printer that does what I bought it for; to make 3D prints. Iā€™ve probably had barely 3 months of actually productive use out of it, but I know now how to strip it down and clean most of its innards, and all the little tricks and checks to make sure it isnā€™t going to destroy itself. I am dreading the laser giving up the ghost,

The works FL2 in contrast has worked without problems. We love the ease and economy of switching resins, it is fairly quick, and the build quality is either really good or awesome. Luck of the draw?

Would I buy another? Hard decision. Based on my experience, no way. On my employers, probably.

I really, really hope FormLabs get on top of the various issues, they seem to be making good progress, and if they ever want any design help, I am sure Kinneir Dufort Design Ltd could give some great input!

Onwards. If sideways, slightlyā€¦

Hi again,
I got reasonable support from them. However the instability is a bit worrisome. Quality decrease is completely acceptable and one can plan accordingly. What is the most disturbing is that ā€œGoodā€ and ā€œBadā€ concept.
If you wanna share our thoughts and experiences please contact me on my email: ksaeid@gmail.com