I received the Formlabs 1+ 2 weeks ago and have yet to have what I would consider a successful print (after 30+ attempts). I am using the Gray 02 Resin and every part I have printed has a significant amount of epoxy that resembles jelly stuck to the part. If the flat portion of my part is oriented down towards the resin tank, I will get a semi-smooth surface but the sides and backside where the supports are located are terrible looking.
I have attached some images of what my parts look like when removed from the printer. Looking at other prints (including the sample rook) I would expect much higher quality that what I am currently getting. I do not know if there is an issue with the Gray resin I am using which is the reason behind the bad parts? I will be receiving some black resin and additional resin tanks this week to try other colors and see if the problem still occurs. I have also read that this issue could possibly be due to a last going bad but any suggestions are much appreciated.
It doesn’t look like you angled the part. You need to print that at a 25-30 degree angle at least.
Yep add the angle and it will be much better. To put your mind at ease though, your parts look just as one would expect for not being angled.
You are correct that these latest prints were not placed at an angle because I was trying different methods. With that being said, all of the previous parts were placed at an angle (30 - 45 deg) and I was getting similar results. It was because of those results, I tried it with the part sitting flat.
Do you have pics of the angled parts?
I removed the resin from the tank and replaced it with fresh resin from the bottle and the prints seem to be coming out much better now. The resin that was originally in the tank was like jelly when I used the putty knife to move it around. The new resin is almost like syrup but consistently smooth and flowing.
You can strain your resin to take out any lumps etc so don’t just empty and toss a tank full of resin because of a failed print.