I have just taken delivery of a new complete Form 4BL kit, with the Cure L V2 and the Wash L V2. So far things have been going great, and clients really like how their parts are turning out.
Getting straight to the point. We were torn between buying IPA, TPM, or Formlabs Resin washing solution, and wanted the best possible solvent for our workflow. We ended up with Formlabs Resin washing solution. Barely any smell and cleans parts well. One of the workers noticed that the solvent did not come up to the full fill line in the Wash L V2. So, he added “more solvent”. Couple days go by and I’m back in the office like normal doing work, just to open the Wash and see that the wire basket had almost completely turned brown, very similar to rust. I also noticed the back plate that rises up with the wire basket had small brown speckled deposits on the back of it, but not the front. Luckily the rest of the wash was perfectly fine, but the wire basket was replaced and the back plate I feel may need to get replaced also. After finding out what he did he said he added about 2-3 liters of water to the wash so that it will be “full”. Not sure why he did that, but it all made sense hearing he said water. The saturation levels were also completely unreadable due to this error.
Is it possible that water and Formlabs Resin Solution react badly with each other? I am also afraid that the solution is now forfeit and needs to be replaced completely. Is what I’m looking at rust? Not an expert on this stuff but it really looks like some oxidation reaction, or something along those lines.
Hi @khicks, thanks for writing in!
There shouldn’t be any adverse reaction between water and the Resin Washing Solution, but diluting the RWS can make it less effective, so it’s advisable to monitor the cleaning results.
The rust might be a result of the water interacting with the nickel plating. We are doing further testing to verify this; in the meantime, replacing the solution would be the safest solution, but if the wash quality is still sufficient and no further rust develops, it’s also an option to continue using it.
I see. There did not appear to be any bad washes even with this reaction. prints still came out good. I am curious though, if someone wanted to use water in the wash will it just rust? I understand that it may not be for water, but I feel there should be a prevention for this. It was accumulated quite quickly, resulting in me throwing the wire basket away because it turned completely brown. Should I be concerned with the back of the plate in my 3rd photo having rust spots?
Hi @khicks, I’m sorry for the late reply! We have done internal in the meantime and confirmed that sustained exposure to water can cause rusting on the Form Wash 2.
We are updating our recommendations to remove water as a compatible solvent. Thank you so much for bringing this to our attention!
If you notice any further issues with your Form Wash, please reach out to our support team.
Wow ok this makes sense. I also went around and asked multiple sources, and they have mentioned that RWS actually does not mix well with water. Plus, coupled with the fact there was some water in the Wash L V2. There is for sure some conflicted information going on here and I hope you guys’ explicitly state that water cannot be used in the Wash L by any means. We currently had to pivot super-fast and buy IPA since it was more readily available than TPM and RWS and can’t have production running slow. Luckily the wash is doing ok still and have not noticed any issues yet (Hopefully it stays like that), but if we do will they be covered by a warranty? For a very expensive machine to have conflicted information on water is not something that should be oversighted. Yes, too many people this may not happen to them, but for those other many people it still can. In the event things needs to be replaced, is there a way to get a replacement back plate for the Wash L V2 (the motorized plate that the build plate prongs attach to), saturation sensor, and new impellers. Thanks again for confirming this issue.
Good to hear the Form Wash is working without issues! We could not find info on your device in our systems, as it seems to have been purchased from a reseller - in case any problems do come up, please turn to your reseller for warranty inquiries.
