Did somebody already tried this stuff to clean their mirrors:
http://www.photoniccleaning.com/
Its very expensive! Is there another solution to get the mirror as clean as that?
Nice find Marcus
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Hi @MarcusKnorr,
We strongly recommend against directly touching any of the mirrors unless absolutely necessary, as they are first surface mirrors and prone to damage, even by materials that might seem relatively harmless.
If you are thinking about cleaning your mirrors, I would encourage you to first get in touch with our Customer Support team so they can help make sure it’s necessary, and, should that be the case, give you detailed instructions on how to do so safely.
Here is a good place to start on checking your mirrors without touching them.
To answer your question on materials, though, we’ve actually done extensive testing of many different cleaning solutions and wipes. There are many out there which are advertised for use on optical surfaces, but still aren’t good enough for use on our mirrors. We did actually test First Contact found moderately good results in specific situations, but, like you said, it’s really expensive. Instead, we found Pec Pads to be the best option for cleaning the mirrors, when used carefully either dry or with IPA.
Again, if you are planning on cleaning your mirrors, our Customer Support team has detailed instructions on how to safely do so. Reach out to them before you attempt touching the mirrors - they’ll be happy to help!
Gideon
Thank you Gideon,
well I am waiting for an answer of the support but didn’t expect an answer anymore. so what else can I do as to find a solution myself??? I have very small parts to print and suddenly they don’t print good anymore. I never cleaned the mirrors of my new form1+ with any liquid like alcohol. I used kimwipes and blowing air. I noticed that extremely small amounts of dust cause the print to fail. Its the dust particles i want to get rid of… thats the situation I have! I would be pleased to know how!
I’ll get in touch with the CS Engineers and see about your ticket. They’re the best resource to go with since they are equipped with a lot of knowledge about the machines. Also, the ticketing system is a great place for sharing photos, and those are what gives us the most knowledge of what’s wrong with your machine. We’ve been driving down the response times over the past few weeks, so I hope that you’ve also seen the improvement.
As for your question, if you see dust on your mirrors, the best way to clean it off is with compressed air.
Unfortunately in this case, kimwipes were another material that we had tested, and we found that after a few passes you start to get microscopic ablations (aka. scratches) on the surfaces of the mirrors. I know this will sound discouraging, but there are two ways out here: first, it may be the case that you got lucky and your mirrors are not damaged, either from not doing too many passes or from doing so extremely lightly; second, we may be able to help salvage your mirror or get you a replacement one.
Again, I’ll talk to the CS Engineers and make sure your ticket gets a response today. We’ll take care of you!
I was directly in contact per e-mail and didn’t open a ticket… you can reach me at: Marcus-Knorr@gmx.de …I can open a ticket if necessary later!
thank you
Someone is reaching out right now, hope that helps!
1 Like
Hi there. Laser specialist here (i work with laser devices using galvos for a living sporting 11 years). Late responsive but in my industry we heavily use laser galvos. Yes cleaning with first contact is the way to go actually for all this stuff.,. with both galvo mirrors and dichroics. It only can be done with glass first surface mirrors and not silica mirrors (as those will let go off the coating if you use this)… however in formlabs the galvo mirrors are 100% surely glass coated.
to apply this stuff use the included vial with brush… very gently apply…wait for it to dry (no more smell) takes aprox 3~4 minutes…apply fairly generously so you can peel without the polymer ripping. Then take a piece of lint free (or transparent tape and a very small food toothpick… with your finger at the bottom gently move the mirror so it faces an accesible angle… hover a piece of tape over it and with your food toothpick GENTLY rub the tape on… dont tug the tape… make sure it conforms straight to it (it will if you are carefull. the tape should go over the mirror a little thats ok. (make sure you have a peeling edge too!)
Give the tape some time to let its adhesive adhere a bit and whilst holding at an angle gentle lift the tape… dont tug it lift it rather… the polymer will come off and your mirrors are the cleanest you will ever get them.
This stuff can also be used for the aperture window underneath the vat of your printer (NOT THE VAT ITSELF AS THIS IS ACRYLIC, GLASS ONLY!).