I’ve been trying to get my Form 2 up and running again for the past few months. I finally figured out an issue with the resin, and I installed new resin (Grey V4) and a new tank (LT). I now have a new issue I can’t seem to figure out. I’ve cleaned the glass. I’m unsure what to do next.
Here is what it is supposed to look like.
Here are my results from 2 different prints. The first print is directly on the platform. The second is tilted slightly and on a raft.
Have you ever cleaned the mirrors? Including the the Galvo mirrors? And if so, how did you go about doing that?
FL has a “reference print” you should run, instead of this thing. The reference print positions different features at different locations. The results may provide some additional hints as to what’s wrong.
This might be a mirror thing, if for example the main mirror is damaged in some areas. It might be a Z-Axis thing, if that axis doesn’t operate smoothly the stepper motor will lose its position.
Given the print looks like it’s “squished” in the Z direction, I’m inclined to go with “Z-Axis isn’t moving smoothly” as the explanation for your problem. But it’s strange that the front of the print looks good while the back of the print is terrible. This kind of suggests a mirror issue. So there may in fact be more than one thing that needs to be fixed.
I had a very odd issue recently with some parts that for no obvious reason had some defect on a fillet ‘off axis’ on two identical parts on the same print, not in line with each other or anything else I could relate it to…
I’m actually now believing it is due to cupping (despite 4mm+ thick walls and no warnings in preform) and that the defects are due to a bit of blowout at the deep (or shallow) area of the resin pool in the tank due to never really having 100% perfect levelling. Unfortunately the parts were one-offs and quite resin-intensive (100ml+) and long to run so I can’t really adjust the levelling and re-run just to test the theory, but it’s the only thing that fits IMHO
I inherited this printer about a year ago and I have not cleaned the galvo mirrors or done any other maintenance. (It also hasn’t been running.) I’ll try cleaning the mirrors and lubing the z-screw.
Is the reference print you are referring to the one here? customer_v2
Yes, that link takes you to the reference print. No question that a printer this old needs cleaning. Even non-operational. Over time the mirrors “haze” from gasses in the air, just like the inside windows of a new car do (from all the volatiles still present in the plastics used in the interior). Clean the glass window too, of course.
There are two things to be careful of. The mirrors are “primary” mirrors, which means the reflective coating is on the front of the glass, not the back. The coating is a very, very thin layer of Aluminum that’s deposited as a vapor. It’s really easy to damage. You need to follow the cleaning instructions exactly, and ask questions in the forum if you’re unsure, before you commit. And if you lube the screw, you want to be sure you’re using a “low volatility” lubricant, something that doesn’t “outgas” a lot, or you’re just going to haze your mirrors again (and there’s a limit to how many times you’ll be able to clean them, since even the most delicate cleaning does still remove some reflective material).
@Randy_Cohen is right on the money here; we typically advise running this Optics Test print so that we can take a known print and interpret the results of how well your printer can handle the task. I would also recommend reaching out to our Support Team with the results of that print (please be sure to wash the parts before taking photos so that we can see the parts unobscured by liquid resin) and we can give you the best next steps to get your printer fully operational. Please be sure to include the serial name of your printer, which is in AdjectiveAnimal format (you can check your Settings on the touchscreen or the back of your printer).
I’d pay good money to change the name of my machine to “SillyRabbit”. But I’m betting that’s already been taken by someone who also liked Trix cereal as a kid…
Turns out that is indeed an active serial name; someone got lucky! There are some pretty funny ones out there; I especially like the ones with alliterative names.
Not that I can see. My Form 2 that I use at home is HealthyWarthog. Sometimes we like to photoshop mockups of what our animals would look like so we can quickly identify which printer is which.
Small update. The mirrors have definitely not been cleaned. I cleaned the glass (top and bottom) and main mirror and it is night and day from the before and after. The main mirror was very clouded. Next, I’m going to try and clean the galvo mirrors, however, it seems the screws to take of the shell are covered so I need to figure out how to take that off. Once that’s all done, I’ll do a test print and update.
I reprinted the cat slime from earlier and it is still deformed in the exact same way. So it seems, doing a deep cleaning on the glass, main mirror, and galvo mirrors did not fix the issue.
I have a LOT more pictures of the butterflies.
I guess the next step is to open a support ticket?
I am sorry to see the defect in your printed part! It looks pretty big for a Form 2 build volume, which is the printer being discussed in this thread; is that part from a 3L or were you able to fit it into a Form 2 build volume? Either way, we can more effectively troubleshoot this issue for you by opening a Support ticket and sending over any relevant photos and .form files. I hope this helps!
