I got my Form 1+ not so long ago and posted my first (couple of) prints in this topic. Unfortunately I had to send the printer back for a fix because it was printing everything mirrored. But Formlabs were great and supporting all the way through the process! Thanks for them again!
I thought as I’m going along I’ll just make a topic for all my prints and will dumb some nice images here from time to time. I had some problems printing the first weeks, but my last 7 prints were all 100% successful, so I though I’ll share my finds here. I found everything in different topics, but thought it would be nice to share them in one place:
shake the bottle before the print and let it settle. Sometimes I shake it the night before, and just before printing.
pour enough and not too much into the tank. I always fill it up to the maximum line.
Orient your prints carefully. The surface area should be less when you start the print and more later on. Build it up like a reversed pyramid (like a cube on its corner - not on its edge or face)
Make sure the model points upward and to the “hinge” side. This way there’ll be less stress while peeling.
After the print I always check with the spatula if there’s something on the bottom.
If I’m not printing for a day I always pour back all the resin in the bottle. I use a 200 micron strainer and a funnel. It’s a good practice to do this from time to time as it gets rid of the tiny cured floaters in the resin
That’s it so far!
The first project I’m sharing is a big one… Really complex, lots of pieces to fit together, but the more detail, the better the result It is a parrot skeleton. Altogether 25 different pieces were printed, took 5 prints and 35 hours in printing. Some of it is really delicate, the ribs for example are between 1-2mm in thickness.
The images so far, I’ll upload more as I go along!
Thanks Jory! Hopefully I’ll have the final one ready today, not long to go now!
In the meantime here’s an other WIP image. I tell you, this is a weird thing to have on the table
Oh, I was printing mid week and then the weekend and I had some problems. I thought the model was responsible so I printed something else today but it had the same thing! The resin is like not completely cured on one part of the model and I noticed that it is the lower right hand side of the tray, always. So I checked the mirror, it had some dust particles on it, but seemed clean. But then when I inspected it closely, trying to flash the light on it from different angles, I noticed that there are tiny “smudges” on the corresponding corner. Really straight marks, I have no idea what caused it, as I never touched it, was really careful with the air duster as well.
Does anyone know how to fix this? It seems to be messing up that corner of all my prints…
Dave - it sounds like your mirror needs a cleaning. Shoot us a message to support@formlabs.com and we can provide you with specific cleaning instructions.
We’ve tested many materials against the “first surface” mirrors in the Form 1+ and even microfiber cloths can scratch the surface. However, our support team will get you sorted!
So, it’s been a while, the parrot is sitting on a branch It’s not yet finished, but almost there, so I thought I’ll share an update and post the final images later. i want to paint the beak and nails black and make it a bit more aged. get a nice perch for it and fix it onto the stand.
Also it’s free to download as part of the my mini factory halloween competition!!
Get it here - I warn you, it’s 25 pieces and requires some knowledge of anatomy!
This is just fantastic, and it looks like a labor of love! Can I ask what post processing you did to paint? Is the spine on a fire frame? Just terrific results!
best
rg
Postscript – I think I respond to this so viscerally because I grew up in Panama, and macaws are just amazing animals to see… Your work is great.
The spine is in 2 or 3 pieces merged together… I wanted to print each bone separately, but soon enough I realized that printing more than a 100 little bones and then assembling them will become a huge mess made me rethink So I tried to have as many merged, big pieces I could.
The paint was a simple spray paint, I used the Rustoleum Ivory Silk.
On this image you can see that the spine is 2 pieces, one even has the ribs attached
I modeled the bones in zbrush, started off as a dynameshed sphere and then stretched it following reference material. Then I did this a 100 times well, I duplicated and modified some of the spine and other similar bones and then modified them, so it wasn’t that bad, but I had to study the anatomy and google for reference images a lot.
It is a parrot skeleton. Altogether 25 different pieces were printed, took 5 prints and 35 hours in printing. Some of it is really delicate, the ribs for example are between 1-2mm in thickness.
well, I duplicated and modified some of the spine and other similar bones and then modified them, so it wasn’t that bad, but I had to study the anatomy and google for reference images a lot.