I was trying to do this project: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:65810
Is it because I printed without supports? (As the instructions said to do.)
I realise that it is meant for a different kind of printer, but how else would one achieve the flatness of the base if not by printing it without supports?
It is late to be a first print, but yes, this is my first attempt using the Form 1. What should I do now - should I still rinse the piece?
Thanks in advance!
Yuck…be sure to carefully clean the resin tank of debris before starting your next print. Maybe rinse the part a bit to remove liquid resin before disposing.
The Form 1 is different from many desktop 3D printers. It’s an SLA—not FDM machine. I’m not surprised that the results were poor from printing it directly on the build platform. Essentially, the resin shrinks a bit when cured (don’t worry—we’ve compensated in software so your end result is the correct dimensions). The build plate is made of aluminum, which doesn’t want to shrink. I think you can see where I’m going…more info about supports here.
I’d recommend that you try orienting the piece at a small angle (about 20 degrees) and generating supports. Because the piece is flat, you can sand the part afterwards to remove any marks left by the support.
Yes, that’s certainly designed for another kind of printer – but you should be able to get a smooth, flat surface printing with supports – you may need to sand off the small nubs left by supports, though. It’s hard to tell what part you’re trying to print, there, or what the original configuration was. A screenshot of PreForm would be useful.
You should certainly rinse (or simply cure the part in sunlight) and discard – and then make sure that your resin tank is absolutely clean (instructions here).
If you continue to encounter problems, I recommend reaching out to support team at support@formlabs.com.
More pictures are also always super useful as well.
Thank you @CraigBroady and @Sam_Jacoby for your replies!
The piece I was trying to print was this one
I left the model in the default position it was in after importing the file into PreForm. Also scaled it to 1.005.
Here is what it looks like in PreForm
PIcture of platform after I took it out of the printer
Hi I was kind of confused about this part: are you referring to height of supports from the platform?
Which version of PreForm? I’m using 1.1
Anyway, thanks for all your input. I certainly won’t be printing directly to the platform again if I can help it. Clean-up is terrible. The platform got a thin layer of resin all over it which is very difficult to scrape off. I think I’m ruining the platform, and it’s only my first print! T_T
I definitely recommend using the latest version of PreForm
The build platform is quite robust. If you’re having trouble getting the thin cured layer of resin off, soak it in alcohol for a few hours to soften it up.