Is there a way of operating the Filling valve hook, without a Cartridge in place, to check its operating properly? I would like to view it operating.
My Formlabs 3plus is extremely slow filling IE a spot or two at a time, no small stream like other cartridges.
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Hello @chrisjdraw,
Thank you for your question on dispensing. Our Support team can certainly help with this and I’d send in a case via the link. Slow dispense can be normal to printer operation or it sounds like it’s slower than usual, and we’ll be glad to verify if it is slower than normal.
Regards,
-Jen
One thing I always do is to ‘pre-open’ the valve at the bottom of the cartridge. Sometimes the rubber isn’t fully sliced deeply enough so I compress it with my fingers, and using an X-acto knife, i carefully slice the valve rubber (closest to the liquid in the cartridge) to open the valve opening a little more. This has helped a lot.
NOTE Be very careful with the blade. you can damage the valve and then it will leak all over if you cut too far to the edge.
Once I ‘pre-opened’ the valve, it flows much faster.
Good morning,
Of note, using a blade to open the bite valve can help, we do not recommend it as it can cause the valve to open too much or be open outside the normal filling cycle. A blunt ended plastic object is a safer option for opening the bite valve.
Regards, -Jen
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Thank you to Solid Print 3D in the UK and support from Formlabs the issue is resolved. I had a leaky Cartridge of Grey, it seeped onto the Rotating arm that operates the bite valve, causing this to not open correctly. Cleaning around the area with IPA has resolved the problem, thanks to all concerned. Great back up from Solid Print 3D and Formlabs.
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That’s good to hear.
If it got onto the arm of the VALVE squeezer, it wouldn’t be too far to get down into the lower parts of the circuitry. Next time you swap out a tank, it might be wise to just inspect the bottom of the Form3 and see if there is any puddles.
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