Here are the first three prints from my Form1 - I’ve enjoyed printing these, but my 4th and 5th prints have been failures. I’m not sure if that’s because of the new software or firmware, or the cloudiness of the PDMS layer that’s appeared. But I just want to get back to the ability to print reliably!
I printed larger each time - and it seemed a bit like each print was a bit less successful than the previous one. Anyway, here are the prints (the two busts are painted afterwards - it’s “Hank” from Breaking Bad, btw:
Looking good Matt! Ya I’ve been having the same issue. I had about 5 or so good prints on mine and every print after that has failed. I have already gone through my entire bottle of Grey resin that came with my printer and now on my 2nd bottle which is White Resin. I’m still waiting for Formlabs to get back to me after I have sent back pictures this morning of my latest failed print to them to diagnose.
I’m going to try a fresh resin tray and fresh resin and see what happens. I’m suspect of both parts, but I don’t want to waste $150 in resin figuring out what’s wrong! The same trepidation I’m sure we all have when things start to go awry and we aren’t sure why.
Matt - cloudiness in the PDMS will most definitely cause print failures, and I think the kind of “soft” failure you posted on the Preform 1.2 thread. My experience is that taller models, eg your 3inch head - if oriented with the Z-axis - will cloud the PDMS very quickly.
I had cloudy PDMS with white resin after about 3 parts that were just over 3 inches in Z - the 3rd or 4th printed in the same position failed badly, which is when I noticed the clouding.
I’m wondering if white clouds faster - I’m used to getting a dozen or more prints in the same position without clouding, but I haven’t tried many tall parts in grey.
In any case I think it’s safe to say if you’re printing parts with Z heights of 3 inches or so regularly, you need to invest in some PDMS and learn how to recoat your vats, and depending on how level you can make them, potentially how to level your resin tank carriage as well.
Again - the unofficial wiki has the info you need http://form1printer.pbworks.com/w/page/73582883/Replacement%20Components