I received the form2 printer last month and used it for just over a month with no issues and mostly successful prints. For my last print job with 2 small items in grey resin, I started hearing a strange cracking noise, just before the build platform is lifted form the tank.
It turns out the left corner of the black plastic liner is cracked in 2 places and these broken parts get caught when the tank carrier moves towards the right side and makes a popping noise.
I am attaching a video with a close-up view of the cracks and the noise it makes when the carrier is moved.
Formlabs support told me it is not uncommon for cracks to develop and that it should not affect the quality of the prints and that I should even trim away the cracked part to stop the noise.
I am wondering if anyone else experienced something like this and how it got fixed. I don’t want to make it worse and I don’t feel it is right to break away a part of a new machine like that as the solution for a problem that started all of a sudden, probably caused by some malfunctioning of the parts.
Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Here is the link to the video:
Cracking and noise
I’ve had a similar issue, twice. The same casing component cracked at the front, at the 2 corners where the tank slots into the metal frame. Had to go to Hungary on both occasions for replacement parts to be fitted.
Thank you for replying Jason, My concern is that it can get worse if I just ignore it like they suggested. I will have to find a temporary solution for the time being and maybe break off the cracked part.
If you opened a ticket and were told to ignore it I would open another one and insist on replacement. That component is the only thing that keeps resin out of the optics and electronics should there be a resin leak.
Did these cracks originate organically or did some resin spill in the area? (Just curious here)
The primary purpose of this part is guiding resin to a reservoir in the front in the event of a large resin spill. Even with defects in that part, you are not at risk of getting resin on the optics (they’re shielded in another way), and on the side you have the crack, you are not at risk of spilling resin onto the electronics boards.
Unfortunately, completely replacing the part does require factory calibration. You can reach out to support to request RMA, though in this scenario I would fix it by hand. I would remove the shell, trim away the part of plastic that is interfering with the shell during the peel cycle, and then repair the cracks using duct tape. Functionally, you’d get the same result. Your call, but I’d say it’s a pretty easy fix.
The cracks originated organically. I never had resin spill or any issues at all. I have used less than half a liter of grey resin and made a few prints with castable resin. Mostly without problems, except for a few print failures due to lack of support. Even when I had failures, there was no spill. I see there is some dry grey resin debris in the corner, I have no idea how it got there as I never spilled any resin on the black cover.
I noticed the cracks only when the noise started last week. I have not used the printer since then not to make it worse.
Now, if I could fix it myself easily and without further compromising the printer in the long term, it would be one possible solution. Although it is disappointing buying a new product, having something break after a few weeks of light use and being told to just put duct tape as a fix 
To go with the home fix, I have no idea how to remove the shell and try to fix the area. If you could send some information on that, perhaps a video with instructions, it would be very helpful. If I find I can do it with no further problems, I am willing to try, if not, we will have to find another solution.
Thank you for your help Craig.
Hi Craig. I posted a reply 5 h ago answering your questions. Please take a look when you have a minute.
I just found this video on youtube on how to remove the shell. Please let me know if this is how I should proceed.
I thought that perhaps I could use super glue to join the cracks together, don’t you think that would be better than breaking the corner off and using duct tape?
Also, please let me know if by removing the shell I am not making my warranty invalid.
Thank you.
Hi Marci! As I heads up I do not work in customer support. If you reach out via your ticket, they can demonstrate the best way to remove the shell. The video you posted does not actually show you how to remove the shell.
I suggest that you try a manual repair only because I think that it will save you time and effort. That part, the “shuttle cover” is purely cosmetic apart from draining resin in the event of a spill. It has no impact on part quality or printer performance.
If you sufficiently trim away at the part causing the noise, I suspect that, yes, your suggestion to use super glue (CA) would work just fine.
Just removing the shell (2 screws on the back, 2 screws on each side near the bottom, disconnecting one ribbon cable) should not invalid your warranty. Again, I recommend you reach out to customer support via your ticket so that they can walk you through removing the shell,step by step, and make sure that you don’t inadvertently cause any damage.
I hope this helps!
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