Form 3 Build Platform 2 review

General Discussion
1

After waiting a while, I finally got my hands on a build platform 2. I’ve had a chance to use it for a little bit, so I thought I would post my thoughts on the off chance someone might find it useful.

Overall, my impressions are positive, but it is not a panacea. Build platform 2 presents you with a quandary: It makes removing prints from the build plate far, far easier, but you trade that for a much worse job of cleaning it whenever you change resin.

Build platform 2 comes in two pieces. One piece is most of the item - it’s more or less the same shape as build platform 1, but it is not intended to be used alone. The other piece is a thin piece of sheet metal bent to form two handles that magnetically attaches to the first piece to form the complete unit. Since it’s sheet metal, you can bend it, and that is what makes it much easier (essentially trivial) to pop even the most firmly secured prints right off.

The problem is that if you change resin, you have to take the two pieces apart and clean each one individually. And that’s kind of a pain. In particular, the sheet metal piece has part of it that is bent back on itself to form a pair of “lips” that fit into grooves on the main part as an alignment aid. The resulting “tube” is not sealed, so resin gets in there. It also gets into the cranny at the edge of the lip. You’re just not going to be able to get all the resin out of there. I have only printed with black resin so far, so I don’t know whether I can clean it well enough to not contaminate white too badly.

Of course, this is only necessary when you change resin, which naturally suggests an obvious, albeit ridiculously expensive solution. Besides, I don’t have a good way to store dirty build platforms, though I’m sure one could print something suitable.

In the end, I’ve decided I am going to use platform 2 for resins that are difficult to remove, like black and white and perhaps tough 2k, and for prints made directly on the build plate (that is, without a raft). I will probably continue to use BP 1 for clear and durable, as those are easier to get off anyway and probably more sensitive to contamination.

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2

You don’t need to be all that OCD about cleaning the build platform when switching resins. I just wipe mine down with paper towel so there’s no “fluid” left. I don’t worry about the tacky remnants that remain. They’re not going to dissolve in to the new resin very quickly nor will they change the chemical composition of the new resin in any significant way.

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Well, the larger point is that BP2 is a bigger cleaning job than BP1, and there are a lot more corners and crevices for resin to hide.

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4

Can’t you clean the BP2 by taking it apart and putting it into a Clean?

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The big part fits just fine. The plate itself… sorta does. But you’d have to do each in its own cycle.

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Thanks for giving a review on that.

The difficulty on cleaning in between resin swaps was also my impression, good to hear it confirmed from someone!

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This is what I am doing also. Nearly all of the time the BP1 is fine for print removal with rafts, and super quick to clean-up before starting the next print with a different resin. I only use BP2 for printing directly on the platform.

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I had my first and only failed print when I tried this. I’d always thoroughly cleaned BP2 and decided to just give it a wipe down without removing the sheet metal piece. Ended up with little bits of cured Clear resin stuck to the bottom of the tank, jamming up the mixer. For the record I was switching to Tough 1500. Nothing but thorough cleaning for me from now on.

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Hi all,

Thank you for sharing your experiences regarding cleaning steps for the Build Platform 2. I wanted to pass along our article covering Cleaning the Build Platform 2 before printing with different resins as an official recommendation. Cleaning both the platform and the flexible print surface is ideal when switching resins to minimize cross-contamination.

10

Hi,

I’m experiencing something strange with the BP2: after a few prints and washes… liquid (IPA) seems to have soaked into the BP2 unit (when shaking, I hear the liquid).
But I’ve not found a way to get it out.
When I took off the stainless steel plate, I have found a minuscule hole (even too small to get in with a needle or syringe) and when slowly warming up the BP2 (without the print surface) it seems to force the liquid out.
Is there a way to disassemble the unit to clean it out completely?

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my way of washing with platform 2 is to remove the print after printing, placing just the print in wash. not the whole platform.
this way you also use much less IPA because you keep the level low

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Hi @olce,

Thanks for getting in touch. I would recommend getting in touch with our Support Team and sharing a video or photos demonstrating the hole and subsequent leak. Depending on the severity, it may be necessary to have the BP2 replaced.