Form 3 says cartridge empty but it's not

Support & Troubleshooting Form 3/3+
1

Hi

So my Form 3 says cartridge empty but it’s not. There is no calibration function like in my 3L. So what do I do? Factory reset?

1 Like
2

Hey @AllOnScale!

Thanks for taking the time to post! I’m sorry to hear you’re having some issues with your cartridge! I have a quick question for you so I can get a better idea of what might be happening.

Is this a brand new cartridge of resin that the printer is saying is empty, or is this a partly full cartridge that’s now currently reading as empty?

Additionally, are other cartridges you own throwing the same error, or does it just seem to be this one cartridge?

Thank you!

3

Hi. I have two grey v4 cartridges about 50 and 70% full. My form3L correctly sais so but the Form3 states they are empty.

4

probably an issue with the level sensor on your printer

5

O, I might have found out what the issue is…I swapped for a bottle of Tough and it shows ok level. I have been filling these Grey V4 cartridges from a 5 liter bottle. Does the Form3 have a limit or so built in that the 3L doesn’t?

6

Good question!

I think the culprit in this case is the refilling Grey Cartridges. The printer tracks how much resin a given cartridge has dispensed, so if you add 2 liters of resin to a 1 liter tank, the printer can get confused and think there’s no way this cartridge has any resin left. The printer knows how much resin the cartridge has dispensed, but not how much has been added.

The reason your Form 3L isn’t having the same issues is because the cartridge did all that dispensing on the Form 3, to the 3L, so to your Form 3, that’s a 1 liter cartridge that’s dispensed 3 liters of resin, but to your Form 3L, it’s a normal cartridge with some amount of resin in it. The resin tracking is per-printer, per cartridge.

Hope that helps!

7

The real question we all are wondering, is why the need to track? You simply need to communicate level to the printer. It’s not per se a printer requirement, but rather a prevention of using 3rd party resin requirement, no? I didn’t see that reflected in your answer above. That kind of lock-in is one of the things that got to me about Formlabs. I supported your Kickstarter back in the day, and still have my Form1. Back then, this kind of lock-in would have been unheard of.
One look at the prices here: Powders and Resins for 3D Printing | Formlabs
and it’s easy to understand why people need a 3rd party resin ecosystem. Maybe Formlabs needs to embrace the market, rather than attempt to wall itself off from it? It’s this rejection I believe that has given rise to the cheap Chinese knockoffs using DLP that may ultimately eat your lunch.
Anyway, my 2 cents.
-C

8

Sadly, this is most likely the reason