Form 3L | Laser Overlap - Seamline?

Support & Troubleshooting Form 3L
1

I just found information about the 3L laser overlap between the support materials.

https://support.formlabs.com/s/article/Managing-the-Form-3L-seam-line?language=en_US&utm_source=preform

This is a bit of a concern for me, as what is described here suggests quality trade-offs for me when using the full construction volume.

We are planning to pre-order a 3L, but I have not received an answer to this question elsewhere.

In particular, I would like to ask the engineers what the seam lines will look like on the forms?

Does this mean that utilizing the full construction volume will involve trade-offs and will we experience seam lines on the models?

Thank you!

2

Yes, it looks like there are seamlines.

I spoke with one of the engineers about this at the last user summit in Boston. He showed me a large part printed on the Form 3L, and the seam was noticeable. I wouldn’t say it was egregious, and it did look like something you could sand out with post-processing. He mentioned they were working on software improvements to “feather” the seam and hide it better.

I inquired again some months later to see if the feathering efforts paid off, but I’m not sure I’ve seen more recent results or photos. Interesting to see there’s a support article on this now.

Maybe someone from Formlabs could share photos to give us an idea how noticeable it is these days?

1 Like
3

Yes, that would definitely be helpful.

If we were to get a variety of images from Formlabs, it would be great to see how visible these seamlines are at the moment, and what is the worst version we can expect when printing on a full building platform.

4

If others want to see pictures of the mentioned seamlines, you can indicate them here and maybe we will have a better chance of getting results;)

5

I didnt know this about the L.

LFS was intended to give us less post processing work - removing seams will be quite a task! Especially when its not easily accessible.

1 Like
6

Yes, I totally agree with you. I hope to get some visual demonstration of it soon🙏

7

In fairness, I’m not sure I’d call what I saw “quite a task” to sand away. Hopefully someone will share pictures and you can judge for yourself.

8

Look forward to pics - I know any seams on models Ive tried to remove previously have not been pleasant or easy - For me it will be easier to remove a support and get a small area to blend in than a long area to blend in.

9

This topic was automatically closed 14 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.