Been going back and forth with FormLabs support team to diagnose Form 3L initialization issues. After analyzing the logs of the printer, the problem is as follows:
*"After reviewing your logs, this issue is stemming from your printer’s ForceSense board. This board carries important calibration data for the printer and if it fails, the printer cannot initialize correctly.
Unfortunately, this board cannot be replaced or repaired. As a result, this printer is no longer functional and will need to be replaced."*
Is replacing the ENTIRE machine over one faulty board really the only solution here? The machine is not cheap as we all know. Want to see if anyone else has encountered this issue and if there is an alternate solution.
Any insight is appreciated.
Thanks.
1 Like
@Henderson could you share the logs here as well? Every printer has a load cell for weighing the resin, and I wonder if that is what Formlabs calls “ForceSense board”.
I can’t upload the file here – file type not accepted. Here is what FormLabs told me when I asked what this board’s function is:
"*The ForceSence board measures, among other things, the force applied to the build platform during printing. We expect this value to vary as the build platform lowers, lifts, squishes, and peels, but the board is reporting a constant downward force, regardless of what the printer is actually doing.
This could be caused by a failed communication chip or a faulty force inductor coil on the board, but we are not able to determine which."*
Is there a chance you had a resin spill that might have come into contact with electronics? In the smaller Form 3 printers, there is a load cell (check the picture) that weighs the resin cartridge, but because there are canisters with Form 3L, they might be weighing the resin tray itself to determine how much resin was pumped. This would be a load cell as well (it looks like an aluminium block with an extended hole in the middle). If you could check where the wires go from that load cell you should be able to discover the load cell amplifier chip and the connectors it has.
This is an ever increasing theme with Formlabs; planned obsolescence
If you live in an area with Right To Repair laws then I would go after them.
