Using resins like Clear or Rigid10k in my Form4B … should I expect less warping of my parts using the new FormCure? In the specific case of Rigid10k … will it minimize/reduce the dusty layer?
Thanks
Oscar
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Hey @Oscar_Z
warping can be caused by a big variety of factors, first and foremost orientation and supports.
The new Form Cure is better at helping with warping than the Gen 1, but if you have regular issues with warping on your Form 4, I’d also like to take a look at a couple parts and how you currently prepare/post process them to give you a better answer.
The dusty layer on Rigid 10k parts is left over glass powder from the material itself, it is not reduced through curing. The best method to get rid of that and get a uniform finish is to either sand, sandblast or tumble your Rigid 10k parts.
Kind reagrds
Jakob
Hey Jakob,
Thanks for your response. Yep, you´re right … but in some cases I can not afford to have supports and (due to other requirements) I have to print the parts flat and directly on the building platform … so … the only option left for improving warping is the curing process. That´s why I was asking directly about possible improvements in that aspect with FormCure gen2 vs gen1.
Regarding Rigid10k … I´m already doing sandblasting … but in some occasions (high precision is required) that´s not an option.
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Hi @Oscar_Z
yes, that’s true, sometimes the parts just require that. I’ve seen an application where we ran into similar issues and then hollowed the part from the back and added struts into the hollowed parts in X shapes (like you’de sometimes see on the backside of molds). This reduced the surface area in between layers, making the piece banana a little bit less.
What you can try alternatively is mineral oil, this is also supposed to take the dust off (though I’ve never tried that myself that’s why I’m writing “supposedly”). This wouldn’t mechanically alter your parts, but you might need another cleaning process afterwards to get the mineral oil off of the surfaces of your parts.
Hey Jakob,
I have heard about that mineral oil option but never tried … do you happen to know if it works just dipping the part .. or you need to do some kind of mechanical action (rubbing)
Thanks
Oscar
Missatge de Jakob Dobberow via Formlabs Community Forum <notifications@formlabs.discoursemail.com> del dia dv., 25 d’abr. 2025 a les 0:06:
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Hi Oscar,
we just tried wiping it off with a soft piece of cloth and that worked surprisingly well, no big rubbing needed.
We only have a small bottle of mineral oil here in the Berlin office so we weren’t able to try dipping, but I suspect that would work fine as well, maybe with a bit of agitation.
This is after applying:
After drying:
Kind regards,
Jakob
(special thanks to Dayna of the Berlin printfarm team)
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Hey Jakob,
That looks really well indeed !!
Could you tell me the exact type / reference of mineral oil you used (just in case … maybe there are different formulations with different results …)
Thanks Dayna !!
Best
Oscar
Missatge de Jakob Dobberow via Formlabs Community Forum <notifications@formlabs.discoursemail.com> del dia dv., 25 d’abr. 2025 a les 5:16:
Hi Oscar,
This is the brand/variant that Dayna used.
This is not a recommendation or endorsement, just what we had on hand (and which worked).
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Perfect !
Thanks a lot !!
Best
Oscar
Missatge de Jakob Dobberow via Formlabs Community Forum <notifications@formlabs.discoursemail.com> del dia dv., 25 d’abr. 2025 a les 8:25:
Jakob, buenos días.
Eso que estáis imprimiendo, ¿es un postizo de un molde? Por otra parte veo que no has impreso la parte plana directamente sobre la plataforma. ¿Te queda plana la parte inferior?
Hola Jogutes,
Realmente no revisé la planitud de la pieza, era solo una pieza sobrante al azar que ya no necesitábamos y probamos el aceite mineral.
Sí, la pieza se imprimió en soportes y no directamente en la plataforma de construcción.
Sin embargo, en términos generales, si tiene problemas con la planitud de las piezas, la orientación y los soportes juegan un papel muy importante en eso y si tiene problemas con el doblado de las piezas, le recomiendo que tome un par de fotos y las envíe junto con su archivo .form aquí como soporte.
Puedes abrir un ticket siguiendo este enlace.
Hi Jogutes,
I haven’t really checked the part for flatness, it was just a random left over part that we didn’t need anymore that we tried the mineral oil on.
Yes, the part was printed on supports and not directly on the build platform.
Generally speaking though, if you’re experiencing issues with part flatness, orientation and supports play a very big role in that and if have issues with parts bending, I recommend you take a couple of photos and send those in along with your .form file to us here in support.
You can open a ticket following this link.
Gracias, cuando tenga que imprimir otra pieza le consultare antes.
Muchas Gracias estoy aprendiendo mucho de ustedes.
If I may add (Jakob please correct me if I’m wrong) generaly speaking, you will obtain max X Y accuracy (of your X Y face of interest) printing that face parallel to the build platform. So … if we don’t consider warping and you’re printing a mold my best results are obtained printing directly to the platform (despite peeling forces will be higher)
Oscar
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Gracias!!