Hi All,
I was recently given a barely used form 3 printer. However, it was transported to me on it’s side with a used resin tank, and resin cartridge in it and it made a HUGE mess.
Upon finding the mess I spent a couple of near sleepless nights disassembling and cleaning everything I could. It appears that MOST of the critical components were spared resin, but the front screen definitely got a lot on it.
After I cleaned everything with IPA and reassembled, it doesn’t seem to be working. When I apply power the print head moves to the side (allowing me to clean the final area I couldn’t get to with my shell disassembly) but nothing seems to happen on the LCD screen ever. No formlabs logo light, no screen on, nothing.
My question: Can somebody explain what the normal startup process for a form 3 printer is? Do I need to wait several minutes for the LCD screen to start? Is the Screen fried? Have people disassembled the screen to repair?
Some times the light by the resin tank starts blinking, but I don’t know if that’s an error code or what…
I’m pretty good at following guides and looking up information, but I don’t see any detailed videos starting the “expected” startup of a form 3 printer. Even pointing to manuals, or documentation on this would be helpful. I can take pictures or videos if that would be helpful.
Thanks in advance
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Shipping a resin printer with a filled tank still installed is definitely an interesting choice…
I have never had the need to tinker with the screen so far, so I can’t help you in that regard- but in terms of the normal startup procedure you should normally see the screen light up relatively quickly after powering the thing on, so definitely nothing in the order of minutes.
Not shipping… transported. It was a small car, and a big box., so it was transported on it’s side. As far as the tank and resin cartridge… I have to deal with what showed up, and I have thoroughly cleaned it so far. What I don’t want is to buy a new LCD screen only to find I wasted money needlessly…
Well @jo552006 first thing, I feel bad for your situation!! In my experience with the Form 3L, the initial startup takes a bit longer. After you power on the printer, the LCD will display the Formlabs logo with a loading bar. The first startup can take several minutes, around 3 to 5 minutes.
(To be honest, anyone sending a Form 3/3L should always drain and wipe down the resin tank before transport. It only takes a minute with IPA and prevents messy)
Please take a look at the LCD connectors.
I made a mistake connecting the LCD to the board. They aren’t connected in the same way. For instance, if the motherboard is connected with the blue part up, the LCD should be connected with the blue part down.
I’m happy my mistake did not damage the LCD, but the cable was quite hot.
BR,
Sebastian
Hi @jo552006 ,
Sorry to hear about your experience! The fact that the LPU moves is a good sign. You could try the following:
Not sure how you cleaned the printer, but we have a very good article helping you with it: Cleaning an extensive resin spill
If these steps don’t help, I urge you to reach out to our Support team who will do everything to help you!
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I wanted to come back and give an update.
First - That article on extensive resin spill underestimates the severity of my Resin spill… Lol. I had to disassemble, take off the cover, sides, back, and base. Still then, I doubt I got everything, but now it appears to be some level of serviceable. Most of the major electronics except the front seem to be okay.
Second, I reseated the cable as people have been suggesting, and the screen came on! I am now optimistic that I’ve managed to save the machine, so will be researching and eventually posting to ask some questions about printing when I have more time!
Thanks for the feedback. It was largely due to everybody telling me how finicky those cables can be that I (believe) I have it fixed.
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