How long should there be between one calibration and another on Formlabs 2 printers?

[arcadlab]

Hi !!

Could someone tell me how long should there be between one calibration and another on Formlabs 2 printers?

Is necessary to do a calibration every 15 days even if I am using the same resin type?

Regards, Charles

[rkagerer]

Definitely not. My printer isn’t moved around, and I can print for over a year without having to do any recalibration whatsoever.

Note the Form 2 does some degree of self-calibration before each print, by hitting a handful of sensors scattered around the optical window with the laser.

You can consider doing other calibrations when…

Z-Compensation height: If you’re printing direct on base, you may want to do this when you switch to a different build platform. I’ve found the optimal setting is where you have just enough adhesion to give your raft a solid connection to the platform, but still can pop it off without too much force. Sometimes I’ll dial it back for a specific project with tight tolerances, when I want to get the height just right.

X/Y Calibration: I think you only need to do this once. You can rerun it if you find dimensions of parts such as a cube test print have drifted out of tolerance.

Tank-Tray calibration: Never. Don’t mess with the adjustment screws on the tank carrier. Formlabs maintains that this calibration requires specialized equipment and can only be done at their facility. (If you’ve already disassembled that component or your printer is out of warranty and you want to try doing it yourself without their help and at risk of messing up your printer, here’s a video).

Here’s a link to the Formlabs Fine Tuning documentation.

Have you noticed any tolerance issues after going a while without calibrating?

[arcadlab]

Thank you very much “rkagerer” for your Reply

Regards, Charles