How to print with cover open for time lapse video

First off I want to say “thank you” to Formlabs for such a wonderful product. I’ve only had the printer a couple of weeks but honestly it’s amazing. I’m getting about 80% success rate with the 20% failure rate going down daily as I learn more about the software and get help from your amazing staff. Again, a big “thank you” to all the Formlabs folks, you all have done an incredible job getting this product to market.

So basically, I just want to show off my printer process to friends and I would love to do a time lapse video that doesn’t show the reflections and orange tint when being taken through the lid. I know the “Open Mode” allows unique resins but I don’t want that. I simply want to print with the cover open.

I suppose I could take a couple of magnets and put them on the sensors, but I don’t want to mess up anything. I thought Formlabs might have some advice?

Thanks!
-Russ

Hi Russ,

A major thing that I’ve seen people comment about timelapse videos with the form 2 is that building plate constantly moves up and down so the timelapse video doesn’t look as great as they thought it would. Something like this, but if you aren’t worried about that then disregard what I just said. I think printing while the cover is open might lead to some of the resin curing which would be a waste of material. But maybe if you are away from UV light you may be alright but i would still be on the cautious side…I think I saw a video of someone reviewing the form 2 and he said he mounted a GoPro on the inside of the cover. He didn’t show what the mount looked like though. :persevere: I hope someone else can provide better answers for you and best of luck!

Ya that’s exactly what my videos look like now.

For now, until someone creates a good motion or position sensor for a Formlabs printer, the only way to get away from that jerky video is to take an actual picture each layer at the same time (probably when the build plate is at the lowest point)

That’s going to take a while and I don’t want the orange lid in the way if I can help it… Formlabs actually made a video with no jerky movements, I expect some poor intern was parked in front of the printer all day with a camera remote to make that happen. Thank you Formlabs interns!

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HUGE DISCLAIMER HERE!!! Lasers can very easily cause damage to your eyes and camera equipment. The orange lid is there for your safety. I do not recommend using the printer without the lid properly in place.

With that said. I think that you can trick the printer into thinking the lid is down with a strategically placed magnet.

Bah lasers never killed anyone :wink:

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put from inside of orange case and use go pro mount you have enough space :wink:

Yes you do have anough space for e.g. a GoPro cam…

Best regards

Merlin

If you want to do it in a fancy way, you could add an external switch that is pressed by the wiper. Then when the switch is triggered, trigger the camera to make a picture after a certain time delay. This should guarantee everything is in the right place every time. :slight_smile:

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Merlin that’s a great video! I don’t have a GoPro… hate to buy one just for this…

Man someone sat there and clicked a remote control camera every time the build platform was at the bottom… crazy…

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