I’ve put in tickets in the past but felt I was getting the run-around with the actions I was asked to do.
One was to take a movie… of what, a dead machine.
Another was to check the LED on the control panel through the grid on the bottom of the Form Wash!.. HUH? The machine sits 1/4" off the table and contains 2-1/2 gallons of IPA. How am I to see this LED?
That was the answer I got to the second Support Request. The first was better but by no means the answer. Unplug the power and re-plug to reset the machine. Yes, that works but I have to do it 6 times a day. The machine will run real good for a time then just die. LED on the control panel is dead. Hitting the button starts a wash but not what I want so I have to pull the plug.
I also emptied the machine and disassembled it to check the wire harnesses which were all solid with no issues. Still I reset them to make sure. That was one of the suggestions in the reply to my first request.
Is anyone else having issues with their Form Wash? Mine wasn’t even a month old when I first complained. Guess any warranty is dead by now. but I just don’t feel I’m getting any real support from FormLabs on this. I feel the control unit needs replacement as it’s what is screwing up I feel.
NO, don’t believe that’s the issue. The screen goes blank and the button does nothing. Also, what does the Form Wash machine have to do with PreForm as that’s for the FORM 2 printer. My Form Wash is not connected in any way to the internet but a stand alone unit.
Also, I can’t use the latest versions of PreForm as I use ALW resins. I had to revert back to an older version as it the new versions were causing massive problems with the Form 2.
One issue fixed by the new firmware is the screen occasionally getting locked to a completely black state.
The machine and UI continues running in this state, but the updates that it tries to send to the screen aren’t displayed. The button sometimes not doing anything (when the screen is black) could mean that the UI is scrolled to a menu, so when you press it, there’s nothing user-visible that changes – the UI enters a menu, but because the screen is stuck, you can’t tell.
You don’t need to use Preform to do the firmware update; there’s a standalone application called FormWashCureUpdater that handles it. You will have to temporarily install the latest Preform, because there’s a single installer that delivers both Preform and the FormWashCureUpdater app, but you can then revert to your older version of Preform once you’re done with the firmware update process.
I’ve posted a bunch of screenshots of the update process here, and a workaround to a rare issue that happens during the update process here.
if only you have a spare computer like a laptop, you can download and install the latest PreForm or the standalone-updater there just to update the Wash. You can delete PreForm after.
I’ve installed a new PreForm, not the latest, on both computers they removed. Would the file needed be there or must I install only the latest version of PreForm?
Just got an email from Kevin Chen at ALW and they have done extensive tests of the new firmware and Preform latest updates. Their labs state that all problems have now been resolved and it’s OK to update and use that software and firmware.
So, I’ll go ahead and update tomorrow as I’m snowed in today. If I end up getting damaged build plates again I’ll roll it all back and send Kevin the bill for a new build plate. [laugh]