I tried looking up the problem in previous posts so as to not bring up an issue already discussed, but no answers… I have found a few similar posts, but they all end abruptly and provide no clear answer…
When first used, my printer worked almost flawlessly, 5/6 prints were perfect with gray v.1 resin.
Suddenly, the prints were hanging off of the platform and the bases were very thin. The prints were also half done, with the other half being broken off and either resting in, or cured to the resin bed.
I bought a new tank and thoroughly cleaned the main mirror, first with a wet wipe for a few passes, long, 20 second passes, then drying with small circles as recommended.
Now, using clear resin as I had changed the resin tank and had a new bottle of clear resin, the prints are almost non existent. The only thing after the print that is there is an extremely thin layer (.5 mm at the most) of the base on the platform, and the pieces of the print that are adhered to the resin bed.
Since I have cleaned the mirror to a great finish and have replaced the resin tank, I am unsure as to what I should do next. I have tried increasing the base thickness and have lowered the tank using fine-tuning, but no results…
Just to add, I am printing in .025 resolution with the clear resin. Also when I said the pieces of the print were adhered to the resin bed, I should have said a layer or 2 of what should be the prints. Basically, nothing is getting printed… When I had successful prints in the beginning with the gray resin, at the default levels, the bases were nice and thick with easy to use triangle slots to get under for removing the prints. Now, there is almost nothing to be seen after the print is supposedly done… Thanks guys.
I’ll take a guess and say that the build plate position is the issue. The resin isn’t curing to the build plate because it’s too high relative to the tank bottom when the print starts. Once you’ve cured the first pass, which is the base, which is always larger than the object that’s attached to the base, the resin stays stuck to the bottom of the tank and subsequent layers are just re-curing already cured resin. Watch the printer when your print starts. There should be a barely visible gap to no gap between the face of the build plate and the bottom of the tank, and you should be able to see in to the tank if you’re using clear resin, and gauge the spacing.
I’ve been having similar issues. Lately, nothing has been sticking to the build platform; all I ever get is stuff stuck to the bottom of the tank. I tried cleaning and sanding the platform, lowering it in fine tuning, changing all the resin in the tank - nothing works.
I’m wondering if the issue has more to do with the PDMS layer sticking too hard to the cured resin, instead of not hard enough to the build plate, since I can’t think of anything else to do about the latter.
Hey, just wanted to follow up singer evreason why I had to start the thread is because people don’t usually do that.
Comparing the prints to others on the forum, it is most probably an issue with platform height/resin tank level. I haven’t found any useful solution for this though. Aside from trying a different resin and switching the resin tank out twice to make sure it isn’t dirty as the Form 1 page suggests with the similar type of print problems, it has to be the distance to the resin bed from the platform.
Software won’t change anything and from what I have read, adjusting the resin tank screws will damage the machine.
Although there wasn’t anything obviously wrong with the tank I was using, I went ahead and switched it out for a new one, and tried again. For the first time in the last 10 or so attempts, I got a perfect print! So I think I was right - for some reason, the PDMS layer on that tank was sticking to the prints harder than the prints were sticking to the build platform. This was causing everything I printed to either fail totally with a blob stuck to the bottom of the tank, or fail partially as the print tore itself apart trying to release from the PDMS layer.
I have to say, though, that the idea of a “consumable” tank that starts failing after a few prints is getting progressively less appealing as I go through the things. Has anybody built themselves a permanent tank , out of glass or some plastic that can stand a little alcohol so it can be cleaned, recoated and reused instead of tossed?