Leak Detection

Leaks are one of the most disastrous failure modes of Formlabs SLA printers. I really wish Formlabs would implement a “leak detection” algorithm.

The 3 and 3L have weight scales integrated under the cartridges, and sensors to detect the level of resin in the tank. You ought to be able to detect if a substantial mass is leaving the cartridge(s) but not accruing in the tank. Or if the tank resin level drops significantly faster than expected during a print.

I realize the sensors may not be high precision, and other variables are involved making this problem a little more challenging to solve than it sounds in theory. (And I know firmware programming to make use of the 3L’s cartridge weighing hardware hasn’t been completed yet). But even crude measurements should be enough to get a coarse sense that something’s wrong before half a tank leaks down into the printer.

Dashboard could send an SMS alert to the user prompting them to check on things, and if you collect feedback on false positives you should be able to dial in the sensitivity over time.

With the introduction of flexible tanks that are known to leak after enough time passes or use occurs, this issue has become even more relevant.

Thanks for considering this feature request. I hope to see a software enhancement soon that helps me prevent catastrophic leaks.

5 Likes

I’d like it too!

Hi,
Even simpler: to provide a small container(bottom of printer) that receives the resin from the leaking tank.
Or a bottom resin proof system with an output to connect an exterior container!
Luis

I think having some sort of leak or failure detection of any kind would be more helpful than nothing, but not sure how they would implement something after the fact (maybe an attachment).

This is always my nightmare. Did you get a leak @rkagerer??