My FORM3 has always taken a long time to print the first few layers. This is a question for the FORMLABS design team. I was wondering if during preheating if you dropped the print plate down into the resin if that would help anything since it would warm that plate up the same as the resin. Maybe better “stick” of the first layer so print time could be reduced.
Hey @bitsyncmaster!
Thanks for the question! This is a good thought, but largely the printer is worried about the temperature of the resin itself, as well as the air inside of the printer. In this case the temperature of the build platform itself doesn’t come into play all that much.
That being said, there are a few actions that will start automatic pre-heating on the Form 3, including selecting the printer in PreForm, as well as simply opening the cover on your printer will start the heating process.
So one thing you can try in the future is making sure one of those actions has been triggered a little while before your print starts and that may shorten the initial start time!
Thanks for that info. Just out of curiosity, where is the heater located and where is temperature sensor located. I was thinking it was just heating the resin. This is a FORM3.
The Form 3 has an air intake vent at the rear of the unit. The printer heats the air and blows it across the resin tank to heat the resin. A thermal sensor in the heater duct senses the air temperature.
More info here
Thanks for the info about the heating. I never saw that info before. It looks like FORMLABS is making improvement with each new model.
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