I’ve only been using the Form 2 at work for a few months now and our team has been trying to reiterate on our design. We’ve ran across the problem of figuring out of how to print an array of holes with diameter 1.3mm and 1.4mm. Is there a way to calculate the final hole diameter so we don’t have to waste time fiddling with settings and changing the size of the holes to get to the print we want? The photo above is an example of our design and at 1.3mm and 1.4mm diameter hole, some of them are closed.
I will be looking around the forum after I create this post.
You should be able to print holes as small as .4mm. That being said even a 3mm hole will not be the correct size if not cleaned properly. Another large factor is the orientation of the print. Perpendicular to the build plate will have the most deformation, while parallel will be the most accurate. Try using compressed air to gently blow material out of the print before washing, and break up your wash times into smaller segments with compressed air in-between to dry them and remove excess material. Be careful with this, it is messy and if not done properly will destroy prints quickly. As far as the orientation anything over 17deg from parallel will increase the post processing needed exponentially until the point of needing to drill the holes manually for proper size. Be mindful that printing so parallel to the build plate will increase your cross sectional area and make it more difficult for the printer to be successful. Make sure to add more supports and that none of the extra supports are protruding inside the holes. One last thing, depending on how accurate you need to be, the print bed facing side will always have a slightly smaller diameter that the other. Sanding or milling will fix this issue.
