So here at work, we do a lot of prototype printing, but this is the first time we’ve had an issue like this pop up with one of our 2 Form 2 printers. We’ve printed hollow parts like this before with no issues this Form 2, but for whatever reason, we are getting holes in these parts from one of our printers. We transferred the resin cartridge and tray over to our second Form 2 and it printed out just perfect so supports or a bad resin batch or tray isn’t the problem. There were drainage and vent holes in these that were still open. The only thing I can think of is maybe the laser is going bad and not as strong as it used to be? The machine that had these failed prints is about almost 3 years old now, but I know of other Form 2s that have lasted longer than that.
Have you tried cleaning the optics?
https://support.formlabs.com/s/article/Cleaning-the-Glass-Optical-Window-Form2
If cleaning the window doesn’t help, Support can send you a document describing how to check and clean the mirror / galvos.
If that doesn’t help, one DIY way to “diagnose” a poor laser is to overlay two or more copies of the model in Preform (zoom in super close to align them exactly), which will cause the laser to make two passes instead of one for each layer. If that prints better, it could indicate laser power is low. I believe Support also has a more canonical way to check the diagnostic logs to find out your laser power.
I agree with rk1gerer.
I’ve had issues with 2 of my printers similar to yours, so cleaned all optics including the tank, window, mirror and galvos using Formlabs’ guidance. This solved the problems and returned prints to an as-new condition.
Beyond Formlabs’ advice, I bought a small battery-powered vacuum specifically for hoovering detritus off the printer innards, because simply blowing it around means it’ll just end up somewhere else inside the printer. I keep the brush head away from anything else and never touch it to avoid it causing more deposits. Also I have an air cleaner in the printer room which reduces the amount of airborne dust, stopping it getting inside the printer.
Cool! Thanks! I will give that a try.
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