New print failures

I received my printer and had great success in printing many items. I started having print issues where either the supports wouldn’t form or the part would not completely form. Base would sometimes not completely cure but still stuck to the build platform. There would be a layer of cured resin on the silicone layer. Tried filtering the resin and cleaning the tank. Still no success. I figured it might be the resin or tank so I replaced both but can’t get a good part out anymore. The mirror looks clean. I’ve used maybe 1/2 liter of clear resin so far. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Jim

Here’s a before and after.

wow that sux Sorry no help here

I have been in contact with Formlabs support but nothing has helped. I have noticed that the parts that do come off the printer are very soft, much softer than the good ones were. Is it possible that the laser is not putting out enough power to properly cure the resin? Could it be a setting or a bad laser?

Thanks,
Jim

I’m still a Form2 noob, but I can tell you I just had a catastrophic failure (overnight print - part broke from supports, resin hardened on silicon, the rest turned to jelly by laser firing into nothingness) all caused by not-strong-enough supports. If you don’t get any better ideas, try adding more supports. Also, I notice Preform makes you manually tell it what resin you’re using, does it check with the printer to confirm? Or is it possible to send prints with the wrong resin assigned? Maybe try a different resolution to help rule things out?

I’ve had the same failures with the Formlabs test prints. Double checked the material and even tried to print with the tough resin and same results. Thanks for the ideas though. I hope I figure this out soon. I hate having it set there idle.

Jim

Try a total automatic orientation with an auto support structure (at around 0.6) and print that, taller supports facing the hinge. Otherwise you might have better luck with a new tank as your pdms layer could be damaged. Make sure you are not pouring used resin back into the bottle.

Thanks for the input. I have the same results with a new tank, new resin and the Formlabs test prints.

Jim

In that case if your build platform is secure and not wobbly it’s most likely your laser/mirrors. Might be worth doing a laser test. There is one for the form 1 on YouTube. Carefully check your mirrors with a torch for any dirt or resin.

This topic was automatically closed 14 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.