Well, after just less than a month I have wasted/used my first bottle of gray material. I dumped a tank full in the first week when I probably did not have to. Calling that learning curve!
One thing I wanted to mention… I keep the cover open for as little as possible. Truly seconds. I noticed 1 of my dog’s hairs in the tank and fished it out. I have yet to actually take a tank off.
I am so having a good time with it though. It is almost running all day and night! I am not at 100% good prints yet. Those that fail are likely due to bad positioning or a bad file. I have to redo a design of an ore car that is continually failing for some unknown reason.
I have been heading towards dual everything for my 2 materials. I will soon have 3 new tanks on hand and an extra build plate. I don’t want cross contamination.
I just printed 2 of the Form1 funnel. It was not exactly what I expected, which was more of a threaded pipe coupling that screwed onto both bottles. This thing is BIG. It is just in time to drain the first bottle into new bottle I got today.
I hope to have time to try the castable materiel this weekend… I will start with a new tank.
Bill
I noticed there are changes to the new support system in the latest version of PreForm, They are working much better and seem to find edges much better.
Aside that, scroll through the layers of the model and look for any parts that might be generated without any supports and look for any internal gaps within the model.
I blew through most of my first bottle learning but getting pretty consistent results now.
One thing that concerns me is my first tank has a couple of small cracks and a chipped corner and was like that when I received it. Probably the mentally challenged folks at FedEx.
My last print actually had a chip floating in with the resin!
The PDMS is perfect after a bottle of prints too, shame I may have to toss the tank because of that.
I had polished the living hell out of the edge of the scraper and it’s corners allowing me to push and drag the scraper across the surface which really clears the settled pigments off. I make sure I don’t drag the scraper on a dry pdms though, always with a little resin in the tank. I don’t recommend doing this with the stock scraper since the edge is way too sharp and rough.
I wonder if the pdms breakdown is more from poorly mixed or settled resin where the pigment gets cooked into the surface? Wondering if that is more of an issue rather than actual wear and tear?
You may want to snag an empty pint paint can from the hardware store or Home Depot. Pretty inexpensive and easy to pour into. Make sure you rinse the inside out with some IPA first and make sure it’s clean and dry before using. Can’t get much more light proof than a can.
Bill, glad you’re happy with the Form1+. It is a fantastic printer once you get the hang of it. Knowing all the tricks to ensure your print comes out perfectly. I think even members who have owned the Form1 for over a year still learn different tricks occasionally! It’s an ongoing process of learning. But sure as hell it’s a lot of fun!
@KenCitron, the chip in the tank is a common issue, and you don’t have to toss the tank because of that… It always seems to be the left corner at the back side of the printer (closes to the hinge of the orange cover). At least, I have several tanks with that issue, and I know a few other members have this issue as well! So it’s definitely not FedEx who’s fault it is ;).
Ahh, if that is a common issue then you may need to tweak the design on the tanks and increase the draft angle along the sides if there is one already. Also possibly relocate the ejector pins.
What would actually be better is to have metal tank frame so that a shallower simpler acrylic resin tray with pdms is dropped into. Might be a good upgrade product. May even make the resin tray a little cheaper so costs on the consumer side is regained after an initial expense.
@KenCitron - was the chipped corner the back left corner at the spout? Mine was chipped too, and I think the issue is when the top is on tight, and the top gets lifted from the front first it stresses the thin acrylic there and cracks it. but my tank aso has what look like internal cracks in the front left of the side as well.