I have noticed that the prints in both tough and grey have become dramatically harder to remove from the platform.
the grey print I just ran literally would not come off the platform and I actually had to break all the supports to get the part loose, and then use a chisel and hammer to get the raft off the platform?
If this just a sign of an aging platform? Or has anyone else seen a dramatically increased adherence of parts to the build platform ever since updating the firmware and software?
I have also noticed a huge increase in PB adhesion recently, on both an old (12-14months) and a new PB as well as several Std and LT tanks. This is with Tough, Grey and Grey Pro resins although I have not used any other resin in the past 2 months so…
Exactly as you wrote, I had to use a chisel and a hammer with the PB on a vice to get rid of the raft. This had never happened before.
During the end of 2017 up to Q1 2018 we fine tuned the Z offset and got reliable results with a -0.2mm adjustment. Now we have a +0.3 to +0.4mm offset which allows us to remove the parts much more easily but the trade-off is that reliability (adhesion) at the very center of the PB is sketchy at best so we try to mostly print on the exterior.
i don’t do all that much printing of late…
but I had a recent run of 5 builds that I had to update the firmware and software to run.
On the plus side, the software no longer has a problem importing multiple STL models in a row… and it handles larger models… the support structures seem more refined and now produce even very fine filaments to bridge to hazy red areas…
on the negative side, with each successive build in this five build run, the parts have stuck increasingly more firmly to the platform.
I am concerned that Formlabs changed something in how the initial build layers are laid down to get better adhesion… but that whatever they did is having a cumulative effect on the platform surface.
my problem is that if its this hard to get the part off- then delicate or finely detailed parts will be broken in trying to get them off… or that I will have to try and get at all the supports to cut the part off while its still stuck to the ungainly and sticky platform.
I’ve seen on the forums in the past where people have put the build platform in the freezer for a little bit and the part just pops off with a little help. You could also try using a can of compressed air held upside-down to freeze the part to help get it off the build plate. Worth a shot I guess!!!
Chris
not sure that will work… when I say chisel… I don’t mean the chisel knocked the raft loose… I mean the chisel broke off small chunks at a time and I still had to use the scraper with some vigor to get the remaining shards of raft off the platform.
Like it had been glued on using construction adhesive.
Wow!!! Seems like they definitely change the settings for building the raft.
Chris
Two things, folks.
Between the two hacks, I don’t have a problem anymore.
are you sanding the platform between every print?
or just once in a while?
Every print. Between one and two minutes, circular and back and forth so I catch the full surface. Light pressure.
It’s easier to do that than skip for too long, and suddenly need to find the blasting caps and backhoe.
so how long does a Platform last until you sand it all the way to other side?
And do you find you have to adjust the z-height to compensate for the changing plane of the platform?
I’ve been doing this for years; still using the same 2 platforms, with no custom adjustments. You’re only taking off any gunk on the surface, and roughing it up a touch. Very little material is removed.
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