Something interesting has happened to my printer now. I have had about a dozen successful prints. Now, it starts off fine and then has issues after the first 1-4 layers. The right side of the build tray slopes too far down. This causes everything to fail to stick to the build platform. I have rebooted the printer, used the most up to date preform software, changed to all 3 print thicknesses and it still happens. I can reset the printer or restart the print and the first layer or so has a nice level platform. Clearly it can get level, it seems like it can’t stay there.
Unfortunately, this renders the printer useless. I find it odd that it can use the motor to get to level at the start but can’t stay there after some slow peel motions. Sounds like software/firmware more than hardware. I have removed the tray and looked at the peel motor. I can’t see anything obviously wrong. not quite sure what to do. I have removed the plug and let it sit without power and still get the problem. Again, this happens on all three layer heights.
I noticed this issue with the right side of the build tray as well, the gap seems wider at the right side, starting at about the middle. Does that gap on yours look like shown in the attached photos?
Can you open a ticket with us at support@formlabs.com? Please include as much information about the issue as possible so we can help troubleshoot your problem.
We will do everything we can to have you up and running again asap.
I might have a similar problem. The first millimeter of my prints always seem to come out sharp and solid, but I often see problems immediately after that- cavities and thin/warped/mangled supports. Sometimes I get lucky and the problem works itself out in a few more millimeters, but sometimes the problem propagates and ruins the print.
In the picture of my Rook print below, you can see solid 1mm of base, odd cavity (and some slight problems above it), and then the rest of the print came out beautifully. I printed directly on the platform with no supports, using the 0.05/clear profile.
The other picture is a small electronics enclosure I was attempting to print, and you can see base of the supports printed beautifully, but many of the supports had problems that went on to wreck the rest of the print. I believe this was default supports, 0.05/clear, and tilted at 5 degrees to avoid having a large leading surface appear all at once.
Finally, I tried to print the enclosure model once more. This time I printed flat, straight on the platform with no supports. There was only one small overhang in the model that I was concerned about being unsupported, but it turned out not to be a problem at all. There were, however, several large cavities between 1mm and 8mm from the base, and some surface roughness along one wall above one of the cavities.
If I had to guess, I’d say that the Form 1 uses different settings for the first millimeter than it does for the rest of the print, whether or not supports are being used. And for some reason, the layer following that first millimeter is having some trouble adhering to the previous layer. Of course, anywhere that layer failed to adhere will get pulled off by the peel. Stuck to the tray and blocking the laser, that material causes a cavity in following layers. Most of the time, the stuck material gets reattached to another layer later on, finally peels off, and the rest of the print goes on properly.
You should write us at support@formlabs.com so we can make sure your printer is working properly. Failures of this nature can result from over compression.
Also, printing directly on the aluminum plate without supports is not advised as it can cause faults in the first few layers of your print. Supports that are too short can also cause cracking and distortion.
