Hi Lars,
Sounds like the timing could be better. I took a look at your photos. It looks like Clear prints are adhering to the build platform and building up the supports, but fail once the “substance” of the model is encountered. i.e. When it hits the butterflies themselves, the new layer either isn’t curing or remains stuck to the PDMS rather than peeling and adhering to the previous layer. The Dental Model print looks like the raft isn’t really adhering to the build platform at all.
I’ve seen that sort of behavior when a) there’s contamination in the optical path, or b) laser power is inadequate.
On the path of (a), I know it sounds like a broken record, but definitely make sure:
- Bottom acrylic surface of the tank is clean and free of dust, and you’re printing in an area where the PDMS is not clouded (see tank maintenance)
- Optical window is clean and free of dust, on both inner and outer surface. Here are inspection and cleaning instructions.
- Main mirror is clean and free of dust or debris. Support can send you a document with instructions titled “Diagnosing & Cleaning Form 2 Main Mirror”. Since your printer is fairly new I wouldn’t attempt a mirror cleaning until you have their blessing (in case your cleaning attempt damages the unit - if you do it without their permission they may be less likely to cover replacement cost). But in the meantime, if you have the optical window open for cleaning anyway (see previous bullet) you can do a cursory inspection from above by illuminating the mirror at a very shallow angle with a flashlight or phone light. The shallow angle is important; if you shine a light straight toward the mirror, most of the dust won’t show up. BTW, I always wear nitrile gloves, long sleeves, and a hat or hairnet whenever working above the printer cavity (otherwise dust and bits of dead skin will fall off you and contaminate things). Alternatively, if the dust is bad, it’s sometimes visible by just peeking inside through the window (without removing it).
- Resin is fresh, mixed well, and has been filtered to remove any bits or clumps remaining from past failures
I think it’s also worth doing a galvo inspection and (maybe) cleaning. Again, Formlabs can send instructions “Cleaning the Form 2 Galvo Mirrors” (I’d ask them for those if they haven’t already).
Formlabs will send you PEC*Pads if you ask, but you might be able to get them faster from Amazon. Be sure you have Q-Tips and one or two clean microfiber cloths on hand. Try to take before/after pictures of any inspected or cleaned surfaces, and include them in your Support ticket.
Regarding (b)…
I’m not sure what the exposure power is for Dental Model vs. Standard, but I wonder if perhaps your laser was marginal and that Dental print pumped more power through it triggering a hardware failure. Support might be able to glean something from your logs - make sure you’ve uploaded them by going to Settings | Printer Info | Upload Diagnostic Info and mention it in the ticket so they can have a look as soon as they get back.
You could also try a little experiment - take a small model in Preform (e.g. a single butterfly), duplicate it twice, then align the duplicates perfectly on top of the original (use Layout mode in Preform, zoom in super close on a distinct or pointy part of the silhouette to get it perfect - like, zoom so close that nudging it with the mouse moves it in “jerks” by several pixels, rather than smoothly). This will force the laser to make multiple passes over each layer, and I’ve seen it compensate for a weak laser (at least for the purposes of testing / diagnosing issues). It’s the same technique used in the towers at the four corners of the Formlabs Optics Test preform file (also available from Support).
Another experimental thing you could try: Install the tank of Clear resin, switch your printer to Open Mode, but do the print with settings for Black or Castable (both of which use slightly stronger exposures).
Basically if you get a success out of either of these methods, it could point to a weak laser symptom.
If the printer is still under warranty, and you’ve done all the cleaning and anything else they’ve asked of you, I don’t think it would be unreasonable to push to get it swapped.
Others here might have additional or more specific suggestions.
Good luck, and let us know how it goes!