It was a long wait but I do so like my Form 1 Overjoyed Crane! By the time I am finished typing this my final print from my first Liter should be complete, and my next just arrived! I have got somewhat of a feel now for Form 1 operations and expect my results to continue to improve as they already have. But I thought I would share the gist of my experience so far:
I began on Jan 4th and finished off today Jan 14th,
In this 10days completed exactly 50 print jobs with single and multiple objects
Including support material according to PreForm I’ve used 793.2ml of resin and measure what’s left in the tank as 80ml so I have 126.8ml unaccounted for. Seems a high amount of loss so I’ll try to continue to track my usage.
Some prints I can’t label clearly as successful or failures, but I would say I had a roughly 70% success rate
A big part of my first 28 prints issues are likely to have been because I was unaware that the resin tank had a clear sticker underneath it.
Following removal of the film my success rate has gone up considerably
I can use much less resin when I can print without supports but there are different things to consider:
If the object is thin it doesnt shape right and gets thinner & it can break easily when removing it,
If its hollow resin gets trapped inside,
if it doesn’t have enough contact in relation the the size of the print it wont adhere.
When I try the .025 setting my stuff always gets torn by the peel process, but .05 has incredible detail!
I oddly had problems printing at .1, but I am surprised by the “speed” of printing at .05 and totally OK with just leaving it there
about that - I would like to be able to change various settings and set them as default values rather than repeating the changes every single time!
I had an issue with missing controls in PreForm which Formlabs figured out was my Windows visual style & changing to Aero style each time to run PreForm fixes it. But my first Liter was all used without having touch point size or density controls.
I have a terrible time removing from the build platform but I can live with that
As far as dimensional accuracy I’d say not the greatest, my mechanical parts so far haven’t been very functionally accurate, but I haven’t retried any of those since discovering that damn sticker, so I can’t say for sure yet. Alot of wasted resin that I’m not at all happy about but at least its better now. But how in the heck was I supposed to just know that was there?!
I painted a couple of my prints and those turned out pretty sweet.
Unsupported or undersized features are likely to fall off & ruin the print, buts its its amazing how tiny of features will sometimes print sucessfully some a fraction of a millimeter! The $80,000.00 Dimension I was using doesn’t even come close.
I think that about sums it up, now I just hope and pray that I can find some way to use my Form 1 profitably! Right now I’m trying to figure out how to price offering printing services and I’m going to try offering a scan & print bust service. Not sure what else but I need something to support my own new resin habit!
For removing a part from the build platform, I like to use a glass scraper with a replaceable razor, kinda like this one:
It’s a common tool available at the local hardware store. The blade is very thin but sturdy, so it allows me to easily work around the base of your part. After I’ve loosened the base up around the edges, I can slip the standard spatula under the part and pop it off without worrying about breaking it or hurting myself. Just keep in mind that this tool is a razor so you need to otherwise be very careful with it.
I came up with this and have gotten the best results with it because I can push down one end of the blade bending it flat parallel to the build platform and then instead of pushing it under the print I give it a twist so that the push down end goes under, and then I just work my way around the part twisting, like I’m opening a can sort of. Then I slide the scraper under the razor and pop the part off. Going all the way around with the razor first prevents me from breaking the part and from flinging it across the room. I just have to be very cautious when working the razor tool cut myself pretty bad a few times but now I’ve got it down to an art. Also the thinner width scrapper is alot easier to use than the one that came with the kit, I also sharpened the edge up on it a little. The process is kinda tricky one-handed but I finally got the hang of it.
Have you been able to remove parts from the build platform without leaving any scratches - my first couple of attempts didn’t go so well. So, will scratches on the build platform cause any issues with subsequent print quality ?
I am now finding that using a dental “wax knife” works well, particularly with the size of the new quick release tabs being available. But a levering action is still required (to some degree) and this must be leaving some scratches\marks in the surface of the build platform.
I have attached a photo of a (well-used) dental wax knife - there are two sizes - this is the bigger of the two. The smaller one is some 20% smaller.
I am amazed at how well the part becomes attached to the build platform.
Ah, I see you’re already ahead of my comment. Yeah, starting off with a razor makes removal a whole lot easier for me too.
As for printing for profit, I’ve been thinking about this too. My is primarily using the Form 1 for toy prototyping but we’re still working out exactly what we want to do beyond the designing and printing, and making money needs to fit in there somehow. We have some ideas but need to research the details. Sigh! Too many projects, too little time.
@ Craig My build platform is pretty scratched up already, more like gouged up, I don’t make gouges anymore now that I’ve figured out my methodology and so far I haven’t had it cause any issues of any kind.
@Craig, because the razor is flexible, I’ve been able to work under the part without scratching the build platform. Trying to work with only the included spatula seems to cause more scratching, at least for me.
I don’t know if scratching the platform causes problems. Probably not, unless you’re talking about deep gouges. The surface of the platform seems to be slightly ‘rough’ by design, so I assume adding a few scratches is fine and probably to be expected.
@Greenlaw - same with me with regards to the included spatula - the first time I tried it everything went flying including the adjacent container of ip alcohol. It was actually the spatula which caused the initial scratchings.
@ Vince - that’s good to hear about the build platform - I’ve kept using it without any apparent issues. I also purchased a spare one just in case.
@Jory - thanks for that - good news indeed. Once I found the right-sized implement to fit the new quick release tabs everything became a lot easier. Cheers
@Greenlaw, No prob, I am in so many different 3D stuff & designing & like groups, & every so often I find some awesome info for free, & so I like to contribute what I can. But mostly I just like “hanging out” with people with similar interests! Since there are so very few near me to actually hang out with, groups like this have even more importance for me!
@Vince - I missed it too. Only realised when I was checking out a spare resin tank I had also ordered/received. I have had some minor issues with dust particles inside the Form 1 and some particles on the mirror - I just need to gently “blow out” the inside to make sure all dust gone and be careful the mirror is spotless. Otherwise, Form 1 is printing very well indeed. Touching wood, and to date, I’ve not had any resin tank issues.
I agree. It would be great if the protective film had a tab at one corner, preferably coloured, similar the ones you get on some brands of ink cartridges and many other protective plastic films. I started to pick at the resin level decal before realising that this wasn’t part of the protective film.
Well I’m sort of glad I’m not the only one, and I already told someone from Formlabs that they should have something saying its there and needs removed! I was hoping they would offer me a free or at least discounted liter for the one I mostly wasted, but no luck. Live n learn & all that…
We’re looking at using a different color protective tape, just to make sure that this isn’t a problem down the line. We’ll also work on improving our documentation. There is a lot of good information stashed in the support guides, but they can be a bit difficult to find.
