Second hand Form1+, not possible to upgrade firmware or fine tune

Hello, bought a second hand defect form1+, have it printing now. Had to manualy adjust the 4 screws under the tray to get the building platform touch the bottom of the vat, now it is printing ok.
But, the fine-tuning, nor the firmware upgrade works.
Seems it is on 1.4 / serial number Smartbeaver???
If i open the fine tuning, i see the Z-axe setting is at -1mm (which corresponds with my manual adjustment)
Anyone know what the problem could be with the firmware / fine settings?
Already tried 2 cables on 2 laptops (mac osx and windows pc)
MAny thanks!!!

1.4 is the latest firmware for the Form 1+. The only other firmware for it is lower. The 1.40 gave OpenFL the ability to work.

The -1mm is to compress the Z axis for better first layer adhesion. You wouldnā€™t really be able to measure it unless you set to the vat or metal bracket that holds the vat.

Actually, the OpenFL firmware was v1.44. v1.40 was for normal (closed) mode.

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Found the solution, i can change the fine settings and i upgraded the firmware with openfl version of preform.
Now i am all into printing, until now some failures, pieces breaking of midsizeā€¦
Will have to clean everything, filter the resin to see there are no pieces left in the tank.
My tank seems to be clear, and the resin is 21 months old. should still work, not?

Resin has a shelf life of 1 year. You may get ok results.

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The resin should be ok if you mix the hell out of it, make sure there are no floaters in it that may cause failures. Also give the mirrors a good look and make sure they are clean.

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Update:
After upgrading to firmware vs 1.44, i did not succeed in printing anymoreā€¦
Nothing sticks to the buildplate.
Ofcourse i have old resin and worn tanks, but even with these before the ā€œupgradeā€ it worked.
How to load fw 1.4 again?

Iā€™m curious.
You started with a gap between the platform and the tank. In other words the platform too high above the tank, right?
Then you adjusted the 4 screws.
In order to do this, you needed to unscrewed the nuts so the tank would rise, bringing it closer to the build platform.

Then you say 'If I open the fine tuning, I see the Z-axis setting is at -1mm (which corresponds with my manual adjustment)"
What you said is confusing me, because a setting of -1 mm raises the platform, placing it further from the tank.
The adjustment you made does not correspond to the adjustments you made with the screws. The fine tuning adjustment is actually 2 mm different than the adjustment you made with the screws (because you went the wrong direction with the fine tuning).

It seems like, before adjusting the screws on the tank, you entered a Platform Height setting of -1 mm.
This raised the platform 1 mm away from the tank, creating a 1 mm gap.
Then you loosened the screws on the tank, which raised the tank, closing the gap which was created by the adjustment.

If, when you first started, there was a gap between the platform and the tank, (it seems to me), you should have entered a Platform Height setting of 1mm (not -1 mm). This would have closed the gap between the platform and the tank.

I went through this same process and I needed to set a positive number for the Platform Height to move the platform closer to the tank (look at the setting window; as you move the slider to the right this moves it closer to the ā€˜Lowerā€™ end of the scale, here lower is referring to the platform height). And as you move the slider to the right, the setting becomes more and more positiveā€¦right of center is a positive Offset, left of center is a negative offset)
More positive causes the platform to further compress the PDMS layer, lowering the tank and pressing it further into the PDMS layer.

John

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John, thank you for your reply.
First, let me say you made the right conclusion, about my way of working. (and the fact that it seems odd to do opposite things)
But i bought the printer from a guy who said it didnā€™t print ok. And because i was unable to fine tune with the software, due to en different needed version of preform, i did the physical adjustment thru the 4 screws.
Then i got it printing (partialy).
Later if found the solution to adjust the fine tuning settings, and at that moment i realised that the phisical adjustment was not neededā€¦
Now i will redo some testsā€¦
Greetings,
Rudy

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