Still curved, non usable results

[Seagull]

Hi T78 - I would absolutely cut that piece in half (2 shorter L-shape parts), just to the side of the PP opening… the panel seems to be pretty thick there, so you could make a joint fairly easily. If you make the joint with some play, you should be able to glue it together with the front faces flush; do THAT right and then finish and paint it (if necessary), and it could look really good, good enough that noone would know you printed it in two parts.

Yes, that’s some work, but then the build volume is small in comparison to the part, and, as you rightly note, otherwise the results will be unusable. Well, maybe not unusable, if you put some work in, but I think in total you’ll get better results in a shorter time with less effort if you cut the part - if the part is stood up, as is your only choice to print in one piece, you will, I think, get the side closest to the base approx. 1mm bigger in x- and y-dimensions than the side higher up.

By the way: I’ve printed the part I showed with measurements up top out a few more times since I last wrote: printing at just 5 degrees flat angle (only in one axis), I have a super flat part, correct to within ~0,1mm in all dimensions, as well as a nice finish (without any extra work):

The width of the printed part varies by only about 0,04-0,05mm - from left to right it gets smaller.

Therefore I’m pretty sure that your part can also be printed nicely, BUT ONLY IF YOU CUT IT IN TWO, so that you can keep the left to right axis to within a few degrees of the base plate - then you can put all the supports on the bottom surface (perhaps even just the edges), which should be reasonably easy to sand, and must be less critical anyway. (Perhaps, alternatively, stand the 2 parts up so as to enable the supports on the inside, but I think that is probably more trouble than it’s worth).

In addition, hollowing it out will reduce stresses while printing… you can give it a relatively thick wall, like 3 or even 4mm I think, but not completely solid. Perhaps others also have some good ideas (also corrections to my ideas/comments are no problem).

Anyway, I can’t do any of this on an .STL file myself… if you upload a solid model (like STEP or SolidWorks) I could show you what I mean a bit better. (In fact, I actually meant the part you were originally trying to print, the Dispenser B13 part, when I first offered to show you what I mean, but I think it’s all the same principle, really).

[T78]

Thank you all guys for trying to help.
For us this printer is unusable and has pronounced different specification than it really serves.
We have spend now all our money since 2 month to this printer and we are out of money for doing more tests for formlabs. Small items have very less problems, in most cases it is possible to live with it. In all cases of using a distance of 100mm in a object it is unusable. This printer has not developed to be used for this size.

I am in contact with ticket support since 2 month but had less results than here in forum. Thank you. But we will hardly try to send this printer back.

[T78]

Formlabs has send us a “Refurbishing” Form1+ printer as replacement of the defective first one and is now not able to let it match with Return Policy
If that is true, that we have spend hundreds of Dollar for testing in case of their ticket requests and now we can not send it back, we will really become dissatisfied!

[Matthew_Bohrer]

Not to be indelicate, but make sure you are understanding them correctly. Certain elements of your post make it clear that English isn’t your first language, and you may have misunderstood.

The return policy is this: “30 DAYS You can return purchased items to Formlabs within 30 days of the date they were shipped to you. After 30 days, we do not accept returns. See our Warranty Policy for warranty service and procedures.”

Your first post here indicates “I am trying now since several month to…”. I take that mean “I have been trying for several months to…”. Well, then you’re past the 30 days. What do you want them to do?

Return policies are normal in the electronics industry. You can’t blame them for not permitting you to return a device you’ve been using for so long.

[Alex_Vermeer]

Though you have a point @Matthew_Bohrer, I don’t fully agree (although Formlabs might agree with you either way). I believe Formlabs should take into account at what date the support ticket was opened. If @T78 opened it within a few weeks after receiving the printer and the support team has not been able to resolve the problem, he should be entitled to a refund of the original purchase (and perhaps even resin for test prints which they asked him to do). If the printer is faulty (and Timo (T78) + company is not to blame), the ToS aren’t applicable as Formlabs sent him a faulty product. Therefore, he (as far as I know (according to Dutch policy)) is entitled to either a replacement printer, or refund. As long as he can prove that these issues started before the end of the 30 day period.

Yes, American law may state something different, but if you’ve paid taxes to import the printer to Europe, the law of your country can supersede these terms. Again, if proven. Though I’d say this shouldn’t be the ideal solution…

Actually, if Timo ordered the printer from the European store, according to EU rules (which includes the United Kingdom), any product purchased in the EU has an automatic warranty of 2 years. Furthermore, if the customer can prove that the product they sent doesn’t match the advertisement, or doesn’t work properly, the company is obliged to repair or replace the printer for free. Or offer the customer a total refund.

However, by sending Timo a replacement, (if he agreed), this is a proper solution and he’ll be past the 30 day period.

So it all depends on if he accepted a replacement printer, and if not, if he can prove they sent him a faulty product!

Edit: and I just realised Timo lives in Switserland… which might result in issues as Switzerland is not part of the EU…

[T78]

The ticket was opened 4 days after receiving. After about 24 days we received the replacement of the defective Form1+.

[Alex_Vermeer]

Check your possibilities as a citizen of Switzerland. As you’re not part of the EU, different warrantly rules may apply! And if you received a replacement (which works, but didn’t give you the result which you expected), I’m afraid there is not a lot you can do, probably…

[Matthew_Bohrer]

To be clear, I’m not speaking for Formlabs in any way, nor saying what they should or shouldn’t do. I was just pointing out the return policy. It would seem the relevant time frame - at least here in the US - would likely be your receipt of the replacement (though that would be affected by local laws). I have absolutely no idea how that applies to your international situation.

[Alex_Vermeer]

I knew you weren’t. I was just looking to find a reason for Timo not to lose hope entirely, though the situation is quite tricky. I just hope for Timo’s sake, He and Formlabs can come to some sort of a compromise. It would be sad to see a potential company to go down because of mistakes in what might be an early stage of this company. Of course selling the printer and taking your loss sometimes is inevitable.

I wish you the best of luck Timo. Too bad the printer did not meet the needed requirements. Hopefully you’ll be able to find a suitable replacement printer.

[T78]

Since several weeks Formlabs tries with 8 people to printout some basic items themself to send me a working photo. And Formlabs has created trashed parts meanwhile and just answers with attached FAQ’s in every message. At the end the result of every sample object I am talking about is still not usable. And they pronounce it is easy on website. To the question how to send back the device they just ignore.

[Fred_Baumgartner]

First things first, it is very rare that any printed part will be perfect directly from the printer.

If you have a large part to print that has an open end “half of a box” or “C” shape it’s going to require careful orientation in order to print properly. Part of this is creating structure for the part either by manual supports or CAD updates.

T78 - The part you show above is not “basic”. There are in fact features in the part that will have production molding issues down the road that will need to be solved. From a prototype standpoint you may need to cut the frame into quarters to print properly because of the long sections.

[Alex_Vermeer]

Perhaps having ‘pre made’ supports between the curved parts to keep the parts straight and which you can cut off after it’s fully cured?

[Jack_Nasenbaer]

Aha. I followed your post. But my answer was deleted by formlabs