Well I have had the printer about 2 weeks now and I have barely got 3 successful prints from 20…
Nearly all the time the part fails to adhere to the platform and on the rare occasion it does I get the base printed and no supports or model…
Using white resin (as I want the smoother finish!), successful prints only at .1 and .,05 resolution nothing at the resolution I bought the printer for .025! I am using all default settings, supports, orientation etc…
Any pointers in getting this printing successfully 9 out of 10 times would be most welcome
Waited over 3 months - currently very disappointed with printer
I’ve had mine for a while now and gone thru about four liters of resin. My average success rate is less than half, when it works its amazing, but because of the resin lost in the process and the high fail rate the cost is far far higher than was expected! And I’ve never had anything but the .05 setting work at all.
I’ve got six prints that are just mind blowing awesome to me, but considering the four grand and a year to get them its just not worth it. But its like a bi-polar girlfriend, the good times are so good its hard to break up!
@Andrew your printer is likely borked. Submit a ticket. It sounds like either your laser is going or there is too much angle between the build platform and the tank. I had a printer that had both of those problems and got the same problem of bases printing with no supports, or no prints at all.
I strongly advise people who are new to the Form1 to stick to the clear resin. You will have less failures because the grey and the white resin need constant “maintenance” in order to print successfully with. The pigments settle fast and that can cause the prints not to stick on your next print job, unless you mix the resin well and make sure there is no pigment residue sitting on the silicone layer.
You should certainly open up a support ticket with us, Andrew, if you haven’t already. Our support team will take care of you. Write them a note at support@formlabs.com, including as much auxiliary information as possible. Photos and the like are always very useful!
I’ll add that one needs to pay close attention to grooming resin because a floater can prevent the build platform from being properly aligned with the tank. It’s easy to miss in the opaque material. I groom the resin with a comb after every print. I use only white, on the finest setting.
Is it used at suitable room temperature?
With my printer, when it was used at room temperature lower than an optimum temperature, the strike rate of printing became very low.
I’ll second the room temperature check. I had my Form 1 in a partially temp-controlled area of my workshop (wouldn’t get below 55F) and had miserable failures for months. After two replacement printers from Formlabs with the same poor results, I figured it had to be something on my end, so I moved it into a room in my house that averages 65F-70F and have had zero failures since then. I do also “groom” my resin between prints, but have always done that.
I guess I’ll have to “third” the temperature check suggestion. I keep my shop at 82F and it works great!
Also, I periodically dump the resin out of the tank into a clean plastic tub, and then run it through a paint strainer back into the tank. It’s reasonably quick and I don’t have to worry about spotting every last little invisible glob.
Well - I got my replacement printer - worked great for a couple of weeks and now I am back to failed prints (operating temp is good) - Ihave tried white and clear resins both in separate tanks… getting “ragging” and the resin does not appear to be fully cured as its quite soft to the touch and I am able to bend prints - whereas previously the prints were more brittle and there was a definite snap to the supports if cut - not they simply bend like soft plastic!
Ticket raised last week still waiting on support to respond.
Don’t worry Andrew, I’m personaly waiting for my second replacement. I receive my first printer the 31 of january, got a replacement in march then I’m going to receive the second replacement in june. (I order the printer in may last year) I have waste so much money you could not imagine. Good luck !
