I’ve been running into this on some of my architectural models so I set up a test print to see what may be causing this. My models come out excellent when they are solid. However, when I hollow them out and leave one end open, the resin sits on the outside face. All 4 of these cubes were printed in a row at the same time.
I am new to 3D printing, so this may be a known issue with a simple solution, but I’m not aware of what that could be. Any help/articles would be helpful. What is this phenomena called so I can search for more information?
@anordstrom Thank you for reaching out to us here in the forums. Welcome to 3D printing!
This could certainly be due to your models having what we call cupping. “Cups” refer to hollow volumes or cavities in a model. Hollow volumes and concave geometries require more careful attention to the model orientation. Pointing the opening of the cavity face upward in PreForm traps air between the part and the resin tank as the build platform lowers the cavity against the bottom of the resin tank during printing. Our guide here will go over how to prevent cups in PreForm.
We also have a guide for how to best orient models that may be helpful. This can be found here.
If after you re-orient the models, you are still seeing some odd surface finish, please reach out to us at customer supportand we can assist with further troubleshooting! We will want the .formfile ( this is your file set up in PreForm on any supports you are using and oriented how you had them printed), You can save this by going to File>Save as in Preform. We will also need to know the printer serial name , in the format of AdjectiveAnimal and can be found on the display of the printer, in PreForm or on the back of your printer near the QR code.
