Got my replacement Form two Saturday morning and had it up and running within an hour. Started a print job but as it was going to take 9 hours and we again had heavy T-Storms coming in I decided to stop the print and disconnect the machine. Later I went to Fry’s and purchased a real good Battery Backup unit with good power surge protection. Let it charge over Sunday and plugged in the Form 2 then turned on the UPS.
All seemed to go well, unit came up and initialized then the wiper in the resin tray recycled and sent a wave of resin up over the side of the tank, not overfilled. This wave hit the side of the cover about 2+ inches high in one spot. Needless to say I then had resin everywhere. What a Mess. Immediately started by removing the resin tray and putting it in it’s box for later cleaning. Wiped up as much of the resin I could but it was dripping from everywhere. The area around the tray is not totally sealed and from what I can see there isn’t a lip. In fact at one point, in the front left corner, there is an opening into the lower part of the machine and of course resin dripped down that.
I’ll have to take the cover off the machine and make sure that any resin that dripped inside is cleaned up. Good machine but this is one issue I’ve seen record here before so FormLabs needs to address it because it’s almost worse than fighting dust on the Form 1 and 1+ units.
From what I understand your tray already had resin in it and then when initializing the wiper pushed a bunch of it out of the tray into the printer? In the tray was the resin at the line or was it over that mark? If it was at the proper fill level then that’s on Formlabs because it should not move the wiper at a speed that will spill a properly filled tray of resin.
I have almost had a resin spill when the wiper initialized as well. It seems that on the newer firmware it moves much faster than before. A little bit just came over the edge.
Tank was filled with resin to the proper mark. It happened when the wiper blade did it’s first wipe. I’ve got it cleaned up but had to take the case off and everything as there was a lot of resin inside but at least not down on the electronics. Also the cover cracked and I did not use any IPA on it. It’s on the right side, front and back corners. Piece broke out of the back corner and two long cracks from the corner up the front and up the side. The seal around the right bottom edge was saturated with resin and I had to really work to get most out. I noticed that the color orange was comer off the edge that is along the seal.
Anyway, I poured the resin through a filter and cleaned the resin tank what I could especially the bottom clear area with eye glass cleaner.
It would be nice to have a pour attachment for plastic cups like there is for the Form 1. One that fits into the Build Platform holder to drain the cup empty.
What would be even better would be a clip-on curved piece for the right side of the Resin Tray. This could clip over the side with a lip into the tray and curve up and in over the tray maybe 3/4". It should have ends on it too. That way the resin would be diverted back into the tray not over the side like what happened to me. I’m afraid to put the wiper in until I’m actually ready to do a print.
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Move the wiper to the right so it doesn’t move the first wipe. Once the resin is heated up, it works as intended.
It’s possible I should have cleaned the tank before turning the machine on as there was a couple of stuck resin spots in the tank which I found after cleaning the machine and the tank. Also, the machine cycles the wiper well before the tank is heated. I just watched it and it cycled at least six to eight times before the tank was heated for printing.
Also it might be best to unlock the wiper and manually wipe the tank before locking it back in position. The machine was off for two days as well and that could have contributed. I still think splash guards at each end would be a great help because evidently this is an issue for FormLabs has a seven page PDF on cleaning the machine after a resin spill.
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There’s maybe an “Achilles Heel” with the wiper if you have a failed print. As the wiper sweeps it seems to me it might snag on stuck blobs on the bottom of the tank. If it does, when it “snaps” past the obstruction it can fling resin. If you have a print failure you need to be a religious zealot about checking for crap stuck to the bottom of the resin tank…
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Randy, EXACTLY what I figured happened. Best to remove the wiper and then scrape the tank before starting a new print. I ONLY use a plastic putty knife as I feel the metal one will cut the silicone surface. Another thing is always have the bevel down.
Anyway, I reprinted the job with slightly larger support points and they came out perfect. Live and learn.
A power outage by lightning should not affect the print. I had an outage during a print and when power can back I restarted and the FL2 started printing where it left off .
There was a very slight line at the start layer but the rest of the print was fine.
However I stop prints now whenever a storm is brewing.
This even happens when you have a clean tank. I almost had spillage. Probably due to the high viscosity of the resin when cold and the sudden higher wipe speed at init.
I still feel some kind of a clip on deflector that would direct any resin wave back into the tank not over the sides. I take the wiper out, scrape the tank with a plastic putty knife, put the wiper back and and move it manually all the way to the right. That seemed to solve the issue for the most part.
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Had the exact same thing happen to my last printer (R.I.P Lucky porpoise). Was printing with high-temp, next thing I know the wiper had poured resin down into the spill tray around the optical window. I guess it kept going for a little bit, since the resin even overflowed the tray. Definitely recommend pulling the silver cover off the bottom and leaning the machine on its side once you’ve cleaned it all out from the visible portions. If any drips out after that or the resin got on or near the circuit boards, it’s definitely time for an RMA.
If a part falls off into the resin and splatters the walls with high temp, the acrylic shatters. I was told it’s particularly more corrosive than the rest. We had cracks at the top, front, and sides. The acrylic would break at the lightest touch.
It’s a wonder the tray edges aren’t higher on the sides, back, and front just to help prevent the overflow from happening. Maybe I’ll print side risers for the trays 
Yes, the cover of my machine cracked at both right hand corners. I’ve opened a Support Ticket but no one has responded to me. It’s usable to a point. A piece came out of the right rear corner and I have a piece of painter’s tape over that. The two cracks at the front left corner, short one on the front wall and a much longer one on the right, don’t seem to be going anywhere for the time being. Probably end up paying for this on my own even though this was a brand new machine, replacement for a broken one, that I got last Saturday. What a learning curve.
I got it all cleaned up and have the machine running. It’s doing a great job so fingers crossed. The first job out after the mess came out every bit good as the same item printed at Shapeways. So, that should start eliminating expensive costs at that point.
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Actually I did get a response from FormLabs Support. Just didn’t read the email totally. They will replace the cover but not right away as they are behind schedule on that item. It’s usable the way it is.
All around I’m getting excellent prints that match or do better than the same pieces printed at Shapeways at a lot more money.
No issues at this end for now and totally happy with FormLabs Support response. They have been great.
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The are addressing this from what I’ve been told. Going to try and slow down the initial speed of the wipe when the print first starts. Also, I’m wondering if it’s the particular resins that are at issue as each has it’s own properties. I only use V3 Grey for the Form 2 as I have no need for any of the other colors.
I imagine the higher pigment, more viscous materials are the prime issues.
It doesn’t happen with the flexible resin, which is very viscous. For me it happened with black resin when the room temperature was fairly low(about 12C) and the machine was cold.
Interesting. I watched the Durable “wave” from the wiper almost touch the top surface at 27C temp. It really does cut it close.
