What do I do when the platform sticks to the tank?

I’m printing the Formlabs Test Print.form
After printing a few layers successfully (I think), it prints the next layer, then begins the peel process.
The tank pulls downward (rotates on the hinge), but it never peels off the platform. The tank then returns and the next layer begins to print. This continues on and on…the tank never completing the peel.
What do I do?
I’m afraid my printer is getting trashed.
Do I abort the print?

John

After about 5 layers, where it never peeled…it finally began to peel correctly.
Now it seems to be printing correctly, so I’m not so worried that it’s tearing my printer apart.
But, I’m still concerned.
This is a new tank and Black V4 resin.

John

Is the build platform stuck to the tank? If so then chances are the PDMS layer will peel up off the tank.

If you get a fail where the initial layers are not on the build platform I would drain the tank and make sure there are no stuck layers on the pdms which will just continue to cause consecutive fails. Straining the resin with a paint strainer is essential and you won’t need to lose a tank of resin.

If this is a recent issue and other prints worked then make sure your build platform is clean and if it is slick take some sandpaper and give it a couple of scuffs. I wipe down my build platform between prints with ipa and make sure its dry before using.

This happened to me when i first started my platform height was way to low, the resin was curing and then would basically weld to the vat. I ruined a tank also. But, the solution if this ever happens is to stop the print once you catch it, and remove the vat and build plate at the same time, dont try to dislodge the plate if its really welded together.

The trick is to empty out as much resin as you can, then use yellow magic 7, pour that into the tank and let it sit for about 10 minutes or more if you need to it will dissolve the resin and let you loosen the plate off the vat without damaging it.

Thanks KenCitron and sharpknlfe,

I guess I was lucky the PDMS layer didn’t peel. I let the print continue and it repeated a stuck peel over and over, for about 5 layers before it finally separated (succeeded a peel). The print partially failed later (4 models out of 5 didn’t print), but I don’t think this was due to the stuck peel, since it happened during the base print.

After every print, I always check for chunks in the tank. If I find anything, even a glob of partially cured resin, I strain the resin and put it back in the tank. I do this after every print, so I’m always ready to start a print, even if it’s a day later.
I’ve never had a need to re-surface a build platform. I just wipe it with a dry paper towel, squirt a little IPA on it and wipe it again, then let it dry for 10 minutes before printing.

John

it sounds like your platform height and or/ base height levels are a little off. maybe try moving the platform height up one in fine tuning maybe its a little to close and see if it prints smoother, Also you may have to also adjust in preform under supports base thickness. I had to not only get my platform height correct, but then also keep all my base thickness’ at 3mm for succesful prints. It’s a little of both fine tuning & then tuning the best base thickness for your printer.

So for instance lets say you leave the platform height alone ( because we know resin is able to cure to it)
Instead, go into preform > support> advanced> base thickness> decrease it as you see fit. This will create a less thick base, you said the peel tends to stick. Try printing a slightly thinner base by this method and see what happens.

2nd problem may be the resin is over curing. This would depend on the resin && mode being used tho.

The over-adhesion is likely due to over compression of the first 5 mm of the print. The printer does this intentionally to ensure good adhesion to the build platform, but in this case it sounds like it might also be causing it to stick to the tank. This tutorial explains how to fine-tune the z axis to relieve the over compression:

Try increasing the z-offset by an increment of 0.1 mm before attempting another small sample print – repeat until the issue is resolved or until you notice parts no longer sticking to the build platform.

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