I bought a ZVat tank a month ago direct from Zak when he was exhibiting the product at the Bay Area Maker Faire. And I finally got a chance to start using it this pas weekend.
My tank is for the Form 1+, not the Form 2, so it’s made completely from scratch, unlike the Form 2, ones where he repurposes the existing tanks and replaces the bottom acrylic with glass.
My tank came complete with the PDMS layer, and it works straight out of the box. By this I mean I did not have to do any adjustments to the platform height to accommodate the PDMS layer thickness. The bottom is made of clear glass, so it can be cleaned with anything you want to clean it with, and not worry about “burning” or scratching the surface.
So far I have only 4 prints, but they came out perfect.
With regard to the PDMS longevity: I have previously recoated original tanks with Qsil, and found that it doesn’t last quite as long as the original PDMS layer, only about 70-75%. Assuming Zak uses Qsil as well, the life expectancy of the coating should be the same.
Zak, if you’re reading this, you might want to chime in.
However, the workmanship on my tanks is very good and I expect the tank to last a long time, and through many recoatings.
Edit: The recoatings Ive done are with Sylgard, not Qsil. You can read more about them here: