Hi all,
I unpacked the Formlabs Form 1 Printer.
More details below
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First issue: the tray holding the resin wouldn’t fit in the bracket.
It turned out that there are four spring loaded ball bearings that fit into divots in the trays. Two of those ball bearings were seized with what I assume were hardened resin.
I tried isopropyl alcohol and taping with a punch to free the ball bearings. The end result is that the tray can now be inserted into the printer.
The printer powers up and displays the Formlabs logo, then the message:
Resetting build
platform and tank.
Moving tank up…
then
Ready to print…
While these startup messages are shown, there’s a mechanical grinding noise like a stepper motor is moving continually, followed by a series of short pulses. I didn’t see any mechanical movement during the startup sequence.
It’s on the bench across from the casting table, and it’s got a parking ticket on it for 30 days. Perhaps someone else can take the next steps towards getting a print out of it? @xquared
There are two used trays and one brand new tray. I recommend experimenting with the used trays first. The box holds multiple bottles of resin. There is also a unopened “clean up” station for rinsing printed parts with alcohol.
The instructions for setup and data sheets for the resin are on the box beside the printer.
- Andrew
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wow, thanks, who donated this?
I’ll take a look at it asap.
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Saving this here for documentation purpose
I think this may be working as intended:
see this video:
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@Daniel_DeGagne
I downloaded the 1.2 r3 version for Mac from
form1printer [licensed for non-commercial use only] / PreForm Tips, Tricks, and Version History
the printer is connected and “printing”
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This is a good test piece Download – #3DBenchy
Though meant for FDM printers. I’ll try to find one better for SLA.
Defintely something an FDM couldn’t print
Thanks for fixing this up. I’ve only ever seen one of these at Maker Faire - so it’s pretty cool we have this. Looking forward to seeing it in action.
a wiki page should probably be made for the form1, in the mean time, i am gonna dump research in this thread:
according to my research on the formlab site, you don’t need to clean tank every time you make a print. you only need to clean it if a print failed for there’s contamination in the resin:
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We should still make it mandatory to return the resin to its container and clean the tray. Never know how long its going to sit there and the next person who shows up to use the machine won’t know which resin is in the tray. As well we can expect people to open the lid to peak inside and if someone leaves that lid open.
Some canadian prices on materials btw
There are alternative resins of course.
I was going through my head on the options for materials and what we discussed about refurbing the trays. Probably best we look into that asap. If it’s workable VHS can supply the trays and the users would just have to bring there own resin.
Can this print “Ceramic slurry”? It’s been one of my dreams to print ceramics! Was @LoialOtter printing a ceramic engine? Thanks!
No wrong kind of machine.
Formlab doesn’t seem to think it’s necessary to return the resin into the bottle. The new trays are designed to be removed and hold resin in them without the resin curing.
If resin are to be returned to a bottle, then it should probably be strained.
@Gear105, you currently run a form1? What’s your routine?
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I’d recommend draining the tray as things get moved at VHS all the time, and someone may accidentally tilt the machine and pour resin all over its internals.
It’s not the clear ones that prevent curing, it’s the ones colored orange. Which we don’t have.
i understand our use case is different from a regular design studio, but from everthing i’ve read on the formlab site. they recommand the the resin be stored in the tank (unless it will go unused for longer than a month), and use one tank per resin type as there is no way to fully clean the tank.
i know we don’t have the orange ones, we can:
a) get some
b) designate a dark air tight box to store the resin tray.
c) something like this: http://www.zvatindustries.com/
https://support.formlabs.com/hc/en-us/articles/115000018044
The remaining liquid resin in the tank can be used for your next print, but should not be returned to the original bottle or cartridge to avoid potential contamination. Keep unused resin in the resin tank. The orange acrylic of the tank and printer cover will protect your unused resin from ambient light. To avoid possible exposure to light or heat, use the resin tank lid when storing resin outside the printer and store resin tanks away from direct sunlight.
With a separate tank for each resin type, switching print materials between prints is as easy as cleaning the build platform and switching the tanks. For Standard resins, cleaning the resin tank to change resins is possible, but may lead to contamination between formula (Grey mixing with Clear, for example)
^ could be a ploy to sell more tanks, but i wouldn’t trust anyone, including myself to clean the tank well enough to not lead to cross contamination
https://support.formlabs.com/hc/en-us/articles/115000007490-Resin-Tank-Care#storage
It is best practice to keep all resin tanks out of direct sunlight.
When storing a resin tank in the printer, and if the printer is not in use, the lid will help conserve and protect liquid resin. Use the scraper to fully mix the resin before printing, so that the fluid is chemically consistent throughout and the silicone layer stays optically clear.
Used resin tanks should always be stored with the lid installed, empty of resin or filled to the maximum line.
Empty or use any excess resin before storing resin tanks for longer than 1 month. Do not pour liquid resin back into the original container.
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if we must clean the tank, here is the semi official instruction:
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no, but formlabs does have a ceramic resin that can be fired after printing. here’s the link if you want to spring for some:
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