1 (edited by Ggalisky 2016-06-09 18:37:50)

Topic: Just picked up a Form 1 +, very excited

This thread is to document my experience with a used Form 1+ I purchased off of eBay, and it came with 250ml of flexible, 500ml clear, 500ml black, and 4 resin tanks. Still waiting for it in the mail, but I will update when it gets here.

Ulitmaker 2, a few repraps, Custom Big FFF 3D printer with heated chamber.

My Blog http://ggalisky.weebly.com/
My Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXShYo … aDUpebDAOw

2 (edited by pirvan 2016-06-09 18:54:57)

Re: Just picked up a Form 1 +, very excited

Welcome to the...

Dark Side !
To print or, 3D print, that is the question...
SD3 printer w/too many mods,  Printrbot Simple Maker Ed.,  FormLabs Form 1+
AnyCubic Photon, Shining 3D EinScan-S & Atlas 3D scanners...
...and too much time on my hands.

3

Re: Just picked up a Form 1 +, very excited

pirvan wrote:

Welcome to the...

Dark Side !

Is this really the dark side?

SD2 with E3D, SD Press, Form 1+
Filastruder
NYLON (taulman): http://www.soliforum.com/topic/466/nylon/

4

Re: Just picked up a Form 1 +, very excited

Is this really the dark side?

You must protect the resin from light. Light is what cures irt and gives it shape . That's why the covers are red or amber , It filters out the UV that makes things happen.
the dark side yes. Embracing evil NO.
Tin

Soliddoodle 4 stock w glass bed------Folger Tech Prusa 2020 upgraded to and titan /aero extruder mirror bed
FT5 with titan/ E3D Aero------MP mini select w glass bed
MP Utimate maker pro-W bondtech extruder
Marlin/Repetier Host/ Slic3r and Cura

5

Re: Just picked up a Form 1 +, very excited

Dito

To print or, 3D print, that is the question...
SD3 printer w/too many mods,  Printrbot Simple Maker Ed.,  FormLabs Form 1+
AnyCubic Photon, Shining 3D EinScan-S & Atlas 3D scanners...
...and too much time on my hands.

6 (edited by Ggalisky 2017-01-22 21:00:18)

Re: Just picked up a Form 1 +, very excited

So I did get the printer and there was uncured resin on the mirror and the whole printer is absolutely filthy. Pics:

http://soliforum.com/i/?6k639qT.jpg

in addition the extra resin tanks that came are covered everywhere with uncured resin too

http://soliforum.com/i/?KXBRjgO.jpg

Same thing with the cleaning station

http://soliforum.com/i/?wRtkELk.jpg

http://soliforum.com/i/?Tz7th7q.jpg

So I'm going to have to do a lot of cleaning and I'm going to open a dispute on eBay, if i had know everything was so poorly taken care of I would have bought it from someone else. Oh well, I should be able to try to print today after I get the cleaning wipes I need to clean the mirror.

Ulitmaker 2, a few repraps, Custom Big FFF 3D printer with heated chamber.

My Blog http://ggalisky.weebly.com/
My Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXShYo … aDUpebDAOw

7 (edited by pirvan 2016-06-25 01:55:13)

Re: Just picked up a Form 1 +, very excited

Wow,  that really sucks.  Mine was very clean inside and out.  The only thing that happened to me, was the unit didn't come with a power supply, so the seller reimbursed me $80 to buy a universal 24V PSU which I did.

The printer itself was in very nice condition.  The cleaning tray was a little dirty, but it cleaned up quickly with some IPA.

I hope you'll get some satisfaction from the seller considering the poor condition the printer was when you got it.

Personally, if I were to buy a used Form 1+ right now, I would check the FormLabs Forums "For Sale/Trade" thread, as there are many users there that are upgrading to the Form 2, and selling off their used Form 1's.  Prices there are in the $1000-1400 range for the printer with extras, and you'll probably get a decent printer.

To print or, 3D print, that is the question...
SD3 printer w/too many mods,  Printrbot Simple Maker Ed.,  FormLabs Form 1+
AnyCubic Photon, Shining 3D EinScan-S & Atlas 3D scanners...
...and too much time on my hands.

8

Re: Just picked up a Form 1 +, very excited

It prints! I managed to salvage a vat and clean the mirror and boom!

http://soliforum.com/i/?gCkVIms.jpg

Ulitmaker 2, a few repraps, Custom Big FFF 3D printer with heated chamber.

My Blog http://ggalisky.weebly.com/
My Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXShYo … aDUpebDAOw

9

Re: Just picked up a Form 1 +, very excited

That printer definitely needs some TLC


If you order more resin tanks you might consider getting an aftermarket one:

https://www.zvatindustries.com/store/c1 … ducts.html

SD2 with E3D, SD Press, Form 1+
Filastruder
NYLON (taulman): http://www.soliforum.com/topic/466/nylon/

10

Re: Just picked up a Form 1 +, very excited

DePartedPrinter wrote:

That printer definitely needs some TLC


If you order more resin tanks you might consider getting an aftermarket one:

https://www.zvatindustries.com/store/c1 … ducts.html

The vats straight from Formlabs are only $65 each. Those guys want $115 for one.

Printing since 2009 and still love it!
Anycubic 4MAX best $225 ever invested.
Voxelabs Proxima SLA. 6 inch 2k Mono LCD.
Anycubic Predator, massive Delta machine. 450 x 370 print envelope.

11 (edited by Ggalisky 2016-06-28 06:20:24)

Re: Just picked up a Form 1 +, very excited

So I have done a few prints and at this point I'm wondering how I can tell if anything is wrong with the printer. So far the prints look great, but is there any prints you guys have done that I can print and then compare mine to yours?

To address the poor condition of everything, I am working with the seller currently. Im not sure if I want a partial refund or just to return this printer.

Ulitmaker 2, a few repraps, Custom Big FFF 3D printer with heated chamber.

My Blog http://ggalisky.weebly.com/
My Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXShYo … aDUpebDAOw

12

Re: Just picked up a Form 1 +, very excited

There are only so many failure points on this thing. 

1. The lasers.  Apparently there's a log which includes the "mileage" the printer has, including the hours the lasers have been on.  The log is on a SD card that is inside the printer.  You'd have to take the back cover off to gain access, then remove the card, and read it on a PC to extract the log.

2.  The galvanometers.  Those are the X/Y steppers of the printer, and usually last the lifetime, but sometimes they go bad.  If you can print, they're obviously working.

3.  Also part of laser subsystem are the mirrors.  There are 2, the large one which you cleaned, and a smaller one that is deep inside towards the back.  The small one might need cleaning but not very often

4.  The peel motor.  That obviously works too, but it can also go bad.

5.  The Z motor.  Apparently that never goes bad

6.  The resin tank/vat.  It's a consumable, so as it ages it will become less transparent, and print will start to fail in the spots that have become opaque.  A new one is good for about 2 bottles of resin.  Move the location of your prints so that you spread the wear over as much of the surface as possible, so you don't 'burn a hole" in one spot, so to speak.

7.  The resin itself.  It ha a shelf life of about a year.  FormLabs resin has either a batch date or an expiration date printed on the bottle.  If it's a batch date, add a year to it for the expiration.

I found I can print just fine with resin that is 6-9 months past its expiration date.  I just mix it really well before pouring it in, then  I cranked up the laser curing strength by selecting a resin type that has a longer curing time.  In my case, I'm using an expired Grey01, but I'm printing it with a Clear02 setting.  It works great.

Other than this, I can't think of anything else that would need fixing. 

There is an issue some FormLabs users had complained about, called "laser flare", and it apparently requires some sort of calibration, but I never had the need to do anything about.  If you need to know more about it, go to the FormLabs Forums and search "Laser flare".

To print or, 3D print, that is the question...
SD3 printer w/too many mods,  Printrbot Simple Maker Ed.,  FormLabs Form 1+
AnyCubic Photon, Shining 3D EinScan-S & Atlas 3D scanners...
...and too much time on my hands.

13

Re: Just picked up a Form 1 +, very excited

carl_m1968 wrote:
DePartedPrinter wrote:

That printer definitely needs some TLC


If you order more resin tanks you might consider getting an aftermarket one:

https://www.zvatindustries.com/store/c1 … ducts.html

The vats straight from Formlabs are only $65 each. Those guys want $115 for one.


They are glass, apparently give higher quality prints, and the silicone in the tray can be recoated over and over at a lower cost than buying a new resin tank.

SD2 with E3D, SD Press, Form 1+
Filastruder
NYLON (taulman): http://www.soliforum.com/topic/466/nylon/

14

Re: Just picked up a Form 1 +, very excited

pirvan wrote:

I found I can print just fine with resin that is 6-9 months past its expiration date.  I just mix it really well before pouring it in, then  I cranked up the laser curing strength by selecting a resin type that has a longer curing time.  In my case, I'm using an expired Grey01, but I'm printing it with a Clear02 setting.  It works great.

Is there a resource that better explains the curing times between different resin types?

SD2 with E3D, SD Press, Form 1+
Filastruder
NYLON (taulman): http://www.soliforum.com/topic/466/nylon/

15

Re: Just picked up a Form 1 +, very excited

I found a chart made by a FormLabs user (JoshK) that showed the various exposure times that the different resins use:

http://forum.formlabs.com/uploads/default/1779/0af5bc0e9d40cce9.png

To print or, 3D print, that is the question...
SD3 printer w/too many mods,  Printrbot Simple Maker Ed.,  FormLabs Form 1+
AnyCubic Photon, Shining 3D EinScan-S & Atlas 3D scanners...
...and too much time on my hands.

16

Re: Just picked up a Form 1 +, very excited

Thanks for that paragraph of useful stuff privian, I was able to get the log off the SD and here it is:
http://soliforum.com/i/?PjqgW8h.jpg

Ulitmaker 2, a few repraps, Custom Big FFF 3D printer with heated chamber.

My Blog http://ggalisky.weebly.com/
My Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXShYo … aDUpebDAOw

17

Re: Just picked up a Form 1 +, very excited

DePartedPrinter wrote:
carl_m1968 wrote:
DePartedPrinter wrote:

That printer definitely needs some TLC


If you order more resin tanks you might consider getting an aftermarket one:

https://www.zvatindustries.com/store/c1 … ducts.html

The vats straight from Formlabs are only $65 each. Those guys want $115 for one.


They are glass, apparently give higher quality prints, and the silicone in the tray can be recoated over and over at a lower cost than buying a new resin tank.


There are a host of DIY's telling you how to redo the coating on the stock vats as well using solar cell encapsulant which I had planned to do before selling my F1+. They even make small batch kits of the encapsulant now for small solar cell work that is perfect for only one or two vats.

Printing since 2009 and still love it!
Anycubic 4MAX best $225 ever invested.
Voxelabs Proxima SLA. 6 inch 2k Mono LCD.
Anycubic Predator, massive Delta machine. 450 x 370 print envelope.

18

Re: Just picked up a Form 1 +, very excited

updates?

SD2 with E3D, SD Press, Form 1+
Filastruder
NYLON (taulman): http://www.soliforum.com/topic/466/nylon/

19

Re: Just picked up a Form 1 +, very excited

Ive done a few more prints and things look, but I have been really busy with an internship. I did get a partial refund from them though

Ulitmaker 2, a few repraps, Custom Big FFF 3D printer with heated chamber.

My Blog http://ggalisky.weebly.com/
My Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXShYo … aDUpebDAOw