Watertight, not foodsafe, not outdoor compatible, fast, brittle
Most prints take 1-2 hrs
Must process prints before the end of the day If you are not back within 10-15 min after it ends then it gets tossed.
You must use their resin types: clear and black ($100/liter). If you have to use more than 300-400 mL, then talk to the staff. Researchers, startups, and production runs must pay for the resin.
Formlabs has all the material properties on their website.
If you want a new material, then you need to buy a new build tray.
- there are some other build trays in storage to check against.
No biocompatible materials or resins.
There is a minimum thickness and wall sizes. Check their online guidelines. 0.5mm feature size minimum.
Preform slicer.
Top right printer button, form 4, printer material (black or clear - 100 (1inch or bigger bounding box) or 50 micron resolution (0-1 inch)).
Don’t touch the reduced support density strategy, use the default.
Hit apply.
Setup
- Orientation
- Supports
Red means unsupported. No pre-done supports. Use clean models. Clear all errors before printing.
- You could use the “one-click button” and autosetup.
It does not matter how big the part is in x-y, only how tall it is in Z (affects the print time).
There is a manually orient tab. Lowering the part can shave off an hour of print time. Support tab → autogenerate.
Some warnings will come up
- Cup Detected - means that there is an airtight vacuum during printing. You can get away with small ones (1-4mm^2), but not big ones.
You can print hollow, but you need drainage holes. - it is recommended to hollow it using the design software rather than the slicer.
Create project, usb, open in SEM computer, get approval, they badge you into the printer.
name and email address on printer.
dont touch computers with gloves
check the print criteria and check off the boxes on the thing.
if a part is missing, then it likely fell off
you need to wash the part.
stick on washer and do 10 min washing
(past processing takes 30 min)
use air-gun to dry parts
no wet spots
squeeze two side levers to remove the print. hold steady using knob
clean off build platform with ipa (blue papers), air dry (repeat again), completely shiny and dry
slide back in and lever down, close lid
put in curing machine. short cure 5min at room temp, long cure 30 min at 60c (structural)
- now safe to touch without gloves
bluebins for contaminated gloves
report all problems, keep area clean, be gentle with equipment.