FormLabs Form 1+ SLA 3D Printer
| Owner/Loaner | PS:One |
|---|---|
| Serial Number | SERIAL NUMBER |
| Make/Model | FormLabs Form 1+ SLA 3D Printer |
| Arrival Date | June 2017 |
| Usability | yes |
| Contact | CNC Area Host |
| Where | CNC Shop |
| Authorization Needed | yes |
| Hackable | no |
| Estimated Value | $2,000 |
| Host Area | CNC |
About
3D SLA Printer. Requires a proprietary resin, a short-lived tank, and a relatively longer-lived build plate to function. The requirement to buy your own tank and resin makes this printer less suitable as a first 3D printing experience for most members, though the printed parts have properties that may be desirable such as use as patterns for metal casting, transparency/translucency of some resin types, and comparatively high resolution and smoothness of printed parts. Compared to the PLA and ABS filament of PS1's other printers, the liquid resin is more difficult to handle, must be kept away from light when not in use, and is quite sticky. Cleanup and setup is significantly more difficult than with filament-based printers. Parts must be washed with alcohol in a two-step process, and benefit from being cured in a UV light environment. The proprietary software is free and downloadable (see below) but is fairly simple to use by someone with basic 3D printing experience. Parts are generally printed elevated away from the build plate and at an angle to the build plate, rather than flat on as they might be with an FDM (filament-based) printer. Support structure is added by the proprietary software.
- Darker housing: premiumephyra, firmware 1.40, git: 157923
- Lighter housing: sillyred,
Status
- 18-Feb-2019 Formlabs no longer supports the Form 1+ printer. Both PS1 printers work, and experimentation is ongoing to find alternate resins/settings/tanks to print with.
- Currently, there are (2) Z-vat tanks http://www-zvatindustries-com at PS1. One is installed in premiumphyra.
- The main limitation to new users is that both the tank and the resin are considered consumables, that you must provide for yourself. "One standard tank lasts for about 2 L of our resin. With a separate tank for each individual resin color, switching materials is as easy as sliding in a new tank."
Authorizations
- You should familiarize yourself with the PreForm software and have some small parts that you've loaded into PreForm, available to print as your first parts.
- Once you have secured the basic supplies, contact a member of the Danger Committee (see below), the CNC Area Host or a CNC area Volunteer Authorizer to become authorized.
Settings
- PreForm is available for both Windows and MacOS PreForm is supported on Mac OS X 10.7 or higher.
- Required software, called Preform, is proprietary and available, free, from FormLabs https://support.formlabs.com/hc/en-us/categories/115000005384-Software
Procedures
- Design limits Form1+ Design Limits
Powering On Machine
- Press and release the power button to turn the machine on.
- Press and hold the power button for 3 seconds from the off state to display machine name and firmware version.
- What is the IP address of each printer? -- There is not one. The machines are connected via USB.
- Connect to the printer with a computer that has Preform installed, via a printer cable (USB printer cable)
Powering Off Machine
- The machines will automatically go to sleep.
Material Safety & Information
Resources
Youtube links
- Formlabs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYr1_Trp-hM
- 3D Print - Tech Design https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kzWvQjkndM
Cleaning & Maintenance
List of Currently Certified Users
| Qualified Member | Trained By | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Andrew Camardella | Danger Committee | |
| Kathryn Born | Danger Committee | |
| Aaron Feigan | Danger Committee | |
| Ashish Jasani | Danger Committee | |
| Anna Yu | Danger Committee | |
| Brian Chojnowski | Andrew Sowa | |
| Ray Doeksen | Kathryn Born | |
| Wessing | Kathryn Born | |
| Brian Barnt | Kathryn Born | 02/12/2019 |