Potential Catastrophic Failure Incident (PCFI)I had a print going today and as I was nearby, could hear what sounded like a different noise coming from the printer. Upon inspection, I found that the build plate was grinding away trying to raise and could not. Turned off the printer immediatley and began to mentally try to figure out what was happening. The print was only about 5 minutes into it's run (6 hours total) and so was basically finishing the bottom layers of the print. Somehow, it was stuck on the FEP and wouldn't release. So, what to do????
I began by removing the 4 bolts holding the bracket of the build platform to the lifting arm which released the arm from the bracket and allowed me to slide off the bracket. I then raised the lifting arm up to almost the top to make clear room to work below. I then removed the vat (w/building platform, etc.) and emptied the resin back into the jug (filtering, of course
), and then addressed the problem of the build platform stuck to the FEP. This was the 2nd print today of the same part which I had printed successfully and removed not long before starting the new print run. I don't know the reason, but once the vat was empty, I could put my fingers under it and slightly push the FEP up thus breaking the seal between the FEP and the part - I was thus able to remove the parts without damaging the FEP.
Attachment:
Failed FCD on Build Platf.jpeg [ 444.92 KiB | Viewed 6393 times ]
You can see the footprint of the part where suction held the part to the FEP.
I then proceeded to clean the vat and get it ready to print. In addition, the LCD screen & protective sheet on top were unaffected which was a major concern of mine -
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LCD Screen wSheet.jpeg [ 412.57 KiB | Viewed 6393 times ]
This will give me an opportunity to clean the vertical elevation rod before doing the normal resetting of the build platform (Z Lift 0 Setting).
Before I try printing this part again, I am still trying to figure out why this occurred - only 2 causes seem plausible:
1) The location (X/Y) of where the print was located within the printing parameters caused a suction to develop at that spot, or
2) Printing the center of the part directly on the build platform with no supports had created a vacuum when the print began printing the 1st layer on the FEP and this vacuum was just as strong as the resin layer on the build platform which brought things to a halt. I'm glad I was there in the shop when this happened. Had I not been, I'm sure the printer would have gone up in smoke at some point and that would have been an expensive failure!!
One item to note -l I did NOT take the plastic squeegee and drag it across the FEP to basically "clear" that area of the FEP prior to beginning the next print run. It's quite possible that had I done that, this incident would not have happened. I've printed other parts directly on the build platform and never had an issue with sticking to the FEP, as well. Always a first time...
I'm leaning towards redesigning the part adding in a few slots in the circular center disc in order to break a potential suction being created again. But, this is a gamble at best. Any ideas from other 3D designer/printer/modelers is welcomed.
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A 1:36 scale RC model of 