Formlabs Ceramic Printing Progress

With each print job, new things come to light that help us learn what it takes to reliably print with the experimental ceramic resin on the Formlabs Form 2.

With the first successful print completed, with just one earring.  It was time to complete the pair and add a second pair to see how more than one earring printed.  So, the second print job included three earrings.  All of them were oriented as was the first.

Fortunately, the print was successful.  So, at this point I have been able to print 2 pairs of sample earrings.  This was encouraging!

FormLabs Ceramic Progress... four sets completed.

But, it was more than that.  It gave me multiple items to study closely.

The first thing that became clear is that while it is doable, removing all these supports cleanly is going to take time and time is money.  I had to find a way to print the items upright, or as near to upright as possible so that areas impacted by supports are minimized, while still providing the adherence required for successful printing.

One key, of course, is robust support creation.  But, the other key, was not so obvious.  But, it had been in front of me every time I had been successful up to the point of finishing a raft.  That key is preventing "cupping".  Think of "cupping" by visualizing the tentacles on an octopus or squid.  Our designs can form the suction cup features that make it difficult to separate a newly printed layer from the bottom of the resin vat.  In fact, the suction can be so great that it breaks supports completely causing catastrophic failure.

As I studied the successful prints carefully, something caught my eye.  What you cannot see in this image is that there are little holes around the circumference of the rafts generated by the Formlabs software.  They are SO tiny that it is even difficult to see them when you look closely while holding one in your hand.  Yet, they are important clues.  They are relief holes that allow air to escape which prevents cupping from happening at a level that causes the parts to fail.

I had been warned about "Cups" by the Formlabs software in previous prints.  But, now that message took on new meaning and I decided to investigate more deeply.  Before attempting to print again, I realized I had to create those same little escape holes in my entire part.

I have done so and now have just begun a new print job with four earrings.  Each earring design includes internal venting tunnels.  We'll see how it goes.  We'll have to wait some hours to find out.  But, I can tell you this, I am encouraged enough to purchase a new cartridge of ceramic material so that I can continue testing.  There IS light at the end of the tunnel.

UPDATE 1:  Support removal is unique for Ceramic Prints

I will write more about this topic in the near future.  We've been dealing with supports for years with a wide variety of techniques.  Using SLA plastic support removal tools and techniques is NOT going to have the same outcome with ceramic prints. Ceramic prints in their "green" state crumble easily.  So, using snips without damaging a part is more difficult than when removing plastic supports.  We're thinking that something like a rotary tool with a Dremel 561 Multipurpose Cutting Bit might be effective.  We'll see.  More later...

Dremel 561 Cutting Bit

UPDATE 2:  "Tunnel" method works! 

"Tunnel" Test Print

This was a quick snapshot taken with my camera just as the print completed.  Raft and supports were part of the design.  Raft is a hex design so that multiple groups can be easily placed into the print area.

But, I will have to delay getting better pictures for a bit due to our full teaching schedule through Saturday.  This is 3D ThinkLink Immersion Lab week for 6 cadets from Maryland, DC and South Carolina.  Keeping 6 cadets busy designing and printing on single color FDM, Color Mixing FDM, powder/binder full color and SLA takes full concentration.  Besides, it is a LOT of fun!

BTW, the print that finished this afternoon just about emptied my first ceramic cartridge; but, more is on the way.

Even though it might not arrive this week, we'll let the cadets design something for ceramic to be printed and fired before their graduation ceremony where we can present it to them.  In the meantime, we do have "tough" resin so they can see the result of their design from an SLA printer. They will be the first group to be introduced to both powder/binder and SLA during their 3D immersion experience.

Where There Has Been No Learning, There Has Been No Teaching

I went to college at a very small school, with just 35 in our graduating class.  But, in that tiny educational institution were some outstanding educators that cared deeply.  One of them was Dr. Wesley Willis.  The title of this blog entry is a quote from him that came to be the foundation stone of my own educational theory.  And, that is true even when the teacher and student are one and the same person.

Before I can teach the at-risk young people we are dedicated to serve, I must first teach myself.  And, sometimes I am a VERY slow student.  But, the teacher me cannot use that as an excuse to give up.  If teaching the student me is to be successful, the teacher me has to continue to try from every possible direction.

And, I am happy to say we have made progress.  We have our first successful ceramic print from the Form 2 SLA printer!

It's not an impressive part, by any means.  But, it represents some learning and that is a huge step.

For one thing, it tells us that we are correct in our feeling that even though we might choose to print larger ceramic objects using a powder/binder printer, if we can solve our issue with SLA and come up with a more reliable workflow that the end result will be stunningly detailed.  It's not an issue of "EITHER/OR" it's "AND".

We have to remember that the Form 2 was designed well before anyone decided to try ceramic materials to use with it.  It was never designed specifically for printing ceramics.  In fact, Formlabs is VERY clear that it is an experimental material that is not for the faint of heart to try to use.  But, ceramics has such unique character and value that it is worth the effort for those desiring those characteristics.

Where we are now

We have learned enough to print a single small item.  We have learned that when we do have a failure, it is imperative that we search through the dense, opaque material for every vestige of failed print that might be the cause of the next print to fail.  And, we have also learned that being successful with printing a single item does not mean you will be successful with printing multiple items in a single print job.  This is the result of getting greedy!

Not good.  This is a capture from the camera we use to monitor prints when we are not there.  Clearly one or more parts fell off.  But, until I get into the office, we don't know more than that.

When we analyze the failures, it appears that the suction that is inherent in all SLA printers that print upside down is a major part of the problem.  The new Form 3 series of printers is designed to reduce that effect so that may be a better option. We just don't know.

Another option is the as yet-to-be-released Bison 1000 from Tethon3D that is described as having been designed specifically FOR CERAMIC and METAL printing.  Again, without having seen one, it's still a mystery as to how reliable one can get when printing ceramics in SLA or DLP.

But, the quest goes on with the realization that I have a LOT of teaching to do in spite of the fact that my only student studying ceramic printing with an SLA (me) at the moment is having a rough time grasping the fundamentals.  We'll keep you posted.

UPDATE: 

Formlabs has not certified their ceramic material for the Form 3 as yet and the plans for doing so are unclear.  This means that it remains an experimental material for the foreseeable future.  Even so, until another option is available, we will continue to pursue our own experiments in hopes of raising the percentages of successful prints to an acceptable, if not perfect, level.  Ceramics, for us, is worth the effort.