1. User Guide
  2. Troubleshooting
  3. Part Quality Issue Recovery

Part Quality Issue Recovery

Problem

Description

Troubleshooting Steps

 Missing Material:

 

 

Missing Jets: Missing material in part (left to right)

Part has material missing in the left to right direction. If the part is across multiple lanes (front to back) missing material will occur across each lane in the same relative location and width.

  1. Perform Jet Check procedure, see Confirm Jets

  2. If the jets do not clear after three attempts, contact certified partner for service.

Dragging: Missing material in part (left to right)

Part and wall look as if something has been dragged across the surface.

  1. Look for material buildup on the bottom of the print engine by looking horizontally across the surface, see At a Glance section for print engine location.  If material is hanging down use the Inspect Planarizer Blade routine to clean the planarizer access cover. See Inspect Planarizer section for assistance.

  2. Wearing nitrile gloves, rotate the planarizer access cover so that the planarizer blade is accessible. Clean off the edge of the planarizer blade, See Inspect Planarizer section for assistance. If additional dripping and/or material buildup remains on the bottom of the print engine, contact your certified partner for service.

Smearing: Part material extends beyond part

Parts have observable part material extended beyond where the part should be in the left to right direction. Extra material described as "flames" or "spurts" of material.

  1. Perform the Inspect Planarizer Blade procedure found in this manual.

  2. If problem persists, contact your certified partner for service.

Horizontal line or appearance of missing layer

The printed part has a horizontal line through the entire part or appears to have a missing layer of material.

  1. A pause longer than 10 minutes during a print job may result in this defect. To eliminate, promptly remove full waste bag and load new part and support material cartridges when requested.

  2. Email alerts can be set up to provide notification of close to full/full waste bags as well as low/empty material cartridges. See User Interface section for directions to set up email alerts.

Gap in material

The printed part has a gap in the material 1/3 and/or 2/3 of the way across the part (front to back when standing in front of the printer).

The printer is out of calibration, contact your certified partner for service

 Extra Material:  

 

 

Tagging: Support material extends beyond part.

Parts have observable support material extended beyond where the part should be in the left to right direction. Extra material described as "flames" or "spurs" of material.

  1. Perform the Inspect Planarizer Blade procedure found in this manual.

  2. If the problem persists, contact your certified partner for service.

Dripping

Material has dripped on the part or in the build chamber area.

  1. Perform the Inspect and Clean Planarizer Ducts routine.

  2. If the problem persists, contact your certified partner for service.

Snow: Snow like material in the build chamber

The development of "snow" within the build chamber is normal.

  1. To reduce the amount of snow within the build chamber, increase the frequency of printer maintenance. See the Troubleshooting and Maintenance Best Practices Section of this manual for information.

  2. If the part has been damaged from a buildup of snow, contact your certified partner for service.

Bump

The part has a bump or a ridge of extra material 1/3 and 2/3 of the way across print platform (orientation front to back).

Contact your certified partner for service.

 Discoloration:

 

 

Blotches: Clear material has yellow spots

Clear material appears to have yellow spots.

  1. Reposition the part so that tall sections and short sections of the print job are in different lanes (front to back when standing in front of the machine).

  2. Clear the UV lamp of excess material.

Color mixing

The printed material appears to have small areas of lighter or darker color

  1. Inserting a different part material color can result in a small amount of color mixing which may show up on the printed part. This will clear on its own.

  2. If you are concerned with mixing on your next printed part, perform a Material Change Wizard routine to flush the unwanted material.

Printed part changes shade

The top portion of the part does not have the same shade as the bottom portion of the part.

Part material has a small amount of lot to lot variation. Prior to printing, confirm that all part material needed for the job has the same lot code.

Part color fades

The printed part fades from clear to yellow (when printing with clear material or black to gray) when printing with black material.

Parts can fade or change color over time. To reduce the change in color, limit part exposure to light and heat sources.

Permanent marks on part after post processing

The finished part has an outline and discoloration in the shape of another post processed part.

Avoid stacking or overlapping parts when post processing.

 Surface Finish: 

 

 

Top surface shine and matte

The top horizontal surface of the printed part has some areas that are shiny (glossy appearance) and some areas that have a matte finish.

In 3DSPRINT, position the part at a slight right angle to the horizontal surface prior to sending to the printer.

Side surface vs. top/bottom surface

The top/bottom surfaces appears smooth while the side surfaces appear to be rough or have steps of material.

The printer encapsulates support (wax) material when printing which will cause the sides to have a matte finish. Horizontal surfaces may have a glossy appearance due to the print process. To eliminate gloss, position the part in 3DSPRINT so that horizontal surfaces are minimized.

 Part Distortion: 

 

 

Curl: While printing

Part is bowed or curled and surface is no longer flat, curling occurs in the z-axis (vertical direction) from the print platform. The curls occurs prior to post processing the part.

  1. Check ambient temperature, optimal temperature range is 18°-24°C (64°-75°F).

  2. Verify that the particulate filter and the screen above the filter are not plugged. Replace as necessary.

  3. Make sure the printer is not next to a window in direct sunlight.

  4. Make sure the back of the printer is 12" from the wall.

  5. Print parts with large flat surfaces vertically on the print platform.

Curl: Post Processing

Part is bowed or curled and surface is no longer flat after post processing the part

  1. Lower the oven temperature for parts with large flat surfaces.

  2. Complete all post processing steps of the part.

  3. After post processing and cleaning the part, clamp the part against (or between) a flat surface and place back in the oven to flatten. Once the part is flat, remove from the oven, keep the clamp on the part until cool.

Dimensional accuracy

The completed part does not match the size desired.

  1. Run the Shrinkage Compensation Procedure to determine the Shrinkage Compensation values. See Shrink Compensation section of the User Manual for assistance.

  2. Input new values into 3DSPRINT and reprint the part.

 Other:

 

 

Part won't adhere to the print platform

The printed part is not building correctly on the print platform, the support (wax) material won't adhere to the print platform.

  1. Never print with a cold print platform. When using a print platform where a part was just removed, allow the print platform to warm up to room temperature prior to starting the print job.

  2. The print platform must be completely clean prior to use. Scrape any residual wax from the print platform and wipe with IPA prior to use. It is important that both sides of the print platform are clean.

  3. Remove any debris from the printer prior to installing the print platform. Debris under the print platform may cause the print platform to sit at an angle resulting in a collision between the print engine and the part.

Verification wall tipped/broken near base

The verification wall has tipped/broken off near the base and fallen onto the printed part. Sprayed material appears on the right side of the build chamber. A pause in the print job may result in the verification wall cooling and becoming brittle. Upon resuming the print job, the planarizer contact may cause the verification wall to fall over onto the print job.

To avoid, do not allow pauses in the print job such as waste bag replacements or empty material cartridges.