Why Nothing is Sticking to the Build Plate?

1. What’s Wrong with My 3D Print?

At first glance, it seems as if nothing had been printed out even though you’ve set everything up according to Phrozen’s Official Resin Profile, sliced the file nicely in a Slicer Software. You can notice that the 3D model fails to adhere to the build plate and instead sticks onto the release film (FEP, nFEP, ACF).

This article will give you some insights into the causes of the printing failure and how to resolve it.

2. What Causes the Printing Issue?

When a 3D model fails to stick to the build plate and falls into the resin vat, it often points to an adhesion problem. Various factors can contribute to this issue. Essentially, when it occurs, it indicates that the suction force holding the 3D model to the FEP or PFA (nFEP) film surpasses the suction force between the build plate and the 3D model. This imbalance causes the 3D model to lose its grip on the build plate and inadvertently drop into the vat. Below are the four primary causes of the adhesion failure:

• Configurations on Chitubox aren’t correct.
• build plate’s surface is too smooth.
• build plate is not leveled properly.
• Temperature is not appropriate.
• build plate's surface is uneven.

If no cured resin can be found both on the build plate and in the resin vat, please check the LCD screen and the LED of your printer.

3. Before Moving On

Before printing again, it is important to remove the cured resin in the resin vat. If you have encountered trouble removing cured resin from the FEP or PFA (nFEP) film, please refer to this article.

4. Troubleshooting the Adhesion Issue

To resolve this printing issue, we need to make some adjustments as follows:

• Recalibrate the Z-axis: refer to this article for a correct Z-calibration guideline
• Increase bottom exposure time: this helps to strengthen the adhesion between the model and the build plate. Increase bottom exposure time by 20% if you print big models or print the full build plate.
• Lower lifting speed to below 40 mm/min
• Reduce rest time or adjust light-off delay according to this Auto Calculator
• Use a ruler and place it diagonally on your build plate. Flash a light from behinf the build plate and check for the build plate's eveness.
• Sand the build plate with  80-grit sandpaper and use fingertip to check its roughness. This video is a reference.

For suggested support settings in CHITUBOX Slicer Software, please refer to this article. Light-off delay time is essential in resin 3D printing. With the correct settings, each layer will be printed in a much more stable manner, resulting in better quality 3D prints. 

Contact Support

After reading this article, you can understand why your models fail to stick to the build plate and how to troubleshoot the issue. If you find any issues, feel free to reach out to Phrozen Support or your Authorized Reseller for further assistance. When contacting Phrozen Support, kindly send some photos or videos illustrating the issue.