Why Is There Only a Thin Layer on the Build Plate?

1. What’s Wrong with My 3D Print?

When printing, you notice that the bottom layers have been printed successfully and have formed a smooth flat pancake on the build plate, while the rest of your 3D print has failed and is now stuck onto the FEP or PFA (nFEP) film. This issue is similar to the layer splitting or the Transition Layer Issue.

2. What Causes the Printing Issue?

Similar to the layer splitting issue, this phenomenon occurs when certain parts of the bottom layers fail to stick to the previous layers. Instead of splitting, the whole layer falls into the resin vat and gets stuck onto the FEP or PFA (nFEP) film. The two possible causes of the issue are presented as follows:

• Normal layers are underexposed 
• The exposure time significantly differs between normal layers and bottom layers

3. Before Moving On 

Remove cured resin 

Before moving on, it is necessary to remove any cured resin on the build plate and the resin vat. If you encounter issues while removing cured resin from the FEP or PFA (nFEP) film, please refer to this article.

4. Troubleshooting the Printing Issue

For Sonic Mini 4K, Sonic 4K, Sonic Mighty 4K, Sonic Mini 8K (S), Sonic Mega 8K (S)

• Use a Resin Exposure Finder to dial in the settings (make sure exposure time is correct)
• Set transition layer count at 6-10

For Sonic Mini, Sonic, Sonic XL 4K, Shuffle series, or Transform series

• Use a resin exposure finder to dial in the settings (make sure exposure time is correct)
• Decrease the Up-Speed or lifting speed by 20%
• Increase the normal layer exposure time by 20%
• Increase the Light-off Delay time by 1000ms or 1s

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. Please refer to this article to learn more about Light-off delay.

Contact Support

After reading this article, you can understand why there is only a thin layer on the build plate and know 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.