The Form Cure L V2 requires time to preheat and reach the specified temperature before the 405 nm lights begin post-curing. The heating time depends on the current temperature and the target post-cure temperature.

Before inserting a printed part into the Form Cure L:

• Review relevant safety information in the support article Safety with the Form Cure L.
• Consult the Form Cure L V2 manual for more detailed safety documentation.
• Set up the Form Cure L following the instructions in the support article Receiving and setting up the Form Cure L V2.

Printed parts must be fully dry before post-curing begins. Check all surfaces, because curing non-dried parts may trap solvent inside the part, prevent parts from strengthening, and affect quality.

Formlabs generally recommends waiting for your parts to dry or proactively drying them with compressed or forced air. The Form Cure L V2 also offers Drying mode, which helps dry parts before preheating and post-curing begin. Consider the following factors when deciding if Drying mode is a good fit for your workflow:

• Whether the part geometry will be easy to dry. Cavities, internal structures, and faces that may remain shielded from the Form Cure L fans can all retain solvent.
• Whether the parts might tip over during the drying cycle. Small and light parts or tall parts with large surface area might tip over.
• How clean your solvent is. Using wash solvent that is highly saturated with resin makes parts harder to dry and properly post-cure.

To enable Drying mode:

1. Tap the gear icon on the home screen. The Settings screen appears.
2. Toggle Drying mode to ON. The toggle turns blue.

Formlabs recommends running Drying mode for at least three minutes to ensure parts are dry. To adjust the drying time:

1. Tap the gear icon on the home screen. The Settings screen appears.
2. Tap the right arrow next to Drying mode. The Drying mode screen appears.
3. Use the slider to adjust the drying time. The maximum drying time is 15 minutes.
4. Tap the left arrow to save your selection and return to the previous screen.

By default, the Form Cure L turntable rotates during a post-curing cycle. Depending on your specific application or workflow, you may want to disable turntable rotation.

To disable Turntable rotation:

1. Tap the gear icon on the home screen. The Settings screen appears.
2. Toggle Turntable rotation to OFF. The toggle turns grey.

To re-enable Turntable rotation:

1. Tap the gear icon on the home screen. The Settings screen appears.
2. Toggle Turntable rotation to ON. The toggle turns blue.

You can set a custom fan speed that affects the machine’s behavior during heating, preheating, post-curing, and cooling stages. Lower fan speeds may increase the risk of part warping. For optimal cure performance, or when using Formlabs resins for biocompatible applications that require heat, Formlabs recommends using the default fan speed.

To set a custom fan speed:

1. Tap the gear icon on the home screen. The Settings screen appears.
2. Toggle Custom curing fan speed to ON. The toggle turns blue.
3. Tap the right arrow next to Custom curing fan speed. The Custom curing fan speed screen appears.
4. Select Low, Medium, or High fan speed. Note that the lowest achievable custom fan speed depends on the selected post-curing temperature.
5. Tap the left arrow to save your selection and return to the previous screen.

To use the default fan speed:

1. Tap the gear icon on the home screen. The Settings screen appears.
2. Toggle Custom curing fan speed to OFF. The toggle turns grey.

Once your parts are dry, or if you are using Drying mode to dry your parts:

1. Open the door.
2. Evenly distribute parts on the turntable to allow light and heat to reach all areas.
3. Gently close the door.

The Form Cure L has presets for each resin type that you can select through the touchscreen. When Formlabs releases new resins, new resin formulations, or new layer thicknesses, update the firmware on your Form Cure L for the new presets.

For Formlabs materials not listed on the Form Cure L touchscreen, see our article on Form Cure L V2 time and temperature settings.

Using presets

To set the post-cure time and temperature based on resin type:

1. On the Form Cure L home screen, tap No preset selected (if you are using the machine for the first time) or the name of the most recently-used preset. A list of presets appears.
2. Scroll through the list of presets and tap to select the appropriate material profile on the touchscreen. If the resin has multiple versions or post-curing profiles, tap the desired version or profile.
3. Tap Start. The post-curing cycle begins.

Manually setting time and temperature

To manually set the post-cure time and temperature:

1. Select the desired post-cure time and temperature on the touchscreen.
2. Tap Start.

After you tap Start, the Form Cure L begins heating. Once the machine reaches the selected temperature, the LEDs activate, and the timer starts. To pause the post-curing cycle, use the touchscreen or open the door.

Depending on the size of your printed parts, their geometry, and the resin type, you may need to adjust the recommended post-curing time.

To adjust the post-cure settings:

1. Adjust the time or temperature on the touchscreen.
2. Tap Start.

Consider the specific geometry of each part when post-curing. The Form Cure L helps ensure even post-curing by rotating the part during the cycle and exposing the part to light from all directions, including underneath the turntable. Modify the post-cure process for parts that are large or long, have dense support structures, or have thick or thin features.

Dense supports

Some parts require denser or thicker support structures. These can block light from reaching some part surfaces during post-curing. Remove supports, only as needed, to ensure that light can easily reach all part surfaces. Leave supports in place whenever possible to prevent features from warping during post-curing.

Large or long parts

Most parts should be post-cured before removing support structures to preserve their shape and prevent warping. While some parts may fit on the turntable more easily without supports, long or tall prints may require special arrangements to stand on the turntable without support. Consider the part dimensions when designing the support structures or planning the post-cure steps.

Large or thick parts

Large or thick parts may require a longer post-cure time or higher temperatures because the part takes longer to heat. When post-curing thick geometries, warm the part before post-curing and allow extra time for the Form Cure L to preheat to the target temperature before starting the post-cure lights and timer.

Thin features

Warping during post-curing may occur if a part is especially thin, inadequately supported, or unevenly exposed to light. The Form Cure L helps prevent warping by rotating the part during the post-cure cycle and by exposing the part to light from all directions, including underneath the turntable. Use support settings or manual editing to design sufficient supports so that thin features do not warp during post-curing. In the case of a thin, flat, sheet-like object, placing the part directly on the turntable may offer the best support during post-curing.

When the post-curing cycle completes, the LEDs and heaters turn off. Open the door and remove parts.

• Visit the Finishing section on the Support site for more information on additional finishing and post-processing steps.
• Clean and maintain your Form Cure L as needed.