WHITE PAPER

Cleaning the Fuse 1's upper laser window

The laser beam in Fuse 1 generation printers aims down through the ceiling of the print enclosure to sinter the nylon powder as it is spread over the build chamber print bed. If this powder or other contamination reaches the area above the optical cassette, then the upper laser window can become obstructed and require cleaning. Formlabs recommends cleaning the upper laser window after completing 1,000 hours of printing.

Caution:

Do not use compressed air or an air gun to clean the print enclosure, build chamber, or any other component. Mobilizing loose powder increases the risk of unintentional inhalation or ingestion.

The upper laser window is contaminated and smudged

Using your telescoping mirror, look for a dirty upper laser window like the one pictured above.

Required supplies

Estimated time: 15 minutes

To remove contamination:

Nitrile gloves
Polyester cloth swab
Telescoping mirror
Ethanol

Removing the optical cassette

To gain access to the upper laser window, open the cassette tray and remove the optical cassette.

Step 1: Put on gloves

Put on a new, clean pair of nitrile gloves. Powder, skin oils, and other contaminants may smudge the glass.

Step 2: Turn on print enclosure light

On the touchscreen, tap the wrench icon. The Maintenance screen appears. Tap the light icon. The print enclosure light turns on.

Step 3: Open the print enclosure door

On the touchscreen, drag the Unlock Door slider. The print enclosure door unlocks. Open the print enclosure door.

Someone is reaching out to grip and open the print enclosure door

Step 4: Open the cassette tray

On the ceiling of the print enclosure, loosen the thumb screw in the front-center of the printer cavity. The cassette tray swings down.

The thumb screw at the top of the print enclosure is circled in red

The cassette tray is open to reveal the optical cassette inside

Step 5: Remove the optical cassette

Slide the optical cassette out of the cassette tray.

Someone is holding an optical cassette up to the light

Step 6: Set optical cassette aside

Set the optical cassette aside on a clean, flat surface with the gasket facing upward. Ensure that nothing is directly touching either glass window of the optical cassette.

An optical cassette is resting on a clean wood surface

Step 7: Close the cassette tray

Return the cassette tray to its closed position without an optical cassette. This provides easier access to the upper laser window. Tighten the thumb screw to lock the cassette tray in place.

Cleaning the upper laser window

After the optical cassette is removed, wet a polyester cloth swab with ethanol and use the telescoping mirror to guide your cleaning of the upper laser window.

Step 1: Locate the upper laser window

Using the provided telescoping mirror, visually locate the upper laser window. The upper laser window is located in the enclosure ceiling and corresponds to the larger window in the optical cassette.

Tip:

Remember the position of the upper laser window for later in the procedure.

The mirror wand is inserted into the print enclosure and an annotation zooms in on the reflected image of the upper laser window

Step 2: Wet a swab with ethanol

Wet a polyester cloth swab with a small amount of ethanol.

A swab is being pressed against the top of an ethanol dispenser.

Step 3: Place the swab against the upper laser window

Using the telescoping mirror to guide your hand, place the tip of the wet swab against the upper laser window.

A mirror wand is inserted into the print enclosure as someone brings a swab to the upper laser window

Step 4: Wipe the upper laser window

Pull the swab across the upper laser window in a single direction to clean the surface. Repeat this multiple times, making sure to cover the full width and length of the upper laser window while wiping in a single direction.

Tip:

Wiping in only a single direction throughout this process decreases streaking.

Step 5: Wait for ethanol to evaporate

Wait five minutes for the ethanol to evaporate before inspecting the upper laser window or reinstalling the optical cassette.

Step 6: Inspect the upper laser window

Using the telescoping mirror, visually verify that the upper laser window is clean and clear of obstruction. If there are streaks or debris on the upper laser window, repeat this cleaning cleaning procedure with a new polyester cloth swab.

Caution:

Streaks or debris can inhibit the functionality of the upper laser window and prevent it from performing properly.

Reinstalling the optical cassette

After the upper laser window is clean and streak free, reinstall the optical cassette to bring the Fuse 1 back online and ready to print.

Step 1: Open the cassette tray

Once confirming that the upper laser window is clean, loosen the thumb screw on the ceiling of the printer cavity. The cassette tray swings down.

Step 2: Reinstall the optical cassette

Place a clean optical cassette into the cassette tray.

An optical cassette rests in an open cassette tray

Step 3: Close the cassette tray

Return the cassette tray to its closed position and tighten the thumb screw.

A close-up view of the thumb screw on the cassette tray

Step 4: Close the print enclosure door

Close the print enclosure door. Press firmly to ensure that the door is fully latched. If necessary, squeeze the front of the door using the cutout on the right side of the printer for leverage.

Step 5: Turn off the print enclosure light

On the touchscreen, tap the wrench icon. The Maintenance screen appears. Tap the light icon. The print enclosure light turns off.