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Resin tank lifetime and monitoring (Form 3L/Form 3BL)

Resin tanks are consumables and require replacement. The lifetime of an individual resin tank depends on a combination of factors:

Time exposed to resin (i.e., the amount of time that a tank is holding resin, regardless of where the tank is stored)
Time spent printing
Resin
Model geometry
Temperature
Physical damage

We recommend that you replace a Form 3L/Form 3BL resin tank as soon as one of the following occurs:

Noticeable physical damage (can occur anytime, but expected by 600–800 hours of printing)
- Wear on the film begins to affect print quality
  - Repeatedly printing the same model in the same location on a tank can cause the tank film to wear more quickly.
- Punctures, cuts, wrinkles, or gouges in the film
Your tank reaches its maximum lifetime (shown in the table below)
- Some resin formulations degrade components of the resin tank over time. This will eventually cause the tank to leak resin. To prevent this from happening, replace your resin tank once you reach the maximum lifetime shown below even if your resin tank is otherwise physically undamaged. Your Form 3L/Form 3BL warns you when your tank is nearing this recommended lifetime.

Notice:

Replace your resin tank if it is physically damaged (expected by 600–800 hours of printing, for most applications) or if it reaches its maximum lifetime (given in the table below), whichever comes first. High volume production may shorten the maximum lifetime of a resin tank. Other print failures may occur at any time, unrelated to tank lifetime.

Resin group	Resin	Form 3L/3BL Resin Tank V1 Form 3L/3BL Resin Tank V2 Form 3L/3BL Resin Tank V3
Aggressive	Tough 2000 Resin Elastic 50A Resin V1 Rigid 4000 Resin Grey Pro Resin Rigid 10K Resin ESD Resin PU Rigid 650 Resin PU Rigid 1000 Resin	Compatible Maximum lifetime: 10 weeks (75 days) exposed to resin, or 250 hours of printing, whichever occurs first
Moderately aggressive	Draft Resin V2 Elastic 50A Resin V2 Flexible 80A Resin Model Resin V3 Dental LT Clear Resin V2 BioMed Black Resin BioMed Clear Resin BioMed White Resin Dental LT Comfort Resin BioMed Durable Resin BioMed Elastic 50A Resin BioMed Flex 80A Resin IBT Flex Resin Premium Teeth Resin	Compatible Maximum lifetime: 35 weeks (250 days) exposed to resin or 600 hours of printing, whichever occurs first
Not aggressive	All other resins	Compatible No maximum lifetime. Estimated lifetime for most applications: 600–800 hours of printing. Actual lifetime will depend on the accumulation of physical damage to the tank films.

Resin tank lifetime monitoring

Form 3L/Form 3BL printers have software features to monitor how close a resin tank is to the end of its maximum lifetime. When a resin tank reaches certain levels of remaining lifetime, the printer will display a warning message when starting a print.

Color	Remaining lifetime	Printer behavior
Green	100%–25%	Printer will not display any warning
Yellow	25%	Printer will display a warning when you start a print: Tank is nearing the end of its recommended lifetime and could begin leaking in the next few prints.
Red	0%	Printer will display a warning when you start a print: Tank has reached the end of its recommended lifetime and is likely to begin leaking, which will damage your printer. We recommend that you discard this tank immediately.

Checking remaining lifetime

To check the remaining lifetime of a resin tank:

Tap the printer icon on the printer’s touchscreen. The printer’s current status appears.
Tap the section of the touchscreen labeled with the tank type to go to the Tank Details screen.
The Tank Details screen will report the remaining lifetime of your resin tank.

Resin tanks with incorrect lifetime

Resin tank lifetime calculations are based on when a tank was first used. In some rare cases, the printer may report that an unused tank was first used in 1970 and has already reached the end of its lifetime. To resolve this issue:

Update your printer to the latest firmware. Form 3 firmware version 1.18.3 and Form 3L firmware version 1.9.9, both released March 16, 2022, contain updates intended to address this issue.
Run a print using the affected tank. This should reset its tank lifetime based on its actual first usage.

If the resin tank’s lifetime is still incorrect, prepare your printer for remote troubleshooting by enabling Remote Assistance and Dashboard Logging, then contact Formlabs Support or your authorized reseller.