Can somebody explain this failure?

[SkipGear]

This seems to be happening to me quite a bit. Usually on very small pieces but not exclusive to them.

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Why the completely random sliver of film extending out from the part?

I'm thinking the part is refracting light and causing the strip to cure but looking at the piece, this is right in the middle of the chair back, everything above and below the strip is the same but didn't cause the issue.

[Chris333]

Do you run all sliced files through the file validator before printing?

I think the slicers just suck, both of them, the Photon slicer and the ChiTuBox slicer. I always get random loose pixels and strange triangle shaped plots that are for only one or two layers. And they are almost always at the bottom of the screen when viewing in the validator. Sometimes the slicer will flip flop 2 layers. Like layer 30 is really layer 300, but layer 31 is fine.

Trust me it takes longer to edit the pixels than it does to add the supports.

When you run the file through the validator it will show the bad layers in red. These are just loose pixels that sometimes only need one other pixel to connect them. But toggle up and down the whole file and looks for other strange stuff that won't show up as a red layer.

https://github.com/Photonsters/PhotonFileValidator/releases

[Ed Kapuscinski]

If it's any consolation, this happens in other software too.

I was just working on this for @chicken45 yesterday. Here's the file in Adobe Illustrator.

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And then when exported from Illustrator.

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Same image. Stupid software.

[SkipGear]

I tried the validator program. Will not load my files from Photon Slicer.

I have not been able to get Chitubox to work either, My printer will not read the  ".photons" file from chitubox, only .pws that the Photon slicer produces.

I have gone through the layers on the Photon slicer preview and there are no islands or errant slices.

I think this comes from too small of a detail and i creates a prism which refracts the light and causes the beams from either side. The only issue is there is nothing unique about the layer that it is happening on. It is exactly the same as the one below and above.

[Chris333]

ChiTuBox lets me save in 7 different formats, one of them is "Photon Slicer". The Photon Slicer that comes with the printer is just a dumbed down version of ChiTuBox.

If you want to send me the sliced .photon file that did what you showed I can look at it.

Have no idea what the validator won't open files.

[SkipGear]

I did some research, the new Photon's will not open .photon or .photons files. They changed the format to .pws which I guess is a more universal file format. There is a firmware downgrade that allows you to open .photon files but I don't want to go backwards. I need to try Chitubox with a different file output, just haven't figured out how to do that yet.

[SkipGear]

Somewhat of an Update...

I can build the supports in Chitubox, save the file as a photon file and then reload it with the Photon Slicer, then save that file in PWS format. This is a work around, just not pretty until Chitubox decides to add PWS file output to their software.

[CNR5529]

If you update the firmware, your photon (if photon s or new version motherboard photon) will be able to read all three file types: .photon, .photons and .pws. It will also unlock a few other interesting features you may find useful, such as the 8 zone resin exposure test, the easy cleanup full screen exposure, and anti aliasing for finer detail.

Also, some print failures are caused by faulty USB sticks, there have been a number of reports of the one they provide acting up. Ditch it and try a different stick. Sometimes even reputable brands can act up, I had two different sticks from the same manufacturer, one worked well, the other would cause failures.

[DKS]

If it's any consolation, this happens in other software too.

[joepri]

My new Photon only works with .pws files.  In have found a couple of different ways to solve this problem.  1. is to download the updated slicer from ANYCubic, it is a significant improvement to the one that comes with the printer. I still like chitubox better. The workaround for it is to do everything in Chitubox except run the slicer and export it as a .STL file.  Then import that file into the Photon slicer and slice the file and it will save it as a .pws file.  It is a little bit of extra work but I have had good results doing this.

Joe

[SkipGear]

If you update the firmware, your photon (if photon s or new version motherboard photon) will be able to read all three file types: .photon, .photons and .pws. It will also unlock a few other interesting features you may find useful, such as the 8 zone resin exposure test, the easy cleanup full screen exposure, and anti aliasing for finer detail.

Also, some print failures are caused by faulty USB sticks, there have been a number of reports of the one they provide acting up. Ditch it and try a different stick. Sometimes even reputable brands can act up, I had two different sticks from the same manufacturer, one worked well, the other would cause failures.

Thanks for the USB stick tip. Not one I would have thought of.

I already updated the firmware and have all the features you mentioned, except the ability to read .photon files. I will check again for another update.

[SkipGear]

My new Photon only works with .pws files.  In have found a couple of different ways to solve this problem.  1. is to download the updated slicer from ANYCubic, it is a significant improvement to the one that comes with the printer. I still like chitubox better. The workaround for it is to do everything in Chitubox except run the slicer and export it as a .STL file.  Then import that file into the Photon slicer and slice the file and it will save it as a .pws file.  It is a little bit of extra work but I have had good results doing this.

Joe

That has been my work around but I have gotten comfortable enough with the anycubic slicer, I'm not worried about Chitubox any more. Neither one auto support to my liking and I seem to have better control of the supports with the photon slicer when I am doing them by hand. The only thing I don't like about the photon slicer is it's want to snap to an edge or a corner when I want the support in the middle of a plane.

[SkipGear]

I am having some success. I think another part of my problem is pushing the limits on how small I can print.

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[Chris333]

I have never used auto support.

Didn't know I needed to update the machine to get anti aliasing. I updated the validator and that added anti aliasing to the file, but I guess it didn't work without new stuff in the machine.

I'm already behind the times