LCD not working consistenly

[mboehler]

Hello everyone,

I'm a techie, but I'm new to 3D printers.  I purchased an Elegoo Mars 2 Pro through Amazon and received it last weekend.  I printed the Rook with no trouble, then played around with Fusion 360 to design and print a few gears.  That all went well, and I was very happy with this awesome little printer.

I started looking around online for other cool things to print, and I found some .stl's for printing a vial of "T-virus" (from Resident Evil).  I printed the caps in gray, and then cleaned out the resin tray and put clear (translucent) resin in the tank.  The body of the vial printed perfectly as well.

Next, I tried printing the vial again, but smaller.  I used chitubox to reduce it to 60%, sliced it, saved it to the computer, and copied it to the USB drive.  It didn't print though.  It acted like it was printing, but there was no print at the end.

After doing some testing, I found that the LCD is inconsistently working.  I tried an exposure test, and the LCD remained solid.  I tried a tank clean, and the LCD remained solid.  

I powered off the printer and powered it back on, and I found that the exposure test worked fine, as did the tank clean.  So I filled the tray with resin, added the plate, inserted the usb, and tried to print again.  Again it went through the motions, but nothing printed.

I tried turning it off and back on and starting again.  Nothing.

I removed the plate and the resin tray and told it to print.  The LCD remained solid.  No UV light came through.

I powered it back off, waited, and turned it back on.  I did the fake print again, and it appeared to be working.  I could see the images created in the LCD screen as expected.

I put the tray and plate back on and tried a real print.  Nothing.

What is going on?  The LCD works sometimes.  Is this a physical problem with the LCD?  Is it a problem with the software?

I've tried slicing different stl's and printing the resulting ctb's, but it still goes through the motions without printing.

Suggestions?  Thanks!

[mzanetti]

Well, you could try a firmware update I suppose but I guess I'd contact Elegoo support at this stage...

[Meade_Sam]

I'm seeing a similar issue.
I bought a Mars Pro 2 threw Amazon the start of last month and it worked fin till the resin tank got a pin prick letting resin leak out over the bed during the print. I ordered a replacement screen from Amazon and did the install this afternoon. Everything looks good so I close up the case and turn the power on, no problems so far.
I re-level the bed and check the LCD print screen, no problems I can see. I start a test print.
And nothing prints.
I remove the tank and pour the resin back in the bottle. Next test the screen and its not displaying the Elegoo logo.
I unplug the printer, reopen the case and double check the connections. Everything seems to be working. I re-close the case and plug the unit. I go under the screen test. This time I see it flicker rather then nothing or the logo...
I turn every thing off again, open the case and check those connections. This time I plug the unit in before closing the case and run the test. The Elegoo logo shows up this time, so I start closing the case up and plug in the USB stick. Just to be safe I run the screen check again. Nothing....
I remove the USB open the case and check the connections again, Powers on and I'm testing the screen with every move I make. I test each connections and get the logo each time. I close the case checking to make sure the print screen is working as I secure each of the four screws, as I plug in the USB stick, As I secure the build plate, as I place the resin tank. Each time I check to make sure that every thing is working before I add the resin and select the test print..... Two hours later there is no print on the plate, There are no resin chunks in the tank.
I opt to see if there is any thing listed here rather then beat my head against the wall.....

And before any one ask.
Yes, I did update the firmware two weeks ago when Chitu Box was updated. I had no issues after updating the firmware.
I didn't have any issues before that pin prick leaking all over the old print screen. I opted to change the screen because it disturbed the gasket and left a resin impression on the old screen.
And I did not change any settings for exposure times.
The only other changes/modifications I have made where to use a new resin tank bought from the Elegoo store on Amazon (Link #1 below). And a Mach5ive screen protector that was listed as an option to replace the gasket (Link #2 below). Something that applied to me rather then replacing the screen again if I get another pin prick/leak.


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08345...UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B096L4...UTF8&psc=1

[mboehler]

It's working properly again now, but I don't know why.  I did not take anything apart or otherwise make any changes or adjustments to the  machine.  I did read somewhere else that someone found that when using plastic resin vats instead of the metal one, it worked for him.  I purchased 2 plastic resin vats and it started working.  Strange.  The even stranger thing is that when I use the metal vat, it continues to work.