Not sticking to the plate versus separating mid-print: if the base detaches or the plate comes up empty, use the build-plate adhesion guide. This guide covers resin print layer separation inside a part that started successfully and then split between cured layers.
A mid-print split means a layer bond could not withstand the forces on it. Check normal-layer exposure and resin condition alongside the geometry at the failed height, the release motion, and interruptions. Photograph the split and note its height before changing the profile; that makes the failed layer easier to find in the slicer preview.
Read the failure first
Formlabs defines delamination as cured layers separating from one another, with two signs: peeling between layers, and pieces of cured resin floating in the tank. Floating debris alone does not identify the cause. Inspect the part for an actual split between layers; an intact model detached from its support tips is a different failure.
Check whether the split was present as the print finished. If the part was intact and cracked only after washing or curing, start with the wash-and-cure workflow instead of changing the printing exposure.
Cause 1: the layer did not cure deep enough to bond
Each exposure must cure enough material to bond the new layer to the one below. A 2024 interlaboratory study found substantial variation in measured penetration depth and critical exposure across participating laboratories. That is a reason to calibrate your own resin and printer combination, rather than treating a generic exposure number as a material constant.
Anycubic’s parameter description puts normal exposure for its resins on a monochrome Photon at roughly 2 to 3 s at the default 0.05 mm layer, lists model breakage and visible layer lines as the symptoms of too little, and notes that thicker layers and dark pigment both need more. Its support guide allows +0.5 to 1 s per trial. The stepped test is in how to calibrate resin exposure time.
Cause 2: cold resin
Check the resin’s recommended printing temperature, rather than using a storage range as a printing specification. For example, Siraya Tech’s Fast guide recommends above 20 C. Stabilise the resin at its documented working temperature before calibrating normal exposure. Record the temperature with the profile so a split in cooler conditions can be compared with the conditions that produced a successful print.
Cause 3: peel force exceeds bond strength
Anycubic describes excessive lift speed as producing tensile force between layers and between model and film. Check the release stage in your printer’s own profile. Elegoo’s Saturn lift explanation distinguishes slow initial separation from faster travel afterwards. A single constant-speed setting is not equivalent to a staged lift, and those settings should not be copied to a tilt-release machine.
Geometry multiplies the same force. Formlabs lists a large change in surface area between consecutive layers, because the big layer resists the peel while the small one under it does not, and suction cups. Reorient, add drain holes low on the model, or on Form 4 enable Cup Mitigation.
Cause 4: resin has not settled before the exposure
Anycubic’s off time, the pause between the plate stopping and the light coming on, is recommended at 1 to 3 s and lengthened for viscous resin, low temperature or a large layer. Phrozen’s profile reference adds that a fast retract causes instability, so slow the retract rather than cutting the pause.
Cause 5: unsupported sections within the model
Inspect the sliced model at the failed height for a free-hanging section or a sudden expansion into a larger layer. Formlabs recommends supporting those sections and changing orientation to reduce abrupt area changes. The resin support placement guide explains islands and support contacts. Keep the diagnosis focused on the geometry around the split; changing an already attached base does not address an unsupported feature farther up the model.
Cause 6: hardware, contamination and pauses
Prusa’s delamination article names a broken model or sliced file, a faulty UV LED panel, and dirt in the tank; its checks are a known-good pre-sliced sample, a tank clean, and the Display test. Formlabs adds a loose build platform, a worn tank film and contaminated optics. A flake of cured debris under the part blocks light on the pixels above it: a local under-exposure on one layer. Formlabs also lists prints paused for an hour or longer.
Settings to change first
Use the exact printer and resin profile as the baseline. These checks address normal layers inside the part:
| Setting | Baseline | First change on a split |
|---|---|---|
| Normal exposure | Vendor profile for this resin and layer height | Run a stepped exposure test |
| Layer thickness | Height used when the profile was calibrated | Recalibrate if it changed |
| Release motion | Printer-specific lift or tilt profile | Check the initial separation stage |
| Rest time | Slicer’s documented timing mode | Check that resin can settle before exposure |
| Resin temperature | Resin maker’s printing range | Stabilise before comparing profiles |
Change one variable per print. Keep the resin, layer height and temperature consistent when comparing normal-exposure samples.
How to verify
- Print a stepped exposure test at the layer height and temperature you will use. Wash, dry, then pick the middle of the range that produces complete geometry.
- Inspect the slice preview at the old failure height for missing geometry, islands, closed cups and abrupt cross-section changes before reprinting.
- Inspect the repeat print at the same height. Look for peeling between layers as well as cured fragments in the tank; an empty tank alone does not prove that the part is sound.
- If the split persists, follow the printer’s documented tank, optical and display checks. Prusa recommends a known-good pre-sliced sample to help distinguish a file fault from a machine fault. Follow its UV-protection instructions during any display test.
Related across the network
- Resin Types Compared: Which Anycubic Resin to Print With — anycubicguide.com
- Photon File Validator: Check Files Before You Print — anycubicguide.com
