Library Staff Tech Guide

1.Lay the printer bed on the studs.

2. Screw the bolts into the printers beds studs.

3. Plug in the motor cables.

4. Plug in the printer beds Cable.

1. Flip the switch to the on postion.

1. Click in the knob to acess the menu .

2. Turn the knob to change filament and click in the knob once more.

3. Wait for the nozzle to heat up until you get this message.

4. put in the filament into the filament guide.

5. press the knob in and wait for it extrude. 

6. scroll to "end filament change" and click in the knob. 

Importing models 

1) Have the students load up their model onto a USB stick. 

2) Transfer the file onto the computer. 

Do not let them generate their own G-code for the printer. We need to check to see if the file is actually printable and set other settings. The only way to do it is to check for ourselves.

The file must be an STL file. The program can not use a G-code. It can print it but it will not follow our settings.

3) Open up Cura

Do not update Cura! Lulzbot specifically designed this version of Cura to work with their printers. Other versions will not print from the USB correctly or give it the correct G-code to print accurately.

4) Import the model. 

Click on the folder in the top left hand side of the screen.

Locate the file you want to print and click Open

5) Position your model.

On the left hand side of the screen, there are several icons on it allowing you to move and adjust your model. Try to get it centered and connecting with the build plate as much surface area as possible.

Moves the model. Red moves the X axis. Green moves the Y axis. Blue moves the Z axis.

• You can have many items on your printer and this can help move them all in optimal positions. 
• If you do have more than one item, try to keep them close together. The plastic in the layers cools more as it takes time to move the head of the printer all over the print bed. If the next layer of plastic is being put down is better on hotter plastic vs it being at room temperature.

Scales the model. X scales the X axis. Y scales the Y axis. Z scales the Z axis

If this is supposed to be an accurate print, do not use this function. It will not be as good as what the modeling software that was used to create this. Some details might get blown out of proportion and we cannot change these.

The recommended way of scaling is:

• Make sure the box that says uniform scaling. 
• Adjust the percentage of one of the axis (x,y,z) 
• Hit enter and the other axis will adjust automatically

Rotates the model

There are different attributes to the way a model’s rotation.

If you want a shorter print time make sure the print isn’t tall and is laying more flat on the surface

Depending on how this model is used you might want to rotate it based on the forces that will be applied to it. Remember it is just one layer sitting on top of another. It is easier for the item to break if the forces slide one layer off the other, but  harder if the forces are pressing down on both layers.

Printing settings

1) On the right hand side of the screen there is a menu with all the options. This is what is used to control all the print settings. Whenever you change a setting, all the models in the virtual space will be rebuilt. It might take a second in between changing settings.

2) First you need to select the material that you are going to be using in the printer. Go to Material and click on the option on the right for the drop down menu. Select the correct filament. For us it is most likely going to be PolyLite PLA Polymaker.

3) The profile needs to be selected. This sets all the default settings for speeds and other settings that the printer needs.

1. It is normally set to "Standard" which balances speed and quality. This is usually the best setting to use for most projects.

2. If you need High Detail select “High Detail - 0.15” It will take 2 to 3 times as long to print but is supposed to be a higher quality detail. With my testing I could not see a difference between high detail and normal, though I am use to using a more precise printer. 

3. If you don’t care about detail and can select “High Speed - 0.35”. It will cut the time by ¾ to  ½ depending on what you are printing.

   1. You will need to check back in more frequently. Sometimes the filament will sometimes not layer properly because it needs time to cool and going faster will not give it time to do so.

   2. When you use High Speed, you will need to finish the product using sand paper or a file in the end to get it smooth. This profile will leave alot of stringing and imperfections.

4) Shell

Wall thickness and Wall Line Count

1. Wall thickness and Wall Line count are the same thing. If you change one, you need to change both. Each wall line is the equivalent to one pass with the extruder. The extruder’s nozzle is 0.5 mm.

2. Fast prints have a minimum of 1 mm or and Wall Line Count of 2

3. Prints that will be in more structurally sound need 2mm and a Wall Line Count 4 

5) Infill

1. Infill is how much the inside of an object is filled with plastic. 

2. Infill Density

3. Use 15-20% on regular models. This is used to save plastic.

4. If the person intends to screw something into the object it needs to be at at least 50%. 

5. “The strength of a design is directly related to infill percentage. A part with 50% infill compared to 25% is typically 25% stronger while a shift from 50% to 75% increases part strength by around 10%.“ (https://www.3dhubs.com/knowledge-base/selecting-optimal-shell-and-infill-parameters-fdm-3d-printing/)

6. Infill Pattern

   1. Use Line for faster prints

   2. Use Grid for average prints

   3. Use Cubic, cubic subdivision, octet, quarter cubic, or gyroid for prints that will be subjected to pressure.

      1. Not sure which one is the best yet. Further tests will be needed to confirm which of these is the best.

      2. Remember these patterns will make the print time longer

7. Leave the rest of the information the way it is.

6)Material

1. The temperatures in the settings need to be adjusted. Scroll down on the right until it reaches the Material settings, and change some numbers

2. Default Printing Temperature: 230 C

3. Printing Temperature:  230 C

4. Printing Temperature Initial Layer: 215 C

   1. Note : Remember this is the first layer on the print bed. 

   2. The temperature should be lower than what you set the Default Printing Temperature if the item is small. The plastic will not cool fast enough due to the hot bed causing the first layer to compress more and not be as tall as the other layers when the next layer is added, if it is the same as the Default Printing Temperature.

   3. The temperature should be the same or higher than what you set the Default Printing Temperature if the item is large. It will stick more to the heating plate and because of the printed object’s larger size, it will take more time before the printer head comes back around for the second layer.

5. Final Printing Temperature: 230 C

   1. Note: If you want a smoother finished surface, you can try to get this temperature higher because the plastic will melt more, but if there are gaps, there will be stringing.

6. Build Plate temperature: 55 C

   1. The reason the build plate is heated is because it helps the plastic stick to it.

   2. For right now 55 C is holding the material to the build plate sufficiently. You can adjust this if you choose a different material

7. Part Removal Temperature: 35 C

   1. This temperature is set for when the machine will tell the user when to remove 

   2. If  there is an issue and you need to remove the print before this, just shut off the power. This is not recommended though and the user will have problems getting the printed item off easily and could damage the build plate.

8. Keep Heating should be checked.

   1. This will keep the bed hot even after the print. You want the heat so the object comes off without destroying the heated plate bed.

9. Build Plate Temperature Initial Layer: 55 C

   1. Sometimes it is better to have a hotter bed plate for certain materials. This does not matter when dealing with PLA. Keep it at the same temperature as the Build Plate temperature.

7) Cooling

1. Always check the cooling tab. It is necessary to 3d printing. These options make sure to keep the heating chamber, nozzle, and filament are within the right temperature to adhere to the plastic layer below it but not hot enough to just turn into a puddle and spread out once it is extruded.

2. Make sure these settings are correct

   1. Enable Print Cooling should be checked

   2. Fan Speed: 100%

   3. Regular Fan Speed 100%

   4. Maximum Fan Speed 100%

8) Build Plate Adhesion
This is used to help the object attach themselves to the build plate.

1. Skirt

   1. If you are not doing anything to support the object, always do skirt instead of nothing. This will leave a single ring around the object. This is used to prime the nozzle. 

   2. This allows for the object to not have any blemishes on the bottom layer either from something being caught on the tip of the nozzle, over extrusion at the start of it, or under extrusion.  

   3. This will most likely help with the under extrusion of most prints, as the 0.5mm hole is alot bigger than most and makes plastic drip out more when heated.

2. Brim

   1. This type of build plate adhesion adds many rings around the object. This helps with objects that have a smaller footprint on the build plate, sticking to the build plate. 

   2. It also uses less filament than a Raft and there is less clean up involved than using a Raft. 

3. Raft

   1. This type of build plate adhesion adds a flat solid piece of filament below the object. It is usually as big as the object. This is used when the object is an irregular shape and doesn’t have a lot of contact with the build plate and has a large mass.

   2. It uses a lot of filament so this way is not prefered. 

   3. Try and use the rotate options to make it so the object makes more of a connection with the build plate. If there is still not enough then the best bet is to use the raft.

4. None

   1. Never use none. Use the skirt option instead.

   2.  Use all the default settings on skirt, brim, and raft. These settings have been tested and deemed acceptable. 

9) Support

Support is extra printed material that is removed later after the print is done. It is there to help with smoothing out ledges and overhangs that can not print without something being underneath it. 

1. Generate support 

   1. Until you click on this none of the other options will show up. 

   2. Our printer can handle up to 45 degree angles without any deformations. If you have anything larger you will need support. If you have an object with an overhand that is greater than 45 degrees click the generate support box

2. Support Placement  
   

   1. Everywhere

      1. Cura generates supports everywhere on the model and from the model onto the build plate

   2. Touching Build Plate

      1. Cura generates supports only from the model onto the build plate

3. Support Overhang Angle

   1.  Support Overhang Angle should be set to 60

4. Support Pattern

   1. The support pattern should be set to Zig Zag. This is the easiest type of support to take off and the fastest. 

5. Connect Support ZigZags

   1. Connect Support ZigZags box should be checked. This will connect all the supports and make it easier when the supports are taken off of the model. 

6. Leave the rest of the settings as they are.

Printing from the Computer

1. Once all the models are loaded and the settings on the computer have been corrected and verified, click on the words “Monitor” on the top left hand side of the screen. The object in the print screen should darken and a bunch of new things should appear on the right hand side.
   

2. Make sure the USB cord is attached to the back of the computer and away from any of the moving parts of the printer. 

3. Remember to wipe the area you are going to be printing on with glue stick to help adhesion.

4. Hit the “Start Print” button on the bottom right hand side of the screen. This will connect the computer to the printer.

5. You will start getting feedback from the printer. In the top right hands side of it you will see 4 numbers. The grayed out parts is what the printer is set to and the black number is what the temperature actually is.The top pair of numbers is for the Hot End and the bottom pair is for the Build Plate.
   

6. Below the numbers is a graph showing temperature over time of both the Hot End and the Build Plate. This will help in diagnosing problems more easily and show quickly if you have any problems with your printer.

7. On the bottom right of the screen it will show you a percentage and how much longer the print will take.