Getting Started
Useful tips
Refer to the manual (in binder by the 3D printers) and google is your best friend
Mr. Norton is a lifesaver
You can clean up your 3D printed object with the carving tools that came with the printer. They should be in the tool box behind the teachers desk.
PLEASE KEEP BOTH THE COMPUTERS AND THE PRINTERS COVERED IF YOU AREN’T USING THEM. The sawdust from woodwork happening in the Maker Ed class can damage the printer and computer.
The computer for the left printer can be a bit funky. Sometimes it won’t turn on and the only way to get it working is to do a full reboot.
Design Basics
The main software we’ll be using is tinkercad (a free online website). The tutorial on the website should provide the basics of designing a 3D printed object, but here are some things to keep in mind when designing.
Don’t make things too detailed/small. Our 3D printers aren’t super high-end so they’re limited in their ability to print out very fine details
Always select the ‘full supports’ option when 3D printing. This is one of the options you can select when you’re generating the gCode.
You may need to print things in 2 separate parts and then attach them afterwards to fix this issue.
3. Save your files as STL files otherwise ReplicatorG won’t recognize them
Step by Step Guide to Printing
Once you’ve downloaded your STL file onto your desktop, open ReplicatorG and make sure it’s connected to the printer. If it isn’t connected to the printer, click the ‘connect to printer option’ at the top of the software program and wait a minute or two. It should be connected to serial port COM4 (you can check this if you select ‘machine’ and ‘connection serial port’ from the drop down menu)
If the printer is connected and turned on (the button is in the back of the printer), import the STL file by going to file open (select the file). The next step is to select ‘move’ from the list of options on the right bottom corner and then click ‘center’ and ‘put on platform’
You can scale the object by selecting the scale button, but be careful of making it too big (some objects can take hours to print).
The next step is to select ‘generate Gcode’. You will see a few warnings, just ignore them and press ok. To pick the color of your objects, you have select ‘left or right extruder’. Each extruder will be a different color, so just select the one you want (i.e. right extruder is red and left is white on one of the printers unless we’ve changed them recently). Make sure that you select ‘full supports’ under the supports option. If you don’t do this, your object may not print properly. These supports are extra material to support the object when its being printed. Once it’s done printing you can remove the supports using your hands or the carving tools by the printer.
Once the Gcode is generated click on the build button at the top of the screen. The printer will then heat up for about 10 minutes and start printing. Make sure you’re there are the start of the printing process to see how the first few minutes go. Sometimes it can be a bit sloppy at first and then rights itself, but other times you have to stop the printer to avoid the extruders getting clogged.
Once you’re done printing, you have to unstick the plastic from the plate. Use the metal spatula (or if its very sticky, one of the carving tools). Make sure to turn off the printer when you’re finished and that there isn’t any plastic stuck to the plate (unless it’s absolutely impossible to get off without tearing the blue plastic sheet over the plate).
Common Problems
‘Won’t generate GCode’
Some files are just too large to be printed or have design aspects that make it impossible for our printers to read. When this happens, there isn’t really anything we can do (that we’ve worked out at least), except for edit the design.
However, there are often cases where ReplicatorG doesn’t work properly and this error comes up. Try opening and closing ReplicatorG and most of the time this fixes things.
Printing unevenly
This is most likely caused by an unleveled plate - go to maintenance section for more details.
Printed object stuck to plate
The best way to prevent this from happening is to be at the printers when they are finished printing. If you’re not in the makerspace, set a timer 3 minutes before the ‘estimated time finished’ and make sure you’re there exactly when it’s finished printing
If you aren’t and the object is stuck, use the carving tool with the flattest head to lift up the object and make sure the plate is heated. If you’re using a lot of force, you’ll probably have to relevel the plate afterwards. (Sidenote, the one time this happened to Lyna and me the only way we could get the object off the platform was Mr. Norton’s incredible elbow grease. We then had to replace the blue plastic sheet covering the platform).
Maintenance
Levelling the plate
The most common reason an object isn’t printing correctly is because the plate isn’t levelled properly.
Tips
You only need a small piece of paper (doesn’t have to be a whole sheet, I just use a 3 x 1 inch piece or so)
Make sure the extruder heads are clean before levelling the plate
To level the plate, click on the ‘print from sd’ option on the printer and then ‘plate levelling’.
Then follow the instructions on the printer. The way I like to level it is by twisting the knobs so that you can’t move the paper and then slowly releasing it so that it moved smoothly underneath.
Scraped plate or filament stuck to plate
Over time, the blue piece of plastic on the plate will get worn down. If the surface is too uneven, future objects won’t print properly. When this happens the plastic must be replaced. There should be spares in the cabinet below the printers, but if this isn’t the case then more might have to be purchased. The first step is to peel of the blue plastic from the plate. Start at the corners and work inwards. This will take a lot of elbow grease FYI and may take 5-10 minutes or so. Once you’ve removed the plastic, make sure the black plate below is clean and levelled. Then put the new blue plastic on top.
Unclogging the extruders
The extruders can sometimes get clogged with filament. If you notice less or no filament coming out of the extruder, you will have to cancel the print and manually unclog the printer.
Take the clear glass case off the top of the printer
Unload the filament by following selecting ‘utilities’ then ‘filament loading’ then ‘unload filament’ on the 3D printer. Follow the instructions the printer gives you for unloading.
Once unloaded, reload the filament by selecting ‘load’ on the printer.
The printer should heat up and push the filament through, unclogging it
Twisted Filament
Sometimes the filament gets wrapped around itself incorrectly (this happens on the spool in the back). When this occurs the only thing you can do is to unload the filament, cut off all the parts of the filament that have been kinked, rewrap it properly, and then reload the filament. Unfortunately, the filament that we bought for our printers weren’t the right kind so they fall off the back sometimes if you don’t put anything against them to hold them up.
Replacing the Filament
The same steps to replace the filament are similar to the steps for unclogging the extruders. Go through the process of unloading the filament (if there is any left). Then put on a new spool of filament and thread it through to the extruder and follow the steps for loading filament. FYI the filament thread has to loop under and not over when threading it into the extruder.