Digital technologies/3D printing/3D printing- Intermediate

This page will focus on intermediate 3D printing skills. You should be familiar with 3D Printing- Beginner before continuing.

Types of printers

Printers

Each brand of printer will have a different slicer and way of starting the prints which is explained in the following sections.

Slicers

MakerBot Replicator = MakerBot Desktop (this software is no longer being updated but you will need it to use the MakerBot 2 since it's a discontinued printer)

1. Open MakerBot desktop
2. Click add a file
3. Select the right printer. We Replicator 2 printers. To do this click on “device” on the top menu. Then “select type of device” which can either be one of the two previously mentioned printers.
4. Send your file to the device. There are two ways of doing this, either using an SD card or a usb cable.
   1. SD Card: Click “Export Print File” Replicators only work with 2GB SD cards (or smaller), if you try to use anything bigger you will get an “SD card read error”.
   2. USB Cable: Connect your printer to your computer using a usb cause. You should see the printer at the bottom of the MakerBot Desktop screen. Click Print. Once you have clicked print, you unfortunately cannot unplug the computer.

Dremel = Dremel Idea Builder

1. Load your .stl file by clicking the load button on the menu on the left hand side. You can modify your object (scale, move, or rotate) using the buttons on the left hand side
2. Click build.
3. Select your settings and your method of printing. Either using an SD card or a USB cable.
   1. SD card: You are saving the machine to an SD card and moving the SD card to the printer
   2. USB cable: You are using a USB wire to transfer the fire to the printer. What is nice with the Dremels is the file is downloaded to the machine. Therefore you can unplug the wire when the file has transferred.

Start the print

Starting your print is very simple. Simply save your file to an SD card or connect your computer to the printer and click print or build.

Dremel

If you are using a USB cord, the print with start automatically when you hit build in on your computer. Follow the following step if you are using the SD card.

1. Place your SD card in the SD card slot in the 3D printing. This is found on the right hand side near the front of the printer.
2. If the 3D printer is not already on, turn on the printer using the on/off switch located at the right hand side near the back of the printer.
3. Using the front screen, press build ->The picture of an SD card ->select your file -> Build.

Custom Slicer Settings as an Intermediate User

This section is under construction. If you want more information on the print settings available in Cura, check out the Cura documentation on Ultimaker's website.

This section covers how to modify parameters as well as which parameters are tunable and why they may be important.

Tunable Parameters

The following parameters can be tuned using the previously stated method.

Print Speed

The ways in which the print speed will affect the final print are not always obvious. If the print speed is too high, the printer might not be able to dispense enough material through its nozzle per unit of time to fill the desired volume with the required amount of material. This can lead to bad adhesion between layers or even a complete lack of adhesion to layers. The ratio of layer height to layer speed (i.e.: material outflow through the nozzle) should therefore always be considered when FDM printing (the exact subject though being more of an intermediate subject). When making parts that will bear loads, print speeds are increasingly important as layer adhesion becomes an important factor in the strength of the final part, so much so that parts may be annealed (uniformly re-heated through a controlled process) to obtain better properties across layers.

Bed Levelling, Filament Change

Bed Levelling

If the printer is not printing properly (especially if the issue is noticeable on the very first layers of the print, where a difference in the ), the build plate level may need to be adjusted. For minor adjustments, this can be done by using the three knobs (thumb screws) on the underside of the plate. For more major adjustments (>1mm), the build plate should be leveled through the printer’s onboard software by going to Maintenance→Build Plate, and following the onscreen instructions. If unsure, always use the latter method.

Filament Change

To change the filament on an Ultimaker 2+ printer, go to Material→Change in the printer’s user interface and follow the onscreen instructions. If ever the filament has almost run out, or if you desire to change the colour of a print midway, you may navigate to Pause→Change Material and following the onscreen instructions. If changing mid way, it is recommended that the older filament be completely purged from the nozzle using the new filament. Otherwise, the result will not be good.