Page 1: Table Of Contents
Table of Contents Safety: PolyPrinter Operation Part Cleaning Computer Requirements Video Operating System System Specifications Parts of the PolyPrinter Main Components Front Switches Rear Panel: Camera (if equipped) Adjustments Z Height How to tell if it’s correct: Procedure: Adjustment:...
Page 2 How to tell if the head is being pressed too hard into the bed: Z Tilt Left-Right Rarely Needed Adjustments: Maintenance Clearing Plastic from the Nozzle Oiling the Rods Adjusting Extruder Current Re-taping the Bed Required Items: Procedure: Acetoning the Bed Nozzle problems Clogged Nozzle Worn-out Nozzle...
Page 3 Feeding Filament Into the Extruder Closing the Filament Detector Ensuring the Filament is Ready Printing Your First Part Getting parts off the bed Procedure Always clean the bed off completely Common Tasks Changing The Filament Troubleshooting Connection Problems Check the Port Problems and Solutions: Printing Stopped - no messages Head-Contacting-Bed Error...
Page 4: Safety
Misuse, abuse: ● Do not use the PolyPrinter as a bird cage, reptile habitat, pet dryer, cat-startler or anything else that could harm your pets. Using it to dry books, warm coffee, make cupcakes, and to dry insects is fine.
Page 5: Part Cleaning
Cats will also think the top of the PolyPrinter was designed to warm their feet and tummies. That’s OK. It has been specifically designed to take the occasional helpful feline’s weight, since, in fact, during development their presence and opinion was not optional.
Page 6: Cpu
design software, since it generally involves a need for rapid refreshing of the display. In addition, the software interface to the printer, Pronterface, updates a display of the printing process by default that takes up quite a bit of video performance, and can actually slow down printing and reduce print quality if on a computer with slow video, if not put into a mode (“Mini Mode”) where that drawing is suppressed.
Page 7: Parts Of The Polyprinter
● Power Cord Connection ● Power Switch ○ You do not need to turn the PolyPrinter off when it is not being used. Leaving it on takes very little power, and maintains the USB connection so that it is able to print on demand.
Page 8: Adjustments
Once you have it set correctly it usually stays the same for quite a while, until something changes. The PolyPrinter ships out only after it has been adjusted properly and has successfully printed a number of objects. However, it may have had a rough trip to your door, and may need a bit of a tune-up before you can print successfully.
Page 9: Procedure
Procedure: It is important to have the X Carriage all the way toward the left (the home position) when setting the Z adjustment, because there it is more independent of the Z Tilt (see next section). 1. Make sure the head has no plastic attached to the bottom face of the nozzle (use the Brass Brush included in the Tool Kit).
Page 10: Adjustment
2. Once you get it to where it seems close to correct, check the Z Tilt (below). Z Tilt Left-Right Your PolyPrinter should not require much attention to the left-right height adjustment. But if you think it has drifted off, or the whole X carriage assembly has been lifted off and the nuts disturbed, perform the checking procedure above, up to the point of “Adjustment:”.
Page 11 perform, so if there is no gap at all, create a very small one now, by pressing the “+Z .1” button in the top half of the vertical set of buttons to the right of the main circular controls in Pronterface. Press it one or more times, enough to get a small visible gap between the nozzle and the bed.
Page 12 It is normal for the belts to get slightly less tension after an initial number of hours of printing. You may need to adjust them once, perhaps twice, in the first months of operation. If you need to tension them repeatedly, please contact us at s upport@PolyPrinter.com Maintenance Clearing Plastic from the Nozzle Sometimes odds-and-ends of plastic will accumulate on and around the nozzle.
Page 13 Procedure: ● Raise the extruder at least 100 mm by using Pronterface (click on +Z 10 in Pronterface ten times). ● Make sure the bed heat is cool and the extruder heat is off - you could get burned if the bed or the head is hot.
Page 14 The tape also becomes less sticky when it gets scratched up due to many parts having been printed and lifted from it. Usually the end result is that the tape is worn out before acetoning it would be useful, so it is relatively rare to need to do this.
Page 15 more. Usually this is not a problem. But if you can see some plastic oozing out when you apply manual pressure to the filament, or if you try extruding (when it clunks) and that plastic is markedly darker in color than it started out, it may have hardened up. If any will flow at all, you can, with sufficient patience, usually force the hardened plastic slowly out until fresh plastic replaces it.
Page 16 of flatness, where for example it’s twice as thick in one direction as the other, then the nozzle is probably clogged and will have to be cleaned or replaced.) The standard nozzle diameter of .35 mm seems to produce about .40 mm measured diameter for this test.
Page 17 wrench in such a way as to get it on the hot end without raising the sock at all, by keeping the wrench at an angle, pointing the open end upward at an angle. At this point, you just need to make sure that you’ll be able to get the wrench on there during some later steps.
Page 18 ● You should now be ready to actually remove the nozzle. It’s going to be hot, so again, make sure the paper towel is in place on the print bed, because if the nozzle drops the paper towel will prevent it from melting the tape where it lands. ●...
Page 19 Z Height adjustment. Software Installation Download the latest installation package from polyprinter.com or insert the DVD that came with the printer. Be sure to choose the correct 32- or 64-bit package. (If in doubt, try the 64-bit version, and it will warn you if it’s not the right one.) Follow the steps prompted by the software and be sure to run the serial port driver installation that should start up as the last step.
Page 20 different parts. Power Saver Settings It is very important that the computer not go “to sleep” during printing, while Pronterface is sending commands to the printer. If that happens, often the USB connection will be dropped, and the print in progress will fail, and be unable to be continued. You can set up a custom power setting for printing, if you wish.
Page 21 Finding Parts The installation will have created a small samples folder under the main install folder (e.g. C:\Program FIles\PolyPrinter\Samples). 1. Get the STL file into a folder accessible (local HD, USB stick, LAN drive) to the local machine. ● Download from ...
Page 22 The software installation actually installs two popular programs for slicing – Kisslicer and Slic3r. These programs create GCODE from STL files. · We at Polyprinter much prefer the use of Kisslicer over Slic3r. But either can be used for slicing the file for a Polyprinter print. ·...
Page 23 ● Open the file in Pronterface. Make sure you open the *.GCODE and not the *.STL file. ● Print the file. If instead you accidentally open the STL in Pronterface (instead of a GCODE file produced by Kisslicer) then you will probably not get what you expect. For most things, use: Style Tab: Style: ...
Page 24 Steps Get the STL file into a folder accessible (local HD, USB stick, LAN drive) to the local machine. The free version of Kisslicer will not allow loading more than one STL at a time, so to load a new STL you must press the “X”...
Page 25 “Slic3r” program that is included in the PolyPrinter install package (yellow icon). NOTE: Slic3r is not set up to actually slice models and create correct gcode for the PolyPrinter by default. We are waiting for a reliable version before recommending that it be used for creating gcode.
Page 26 ● While securing the end of the filament, slip the reel over the reel mount so that the filament will come up through the hole in the filament guide arm, and continue up toward the filament pulley. Viewed from the front of the PolyPrinter, the end will be pointing...
Page 27 upwards and will be on the left side of the reel, where it needs to go through the hole in the black filament guide arm. Feed it through that hole, and bring it forward toward the extruder. ● You don’t need to put it over the pulley until you have fed it into the extruder, although you may do so.
Page 28 Procedure ● Use a knife with curved blade, a sharp scraper, or, if you have the PolyPrinter toolkit, the included separator tool, which can be slid flat under the part.
Page 29 side to reduce the chance of such an injury. Parts will tend to almost instantaneously go from being very stuck to completely free. Always clean the bed off completely ● Make sure you clean all the plastic off the bed before starting any print. Check the home corner too.
Page 30 Reset button on the Polyprinter, and then try the “Connect again”. ● If still nothing happens, disconnect the USB cable, open the front cover, and press the red Reset button on the Polyprinter, reconnect the USB cable, and then try the “Connect again”.
Page 31 MS Paint, and then send that plus the STL and the exact GCODE being printed, to support@polyprinter.com for diagnosis. As well, it's good to know whether the printer is responsive through direct commands with Pronterface e.g. raising the head a bit.
Page 32 You may need to check the serial port. The best way (on Windows) is to fire up Device Manager and see which port is coming and going when you press and release the Reset button. Then Make sure that's what Pronterface is trying to connect with. You can type in the COM port field. Parts are not sticking to the bed ●...
Page 33 Tips You can make your own glue by dissolving some scrap filament in some acetone. The ABS thickens it up a bit (you decide how thick) and that lets it stay in place and fill in gaps a bit. Acetone all by itself works well too, if the parts fit closely together. Brush it on both, push, hold, and they just melt together.
Page 34 Alternatively, only at our discretion, we may deem that there is some reason why the printer must be returned to PolyPrinter for repair. (This is why it is important to keep the box and all packing materials somewhere.) We will in that case pay for shipping in both directions as part of the warranty.
Page 35 We intend that the PolyPrinter will be continually evolving. We intend to keep improving it in minor and major ways for a long time. Each PolyPrinter represents the “state of the art” at the time it was manufactured. The existence of newer PolyPrinters with improvements does not by itself imply that your PolyPrinter has a defect that must be covered by the warranty.
Page 36 The PolyPrinter comes with several open-source packages. The installation puts the license files in place at the time. Access to source code is available upon request. The Gcode M115 gives information on the open source software that is part of the PolyPrinter itself.

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