SeeMeCNC Rostock MAX v2 User Manual
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SeeMeCNC Rostock MAX v2 User Manual

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Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide
Welcome to the User's Guide for the Rostock MAX v2.0 3D printer.
Version 1.52, September 28
th
, 2016
First Edition
Covers MatterControl v1.4
Copyright 2015 by Gene Buckle
Licensed as Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0
Questions or corrections should be emailed to
geneb@deltasoft.com
- 1

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  • Page 1 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide Welcome to the User's Guide for the Rostock MAX v2.0 3D printer. Version 1.52, September 28 , 2016 First Edition Covers MatterControl v1.4 Copyright 2015 by Gene Buckle Licensed as Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Questions or corrections should be emailed to...

  • Page 2: Read Me First

    Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide Read Me First! This document is your instruction manual for your new SeeMeCNC® 3D printer machine. Before using your new 3D printer, thoroughly read and understand this manual for safe and effective operation of the machine.

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide Table of Contents READ ME FIRST!.............................2 0 – Introduction and Acknowledgments....................4 1 – Driver and Software Installation......................5 1.1 – Installing the RAMBo Driver....................5 1.2 – Installing the Arduino IDE......................7 1.3 – Configuring the Arduino IDE....................8 1.4 –...

  • Page 4: Introduction And Acknowledgments

    Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide 0 – Introduction and Acknowledgments I’d like to welcome you to the 1st Edition of the Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide! Acknowledgments I'd like to thank the gentleman that runs http://minow.blogspot.com.au/ for his excellent guide on calibrating delta configuration 3D printers.

  • Page 5: Driver And Software Installation

    Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide 1 – Driver and Software Installation The Rostock MAX v2 does not include the firmware required to operate it. This was a conscious decision by SeeMeCNC to encourage builders to become more proficient in the operation of their new 3D printer.
  • Page 6 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide The easiest way to find out what port your RAMBo is listening on is to open up the Device Manager and look for the RAMBo entry. In order to discover this bit of information, you'll need to open up Device Manager (right click on My Computer, click “Properties”...

  • Page 7: Installing The Arduino Ide

    The version of the IDE used as of this writing is 1.6.1, but later versions can be used. Install the Arduino IDE using the downloaded installer. Now you need to download the firmware from SeeMeCNC's github repository. https://github.com/seemecnc/Firmware/archive/master.zip Unpack the “master.zip” file that you downloaded into a directory where you can keep track of it.

  • Page 8: Configuring The Arduino Ide

    Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide 1.3 – Configuring the Arduino IDE Before we can use the IDE to upload the firmware to the RAMBo controller, we need to tell the Arduino IDE what kind of board we have and what communications port it needs to use in order to perform the upload task.

  • Page 9: Test Upload

    Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide 1.4 – Test Upload Ok, now that you've got the Arduino IDE configured, we're going to do a quick task that'll do two things. First, it will validate that you've got the Arduino IDE configured properly and that you're able to connect and upload a program to the RAMBo controller.
  • Page 10 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide Turn your Rostock MAX v2 on if you haven't already and then click the Upload icon. When the upload is finished, you should see results similar to that on the right. The “Done uploading” is the status you want. There is no other...

  • Page 11: Uploading Repetier-Firmware

    Click “File”, “Open” and browse to where you unpacked the master.zip file you downloaded from the SeeMeCNC github repository. Select the file “Repetier.ino” and click the Open button. Note that Windows may hide the program suffix (.ino) from you.
  • Page 12 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide Now you can click on the Upload icon to send the firmware to the RAMBo! Depending on the speed of your computer, this could take up to a few minutes to accomplish. Be patient and wait for the “Done uploading.” status to appear just like it did when you uploaded the “eeprom_clear”...

  • Page 13: The Lcd And Front Panel Controls

    Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide 1.6 – The LCD and Front Panel Controls Let's go over what information the LCD displays and what the front panel controls do. Fig. 1.6-1: Default LCD display. 1. Nozzle Temperature. This is the temperature at the nozzle as measured by the thermistor that you installed when you put the hot end together.
  • Page 14 Next, it's going to send all three Cheapskates to their “home” positions at the top of the Rostock MAX v2 and then the RAMBo controller will reboot itself. If the printer is really going nuts on you, this is the second fastest way to make it behave. (The first is to turn the power off!) Note that in order to operate the reset button, you need to press hard.
  • Page 15 Fig. 1.6-3: Activity display. This will tell you at a glance how much time your Rostock MAX v2 has spent printing and how much filament it's used in the process. The time display breaks down into days, hours and minutes.

  • Page 16: Installing Mattercontrol And Calibrating The Printer

    2 – Installing MatterControl and Calibrating the Printer This is the fun part! The Rostock MAX v2 3D printer is very easy to calibrate, but it can take some time and a number of iterations to get it as good as you can. You'll want to take your time here because the better you calibrate the printer, the better it will perform.
  • Page 17 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide When you save the new profile, you'll be prompted to install a driver. Since you've already installed the RAMBo driver to load the firmware on your new Rostock MAX v2, you can safely click “Skip”.
  • Page 18 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide If for some reason MatterControl cannot “see” the Rostock MAX v2, you may see an error like the one shown on the right. If you do get this error, click on the “Manual Configuration” link at the bottom of the dialog box.
  • Page 19 6. Settings & Controls – this is where you can edit your slicer & printer settings as well as manually control your Rostock MAX v2. 7. The Edit button will allow you to choose which items in the print queue will be available for printing.
  • Page 20 14. The Create button displays a list of available plug-ins that are used to create printable objects right inside of MatterControl. 15. The Buy Materials button will open a browser and point it to the SeeMeCNC store. 16. The Queue button opens a menu list that will allow you to export the current file and perform other operations on the print queue.
  • Page 21 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide 5 & 6. The Insert and Edit buttons allow you to add objects to the current print job as well as manipulate them. 7. The Export button allows you to save the current state of the build plate in a few different file formats.

  • Page 22: Initial Function Tests

    In order to perform this test, you'll need to be able to directly “talk” to the Rostock MAX v2. Click on the Options button as indicated below. Click on the SHOW TERMINAL button. This will open up the terminal screen that we need to use to directly communicate with the printer.
  • Page 23 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide The three switches are known as “x_max”, “y_max”, and “z_max”. Each one should have an “L” next to it as shown on the left. If any of them show an “H”, check your wiring to ensure that the switch is connected properly at both ends.
  • Page 24 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide Scroll down until you find a small section marked “// Inverting axis direction”. Fig. 2.2-6: Axis directions. Once you've located this area, I want you to change the entry that corresponds to your misbehaving motor to the opposite of its current setting. If it's currently true set it to false and vice- verse.
  • Page 25 Be careful not to drive the hot end outside the boundaries. If you accidentally do that, just power the machine off and back on. Click the DISCONNECT button and then hit CONNECT to re-establish communication between the Rostock MAX v2 and MatterControl. You'll need to re-home the machine before you continue experimenting.
  • Page 26 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide The last test involves checking the basic function of both the hot end heating resistors and the heated bed. For this test, you're only going to turn them on long enough to verify that they're indeed heating up as they should.

  • Page 27: Setting The Z Height

    Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide 2.3 – Setting the Z Height Bring your hot end and heated bed up to operating temperature. Set the hot end temp to 190C and the heated bed to 55C. We want the hot end and bed to expand to “normal” so we can get a fairly accurate measurement here.
  • Page 28 When you've reached that point, press the knob to return to the LCD menu and then and select the “Set new Z=0.00” option. This will set the correct Z-Height for your Rostock MAX v2. 2 – Installing MatterControl and Calibrating the Printer - 28...

  • Page 29: Motion Calibration

    2.4 – Motion Calibration Now we need to adjust the end stops in order to calibrate the effector platform. This ensures that the effector platform your Rostock MAX v2 achieves an accurate nozzle height and parallel travel across the entire bed surface.
  • Page 30 In the video they're using the SeeMeCNC Orion printer, but the technique is the same for the Rostock MAX v2. When you see reference in the video to running the “TOWER.GCO” file, you'll instead click on the Tower Cal button that you just created the macro for.
  • Page 31 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide Fig. 2.4-6: Nozzle at the center, 0.2mm above the glass. As the script runs, your focus should be on the nozzle where it pauses. You want to compare the gap at the tower base to the gap at the center.

  • Page 32: Verifying Extruder Stepper Operation

    Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide After doing this, you will see any changes where one tower may be higher than the other. If this is the case, go back and re-adjust the end stop screws. It can typically take anywhere from 5-10 iterations of the calibration process in order to get the gap to remain the same at all three pause points compared to the center point.
  • Page 33 Triffid_Hunter's excellent calibration guide. It can be found here: http://reprap.org/wiki/Triffid_Hunter%27s_Calibration_Guide The other portions of his calibration guide doesn't really apply to the Rostock MAX v2, so it's not necessary to read unless you're simply curious. WARNING: At no time should you allow your hot end temperature...

  • Page 34: First Print: Peek Fan Shroud

    Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide 3 – First Print: PEEK Fan Shroud For your first (and second!) prints, you're going to need to have ABS filament handy. This is because the PEEK and Layer fan shrouds can be exposed to temperatures that would turn PLA shrouds into a gooey mess.
  • Page 35 Click in the box that holds the name of the profile and change it to something that's descriptive of the material. Since I'm using a navy blue ABS filament I got from SeeMeCNC, I'm naming this preset “SeeMeCNC Navy Blue ABS 1.75” Fig. 3.1-4: Copied preset.

  • Page 36: Printing The Peek Fan Shroud

    Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide Fig. 3.1-7: New material preset! Click Close to dismiss the Presets Editor and we'll move on to the next step, printing your first part! 3.2 – Printing The PEEK Fan Shroud If you downloaded the MatterControl presets file, you can skip downloading the file from Repables.

  • Page 37: Loading Filament

    Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide 3.3 – Loading Filament It's extremely simple to load filament into the EZStruder. Just place your index finger on the top of the extruder and your thumb on the tension lever (marked by the arrow below). Press the...

  • Page 38: Preparing The Heated Bed

    Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide Continue to manually feed the filament until it passes through the other push-fit connector on the hot end. Now you'll need to heat the hot end in order to prime it with filament. Once the hot end reaches the target temperature, I want you to start using the manual Extrusion button to feed filament into the hot end.

  • Page 39: Printing The Peek Fan Shroud

    Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide 3.5 – Printing the PEEK Fan Shroud Check on the Slice Settings pane to make sure that you've got “MatterSlice” chosen for the slice engine, “STANDARD” chosen for Quality, and “ABS” chosen for Material. Make sure that the...
  • Page 40 I printed. It's got a few defects, mostly due to a slight amount of over- extrusion. As you get more familiar with the Rostock MAX v2 and 3D printing in general, you'll learn how to fix issues like this to get excellent prints!

  • Page 41: Installing The Peek Fan And Shroud

    Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide 3.6 – Installing the PEEK Fan and Shroud Before you can install the PEEK fan shroud, you're going to have to wait for the hot end to cool to room temperature. You don't want to burn yourself while installing the shroud.
  • Page 42 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide In order to install the fan, you'll have to remove the arms from the effector platform. Release the arms at the effector end and put the ends to either side of the tower as shown. By leaving the carriage end spring clip in, the arm ends will grip the extrusion lightly.
  • Page 43 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide Once you have all the arms on, you can wire up the fan. The PEEK fan wires are the pair you knotted. Un-knot and strip about 1/2” of insulation. Cut off the connector on the 25mm fan (if present) and strip those as well.

  • Page 44: Second Print: Layer Fan Shroud

    Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide 4 – Second Print: Layer Fan Shroud If you plan on printing in PLA or other materials that can benefit from a cooling fan (NOT ABS!), you'll want to print the layer fan shroud. The layer fan model can be downloaded from Repables, http://repables.com/r/621/.
  • Page 45 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide The effector platform provides three mounting locations for the layer fan. Yes, you can install three of them if you really want. :) With the machine powered off, slide each Cheapskate down to the base of the tower so that your hot end is at the top of a pyramid formed by the three arms.
  • Page 46 To turn the fan off, just click in the fan speed box and enter “0” followed by ENTER or click on the “Set” button. With the installation of the layer fan, your Rostock MAX v2 is totally complete and you may now...

  • Page 47: Matter Control Basics: Slicing

    Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide 5 – Matter Control Basics: Slicing MatterControl is a very complete 3D printing package and it's got a LOT of options. Some people can find this intimidating, but I assure you – there's nothing to be worried about! MatterControl is an integrated host application.
  • Page 48 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide I want you to click on the Settings & Controls button to bring up the Settings, Controls, and Options pane. Fig. 5.1-1: Menu Bar. Click on the SETTINGS link to make sure your display follows (by and large) what you see below.
  • Page 49 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide Layer Height – This parameter tells the slicing engine how thin to make the layers when it slices up the model as I described earlier. A good default layer height is 0.2 or 0.25mm. The lowest practical layer height with a 0.5mm nozzle is 0.1mm.
  • Page 50 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide Support Material – Support material is used when the part you're printing has free-standing features (like the chin on a bust) or another feature that requires it to be physically supported during the printing process. When you check the Support Material box, the slicer will automatically design support for the part that's currently (or will be) loaded.
  • Page 51 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide The image to the right should give you a pretty good idea of what the part looks like from the side. You can easily see the support material as well as the layer lines that will be at a 30 degree angle when the little cube is laid flat.
  • Page 52 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide Here's what you end up with after removing the support material from your part. As you can see, there's still a little clean up to to be done to the printed cube (on the left). A quick hit with some 220 grit sandpaper will knock the rough edges of the support material down.
  • Page 53 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide Click on the Simple setting drop down and pick Standard. Your MatterControl settings screen should change to something resembling the image below. Fig. 5.1-9: Intermediate Settings. Quite a number of new configuration options are accessible under the Standard settings level.
  • Page 54 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide In Fig. 5.1-10 is an example of what the Standard setting looks like. When the cube is being printed, the #2 perimeter is printed first and then the #1 perimeter. (The order is configurable.) On the right, you can see what those perimeters actually look like on the cube we printed earlier.
  • Page 55 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide Secondly, the Skirt can become a Brim if the Distance from Object setting is set to zero. What this does is make sure that the skirt is physically connects to the part, becoming a brim. This can be handy when you're printing a small part and you're having bed adhesion issues and you don't want to have to use a raft.
  • Page 56 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide The reason for this is because of how the stock hot end is designed. It uses a PEEK section (a high-temperature plastic) as the “cold end” of the hot end. This material will begin to fail at 247C. If you need to print with a high-temperature filament such as Nylon, it's highly recommended that you purchase an all-metal hot end.
  • Page 57 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide Each filament can have different heating requirements, even within the same type and color! For example, it's not unusual to have two rolls of identical material require different hot end settings. Bed temperatures tend to be less variable.
  • Page 58 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide When you click on the Add button, you'll be presented with a screen that looks something like the one shown on the below. The Edit Preset: field is where you can name this new material configuration.
  • Page 59 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide If you hover your mouse over the Extruder Temperature option, you'll see that the foreground is covered by an EDIT PRESET button as shown below. Fig. 5.1-16: Overriding a preset value. Clicking on the button will open up the materials editor and allow you to change the temperature.
  • Page 60 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide The Movement Controls pane contains controls that will allow you to manually position the Rostock MAX's effector platform. Fig. 5.1-18: Movement controls pane. The row of buttons to the right of the little house icon control “homing” of the movement axes in the Rostock MAX.

  • Page 61: Mattercontrol Basics: Loading And Printing Objects

    Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide 6 – MatterControl Basics: Loading and Printing Objects We've previously worked with the small cube that MatterControl provided as an example. Now we're going to cover loading and slicing an object from start to finish.
  • Page 62 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide Navigate to where you've stored the STL or ZIP file and open it using the Open File dialog that will appear. Once you have the object loaded, click on the Settings & Controls button so we can make sure your print settings are the way you want them.
  • Page 63 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide The Save-As dialog presents you with three different locations you can save your changed model. “Local Library” points to the local library where MatterControl will store data on your local computer. “Cloud Library” points to your cloud storage at MatterControl HQ.
  • Page 64 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide Before we start this print, let's take a second to examine a feature of MatterControl – the Layer View. If you've not sliced this object yet, you'll like see the text “Press 'generate' to view layers”. Go ahead and do that now.
  • Page 65 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide When it finishes, the layer view will display the first layer of your print job. You'll notice right off the skirt that I covered previously. It's important to make sure that the hot end is primed by the time it begins to print your part! At the bottom of the window you'll see some controls that will allow you to either re-slice the object (Generate) or view the individual print layers.
  • Page 66 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide After the print finishes, you should have a little part that looks something like the photo below (if that's what you printed). Fig. 6.1-8: Finished print! 6 – MatterControl Basics: Loading and Printing Objects - 66...

  • Page 67: Advanced Mattercontrol: Configuration

    Note that this will NOT calibrate a delta printer! What it can do is help improve first layer performance on an already calibrated printer. SeeMeCNC has put together a nice video that illustrates the process quite effectively: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6ymbr-AMew Fig.
  • Page 68 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide Fig. 7.1-4: Accessing the G-Code terminal. The G-Code Terminal is where you can directly interact with the firmware on your Rostock MAX. When you first open the G-Code Terminal, you'll be presented with a window that looks similar...
  • Page 69 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide This particular configuration option should be pretty self-explanatory. I hope. Fig. 7.1-8: Language Selection. The Slice Engine configuration will allow you to choose which slicer that you want to use in order to prepare your model for printing. By default, MatterControl uses the MatterSlice slicing engine that was developed by the MatterControl team.
  • Page 70 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide Fig. 7.1-13: Change Display Mode. The Change Display Mode will allow you to switch between “Normal” and “Touchscreen”. The touchscreen interface is optimized for that type of input method. You'll need to restart MatterControl when changing the display mode.

  • Page 71: Advanced Mattercontrol: Settings - General

    Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide 8 – Advanced MatterControl: Settings – General MatterControl offers three “classes” of settings that have a direct effect on how your printer works. General covers elements that relate to how the plastic is laid down. Filament covers parameters specific to the type of filament that you've chosen to print with.
  • Page 72 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide The first parameter is Layer Height. We've covered this one before, but I wanted to point out something that I didn't go into a lot of detail about earlier. You'll notice that the field has a yellowish highlight to it.
  • Page 73 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide Avoid Crossing Perimeters. When Avoid Crossing Perimeters is enabled, the nozzle path will not cross a part perimeter during travel moves. This will help reduce the opportunity for stringing or oozing since the nozzle tip is rarely over open air.
  • Page 74 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide The next page in Print is called Infill and covers how the interior of your part is filled. While I covered Fill Density and Infill Type earlier, the Advanced mode adds two new parameters. Starting Angle.
  • Page 75 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide Infill Overlap. Infill Overlap is used to adjust how well the infill pattern attaches to the inside perimeter of the part. A good infill will have a solid connection to the inside perimeter of your part, and the structural integrity of your part depends on this.
  • Page 76 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide Secondly, there is also a direct relation between print speed and print quality. In the image above, you'll notice that the speeds for print moves vary a bit. This is because some features don't require a focus on surface quality.
  • Page 77 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide When in Standard mode, the Raft setting was simply an on/off setting. In Advanced mode, you've got a lot more control over how the raft is laid down. Expand Distance is the distance you'd like the raft to exceed the base area of the part you're printing.
  • Page 78 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide Amount is expressed in degrees from vertical and tells the slicing engine to generate support for any feature that meets or exceeds the specified angle. In the setting shown above, the slicing engine will generate support at points where the model “overhangs” 45 degrees or more from vertical.
  • Page 79 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide Pattern Spacing controls the distance between each “track” of support that is laid down to support your part. The wider the spacing, the less support that is printed. Infill Angle adjusts the angle at which the support structure is built.
  • Page 80 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide The Repair page contains a couple of settings the govern how (and if) the slicer will attempt any repair of invalid part models. Sometimes modeling programs will create a model that isn't “water tight”, meaning it's got gaps in the surface. These gaps make it difficult for the slicing engine to do its job and in some cases can cause the slicing operation to fail.

  • Page 81: Advanced Mattercontrol: Settings - Filament

    Bed Remove Part Temperature is the temperature at which the part can be removed. Note that neither the Extruder Wipe Setting temperatures. Temperature, nor the Bed Remove Part temperature are applicable to the Rostock MAX v2. 9 – Advanced MatterControl: Settings – Filament - 81...
  • Page 82 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide As you can see, both of these are part of the currently selected material profile. Each material class has a general temperature range for the hot end. For example, ABS extrusion temperatures can range from 195 to 240C. PLA likes anywhere from 180 to 215. The specific temperature that your material works best at varies by manufacturer and chemical blend.
  • Page 83 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide Minimum Extrusion Requiring Retraction specifies how much filament must be extruded before a retraction operation is permitted. This helps prevent instances where a retraction operation would occur before the hot end had the opportunity to actually extrude material.
  • Page 84 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide This can be important because if you don't use a fan, a layer will need time to radiate its excess heat before the next layer is applied. If the material isn't cooled, or given time to cool via radiation, heat can build up in the underlying layers and cause curling and other undesirable effects.

  • Page 85: Advanced Mattercontrol: Settings - Printer

    The Bed Shape parameter dictates what bed type is shown in the 3D viewer. The Hardware section allows you to specify what features are installed on your Rostock MAX v2. Has Fan, when checked will allow the slicing engine to control the layer cooling fan.
  • Page 86 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide Has Power Control indicates whether or not your printer can control its own power supply. In the case of the Rostock MAX, this should be left unchecked. Show Reset Connection This will enable a “reset” button that will reset the connection when pressed.
  • Page 87 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide Resume G-Code is sent when the Rostock MAX is resumed. Cancel G-Code is sent when you cancel a print job from MatterControl The last page for the Printer tab is called Extruder. This page allows you to configure each extruder you have installed in your Rostock MAX.

  • Page 88: Using The 3D And Layer Views

    Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide 11 – Using the 3D and Layer Views Using the 3D View and Layer View The 3D View will show you the part that will be printed when you hit the Print button. The Layer View is used to inspect how your part will be printed, one layer at a time.
  • Page 89 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide You can use the mouse by-itself as well. Holding down the left mouse button will allow you to “free rotate” the model and bed. Holding down the mouse wheel will allow you to move left and right as well as up and down.
  • Page 90 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide If you didn't already have the example cube loaded, you may only see one object in the center of the bed. If this is the case, go ahead and load another Ignite object. If you can't see the object you've just loaded, click the Arrange button to automatically move the objects to the virtual bed.
  • Page 91 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide Cancel will discard any changes you've made so far and Save will allow you to save the state of the virtual print surface. Saving your work saves it to the print queue. If you'd like to save your work...
  • Page 92 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide The Scale function will allow you to change the width, height and length of the part or parts currently on the virtual build platform. The Ratio field allows you to shrink or grow an entire model by a specific percentage.
  • Page 93 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide I find that the Outlines display option is the most useful as it makes part details really stand out. Shaded Polygons Outlines The Layer view. The Layer View is where you can see exactly what the Rostock MAX is going to do while printing your part.
  • Page 94 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide This will hand over the parts to the slicing engine and will create the G-Code required to print your parts. In the image above, you can see that the parts have been sliced and layer #1 is being displayed.
  • Page 95 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide Grid hides or displays the virtual print surface. Moves will show you the path the print head takes when it's not printing, as shown by the light green lines in the image below. Travel moves.
  • Page 96 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide The Extrusion option will thicken the lines used to draw the layers in order to give a more accurate visual representation of what the actual print layer will look like when printed. Finally, Sync to Print will allow you to follow the print process using the Layer View. As the Rostock MAX prints your part, you'll see a real-time reflection of those moves.

  • Page 97: A Strategy For Successful (And Great!) Prints

    12 – A Strategy for Successful (and great!) Prints Michael Hackney is one our forum moderators over at the SeeMeCNC forum and he's been gracious enough to allow me to publish his wonderful guide for getting the most out of your SeeMeCNC 3D printer.
  • Page 98 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide #2 Start Simple. We have a tendency to want to jump ahead to more complicated prints, faster printing, bigger prints, etc. There are many aspects to successful 3D printing, everything from the printer (which in...
  • Page 99 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide #4 Nail the First Layer. I don't believe folks spend enough time learning to print a perfect first layer reliably. If there are defects in the first layer, they will invariably come back later to bite you – the part separating form the build plate or a defect in the part.
  • Page 100 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide #6 Watch What's Happening. Especially in the early stages of learning, watch all aspects of the printer. Combined with strategy #5 you'll start to develop an appreciation for how the slicer does its magic, how the printer...
  • Page 101 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide #9 Know Your Filament. This strategy is a bit lower level than the previous eight but important and often overlooked. I see a lot of folks just assume that they should print filament X at temperature Z – for instance, print PLA at 200°C.
  • Page 102 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide TIP: When you are starting a new print session, give the printer a little warm up exercise! Much like an athlete warms up before a game, don't just turn the printer on and attempt to print. Turn it on and let the hot end get up top equilibrium, let the heated bed get up top temperature.
  • Page 103 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide I'm not going to go through all of these in detail now but did want to comment about the last one - cleanliness. Whatever you do, make sure everything near and on your printer is clean and grease free.
  • Page 104 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide The second point of the joke is that the Dr. didn't attempt to actually determine why the patient's arm hurt, he just had him avoid the problem. I see that a lot too. Usually it takes to form of "I tried printing it with my red PLA and it failed but everything was fine with my blue PLA".
  • Page 105 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide #12 Be a Fanboy. I am probably going to lose some fans for this post about cooling fans! Don't think of a part cooling fan as an object. Instead, think about "air flow". If you need cooling on a PLA (or other material) part, then you need to understand air flow.
  • Page 106 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide Fishing Reel parts. The angle of the photo doesn't show it clearly but the "double barrels" are focused at the tip of the nozzle. The "dead air" space between the tubes prevents air from flowing over the nozzle. I know, it's terribly clever! It's a work in progress and I've almost got it perfected with a printed double barrel nozzle.
  • Page 107 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide RichRap has written an excellent post about how he uses this phenomenon when printing decorative vases. Although he was varying the hot end temperature, a similar effect can occur with improper air cooling. I'm also an advocate of using off-platform cooling. By this I mean strategically placed (ducted) fans that direct air to problematic areas of a print.
  • Page 108 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide pt5mmx20mm-cylinder.stl http://forum.seemecnc.com/download/file.php?id=8209 pt6mmx20mm-cylinder.stl http://forum.seemecnc.com/download/file.php?id=8210 Highcooley's Onyx Bed Leveling Aid is a great one to test your calibration. Highly recommended. If you can print it perfectly you've "arrived". I couldn't find a similar thing for the Orion.
  • Page 109 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide http://forum.seemecnc.com/download/file.php?id=8477 12 – A Strategy for Successful (and great!) Prints - 109...

  • Page 110: Appendix A: Maintenance And Troubleshooting

    1. Check the condition of your drive belts to insure they’re not getting worn out or rubbing on any of the Rostock MAX v2 structure. Check to make sure that a print too close to the bed hasn’t caused the drive gear to chew up the belt in one spot. This would be a good item to add to your start-up checklist.

  • Page 111: Print Layer Issues

    Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide Print Layer Issues When you first start a print, you should get a very even and consistent layer height. By properly adjusting the machine, you should get this automatically if you’ve got all three towers adjusted exactly the same.
  • Page 112 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide First print layer examples. (Image Courtesy of LulzBot) In the figure above, you’ll see five different print examples. On the far left you see the result of the nozzle being too close to the print bed, while at the far right you see the result of the nozzle being too far away.

  • Page 113: Machine Won't Move

    LCD Panel Not Working The LCD interface in the Rostock MAX v2 is a pretty simple device – there's not a whole lot that can go wrong with it. The most common issues involve either the display not lighting up or the knob not properly operating.
  • Page 114 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide You should also make sure that the cabling from the LCD to the small PCB goes to the correct connectors. Make sure that your “A” and “B” ribbon cables match the locations shown on the prior page as well as those shown below.

  • Page 115: Appendix B: Alternate Calibration Method

    Rostock MAX v2 Assembly Manual. With the introduction of the 3 Edition, it was requested that I utilize the same calibration process that the fine folks at SeeMeCNC use when calibrating the Orion printers after they're built. Both methods achieve the same result and I'm merely including this alternate method for those that are interested in using it.
  • Page 116 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide Create and name macro #3, “X Tower” and use the following G-Code: G0 Z0 X-77.94 Y-45 F3500 Fig. A-4: X Tower. Create and name macro #4, “Bed Center” and use the following G-Code G0 Z0 F3500 Fig.
  • Page 117 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide Set your feeler gauge on the center of the build platform and click on the “Bed Center” macro button. The nozzle tip is going to end up in one of three positions. It's going to be above your feeler gauge a visible amount, it's going to pin the gauge firmly to the bed, or if you're incredibly lucky, it will be “gripping”...
  • Page 118 If you're a mere mortal like the rest of us poor suckers, you're going to have to make an additional adjustment. Delta configuration printers like the Rostock MAX v2 have a very interesting geometry that will result in the hot end traveling in a non-flat path if it's not perfectly calibrated. This tiny error will express itself as a “virtual”...

  • Page 119: Appendix C: The Mattercontrol Touch

    MatterControl Touch tablet and your freshly built Rostock MAX v2 3D printer! The first thing you'll want to do is download and print the MatterControl Touch mount. This mount is the same for both the Rostock MAX v2 and the Orion. You can find it here: http://repables.com/r/497/.
  • Page 120 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide As I mentioned previously, the tablet mount itself has designed-in support, as shown below. Designed-in support structures. When you're done printing this part, the supports can be easily removed without damaging the tablet support. Here's what the printed tablet mount components look like.
  • Page 121 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide Once you've got the parts cleaned up, you'll need to assemble them. Begin by inserting the Arm Base into the Base Mount as shown below. The Arm Base is inserted into the Base Mount from below. Once it's flush as shown to the left, you can rotate the Arm Base 90 degrees into the “installed”...
  • Page 122 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide Insert the Arm Top into the Tablet Mount from the front as shown below. Rotate the Arm Top such that when the tabs are aligned with the pockets on the Tablet Mount, the tip of the Arm Top is pointed “down”...
  • Page 123 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide The Tablet Mount is designed a bit over-sized and won't properly hold the MatterControl Tablet without a little help. This is where the Tablet Bumper comes into play. The bump on the Tablet Bumper fits into the shallow pocket in the center of the Arm Top.
  • Page 124 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide View from behind. Now you can install the Base Mount on your Rostock MAX v2. As you can see below, the mount slides right underneath the Onyx Heated Bed. Base Mount installed. Appendix C: The MatterControl Touch - 124...
  • Page 125 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide To finish the installation, insert the Arm Top into the Arm Base as shown on the left. Now all you need to do is connect your MatterControl Touch to your Rostock MAX v2 using the included Micro USB to USB-A adapter.

  • Page 126: Appendix D: Printing From The Sd Card

    Appendix D: Printing From the SD Card Your Rostock MAX v2 includes the ability to print without being connected to a host computer. In order to do this, you'll need to save sliced files to the supplied SD card. This is really easy to do, but will require that you have an SD card reader.

  • Page 127: Appendix E: Optimizing The Temperature Control Algorithms

    Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide Appendix E: Optimizing The Temperature Control Algorithms It's important that the temperature controlling algorithm in the RAMBo (the PID loop) be as accurate as possible. To do this, we need to run what is called the “PID Auto tune” routine. This is a firmware function that you run in order to determine the best values for the P(roportional), I(ntegral) and D(erivative) values used by the PID loop.
  • Page 128 Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide With some printer builds, the PID auto tune may abort with a message like this: “Error:PID Autotune failed! Temperature to[sic] high”. This doesn't mean that something is broken, it simply indicates that the RAMBo is applying too much power to the hot end during the auto tune process.

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