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LulzBot mini3 Start Here Manual
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LulzBot mini3 Start Here Manual

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Summary of Contents for LulzBot mini3

  • Page 1 START HERE...
  • Page 3 Mini 3 Desktop 3D Printer. This Quick Start Guide will familiarize you ® with the proper use and operation of your LulzBot Mini 3. By the time you finish, you will have completed a calibration test on your new printer.
  • Page 4 LulzBot Mini 3 Key Components Aluminum Frame Tool Head USB Flash Drive Port AC Power Port (back) Power Switch...
  • Page 5 Filament Run Out Sensor Extendable Spool Mount LCD Touch Screen Display Modular Print Bed Cartesian Coordinate System The LulzBot Mini 3 can move on three linear axes: X, Y, and Z. * Additional Tool Heads available at LulzBot.com...
  • Page 6 Tool Head Key Components Molex Connector Filament Tension Lever Part Cooling Fan Gear Window Extruder Heat Sink Fan Part Cooling Fan Shroud Extruder Heater Block Extruder Nozzle...
  • Page 7 Filament Tension Lever Your LulzBot Mini 3 Extruder automatically calibrates: using the installed BL Touch and by Filament Path leveling the X-axis gantry before each print. These features ensure the highest quality printing possible without the need for manual calibration.
  • Page 8 Unpack your LulzBot Mini 3 Desktop 3D Printer With the printer box upright, carefully open the top of the box. Remove the tool kit, documentation bag, and top most layer of foam. Firmly grasp the Mini 3, slowly lifting the printer from the box.
  • Page 9 Remove the packaging foam from the bottom of the printer, placing the printer on a flat level surface. Remove the three pieces of central foam. Locate the two orange shipping prints, remove from belts. Confirm all items have been removed from the box. Save all of the provided packaging materials and box! In the event that warranty...
  • Page 10 Be sure to double check your Mini 3 to assure that all packaging materials have been successfully removed. Place these back in the box and in a safe location. Use this visual guide to assess all packing materials are accounted.
  • Page 11 Assemble your LulzBot Mini 3 Desktop 3D Printer The operating area for your LulzBot Mini 3 is 24.0 inches wide It’s important to ensure you Mini x 19.6 deep inches by 18.5 inches tall (61 cm by 50 cm by 47 cm).
  • Page 12 When powered on, allow for 45-60 secs for the operating system to boot up. During the printer startup cycle, the Mini 3 will not make any movements. Verify that the power switch on the front of the Mini 3 is in the OFF position.
  • Page 13 Setting up You Mini 3 The Mini 3 features a robust full color touch screen interface. The diagram below will help you identify a few of the different aspects you can find here and some of the capabilities of your new Mini 3. Let’s start by connecting your Mini 3 to Wi-Fi.
  • Page 14 To begin, select More on the home screen. On the next screen select Network.
  • Page 15 Locate the network you intend to connect to,then select the arrow button on the right of the screen. You will be prompted to input your password, select Save. A string of commands will appear on your screen, when completed select Close. Your Mini 3 will display the connected network and IP Address in the top right.
  • Page 16 Your Mini 3 is incapable of being tethered. To access your Mini 3 from your computer, open an internet browser and type in the IP address previously found in the top right corner of your printer’s LCD and press enter. The computer must be connected on the same Wi-Fi network to be able to connect to your Mini 3. Chapter 6 will cover more on how to use Mainsail to operate your Mini 3.
  • Page 17 Expert help and advice is available at LulzBot.com/Support. The LulzBot Mini 3 is compatible with Cura LulzBot Edition version 4.13.10 and later. If you have an older version of Cura LulzBot Edition installed, you will need to download the latest version at LulzBot.com/Cura in order to use your LulzBot Mini 3.
  • Page 18 Select LulzBot Mini 3 and Meteor 285 | Nickel-Plated Brass, then click Add. Existing users should select the Displayed Printer drop-down menu, then Add Printer. On the next menu that appears, click Finish to complete the printer setup. Cura LulzBot Edition is now ready for use with your LulzBot Mini 3.
  • Page 19 Filament is the term for the materials your LulzBot Mini 3 uses to 3D print objects. The included sample filament, PLA, is made from natural renewable resources. PLA and other types of filament can be purchased at LulzBot.
  • Page 20 In the Filament Drop Down in the center of the ribbon towards the top of the screen, confirm that Standard PLA is selected for Material and Standard is selected for the Profile to be used for printing, located on the far right.
  • Page 21 Preparing your Mini 3 to Print Your LulzBot TAZ Mini 3 was tested for quality assurance before being packaged. You will need to remove the remaining filament left in the Tool Head from this process before loading new filament for your next print. Follow these steps below to remove or change the filament.
  • Page 22 Select the button that says Temperature in the upper right of the screen. Then select PLA. Your Tool Head will now begin heating up to 180°C.
  • Page 23 HOT SURFACE BURN HAZARD. CONTACT MAY CAUSE BURN. DO NOT TOUCH THE HOT END. The hot end on the extruder is now heating up to 200°C (392°F) and can burn your skin if you touch it.
  • Page 24 Once the Tool Head reaches the appropriate filament removal temperature, Push the filament tension lever towards the Tool Head mount. Firmly grasp the tail of filament pulling it out of the idler. The hot end is heated to 200°C (392°F) and can burn your skin.
  • Page 25 A LulzBot Green knob can now be pulled out from the side of the Mini 3. Place the included filament on this spool holder so the filament can feed, in a counterclockwise motion, into the filament runout sensor.
  • Page 26 Obtain the clear filament feed guide tube for 2.85mm filament from the additional contents you removed from the box earlier. Insert the feed guide into the top of the filament sensor.  ...
  • Page 27 Feed the included sample coil of 2.85mm PLA filament into and through the bottom of the filament sensor.
  • Page 28 Push the filament by hand completely through the feed tube until it exits. Straighten the filament slightly. Feed the included sample coil of 2.85mm PLA filament into the extruder. The filament must be inserted completely to extrude properly. If it is difficult to feed filament into the filament feed path, trimming the filament at a 45°...
  • Page 29 SETTING FILAMENT TENSION The Meteor 285 Tool Head has a ratcheting filament tensioner. This new style of tensioner will make an audible click when moved to the varying degrees of tension. When pushed all the way towards the Tool Head mount, the tension is completely open, allowing for filament to feed easily. When pulled towards the user this tightens the tension.
  • Page 30 Pull the filament tension lever towards yourself until one audible click is heard. Use the previous diagram to ensure proper filament tension when using filaments other than PLA. On the Mini 3 screen press Load under the filament menu to begin extruding filament. 5.10 Once filament is extruding, insert the filament...
  • Page 31 Starting Your First Prints If you need to make changes to your settings, use the Prepare dropdown at the top right corner of Cura. Once changes are made, Select Slice in the lower right corner to begin implementing the changes, also known as re-slicing. Your Mini 3 can be operated without a USB flash drive.
  • Page 32 Printing via USB flash drive Locate the 16GB USB flash drive located in the tool kit. Insert into your computer that has Cura LulzBot Edition open, select Save to Disk in the lower right hand corner. Save your .gcode onto the USB flash drive and safely eject the USB flash drive from your computer, and insert into your Mini 3.
  • Page 33 Your 3D printer is now ready to print! Click Print from the main interface on the Mini 3’s touch screen. Then select the model you intend to print.
  • Page 34 After selecting your print, click print. Your printer will now begin printing shortly! You can monitor your prints progress from the LCD touch screen.

  • Page 35: Printing Via Wi-Fi Connectivity

    It is unnecessary to slice a .gcode file if you intend to print via Wi-Fi, as a pre-supplied .gcode is already loaded into Mainsail. Cura LulzBot Edition, select Save to Disk in the lower right hand corner. Save your .gcode onto your computer.
  • Page 36 With mainsail open you, locate the rocktopus.gcode file in the upper left hand corner under Standby. Once selected a popup will appear in the center of the screen, click Print for your Mini 3 to begin its first print job!
  • Page 37 The screen will update with useful information about your current print job such as, probing success, temperature, and time elapsed.
  • Page 38 Your 3D printer will first move the Tool Head to the top left corner of the build area and allow the hot end to reach probing temperature. Depending on ambient temperature, this can take a few minutes.
  • Page 39 Once the hot end reaches its probing temperature, the Mini 3 will conduct an automated self-leveling sequence by deploying the pin on its BLTouch. When the leveling process is complete, the printing process will commence. Always watch your LulzBot Mini 3 start the printing process to visually ensure proper functionality. Ensure...
  • Page 40 After your LulzBot Mini 3 is finished 3D printing, the Tool Head and print bed will automatically move into the cooling position with the Tool Head in the top left of the build area and the print bed fully in the back position.
  • Page 41 Once the print bed has stopped moving, remove your first print by gently lifting the flexible magnetic top sheet by the bright LulzBot Green tab. The Rock2Pus model should release easily. Replace the flexible magnetic top sheet, ensuring it doesn’t overlap any bed corner.
  • Page 42 6.11 Now that your first print is complete, your Mini 3 is ready to go to work! For more projects, ideas, and ready-to-print models, visit download.lulzbot.com/3D_Models/.
  • Page 43 In order to ensure your Mini 3’s longevity and connection to your wireless network, it is important to power off from the LCD touch screen. On the home screen, select the Power Button in the lower right corner, on the next screen select Shut Down in the lower left corner.
  • Page 44 6.13 Select Accept, your Mini 3 will now begin shutting its operating system down. When the text reboot:power down displays, you are safe to turn the power switch to the off position from the front of the control box. Failure to power the Mini 3 down correctly can result in potentially corrupted operating systems.
  • Page 45 Maintenance and Care There is a small length of PLA filament remaining in the hot end after your first sample print. You can remove the remaining filament by following the steps in Section 5.4. Use this process whenever changing the filament to ensure a clean switch between different filaments and to avoid extrusion issues due to print temperature differences.
  • Page 46 Your LulzBot Mini 3 Desktop 3D Printer is capable of printing entry and expert level filament materials including: PLA, ABS, TPU, PC-ABS, Polycarbonate, PVA, and more. In addition, new materials are frequently being added to our catalog, with profiles included in Cura LulzBot Edition. Shop our full range of materials at LulzBot.com/store/filaments.
  • Page 47 Important Information About Your 3D Printer Customer Feedback Why keep a good thing secret? Share your LulzBot LOVE on social media! You can share your experience by writing a review or sharing your LulzBot TAZ Pro S projects on social media.
  • Page 48 Make sure that the hot end and print bed are at room temperature before beginning any cleaning or maintenance unless otherwise noted. Print Bed Adhesion to your LulzBot Mini 3 modular heated print bed is the foundation of a great 3D print. Additional print beds and configurations can be purchased from the LulzBot online store.
  • Page 49 Remove filament from the filament holder and unscrew the ten screws holding the control box panel in place. Then remove the panel to gain access to the control box. Using WARNING - compressed air, clear the fans, power supply, and area around the control board of any Electric shock can kill.
  • Page 50 Maintaining Your LulzBot Mini 3 Desktop 3D Printer HOT SURFACE BURN HAZARD. CONTACT MAY CAUSE BURN. DO NOT TOUCH THE HOT END. The hot end on the extruder can quickly heat up beyond 180°C (356°F) and can burn your skin if you touch it.
  • Page 51 Filaments Grow With The Mini 3 When it’s time to replenish your supplies be sure to check out LulzBot’s extensive offering on a wide variety of filaments! PETg Easy Printing Flexible Easy Printing Strong Strength Temperature Resistance Nylon See All Filament...
  • Page 52 LulzBot TAZ Pro S Quick Start Guide v.1.0 (May 9, 2024 11:16 AM) ® CC BY-SA 4.0 International LulzBot 2020 LulzBot is a Registered Trademark of FAME 3D, LLC. ®...