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3DMakerWorld Artifex User Manual

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The User Manual of
Artifex
Desktop 3D Printer
http://3dmakerworld.com
Document date: January 6, 2014
(Check website for latest update)

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  • Page 1 The User Manual of Artifex Desktop 3D Printer http://3dmakerworld.com Document date: January 6, 2014 (Check website for latest update)

  • Page 2: Table Of Contents

    4.2 Preparing print surface ......5 Support http: // 3dmakerworld. com...

  • Page 3: Introduction

    MakerGear hot-end and its compact extruder design. A durable 24v silicone rubber heater is used in the HBP to achieve fast heating-up. The design of 3DMakerWorld Artifex 3D Printer is open to the public under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Un- ported license (CC BY-SA 3.0).

  • Page 4: Specifications

    Outer perimeter: 100mm/sec – Top non-print speed: 300mm/sec Acceleration – Top print acceleration: Infill: 3000mm/sec Perimeter: 1500mm/sec – Top non-print acceleration: 3000mm/sec Electrical Power requirements – 110/220 VAC Electronics – RAMBo Hot-end – MakerGear hot-end with 0.35mm nozzle http: // 3dmakerworld. com...

  • Page 5: Safety

    – Black ABS Safety WARNING: The 3DMakerWorld Artifex 3D Printer generates high temperature and contains fast moving mechanical parts which may cause injury or damage. Please follow the guidelines carefully to operate the printer safely. 3D Maker World assumes no liability for any loss or injury caused by operating the Artifex 3D Printer.

  • Page 6: Acknowledgements

    Ultibots for the design of power supply unit fan duct: thingiverse.com/thing:53876 The RepRap community for the sharing of various 3D printing knowledge The operation of Artifex 3D Printer is based on an open source software toolchain. We want to thank people who have developed the following open source programs:...

  • Page 7: Overview Of Chapters

    PLA filaments. By the end of Chapter 2, you will be able to print out your first 3D model using a pre-generated g-code for the Artifex 3D printer. Chapter 3 will discuss how to generate g-code from a 3D model of your choice, either from your own creation or from an online 3D model repository.

  • Page 8: Getting Started

    Like other device drivers, the electronics driver of your 3D printer allows your computer to recognize the printer when you connect it to the computer. The Artifex 3D Printer uses the RAMBo electronics from Ultimachine. No installation is required for Mac and Linux systems.
  • Page 9 Under ”Other devices”, you will find the RAMBo device, right click and select ”Update Driver Software...”. (Figure 2.2) Figure 2.2: Update driver software 5. A window will pop up, asking whether to ”Search automatically...” or ”Browse my computer...”. Select ”Browse my computer...” (Figure 2.3) http: // 3dmakerworld. com...
  • Page 10 Figure 2.3: Select “Browse my computer...” 6. In the popped up window, select the folder where you unzipped the archive file. In our case, the location is ”C: Desktop RAMBo USBdriver”. Then, click ”Next”. (Fig- ure 2.4) http: // 3dmakerworld. com...
  • Page 11 7. A security window may pop up (Figure 2.5). If so, click ”Install”. Figure 2.5: Confirm software installation 8. After the installation, you will be noticed that ”Windows has successfully updated your driver software”. Click ”Close”. (Figure 2.6) http: // 3dmakerworld. com...
  • Page 12 9. Now, the RAMBo electronics will appear under the ”Ports (COM & LPT)”. Write down the COM port which the electronics uses. We will need this information later when setting up the printing software. In our case, it is COM3. (Figure 2.7) http: // 3dmakerworld. com...

  • Page 13: Uploading Firmware (Kit Package Only)

    2.1.2 Uploading firmware (Kit package only) The firmware of your 3D printer is like the operating system of your computer. The Artifex 3D Printer uses a customized Marlin-based firmware. For a fully assembled Artifex 3D Printer, its firmware is already loaded before the shipment.
  • Page 14 Figure 2.8: Unzip the Arduino zip file using 7-Zip Open the folder and there is a file named “arduino.exe” (Figure 2.9). It is the executable program of the Arduino IDE software. No further installation is needed. http: // 3dmakerworld. com...
  • Page 15 Figure 2.9: The unzipped Arduino 1.0.5 files 2. Upload the firmware of Artifex 3D Printer The Artifex 3D Printer is shipped with a customized Marlin-based firmware. Download the Artifex firmware from http://3dmakerworld.com/support/downloads, save it to your computer’s Desktop or a location of your choice.
  • Page 16 2 GETTING STARTED Figure 2.10: Unzip the Artifex firmware zip file using 7-Zip Open the Arduino IDE software, arduino.exe. The software interface is shown in Figure 2.11. Figure 2.11: The Arduino IDE software http: // 3dmakerworld. com...
  • Page 17 Open...” (Figure 2.12). Figure 2.12: Open files in the Arduino IDE software Select the file “Marlin.ino” in the unzipped Artifex firmware file folder “C: Desktop ArtifexFirmware1.0 Marlin” (Figure 2.13), and click “Open”. Fig- ure 2.14 shows the Arduino IDE with opened Artifex firmware files.
  • Page 18 2 GETTING STARTED Figure 2.14: The Arduino IDE with opened Artifex firmware files Select “Tools Board Arduino Mega 2560 or Mega ADK”. (Figure 2.15) Figure 2.15: Select the board type of Artifex electronics Select “Tools Serial Port COM3”. (Figure 2.16)
  • Page 19 Figure 2.16: Select the serial port of Artifex electronics Select “File Upload” to upload the Artifex firmware to its electronics (Fig- ure 2.17). Before uploading, the Arduino IDE will first compile the firmware files. The progress of compiling and uploading is shown in the bottom status window.
  • Page 20 2 GETTING STARTED Figure 2.17: Upload the Artifex firmware If the uploading is successful, you will see the message of “Done uploading” in the bottom status window (Figure 2.18). If the compiling or uploading is not successful, the error message will be shown in the status window as well. Common causes of uploading failure include: wrong Arduino board type, wrong serial port, or serial port conflict (e.g., the same serial port is used by your printing software,...

  • Page 21: Installing And Configuring Printing Software

    Repetier-Host can work on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. The following steps are based on the Windows version 0.90C. 1. Download the Repetier-Host set-up file from http://www.repetier.com/download/. 2. Run the set-up file to install the Repetier-Host software. After the installation, open the Repetier-Host. (Figure 2.19) http: // 3dmakerworld. com...
  • Page 22 In the window of Printer Settings (Figure 2.21), enter the printer name “Artifex” on the top, and configure settings on the “Connection” page as shown in the figure. Make sure the port number matches the serial number used by your Artifex 3D Printer.
  • Page 23 Figure 2.21: Printer Settings: Connection Configure the settings on the “Printer” page (Figure 2.22). Depending on your printing materials, the default temperature of extruder and heated bed can be set to either 180C/70C (PLA), or 220C/95C (ABS). http: // 3dmakerworld. com...
  • Page 24 2 GETTING STARTED Figure 2.22: Printer Settings: Printer Configure the settings on the “Printer Shape” page. (Figure 2.23) Figure 2.23: Printer Settings: Printer Shape Configure the settings on the “Advanced” page. Nothing to change on the page. http: // 3dmakerworld. com...
  • Page 25 2 GETTING STARTED Just click “OK” and the Repetier-Host is ready to use with your Artifex 3D Printer. (Figure 2.24) Figure 2.24: Printer Settings: Advanced Click the drop-down arrow next to the “Connect” button, and select “Artifex” (Figure 2.25). The Repetier-Host is now connected with your Artifex 3D Printer, as confirmed by the message shown on the bottom status bar (Figure 2.26).

  • Page 26: Setting Up Printer Hardware

    Caution: Before powering up your Artifex 3D Printer, check the voltage selection of the Power Supply Unit (PSU) on the bottom left of your Artifex 3D Printer, and make sure it matches the voltage supply in your area. (Figure 2.27)
  • Page 27 Figure 2.27: Voltage selection of PSU Insert the power cord into the AC input receptacle on the back of your Artifex 3D Printer. Plug the power cord into an electrical outlet, and turn on the power switch next to the AC input receptacle.

  • Page 28: Checking Mechanical Motion (Kit Package Only)

    The mechanical movement has been checked in a fully assembled Artifex 3D printer. The process listed in this section is only needed if you are assembling your own Artifex 3D printer from a kit package, although information provided here can help you gain better understanding of your Artifex 3D printer even you start with a fully assembled Artifex.
  • Page 29 2. Power off the printer and unplug the USB cable before you open the electronics case or flip the connector of any motor cable. 3. When opening the electronics case, be careful not to break the cable of electronics fan, which is mounted on the top cover of electronics case. http: // 3dmakerworld. com...

  • Page 30: Leveling Hbp

    Leveling HBP A 3D object is formed layer by layer by extruding the melt filament onto the last layer of object. The first layer of object is directly printed onto the printing surface. In order to http: // 3dmakerworld. com...
  • Page 31 Figure 2.32: Checking the levelness of X-axis Adjust the 3-point bed leveling thumb screws to let the bottom of hex screw be flush with the bottom of thumb screw (Figure 2.33). This operation is to ensure http: // 3dmakerworld. com...
  • Page 32 Adjust the Z-axis endstop trigger screw in the back of right X-end (Figure 2.34) so the extruder’s nozzle tip almost touches the HBP when the Z-axis endstop is triggered. You may need to raise and home the Z-axis several times to finish this step. http: // 3dmakerworld. com...
  • Page 33 Step 3 Leveling HBP Manually move the extruder to the middle of HBP left edge. Slide the 0.1mm feeler gauge provided in your Artifex package, or a piece of thin paper, between the nozzle tip and the HBP. Adjust the left leveling thumb screw until the feeler gauge, or the paper, can just slide between the nozzle and the HBP with some resistance.

  • Page 34: Loading Filaments

    2. When adjusting the 3-point thumb screws, you may feel it is very tight to turn the screws. This is normal. The Artifex 3D Printer uses quite strong wave springs for bed leveling to prevent the screw to get loose during printing.
  • Page 35 On the “Manual Control” page of Repetier-Host, there is an “Extruder” section (Figure 2.38). After the Repetier-Host is connected with your Artifex 3D printer, the extruder target temperature shows 180 C as we set in Chapter 2. Click the “Heat Extruder”...
  • Page 36 “Temperature” manu (Figure 2.39). Then, on the left side of the Repetier-Host, select the “Temperature Curve” page to display the temperature information (Figure 2.40). Figure 2.39: Top menu for temperature monitoring on Repetier-Host interface http: // 3dmakerworld. com...
  • Page 37 Step 3 Extruding filament through the extruder Once the extruder temperature reaches a steady state at the target of 180 C, pop up the filament guide tube from the filament drive, and gently push the filament into the filament drive. (Figure 2.41) http: // 3dmakerworld. com...
  • Page 38 Continue gently pushing the filament downwards until you feel the pulling from the extruder motor. If needed, click the “ ” command again to extrude out more filament until you see a steady stream of melt filament extruded out of the extruder nozzle. (Figure 2.42) http: // 3dmakerworld. com...

  • Page 39: Printing Out Your First 3D Model

    In this section, you will print out a 3D model from a pre-generated G-code file. The G-code file contains a list of instructions to control your Artifex 3D printer to make a 3D model layer by layer. Chapter 4 will discuss how to generate the g-code from a 3D model file to print out any 3D model of your choice.
  • Page 40 3. On the Repetier-Host interface, click the “Load” button on the top menu bar (Figure 2.44). Locate the downloaded file “CuteOcto PLA.gcode” and open it. Figure 2.44: Loading file from the Repetier-Host interface 4. The Repetier-Host interface with the loaded file is shown in Figure 2.45. http: // 3dmakerworld. com...
  • Page 41 6. After the print job is done, you will get your first 3D model printed out from your Artifex 3D model (Figure 2.47). Wait until both the extruder and HBP completely cool down before you take off the print off the HBP.
  • Page 42 2 GETTING STARTED Figure 2.47: Printed cute octopus 3D model http: // 3dmakerworld. com...

  • Page 43: Working With 3D Models

    3 WORKING WITH 3D MODELS Working with 3D Models In this chapter, we will discuss how to generate the G-code for your Artifex 3D Printer from a 3D model of your choice, either downloaded from an online 3D model repository or created by your own.

  • Page 44: Generating G-Code From 3D Models

    3 WORKING WITH 3D MODELS Generating G-code from 3D models After you get a 3D model, you need to slice it into horizontal layers for your Artifex 3D Printer to print it out layer by layer. The instructions which command your Artifex 3D Printer to do the layer-by-layer printing are saved in a G-code file.

  • Page 45: Configuring Slic3R

    Configuring Slic3r Click the “Slicer” page next to the “Object Placement” page on the right side of Repetier-Host interface. On the top of the “Slicer” page is the option for the Sli3r slicer program (Figure 3.2). http: // 3dmakerworld. com...
  • Page 46 3 WORKING WITH 3D MODELS Figure 3.2: Slicer page on the Repetier-Host interface Click the “Configure” button in the “Slic3r” section, and a window will pop up showing the Slic3r program (Figure 3.3). Figure 3.3: Slic3r program window http: // 3dmakerworld. com...
  • Page 47 Slic3r Manual (http://manual.slic3r.org/). Some configuration examples are provided on our website for you to start with your Artifex 3D Printer. The process below shows how to import such configuration files into Slic3r to slice your 3D models. Once you get more familiar with the Slic3r program and the printing process, you can tweak slicing parameters to meet your specific needs for different models.

  • Page 48: Slicing 3D Models

    3.2.3 Slicing 3D models On the Slicer page of Repetier-Host interface, select “Artifex PLA” for Print Settings, Printer Settings, and Filament Settings (Extruder 1) in Slic3r section. (Figure 3.2) Click the “Slice with Slic3r” button, and a window will pop up showing the slicing progress (Figure 3.6).
  • Page 49 first layer of print will look like (Figure 3.8). When configuring your own slicing settings, this visualization feature will become very handy to check the slicing result before sending the job to your 3D printer. http: // 3dmakerworld. com...
  • Page 50 3 WORKING WITH 3D MODELS Figure 3.8: Previewing the first layer of print in Repetier-Host http: // 3dmakerworld. com...

  • Page 51: Printing With Abs Filaments

    ABS filaments, the only difference will be the default extruder and heated bed tem- peratures. Change the Default Extruder Temperature to 220 C, and the Default Heated Bed Temperature to 95 C. (Figure 4.1) Figure 4.1: Printer Settings in Repetier-Host for printing with ABS http: // 3dmakerworld. com...

  • Page 52: The Slicing Settings

    4.1.2 The slicing settings Download the slicing configuration file, Artifex ABS.ini, from our website. Then, follow the steps in Sections 3.2.2 to update slicing settings for printing with ABS filaments. The main difference from the settings for printing with PLA filaments are: Print settings A brim of 2mm width is added for the print to better stick to the print surface.
  • Page 53 Instead, we clean the print tape surface using 91% rubbing alcohol in the end. The 3DMakerWorld Artifex 3D Printer comes with a 3-point leveling system and adjustable Z-axis zeroing capability, which help achieve a leveled build platform with its height fine tuned.
  • Page 54 Clean the PET tape using 91% rubbing alcohol (Figure 2.43) with a piece of paper towel. Figure 4.3 shows the finished HBP with a PET tape covered glass plate. Figure 4.3: The HBP with a PET tape covered glass plate http: // 3dmakerworld. com...

  • Page 55: Support

    5 SUPPORT Support If you experience any difficulty when operating the Artifex 3D Printer, please contact us at: Email: support@3dmakerworld.com Phone: (913)897-8359 Submit your questions: http://www.3dmakerworld.com/contacts For updates of software/documents and other technical support topics, please visit us at http://www.3dmakerworld.com/support.

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