Original Prusa I3 MK2 Manual
Have a look at the manual Original Prusa I3 MK2 Manual online for free. It’s possible to download the document as PDF or print. UserManuals.tech offer 1 Prusa manuals and user’s guides for free. Share the user manual or guide on Facebook, Twitter or Google+.
6.3.8 Loading the filament into the extruder ● You need to preheat th e no zzl e b efo re in se rtin g th e fila m ent ( a nd th e b ed to o if yo u like to print right away). T he te mp era tu re d epends on th e mate ria l u se d. D eta ile d information about no zzl e a nd b ed te mp era tu re s are d escr ib ed a t ch apte r 10 Materials . ● Press the LCD-knob to e nte r th e ma in me nu o n th e L C D. R ota te th e b utto n to ch oose Preheat option and co nfirm by pre ssi ng th e L C D-kn ob. N ext yo u ch oose th e mate ria l you will print from. C hoose a mate ria l th en co nfirm wit h L C D-kn ob. T he n ozzl e a nd heatbed will heat to th e re quest ed te mp era tu re . ● Press the LCD-knob o n th e L C D p anel to e nte r th e ma in m enu. In se rt th e fila m ent to the extruder, choose th e Load fila m en t optio n in th e me nu a nd p re ss th e b utto n to confirm. Filament is th en lo aded to th e e xt ru der by th e e xt ru der st epper automatically. You should cut th e to p o f th e fila me nt a s sh ow n in th e p ict ure b elo w (p ict .7 - detail). Pict. 7 - Loadin g th e fila me nt to th e e xt ru der ● Check if the filament is flo w in g fro m th e nozzl e . ● If you change the fila me nt fo r a n ew o ne d o n ot fo rg et to co mple te ly re m ove th e o ld filament before the prin tin g b y ext ru din g th e fila me nt fro m Settin gs - M ove a xis - Extruder until the colo r is co mp le te ly ch anged. If your filament is running out d urin g a p rin t, yo u ca n e asi ly ch ange it fo r a n ew sp ool. Ju st g o to the LCD menu, select Tw eak su bme nu a nd p re ss Chan ge fi la m en t . P rin te r w ill p ause , g o out of the print area, unlo ad th e o ld fila me nt a nd g uid e yo u o n th e L C D w hat to d o. Y ou ca n even insert filament of dif fe re nt co lo r and ma ke yo ur prin ts mo re co lo rfu l. C heck out ch apte r 9.5 Printing in color with Co lo rPri nt to fin d o ut h ow to ma ke mo re in tr ica te co lo r m odels. 21
6.3.8.1 Unloading the filame nt Similar procedure to the lo adin g o pera tio n. Preh eat th e n ozzl e fo r m ate ria l yo u u se d la st time (pre assembled prin te rs are sh ip ped w it h PL A). W ait fo r te m pera tu re s to st abilize a nd use Unload filament option fro m th e me nu. 6.3.9 First layer calibration (kit on ly ) NOTE: The calibration pro cess has been ma de e asi er and is now ca lle d V 2 C alib ra tio n. If the V2Calibration.gcode is not p re se nt o n yo ur SD ca rd yo u ca n e asi ly obta in it fr o m o ur support or on our http://www.p ru sa 3d.co m/ drive rs/ p age. Check if your prin t su rfa ce is c le an ! You ca n fin d in st ru ct io ns how to cl ean it in the chapter 6.3.2 PEI p rin t su rface p re para tio n . D on't fo rg et to co mple te 6.3 .5 Calibrate XYZ chapte r or yo u c an p erm an en tly d am ag e t h e p rin t s u rfa ce ! Now we will finally calibrat e th e d ist ance b etw een tip o f th e n ozzl e a nd th e p ro be. P re heat the nozzle for PLA. On the L C D me nu, g o to Prin t fr om SD a nd r u n V2calib ra tio n.g co de file from the bundled SD c ard . The printer will probe the b ed a nd st art p rin tin g zi g za g p atte rn o n th e p rin t su rfa ce . T he nozzle will be at the heigh t b ase d o n th e P. I.N .D .A pro be se ttin g, it m ust n ot b y any m eans touch the print surface. Pict. 8 - How to tu ne th e n ozzl e h eig ht live d urin g th e te st p rin t 22
Observe the line which is bein g e xt ru ded o n th e p rin t su rface . G o to th e L C D m enu a nd choose the Live adjust Z o ptio n. A new me nu w ill sh ow u p w here yo u ca n tu ne th e n ozzl e height live during the test prin t. T he p oin t is to lo w er th e n ozzl e u ntil th e e xt ru ded p la st ic sticks nicely to the bed an d yo u ca n se e it is bein g sl ig htly sq uish ed. S et va lu e sh ould n ot exceed -1 mm, if you have to a d ju st it m ore , m ove th e p ro be s lig htly h ig her a nd r e ru n Calibrate Z followed by the V2 Calib ra tio n.g co de a gain . Pict. 9 - The p ro perly tu ned first la ye r 6.3.9.1 Bed level correctio n (k it on ly) A bed level correction is an a dva nce d fe atu re in tro duce d in th e fir m ware 3 .0 .6 a nd is designed to allow advanc ed u se rs to co rre ct fo r th e sl ig hte st imp erfe ct io ns in th e fir st la ye r. This feature can be found in Calib ra ti on - Bed le vel c o rre cti on. F or e xa mple if th e fir st layer seems to be ever so sl ig htly mo re sq uish ed o n th e ri g ht si de. Y ou ca n vi rtu ally lo w er the bed by -20 microns on th e ri g ht si de. Se ttin gs are a va ila ble fo r L eft, R ig ht, F ro nt a nd Back. The limit is +-50 m icro ns and e ve n +-2 0 mi cro ns ca n ma ke a h uge d if fe re nce . W hen you are using this functio n, d o sma ll in cre menta l ch anges. N egative va lu e w ill a ct a s lowering the bed in the sel ect ed d ire ctio n. 6.3.10 Finetuning the first layer 6.3.10.1 Print prusa logo After finishing the calibrat io n g co de, it is a g ood id ea to p rin t a si m ple o bje ct . T he P ru sa gcode from the supplied SD ca rd is a g re at e xa mp le . T he Liv e a d ju st Z fu nct io n ( d escr ib ed in 6.3.9. First layer calibra tio n ) w orks durin g e ve ry prin t, so yo u ca n fin etu ne a t a ny poin t. You can see the properly tu ned first la ye r on th e ima ges belo w . Calibration might b e sl ig htly dif fe re nt fo r mu lt ip le ma te ria ls. It is a g ood p ra ct ice to check the first layer and a dju st a cco rdin gly wit h Liv e a d ju st Z w hen sw it ch in g between different typ es of fila me nt. Pict. 1 0 - Pe rfect Pru sa lo go first la ye r 23
6.3.10.2 Check probe hei ght (k it on ly) If the first layer seems in co nsi st ent b etw een mu lt ip le p rin ts, th e p ro be m ig ht b e too high. Lower it sl ig htly and try again Calib ra ti on XYZ . K eep in m in d, th e p ro be must be always hig her th an th e n ozzl e tip , o th erw ise it w ill ca tch o n p rin ts. Pic. 1 1 - Pro be re sp onse d ia gra m. 6.3.11 Securing of the probe (kit only) After couple of prints id eally se cure th e b otto m nut o n th e p ro be w it h a d ro p o f Loctite 243 (Blue T hre adlo cke r) to p re ve nt lo ose nin g o ve r tim e. Pict. 12 - Secure th e b otto m nut o n th e p ro be w it h a d ro p o f L oct it e 2 43 Now you are done! 24
7 Printing ● Make sure that the nozzl e a nd th e b ed a re h eate d to th e d esi re d te m pera tu re . If yo u forget to preheat th e prin tin g nozzl e a nd th e b ed b efo re prin tin g, th e prin te r w ill automatically check th e te mp era tu re s of th e nozzl e a nd th e b ed; prin tin g w ill st art when desired tempera tu re is re ach ed - it ca n ta ke se veral m in ute s. H ow eve r, w e recommend preheatin g th e prin te r b efo re hand a s descri bed in th e ch apte r 6.3 .8 Loading the filament in to th e e xt ru der . Do not let the preheate d p rin te r id le . W hen a p rin te r is pre heate d a nd n on-p rin tin g material in an extruder degra des ove r time - it ma y ca use th e n ozzl e to ja m u p. ● Watch the first few p rin te d la yers to b e s u re fila m en t h as a tta ch ed t o t h e b ed properly (5 to 10 m in ute s). ● Press the LCD-knob a nd ch oose th e Prin t fr om SD optio n fr o m m enu, p re ss to confirm and pick the d esi re d model model_ n am e.g co de . P rin te r w ill st art prin tin g th e object. The filename (.gcode) m ust not co nta in a n y s p ecia l c h ara cte rs o th erw ise th e printer is not able to d isp la y th e file o n th e L C D. If yo u re move th e S D w hile p rin tin g, printer will pause auto ma tica lly. W hen yo u re in se rt th e SD , p re ss th e L C D-kn ob a nd choose “Continue” optio n. C onfirm and p rin tin g w ill re su me. 7.1 Removing objec ts f rom the p rin ter. ● When printing is finish ed le t th e n ozzl e a nd h eatb ed co ol d ow n b efo re r e m ovi ng th e printed object. Always handle th e p rin te d o bje ct s when te m pera tu re o f th e b ed a nd nozzle drop to the ro om te mp era tu re , w hen th e b ed is hot o bje ct s are ve ry hard to remove. Pull the bed to w ard s yo u a nd re mo ve th e o bje ct g ently. ● If you experience any tro uble s re mo ving th e o bje ct (e sp eci ally th e sm all o nes) yo u can use a flat tool like a sp atu la with r o unded c o rn ers to p re ve nt d am age o f P E I . Slide the spatula under th e co rner of th e o bje ct a nd g ently push , u ntil th e p rin t p ops of. Pict. 13 - Remo ving th e model fro m PEI p rin t su rface w it h sp atu la 25
If your prints are stuck to o w ell a nd d on’t w ant to se para te , try usi ng a den ta l f lo ss . S lid e a dental floss under the cor ner of th e o bje ct w hich yo u p re viousl y se para te d b y th e sp atu la a in saw like motion gently separa te th e o bje ct fro m th e p rin t su rface . D enta l flo ss is genera lly covered in wax so the pri nt su rface n eeds to b e cle an ed th oro ughly b efo re a n ext p rin t. 7.2 Printer Control There are two ways contro llin g th e prin te r . Yo u ca n u se th e L C D p anel in te gra te d w it h th e printer or you can connect yo ur co mp ute r w it h U SB cable . W e su ggest th e LC D p an el because of its speed and relia bilit y, a nd mo reove r yo u d o n ot re ly on a co mpute r. 7.2.1 LCD screen ● Main screen is an in fo rm ati on s cre en disp la yi ng th e mo st im porta nt d eta ils. T hese are the temperature o f th e nozzl e a nd th e heatb ed (1 , 2 ), prin tin g tim e ( 3 ) a nd th e actual Z-axis positio n (5 ). Pict. 1 4 - LC D la yo ut 1. Nozzle temperature (a ctual / d esi re d te mp era tu re ) 2. Heatbed temperatu re (a ctual / d esi re d te mp era tu re ) 3. Progress of printing in % - sh ow n o nly durin g th e prin tin g 4. Status bar (Prusa i3 MK ready / Heatin g / mo del_ name .g co de, e tc. ) 5. Z-axis position 6. Printing speed 7. Elapsed printing time - sh ow n o nly when prin tin g 7.2.2 Print statistics The printer tracks printing statist ics. W hen yo u a cce ss th is optio n d urin g a p rin t, yo u w ill se e statistics for the running pri nt. If yo u d o so w hile th e p rin te r is id le , yo u w ill se e th e lif e tim e statistics. Both filament u sage a nd p rin t time is bein g tra cke d. 26
7.2.2 Silent vs. Hi-power mode The printer offers two set tin gs fo r mo to r pow er co nsu mp tio n. Si le nt u se s le ss curre nt a nd makes the printer quieter , b ut le ss pow erf ul. H i-p ow er is gre at fo r ve ry la rg e ( o ve r 2 00 g ra m ) prints and for freshly asse mble d ki ts befo re yo u fin e tu ne e ve ryt hin g. If yo u e xp erie nce lo st steps (shifted layers) or if yo u’re ma nually adju st in g sp eed o f p rin tin g to m ore th an 1 00% , use Hi-power mode. 7.2.3 Factory reset There are two versions of a fa ct ory rese t ● Light factory reset w hich re se ts only th e p rin te r la nguage se le ct io n. A ll th e calibration data includin g th e L ive a dju st Z re ma in in ta ct . E ve n th ough th e ca lib ra tio n data are still present a nd fu nct io nal, th e p rin te r w ill p ro mp t u se r o nce to r u n th e Calibrate Z function (si nce 3 .0 .8 firmw are ). T his lig ht fa ct ory re se t is m ain ly use d fo r resetting of assemble d p rin te rs befo re sh ip pin g o ut o f th e fa ct ory, a nd u se rs are expected to select th eir la nguage a nd ru n C alib ra te Z a fte r u npacki ng. ● Full factory reset w hich re se ts eve ryt hin g in cl udin g a ll ca lib ra tio n d ata . A fte r th is reset, user is expected to g o th ro ugh th e ca lib ra tio n flo w a gain , e xce pt se ttin g th e probe height. If you accidentally select unkn ow n la nguage a nd ca n't g o b ack or p la n to sh ip th e p rin te r to someone, use light factory rese t. If you experience random glit ch es afte r firmw are u pdate o r afte r prin te r u pgra de, u se fu ll factory reset. 7.2.3.1 Light factory reset 1. Press and release th e r e set butto n (ma rked X and p osi tio ned u nder th e co ntr o l knob on the LCD panel) 2. Press and hold the c o ntr ol k n ob u ntil yo u h ear a b eep 3. Release the control k n ob When done correctly, the p rin te r LC D w ill sh ow th e la nguage se le ct io n. 7.2.3.2 Full factory reset Full reset procedure is bit mo re co mp le x as doin g it a cci denta lly use r n eeds to sp end 2 0 minutes calibrating. 27
1. Press and release th e r e set butto n (ma rked X and p osi tio ned u nder th e co ntr o l knob on the LCD panel) 2. Press and hold the c o ntr ol k n ob u ntil yo u h ear a b eep 3. Release the control k n ob 4. Immediately press a n d h old th e c o ntr ol k n ob u ntil yo u h ear a d ouble b eep 5. Release the control k n ob When done correctly, the p rin te r LC D w ill sh ow th e la nguage se le ct io n. 7.2.4 LCD layout Items not mentioned b elo w a re n ot u se d fo r th e co mmo n prin t se tu p - yo u sh ould n ot change any of the u nme ntio ned it e ms u nle ss you a re a bso lu te ly su re w hat yo u a re doing. ❏ Info screen ❏ Live adjust Z (during th e prin tin g p ro ce ss only) ❏ Tune (during the printin g p ro ce ss only) ❏ Speed ❏ Nozzle ❏ Bed ❏ Fan speed ❏ Flow ❏ Change filame nt ❏ Mode ❏ Pause print (during th e prin tin g p ro ce ss only) ❏ Stop print (during th e prin tin g p ro ce ss only) ❏ Preheat ❏ ABS - 255/1 00 ❏ PLA - 215/55 ❏ PET - 240/90 ❏ HIPS - 220/1 00 ❏ PP - 254/100 ❏ FLEX - 230/5 0 ❏ Cooldown ❏ Print from SD ❏ Load filament ❏ Unload filament 28
❏ Calibration ❏ Selftest ❏ Calibrate XYZ ❏ Calibrate Z ❏ Mesh Bed L eve lin g ❏ Auto home ❏ Bed level correct ❏ Show end st ops ❏ Reset XYZ calib r. ❏ Settings ❏ Temperature ❏ Nozzle ❏ Bed ❏ Fan sp eed ❏ Move axis ❏ Move X ❏ Move Y ❏ Move Z ❏ Extruder ❏ Disable steppers ❏ Mode - Power / Si le nt ❏ Live adjust Z ❏ Select language ❏ Statistics ❏ Support ❏ prusa3d.com ❏ forum.prusa3d.co m ❏ howto.prusa3d.co m 29
7.2.5 Print speed versus print quality Printing a small object tak es a fe w mi nute s, b ut p rin tin g la rg er mo dels is tim e co nsu min g - there are prints taking tens of h ours. T he o ve rall p rin tin g time ca n b e ch anged b y dif fe re nt ways. First way to alter th e p rin tin g sp eed is ch angin g la ye r heig ht in S lic3 r - u pper r ig ht windows shows Print setti ngs optio n. D efa ult se ttin g is 0.2 0 mm (N O RM AL), yo u ca n sp eed up the printer by choosing th e 0 .3 5 mm (FAST ) optio n. R aisi ng sp eed w ill r e su lt th e m odel to be less detailed with visib le la ye r bord ers. If yo u p re fe r qualit y ove r sp eed, ch oose 0 .1 0 m m (DETAIL) option. Printing time w ill d ouble b ut th e mo del g ets th e e xt ra d eta il. A gain , h ig her printing speed results in le ss deta ile d mo del . Speed can be changed a lso w hile p rin tin g. L C D sh ow s th e F R 1 00 % it e m - it ’s act ual p rin t speed (feed rate). By turn in g th e L C D-kn ob cl ockw ise yo u ca n in cr ease th e p rin t sp eed u p to 999 %. However, we do n ot a dvi se to in cre ase th e sp eed o ve r 200 % . W atch th e r e su lt s of increased speed on the pri nte d mo del a nd a dju st th e sp eed e ve ntu ally. When increasing th e sp eed a lw ays check th e mo del is co ole d p ro perly - e sp eci ally when printing small o bje ct fro m ABS in cre ase d sp eed ca use s th e d ist ortio n (sometimes called “w arp in g”) of th e mo del. Yo u ca n p re ve nt th is issu e b y prin tin g more similar objects to geth er - la ye r prin tin g in te rva l is lo ng e nough to p re ve nt th is issue. If the model shows lower qualit y th an d esi re d yo u ca n d ecre ase th e p rin tin g sp eed - tu rn th e LCD-knob counterclockw ise . Mi nimu m usa ble p rin tin g sp eed is aro und 2 0 % o f n om in al speed. 7.2.6 USB cable and Pronterface We strongly recommend to u se L C D p anel w hile p rin tin g o n P ru sa i3 M K2 - Pronterface doesn’t su pport a ll fu nct io ns of a n ew firmw are ( e .g . fila m ent ch ange while printing). Keep in mind that when pri ntin g fro m th e Pro nte rf ace th e co m pute r m ust b e c o nnecte d t o the printer during the whole prin ting p ro cess - co mp ute r mu st b e p re ve nte d fr o m sl eep, hibernation or shutting do wn. D isco nnect in g th e co mp ute r durin g th e prin t e nds th e prin tin g without the option to finish th e o bje ct . ● Connect the printer to th e co mp ute r w it h th e U SB cable . 30