Original Prusa I3 MK2 Manual
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10 Materials Temperatures and the heatb ed tre atme nt b efo re prin t a cco rdin g to a sp eci fic mate ria l . 10.1 ABS Material suitable for comm on, ro bust o bje ct s. ● Nozzle temperature : 255 °C ● Bed temperature: 10 0 ° C . Yo u ca n se t th e b ed te mp era tu re b etw een 8 0 to 1 10 ° C depending the size o f a n o bje ct (l a rg er obje ct me ans hig her te m pera tu re ) ● Heatbed: Make sure th e su rface is clean a s descri bed in 6.3 .2 P EI p rin t su rfa ce preparation chapter 10.2 PLA Material suitable for detaile d models . PL A is ma de o f re new able so urce s, m ost ly fr o m th e cornflour and cellulose. T his ma te ria l o nly is pro ve n fo r 50 mi cro ns la ye r h eig ht. ● Nozzle temperature : 215 ° C ● Bed temperature: 50 - 60 ° C ● Heatbed: Make sure th e su rface is clean, a s descri bed in 6.3 .2 P E I p rin t su rfa ce preparation chapter 10.3 PET Material suitable for large obje ct s th anks to it s mi nima l th erma l e xp ansi on. U nive rsa l mate ria l suited also for printable mechanica l co mp onents. ● Nozzle temperature : 240 ° C ● Bed temperature: 80 - 100 ° C ● Heatbed: Make sure th e su rface is clean, a s descri bed in 6.3 .2 P E I p rin t su rfa ce preparation chapter. D o n ot u se iso pro pyl a lco hol to cl ean th e b ed, o r th e a dhesi on may be too strong, if yo u d o n ot h ave a nyt hin g e lse o n h and u se th e b undle d g lu e a s a separator after cleanin g it . W in dex or si mi la r w in dow s cleaner is gre at o ptio n fo r PET and you don’t n eed to u se th e g lu e a fte r th e cl eanin g. P our a lit tle a m ount o n unscented paper to w el a nd w ip e th e p rin t su rface . 10.4 HIPS Universal, stable material w it h g ood h eat re sist ance su it e d fo r prin ta ble mech anica l components. ● Nozzle temperature : 220 ° C ● Bed temperature: 10 0 ° C . Yo u ca n se t th e b ed te mp era tu re b etw een 8 0 to 1 10 ° C depending the size o f a n o bje ct (l a rg er obje ct me ans hig her te m pera tu re ) ● Heatbed: Make sure th e su rface is clean, a s descri bed in 6.3 .2 P E I p rin t su rfa ce preparation chapter 41
10.5 PP Polypropylene is a flexible a nd re sist ant mate ria l su it a ble fo r prin tin g o f th e p re ci se o bje ct s requiring the flexibility, fir mness and p ersi stence . ● Nozzle temperature : 254 ° C ● Bed temperature: 95 - 100 ° C . ● Heatbed: The best re su lt s are o bta in ed w it h co mmo n sco tch ta pe - ju st a tta ch th e tape directly to the p rin t su rface a nd cl ean it a fte r th e p rin t is fin ish ed. 10.6 Nylon (Taulman Brid ge) Nylon is very tough materi al su it a ble fo r me chanica l p art s. ● Nozzle temperature : 240 ° C ● Bed temperature: 80 - 90 ° C . ● Heatbed: Use one co at o f g lu e st ick. C le an a s descri bed a fte r th e p rin t. 10.7 Flex Flex is a very strong and fle xi ble mate ria l su it a ble e sp eci ally fo r th e fle xi ble p ro to typ es, covers, etc. Important: Befo re yo u st art p rin tin g fro m Fle x, cl ean th e n ozzl e fr o m th e previous material - prehea t th e n ozzl e a nd lo ad PL A to re mo ve a ny oth er p re vi ous m ate ria l. When loading Flex loose n th e e xt ru der (id le r) scre ws. Ke ep in m in d th at w hen p rin tin g fr o m Flex the automatic filame nt e xch ange fu nct io n ma y not w ork pro perly. ● Nozzle temperature : 230 ° C ● Bed temperature: 50 ° C . Yo u ca n se t th e b ed te mp era tu re u p to 6 5 ° C d ependin g the size of an object. (l a rg er obje ct me ans hig her te mp era tu re ) ● Heatbed: Make sure th e su rface is clean a s descri bed in 6.3 .2 P EI p rin t su rfa ce preparation chapter. So me ve ry soft fle x ma te ria ls ca n b ond to th e b ed to o m uch a nd require to use glue o n th e b ed a s se para to r to p re ve nt PEI d am age. 10.8 Dialing in new materials Each manufacturer produce s slig htly dif fe re nt ma te ria l e ve n th ough, th ey are u nder th e same group. For example Pru sa PL A and C olo rF abb PL A will h ave sl ig htly dif fe re nt o utp ut when printed. To achieve the best poss ib le o utp ut yo u sh ould e xp erime nt w it h th e nozzl e t e m pera tu re , fan speed , print speed and flow . Al l o f th ese ca n b e ch anged e ve n d urin g a p rin t fr o m th e Tweak menu on the LCD panel. Same also applies even fo r m ate ria ls w hic h a re n ot lis te d h ere . T ake th e m anufa ct ure r suggested settings, find th e cl ose st ma tch in Sl ic3 r ma te ria l p ro file s, m odif y and sa ve a s new. Continue by printing fe w s im ple te st pie ces a n d c o ntinuously u se t h e T w eak menu. After each improveme nt, d on’t fo rg et to mo dif y th e se ttin gs in S lic3 r. R ese t th e tw eak values before every print. Don’t forget to share you r s etti ngs o n o ur fo ru m s o r d ir e ctl y w it h u s. 42
11 FAQ - Printer mainte nance and p rint issu es 11.1 Print surface pre paration Print surface preparation is descri bed in 6.3 .2 PEI p rin t su rface p re para tio n ch apte r. 11.2 Clogged / jamme d e xtru der Material clogged in the ext ruder ca n ca use p ro ble ms wit h th e prin tin g o r w it h th e lo adin g o f a new filament . ● Heat the nozzle, remo ve th e fila me nt fro m th e e xt ru der and cu t th e r o d cca 1 0 cm above the damaged p art . ● The next step is to clean th e e xt ru der. T here is a se rvice h ole o n th e le ft si de o f th e extruder where you ca n a cce ss th e h obbed p ulle y (p ict . 2 8). ● Clean the hobbed pulle y, th en h eat th e no zzl e b efo re re lo adin g th e fila m ent . ● If a problem persists yo u w ill h ave to cl ean th e nozzl e . Pict. 28 - Cleaning the ext ru der - yo u ca n se e th e h obbed p ulle y th ro ugh th e se rvi ce h ole 43
11.3 Nozzle cleaning Use a wire brush to clean th e nozzl e fro m outsi de. H eat th e nozzl e b efo re yo u d o so . If filament is not extruded fro m a nozzl e (o r in ve ry sma ll vo lu me ), fir st ch eck th e e xt ru der fa n is working properly and that th e te mp era tu re is se t co rre ctly (PL A 2 10 ° C ; A B S 2 55 ° C , H IP S 220 °C, PET 240 °C). Als o ch eck th at th e fila me nt w as co rre ctly lo aded in to th e e xt ru der. If the filament pours out at le ast a lit tle , ch eck th e d ire ctio n. If it sw ir ls and g oes up to th e hotend you need to clean th e nozzl e . First you have to move th e e xt ru der to th e ri g htmo st p osi tio n, o ut o f th e w ay of th e heatb ed, to reach the nozzle from belo w . Heat the nozzle according to fila me nt yo u w ant to prin t fro m, lo ad th e fila m ent a nd p ut a bundled acupuncture ne ed le (0 ,3 -0 ,3 5 mm) in to th e nozzl e fro m b elo w - b etw een 1 a nd 2 cm deep. Choose Load filament optio n fro m th e L C D me nu a nd ch eck if fila m ent is ext ru ded p ro perly. Put the acupuncture needle in to th e n ozzl e a gain a nd re peat th ese st eps a fe w tim es m ore . When the filament is extr uded p ro perly, th e n ozzl e is clear. 11.4 Replacing / cha ngin g th e n oz zle Preheat the nozzle (LCD menu -> Se ttin gs -> Temp era tu re -> Nozzl e) a nd se t th e temperature to at least 200 °C . H eatin g th e n ozzl e is cru cial fo r re movi ng th e o ld n ozzl e a nd putting in the new one. 1) Move the extruder body upw ard s to g et to th e n ozzl e e nd ( L C D m enu - > Settin gs -> Move axis -> Move Z -> Se t th e h eig ht b y ro ta tin g th e L C D kn ob a nd th en co nfir m ). 2) Unscrew the screw o n fa n mouthpiece a nd th e tw o scre ws on th e prin t f a n and remove both parts (Pict. 2 9, p art 1) . 3) Remove the two front scre ws on th e no zzl e fa n (Pi ct. 2 9, p art 2 ). 4) Unscrew the two screw h old in g th e ex tr uder c o ver (Pict. 2 9, p art 3 ) . E ve n th ough the nozzle itself is acce ssible d ire ctly, w e re co mme nd to ta ke th e e xt ru der co ver to get access to the heatin g e le me nt. 5) Now the whole nozzle b ody is acce ssible (Pict. 2 9, p art 4) . 6) Hold the heating eleme nt w it h a sp anner (si ze 1 7) and u nscr ew th e n ozzl e (P ic t. 2 9, part 5) . Be careful, th e n ozzl e is s ti ll h ot! When the new nozzle is i nse rted, tig hte n it w hile th e n ozzl e is pre heate d. W hile tig hte nin g d o not forget to hold the hea tin g e le me nt w it h th e sp anner. R e-a sse mble th e e xt ru der, in se rt th e filament and you are read y to p rin t. Be careful, the n ozzl e is h ot durin g th is w hole p ro cess a n d c an c au se b urn s! Be careful around th e h ote nd th erm is to r le ad s, y o u c an b re ak t h em e asily . Be careful and d on’t ap ply fo rc e to th e n ozzl e o r h eate r b lo ck, y o u c an b en d the heatbreak easily . It is a good practice to run 6.3 .9 F ir s t la yer c alib ra ti on afte r ch angin g th e n ozzl e! 44
Pict. 2 9 - Nozzl e ch ange 11.5 Axis fluency ● If one of the axes doesn ’t mo ve flu id ly yo u ca n a pply a sm all a m ount o f o il ( e .g . a ll purpose machine o il). T his will lo w er th e fri ct io n. 45
11.6 Printing proble ms 11.6.1 Layers break and split when printing from ABS material ABS material has a higher th erma l e xp ansi on th an o th er mate ria ls . W e su ggest o th er materials as PET, HIPS or PLA when yo u prin t la rg er models . 11.6.2 Models contain either too much or not enough of the filament You can manage the filament flo w d urin g th e prin t . U se th e L C D-kn ob a nd ch oose Tune - Flow - xx% where you can a dju st th e fila me nt flo w . Pro nte rf ace u se rs ca n e nte r th e va lu e M221 Sxx into the comm and lin e. When you change the fila me nt flo w n ext prin t w ill u se th e sa me settin gs u nle ss you change it again in me nu o r yo u re se t th e prin te r o r unplu g it fr o m th e p ow er so urce . 11.7 Problems with f inished mod els 11.7.1 Model breaks and/or is easily damaged A typical feature of larger mo dels prin te d fro m ABS. If yo u h ave se t th e te m pera tu re properly , the printer is away fro m dra fts a nd o bje ct desi gn is rig ht, th e p rin te d o bje ct sh ould not break. The easiest wa y to a vo id b re aki ng o r ove rall mo del fra gilit y is to ch oose a d if fe re nt material . The strongest are PET , H IPS and PL A; w hile PL A has lo w h eat r e si st ance ,P E T is the firmest and has the low est th erma l e xp ansi on. 11.8 Updating printer firmw are Firmware update is a simp le p ro ce ss which is done vi a th e U SB cable a nd a co mpute r. W it h the driver installation a pr ogra m calle d Fir m ware U pdate r V2 is in st alle d o n th e co mpute r. Latest firmwares can be f ound o n http ://w ww.p ru sa 3d.co m/ drive rs/ w here yo u ca n fin d th e latest guide on which firmw are to ch oose a nd deta ile d in str ucti ons fo r th e p ro ce ss. P rin te r will reset automatically righ t b efo re th e u pdate a nd a fte r th e u pdate is fin ish ed. V2calibration.gcode is require d to fin ish a fte r th e firmw are u pdate , se e ch apte r 6.3 .9 F ir st layer calibration . 46
12 FAQ - common issue s whe n as se mb ling t h e p rin te r k it 12.1 Nozzle/print su rf ace gap is gre ater in th e mid dle t h an at t h e corners The reason of this issue i sn’t th e b ent p rin te r su rface o r bed b ut a d ist orte d Y -a xi s. W e suggest to remove the wh ole Y-a xis out o f th e prin te r . F ollo w th ese st eps: ● Align the Y-axis so th at e ach Y-co rner is sittin g o n th e ta ble - n one sh ould b e o ff th e table. ● Align the tightening o f e ach Y-a xis th re aded ro d so th at e ach Y -co rn er is perpendicular (facin g u prig ht) to th e ta ble su rface . ● Align the tightening o f e ach Y-a xis th re aded ro d so th at e ach M 8 th re aded r o d is at a right angle to the M10 th re aded ro ds - th e Y-a xis mu st fo rm a p erfe ct r e ct angle w hen viewed from above ( pict . 3 0). Pict. 30 - R ig ht a ngle b etw een Y-a xis and M8 / M 10 r o ds 47
12.2 Printer stops prin ting soon af te r start Extruder is likely overhea te d. Ma ke su re th e nozzl e fa n is worki ng pro perly . If n ot, p le ase inspect its connection acc ord in g to th e a sse mbly ma nual. Pict. 3 1 - Proper w iri n g o f th e co nnect ors 12.3 Printer can’t read SD card First, make sure that the file n am e o n th e SD do es n ot co nta in s p ecia l c h ara cte rs - otherwise the file could n ot b e d isp la ye d o n L C D. If th ere is no e rro r in th e file n am e, ch eck the EXT2 wiring (from ele ctro nics to L C D). If th e ca ble is co nnect ed pro perly , tr y to sw ap th e cables . 48
12.4 Loose X- and/or Y-axis be lts Check if both belts are properly tig hte ned, lo ose b elt s would ca use a prin te r m alf u nct io n a nd prevent proper printing . The e asi est w ay to ch eck is prin tin g a ro und o bje ct - if a ny of th e belts are not tightened properly th e re su lt is an irre gula r sh ape in st ead o f a p erfe ct ci rcl e. Y-axis belt is located unde r th e he atb ed , X-a xis belt mo ves th e e xt ru der. S ee th e p ict ure s with properly tightened belt s. Pict. 32 - A pro perly tig hte ned Y-a xis belt u nder th e heatb ed Pict. 3 3 - A pro perly tig hte ned X-a xis belt 49
12.5 Detached cable s to the h eatbe d Do not forget to use a spi ral w ra p o n heatb ed cable s a nd a tta ch th e cable s pro perly so th ey won’t restrict movement du rin g p rin tin g. Pict. 3 4 - Cable s to b e w ra pped in a sp ira l w ra p 12.6 Loose heatbed zip tie s Make sure that the zip tie s under th e heatb ed a re pro perly tig hte ned. T here a re th re e zi p tie s in total, two on the right si de, o ne o n th e le ft. Pict. 35 - Properly tig hte ned zi p tie s under th e heatb ed 50