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04 Getting started

4.2 Heating the Thermoplastic Printhead

NOTE:

 The steps under this section will test the temperature functionality of your Thermoplastic Printhead. It is only necessary to follow 

these steps once, after receiving your new printhead. 
1.  Assemble and attach the Thermoplastic Printhead (Section 4.1).  
2.  Go to the Utilities Menu and then the Tools submenu.
3.  Set the printhead temperature (Figure 5).

Figure 5:

 Presetting temperature for the 

Thermoplastic Printhead.

Summary of Contents for BIO X

Page 1: ...BIO X Thermoplastic Printhead User Manual...

Page 2: ......

Page 3: ...12 4 2 Heating the Thermoplastic Printhead 15 4 3 Recommendation Using external air supply 17 4 4 Loading the granulate 20 4 5 Your first bioprint 24 4 6 Refilling 31 5 Cleaning 33 6 Printing optimiz...

Page 4: ......

Page 5: ...1 Package contents 01...

Page 6: ...Metal cartridge 000000020358 1 4 mm tube connector M3 straight stainless 000000010160 1 Thermoplastic Printhead top cap 000000020363 1 Locking ring 000000020361 1 Plunger 000000020362 1 Plunger remov...

Page 7: ...3 Technical specifications 02...

Page 8: ...ernal pump with the Thermoplastic Printhead Material composition External surfaces Stainless steel Internal surfaces metal cartridge Stainless steel Insulators Polyether ether ketone PEEK Recommended...

Page 9: ...ssuming a nozzle length of 7 mm Exact build volume depends on the cartridge s position in the printhead and the nozzle needle used Build volume may be lower when combining the Thermoplastic Printhead...

Page 10: ...lume may vary based on build plate s thick ness size shape and level as well as on cartridge position and tightness of the nozzle X Y and Z are measured from the front left corner of the printbed Tip...

Page 11: ...7 Safety information 03...

Page 12: ...yellow to indicate a warm printhead and red to indicate a hot printhead Do not touch the printhead when the LED is red Touching a hot printhead risks serious injury Only load the cartridge with dry t...

Page 13: ...a jerking motion to remove the printhead Using a jerking motion risks hitting and damaging the HEPA filter DO NOT touch a moving printhead Fingers can be crushed between the printhead base and motor a...

Page 14: ...10...

Page 15: ...11 Getting started 04...

Page 16: ...e package Remove the pre assembled Thermoplastic Printhead 2 Check for all components of the Thermoplastic Printhead and accessories Figure 2 Figure 2 Thermoplastic Printhead com ponents These include...

Page 17: ...the metal cartridge Attach the top cap Plunger use is optional Insert the assembled cartridge into the Thermoplastic Printhead Figure 3A Twist until the cartridge is screwed into place Use the wrench...

Page 18: ...bottom of the printhead mount with your opposite hand to prevent straining the motor Figure 4B Figure 4 Attaching the Thermoplastic Printhead to the BIO X A Line up the printhead with a mount on the...

Page 19: ...of your Thermoplastic Printhead It is only necessary to follow these steps once after receiving your new printhead 1 Assemble and attach the Thermoplastic Printhead Section 4 1 2 Go to the Utilities M...

Page 20: ...risks serious injury 6 Once the printhead reaches 150 degrees set the temperature to 250 degrees 7 Once it reaches 250 degrees 5 degrees turn off the printhead temperature and allow it to cool down to...

Page 21: ...ly is recommended NOTE The maximum pressure that the BIO X can withstand is 700 kPa whether you use an external pump building air supply or compressed air tank Contact support cellink com and we can r...

Page 22: ...18 04 Getting started Figure 6 External air supply inlet A 4 mm air tube can be inserted into the BIO X using the pneumatic connector located on the back of the device...

Page 23: ...tting to enable the external air supply in the Utilities menu The system will reflect the new maximum pressure that can be set from the external air supply Figure 7 3 Use a secondary regulator on the...

Page 24: ...nd characteristics before using a new type of polymer 2 Insert the steel plunger with the threaded hole facing upward and away from the thermoplastic granulate Figure 8A 3 Push the plunger down using...

Page 25: ...21 04 Getting started Figure 8 Loading the Thermoplastic Print head with granulate A B C...

Page 26: ...printhead mount Select the tool to use and tap the downward arrow Figure 9 Once the mount is lowered attach the air tube to the pneumatic connector on the printbox A B C Figure 9 A Attaching the Therm...

Page 27: ...utes Test the extrusion of the melted granulate using the Tools submenu Figure 10 9 If the granulate is not extruding adjust the temperature and pressure 10 Consult Section 6 for common troubleshootin...

Page 28: ...late Sections 4 1 and 4 4 Set up the external air supply if needed Section 4 3 2 Ensure that the thermoplastic granulate is melted and flowing normally Section 4 4 3 Select Bioprint from the Start men...

Page 29: ...25 04 Getting started 4 Select an STL file extension stl from the Model menu and proceed to the next menu Figure 12 Figure 12 Selecting an STL file from the Model menu...

Page 30: ...26 04 Getting started 5 Select a surface to print on Proceed to the next menu Figure 13 Figure 13 Select a print surface from the Surface menu...

Page 31: ...lected under Tool type Enter the printing parameters for the printhead Figure 14 Proceed to the Layers menu Parameters necessary for the Thermoplastic Printhead include Nozzle diameter Pressure Print...

Page 32: ...the respective layer characteristics and proceed to the next menu Figure 15 Figure 15 Layer menu Toolheads can be assigned to respective print areas such as perimeter infill and support You can selec...

Page 33: ...ion tip using a metal tool such as tweezers Press Print to proceed to the calibration page Figure 16 Print menu You can preview your printing parameters and test the pressure You can also adjust param...

Page 34: ...the nozzle needle to your desired starting position We recommend making sure that the tip touches the surface of your printing substrate 11 Start the bioprinting process Figure 17 Figure 17 Bioprint...

Page 35: ...al tool into the cartridge and find the threaded hole in the plunger 4 Turn the plunger retrieval tool clockwise at least five turns to screw into the plunger 5 Firmly pull the plunger up to retrieve...

Page 36: ...al cartridge cool down before loading more granulates or use a funnel to prevent material from melting on the sides of the cartridge Add thermoplastic granulate to the cartridge to refill and then rea...

Page 37: ...33 Cleaning 05...

Page 38: ...granulate is fully melted 5 Apply pressure to the printhead to extrude the excess material until only air is expelled Figure 10 6 Remove the printhead from the printhead mount 7 Unscrew the top cap 8...

Page 39: ...following steps in a fume hood using protective equipment Fill a container with a solvent that can dissolve thermoplastic material Make sure the container is made of borosilicate glass or another mate...

Page 40: ...36...

Page 41: ...37 Printing optimization 06...

Page 42: ...n during the cooling process We recommend using a layer height that is smaller than the nozzle diameter to improve the thermoplastic material s adhesion to the surface of each layer Consider adding a...

Page 43: ...nto the cartridge use the plunger to compact the material to improve melting and material extrusion Please refer to the material guides for more detailed instructions We recommend letting the printhea...

Page 44: ...40...

Page 45: ...41 Relevant G code commands 07...

Page 46: ...he speed of the printhead in mm min G4 Snnn Pnnn The G4 command tells the system to dwell S is the wait time in seconds and P is the wait time in milliseconds G7 Xnnn Ynnn Ennn Fnnn G7 is the relative...

Page 47: ...Y and Z coordinates If no parameters are given the position is assumed to be 0 0 0 this will also change the Z position Tx Switch to printhead x 0 1 and 2 designate printheads 1 2 and 3 M771 Tx Pyy M...

Page 48: ...44...

Page 49: ...45 Frequently asked questions 08...

Page 50: ...ltaneously You can use multiple printheads within the same printing protocol to generate multimaterial constructs You can t print simultaneously because the pressure can only be provided to one printh...

Page 51: ...printhead If the material is extruding too slowly the applied pressure may be too low Increase the pressure to improve extrusion The nozzle could also be blocked or not clean Scrub the nozzle with a b...

Page 52: ...zle or wipe off the leaking polymer What do I do if my thermoplastic sprays from the nozzle When spraying is observed during printing stop the print and heat the nozzle to 250 degrees for 15 minutes T...

Page 53: ...15 seconds for each layer after the first three layers Why is my material dripping out of the cartridge with no pressure The weight of the plunger is enough to extrude low viscosity thermoplastics Rem...

Page 54: ...50...

Page 55: ...51 Maintenance 09...

Page 56: ...ture regulation using the Utilities menu Wait until the Thermoplastic Printhead cools down Remove the air line from the printhead inlet Remove the printhead from the system 9 2 Long term maintenance R...

Page 57: ...53 Appendix A Consumables...

Page 58: ...S 000000020619 Metal nozzle 0 2 000000020620 Metal nozzle 0 3 000000020420 Metal nozzle 0 4 000000020621 Metal nozzle 0 6 000000020622 Metal nozzle 0 8 Table 3 Compatible cartridges and accessories PA...

Page 59: ...55 Support information Official site Sales Store Support Official site www cellink com Contact support cellink com Contact sales cellink com Web store www cellink com store...

Page 60: ...www cellink com...

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