4.3 Automatic Extrusion
One of the best features of Prot are the automatic profiles, which allow your unit to
extrude filament completely automatically. Prot comes with some preloaded extrusion
profiles, and more can be added depending on your firmware version. It is important that you
have the most recent firmware and EEPROM loaded onto your Prot for these profiles
to work optimally. Starting with firmware 1.05 and greater, Prot also allows you to
upload and run your own custom profiles via the PCC. Please refer to the Prot
Command Center Overview manual for guidance on what all the different variables are. Custom
profiles must be created and uploaded via the PCC. We suggest creating, testing, and
uploading in manual mode extrusion before proceeding with custom automatic profile extrusion.
4.3.1 Automatic Extrusion Steps
1. After completing steps 1-3 in “Initial Steps for Extrusion”, above, your Prot will
begin preheating to thermalization temperature. Once up to temperature, the extruder
will hold here for 100 seconds to thermalize the melt section. This allows the hot (melt)
section of your device to reach a uniform temperature throughout before initiating the
rest of the extrusion start-up sequence. This may take a few minutes depending on
ambient conditions and the type of plastic you are using. Following thermalization, the
extruder will preheat to the extrusion temperature of your selected plastic.
2. Once up to extrusion temperature, you will hear a chime and a prompt on your
Prot’s UI screen saying “Filament Ready”. At this time, you can now use
tweezers or needle nose pliers to feed the plastic from the nozzle in between and
through the puller wheels. Be careful! - The nozzle is extremely hot at this point in the
startup sequence; follow safety guidelines to avoid personal injury or harm. Make sure
you have engaged the puller wheel idler spring! See Figure 15 for reference.
3. Once the filament is being correctly pulled through the puller wheels, select “Filament
Ready” on the button pad to confirm to Prot that it may begin stabilization. Note
that for safety concerns, there is a 2 minute timeout feature, and if you fail to select
“Filament Ready” within this time, Prot will automatically begin to cool down.
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Summary of Contents for ProtoCycler+
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