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34 

CHVI

 

 

Your First 3D Print (Workflow)

 

Obtain 3D Printable File 
 

There are a few different ways to obtain 3D printable files for use on your R1 personal 3D printer.  

Computer Aided Design Software

 

 If you are design savvy and own a CAD software such as AutoCAD, SolidWorks, or Google 
Sketchup, you can design your own parts! Once you are finished designing, just make sure to 
export them as .STL or .OBJ files and save them where you can access them when it is time to 
print. 
  

Online

 

There are a number of 3D file resources available online. We at ROBO 3D have developed our 
own file sharing/ marketplace called Makable. Log on to 

www.makable.com

 and create a profile. 

From here you can download free, shared, ROBO Certified* 3D files for printing or you can 
contact one of our amazing designers to make a CAD part for you! 
 

Upload File to MatterControl 

 

Once you have your file ready to go, open up MatterControl, connect to your printer 
(6.1 A) and add your file to the Queue (B). 

 

When it shows up in the queue, select the file that you uploaded by clicking on it. (C)  

 

When it is selected it will show up in the preview panel. 
 

                                   

 

  

 

         

                       

(6.1)

 

Summary of Contents for R1

Page 1: ...xperience 3 CHAPTER II Installing Software 4 CHAPTER III Connecting Your R1 3D Printer 8 CHAPTER IV Software Navigation 21 CHAPTER V Slice 34 CHAPTER VI Your First 3D Print Workflow 40 CHAPTER VII 3D Printing Resources 41 CHAPTER VIII Troubleshooting ...

Page 2: ... units and we can t tell you how appreciative we are for your help in making our dream come true We have created this guide to help you learn how to use your new ROBO 3D printer Whether you are a seasoned 3D modeler or are brand new to this technology this guide will help you along the way This document is intended to aid you in getting your new desktop unit up and running and printing some great ...

Page 3: ...ll the ROBO 3D Printer software by MatterHackers first locate the 2 GB micro SD card and USB thumb drive adapter included in your tool kit Insert the micro SD card into the USB SD card adapter 2 1 2 1 Insert the USB adapter with SD card into an available USB port on your computer You will be prompted to open the drive Within the ROBO 3D PRINTER folder you will see 3 files Getting Started Video rob...

Page 4: ...nect the other end to an available port on your computer IMPORTANT Make sure you set the voltage on the power supply on the back side of your printer to the correct position before use Use a flat head screwdriver or a pen to move the slider Use 115 3 1a if you are in the U S If you are out of the U S or need a higher voltage setting for another reason move the slider to the 230v 3 1b position 3 1a...

Page 5: ...the Add Printer button at the top of the screen 3 3 3 3 A new window will pop up and you will be able to set up a 3D printer From here you can assign your ROBO 3D a nickname This helps you keep track of multiple units 3 4a Next find the Select Make drop down list and choose ROBO 3D Now select R1 from the model list 3 4b To save this printer click the Save Continue button as seen below 3 4c ...

Page 6: ...ommunication Driver Do this by clicking Install Driver in the bottom left corner of this screen 3 5a Once the driver is finished installing a 3D Printer Setup window will appear Follow the instructions on this screen to disconnect the printer and press Continue 3 5b 3 5a 3 5b ...

Page 7: ...nnect your ROBO 3D after this and press Connect 3 6a Once the printer connects you will see a Connection Succeeded message From here click Done 3 6b 3 6a 3 6b Your ROBO 3D Printer is connected to the software ...

Page 8: ...rst thing that you see when you open up the ROBO 3D version of MatterControl This is where you can connect to a printer add files to be printed create libraries of parts check your print history and even update your software to the latest version From this screen you can also navigate to the other two main screens in MatterControl Let s dive into the various components of the Home Screen 1 Queue Y...

Page 9: ...ion of your screen This means that this file is lined up to be printed next 4 2a 4 2a On the bottom right hand corner of your screen you will see a Queue Options button 4 2b From here you will be able to access a few different options for customizing your queue You can import and export STL files export GCODE files to folders like an SD card for printing without a computer or load files from a con...

Page 10: ...ueue simply hover over the item and click Add to Queue 4 3a You can also import other files into your library by using the Import button 4 3a 4 3a 3 History Within the History tab you will be able to see information on all of your previous 3D print jobs 4 4 You can record information on the number of prints that you have completed total print time for your ROBO 3D printer and even print time date ...

Page 11: ...e updates for your machine as they come available Click the Check for Update button to see if there is an update available 4 5 4 5 5 Print Status The color bar at the top of your home screen is where you can actively monitor your print status and temperatures for the hot end and heated bed while printing 4 6 ...

Page 12: ... the orientation of your part scale it and even print multiple pieces together 1 Access to the Build Plate The easiest way to access your build plate is to simply click on the picture of the part queued to print like shown below 4 7a b 4 7a 4 7b Aother quick way to see the build plate is to expand your home screen to full screen view 4 7c ...

Page 13: ...ate button and then left click on the part and hold Now move your mouse around and you will be able to rotate your view Select and left click to move the build plate around the screen Select and left click to zoom in and out 3 Positioning The Part Use the menu on the right side of the build plate screen to change the appearance and orientation of your part 4 8a You can rotate scale and even mirror...

Page 14: ...14 4 8a Make sure to click the save button once you are done editing your part 4 8b 4 8b 4 Adding Multiple Parts to One Build Plate ...

Page 15: ... you can edit this part with the controls for rotation scaling and mirroring individually Be sure to save the build plate again if you are finished editing You can also make copies of the parts on your build plate Do this by clicking the button at the bottom of the screen Now a new button will appear First click on the part that you wish to copy then click the copy button This will add an extra in...

Page 16: ...timate details about how your part file will be printed adjust settings during printing and also customize your version of this software To access the Advanced Controls panel while in the Home Screen click the button on the right hand side of the screen You can also view it while in full screen mode There are 3 main components of the advanced controls panel the CONTROLS tab SLICE SETTINGS tab and ...

Page 17: ...eat your extruder and heated bed and even adjust your print speed while printing 1 Adjusting Temperatures To adjust your temperature for either the extruder or heated bed simple type your desired temps in the target field 4 10a You can also use the button to heat up these things while you set your slice settings 4 10a ...

Page 18: ...s appear 4 10b 4 10b Now enter in the desired preheat temp settings An Extruder Preheat should not be set to be higher than 240 for ABS filament or 210 for PLA filament A Bed Preheat should not be set to higher than 90 for ABS and 55 for PLA filament Once you have set up your preheat buttons save them and they will show in your Controls panel 4 10c 4 10c ...

Page 19: ...unlock the motors after a print job in order to move them around by hand If you need to home any or all of your axis you can do it here 4 20a 4 20a 3 Speed Control If for some reason you need to adjust the speed at which your unit is printing use the tuning adjustment speed multiplier slider at the bottom of the screen Drag it left to slow and right to speed up printing This will only work while p...

Page 20: ...of your 3D printer and that is why we have dedicated the entire next chapter to setting up your slice settings Please see CH V Configuring Slice Settings for this 4 21 Configuration This panel is reserved for customizing your version of this software Here you can disable the automatic print leveling feature change your color scheme and even set notifications for finished print jobs 4 22 4 22 ...

Page 21: ...se settings are where you will be able to define all aspects of how your part will print SLICE ENGINES MatterControl comes with 3 different slice engines included Slic3r Cura and MatterSlice You can choose which engine you prefer by selecting it from the drop down list underlined in green 5 1a 5 1a ...

Page 22: ...ament Settings and Printer Settings as shown below in 5 1b 5 1b Please note that when you select one of the settings tabs the list of editable settings is somewhat short We have chosen to show only the essential settings upon startup in order to keep things less confusing If you would like to dive deeper into the setting capabilities of the slice engine that you are using click the check box and y...

Page 23: ... Your software comes preloaded with high medium and low quality settings as well as PLA and ABS material settings We will cover how to configure custom settings for these later on Now you can navigate through your slice settings We will walk you through each of them below PRINT SETTINGS Underneath the Slice Engine Drop down list Click the tab and you will see a handful of settings drop down undern...

Page 24: ...rface of your part Spiral Vase This setting will force the print to have only one perimeter and gradually increase the extruder height during the print Only one part can be printed at a time with this feature This is a quick way to make your parts hollow Default unchecked Top Layer How many layers will be solid filled on the top surfaces of the object If you want the top of a part to be open set t...

Page 25: ...ough skirt loops to be drawn to use this amount of filament Ensures that filament extrudes well before the print starts Support Material Generate Support Turns on and off the generation of support material in the gcode Support Material is needed when you have irregular overhangs that can t build up themselves without help This material is not part of your print and is meant to be broken away after...

Page 26: ...the first layer and the top of the raft A good value is typically about your extrusion diameter So between 0 and 2 for a 4mm nozzle In simpler terms how tall your foot is Repair Connect Bad Edges Try to connect mesh edges when the actual mesh data is not all the way connected This shouldn t be needed with well designed files Close Polygons Sometimes a mesh will not have closed perimeters When this...

Page 27: ...e using in your printer Stock R1 printers can only accept 1 75mm filament Extrusion Multiplier All extrusions are multiplied by this value Increasing it above 1 will increase the amount of filament being extruded decreasing it below 1 will decrease the amount of filament being extruded It is highly recommended to leave this set at 1 Extrusion Temp The default temperature to set the extruder to Can...

Page 28: ...t speed will be reduced to try and make the layer take this long to print Min Print Speed This is the minimum speed that the printer will slow in order to make the layer take long enough to satisfy the min layer time PRINTER SETTINGS General Bed Size The size of the print bed in millimeters Print Center The position of the center of the print bed measured from the origin X 0 Y 0 Typically half of ...

Page 29: ...put gcode file right after the temperature setting End G Code This gcode will be inserted at the end of all automatic outputs the very end of the gcode Pause G Code This gcode will be inserted when the printer is paused Resume G Code This gcode will be inserted when the printer is resumed Cancel G Code This gcode will be inserted when the print is canceled Extruder 1 Nozzle Diameter This is the di...

Page 30: ...ion This is the minimum amount of filament that must be extruded before a retraction can occur PRESETS Now that we have covered all of the slice settings and their default values let s discuss how you can set up a preset Slice build out for quick printing First pull down the dropdown list under Quality 5 3a b Notice that there are 3 preloaded profiles Select medium and click the print tab You shou...

Page 31: ...31 5 3a 5 3b You can do the same for the Material preset Select a filament type from the drop down list and see that it affects your Filament and Printer settings 5 3c 5 3c ...

Page 32: ...existing presets or make completely new ones by using the button 5 3d 5 3d Now you can edit the name of your preset before starting To add a feature to your Preset pull down the first list and select a category 5 3e 5 3e Do the same for group and setting Once you find the setting you would like to preset it will populate the preset list as seen below 5 3f ...

Page 33: ...33 5 3f After you save your preset you will be able to access it from the Slice Settings page 5 3g 5 3g ...

Page 34: ... time to print Online There are a number of 3D file resources available online We at ROBO 3D have developed our own file sharing marketplace called Makable Log on to www makable com and create a profile From here you can download free shared ROBO Certified 3D files for printing or you can contact one of our amazing designers to make a CAD part for you Upload File to MatterControl Once you have you...

Page 35: ...ting with 6 2 6 2 Set Slice Settings After preheating your extruder and heated bed now make sure that you have your Slice Engine settings exactly the way that you want them Remember to select your Slice Engine as well as Quality and Material presets 6 3 6 3 If you need to make any last minute changes to a particular slice setting you can also do it now Once you have made your change you will see a...

Page 36: ...at your part is oriented the way you like To check this click the preview window at the top of your screen 6 5 6 5 If you made any changes to the orientation of your part make sure to save them before starting your print Load Filament Make sure that your spool holder is mounted correctly on your printer as seen below ...

Page 37: ... thumb latch on the back of your extruder this will create an opening for you to load your filament into Insert the filament into the extruder all the way down It should go in about 2 inches 6 7 Release latch Spin gear on side of extruder to make sure that filament is loaded correctly only if Extruder tip is hot ...

Page 38: ...we most commonly use here at ROBO 3D are Vinyl Sheeting We ve included one in the box for you Glue Stick Hairspray AquaNet works very well this is our favorite 6 9 Move the heated bed all the way out to the furthest forward it can go and raise the x axis out of the way using the motor controls in your Control Panel ...

Page 39: ...no bumps on the build plate Run Now just click the start button You will notice that your part slices in the software right before the print starts and the printer runs and auto leveling measurement sequence From here let the printer do the rest of the work and watch your part grow ...

Page 40: ...tom jobs and also list your 3D design services and to market to potential customers ROBO 3D Tech Support Check out www robo3d com for any tech support needs you may have We have a large variety of support options listed under the Support tab Here you will be able to access our user forums contact our tech support team download software updates and even see our online help site which is loaded with...

Page 41: ... have any other type of filament to use on your R1 3D printer make sure to consult the manufacturer s instructions for extrusion and adhesion temperatures Adhesion The 3 types of recommended adhesion aides for the R1 Vinyl Hairspray and Glue stick all have different attributes to them Vinyl Sheet Pros easy to apply looks clean easily replaced Cons much less durable than other types only lasts for ...

Page 42: ...o quickly and separating from the bed Using the Brim feature in your Slice Settings is another way to combat warping This adds a small feature that looks like the brim of a hat to the bottom of your print that can be broken away after the print is finished ABS plastic is much more temperamental as far as cooling goes than other types of plastic This is where you will see the most warping issues Tr...

Page 43: ... 300 microns 3mm on layer heights The lower the layer height the more layers the longer the print but also the higher the resolution X and Y Resolution This is how precise the extruder can draw 2 dimensional picture on a single layer of a print The R1 prints with a tolerance of 20 microns 02mm so you get precision parts every time Cooling The R1 has an active cooling print fan installed and mounte...

Page 44: ...ances that it might have This measurement is taken before every print so that each print you start is completely hands free other than loading filament Our printer makes use of mechanical limit switches and the print nozzle to sense the shape of the bed The x axis sits on top of these Z limit switches until the nozzle reaches the home position or the auto leveling code is executed at this point th...

Page 45: ...to this because of the way that the endstop parts are manufactured R1 3D printers come standard with a Z offset of 1 You can adjust this in your Slice Settings under the Printer tab In each of the 3 slice engines that are included in the software the are two different ways to set your Z offset as explained below 1 In the General tab under Printer Whatever value you put into this field will change ...

Page 46: ...e field you will need to define your Z offset as a negative An example of a 1mm Z offset code would be M565 Z 1 Z offset We recommend changing this by 2mm at a time either up or down to achieve your desired Z offset height An example of a 1 2mm Z offset would be M565 Z 1 2 Z offset Extrusion Filament Grinding Extrusion doesn t just depend on heat There are a few other factors that can keep your ex...

Page 47: ...y further Filament grinding is very easy to spot and looks like this Once you have corrected whichever the underlying problem was affecting extrusion make sure to clean the hobbed bolt teeth out as they have most likely become filled with plastic shavings Overhangs Support Material An overhang is a specific part of a print that protrudes off of a vertical face If an overhang is too severe for the ...

Page 48: ... a bit of filament the will ooze if it is not pulled back out of the hot end This will attach to the surface of the print and then be dragged across the print creating an ugly string across the entire part You can set retraction in your Slicer Settings under Extruder Temperature is another factor that plays into stringing If your temps are too hot for the plastic type that you are using this may c...

Page 49: ...n X axis issue The Y axis belt can be tightened by a phillips screw driver on the Y axis bracket The X axis belt can be tightened by replacing and tightening the zip tie that attaches the X belt to the extruder carriage Pulleys can be tightened with the allen wrench that was included in your tool kit It is a good idea to check and tighten the belt pulley on both of these axis if you are unsure of ...

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