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42

Maintenance

8. 

Maintenance

 

8.1 

Maintenance schedule

 
To keep your 3D printer in optimal condition we recommend the following maintenance schedule assuming you 
print 1.500 hours a year.

Every print again

 

ƒ

Check if the print head fan is running after heating up

 

ƒ

Clean the print head and nozzle

Every month

 

ƒ

Clean the 3D printer

 

ƒ

Check all arms

 

ƒ

Clean the slide wheels 

Every 3 months

 

ƒ

Check tension and wear of belts

 

ƒ

Check for play on the slides

 

ƒ

Clean the feeder/extruder motor

 

ƒ

Clean the Bowden tube 

Every 12 months

 

ƒ

Replace the main Bowden tube

Replace the feeder/extruder gear 

 
If the usage frequency is higher, we recommend performing more frequent maintenance on your printer to 
ensure optimal printing results.  

Содержание PRO Series

Страница 1: ...A PROUD DUTCH COMPANY HEART SOUL DUTCH PERFECTION Inside every 3D Printer Installation and user manual PRO series Original manual v3 0 ...

Страница 2: ...4 1 Set up network 12 4 2 Update the firmware 15 4 3 Calibrating the print bed 16 4 4 Installing slicing software 17 4 5 Uploading files to 3D printer 23 5 Operation 24 5 1 Web interface 24 5 2 Heated Chamber 29 6 Materials 30 6 1 Material compatibility 30 6 2 Print recommendations 31 6 3 Tips for experimental materials 32 7 Operating the 3D printer 34 7 1 Load material 34 7 2 Unload material 36 7...

Страница 3: ...curacy calibration 48 8 5 Material usage and storage 50 8 6 Clean the 3D printer 51 8 7 Check all arms 51 8 8 Clean the print head and nozzle 52 8 9 Clean the Bowden tube 53 8 10 Clean the slide wheels 55 8 11 Check tension and wear of belts 56 8 12 Check if print head fan is running after heating up 57 8 13 Clean or replace the feeder extruder motor 57 9 Troubleshooting 60 9 1 Unclog a print head...

Страница 4: ...s Intended use of our 3D printers Tractus3D printers are engineered and manufactured for use within a commercial environment and for FFF materials Tractus3D printers are ideal for functional prototypes concept models and series production on a small scale With the usage of Simplify3D we have reached a very high level in the production of 3D models However the user is responsible for qualifying and...

Страница 5: ...es that you will obtain great quality prints and that possible accidents and injuries are prevented Make sure that everyone who uses the Tractus3D printer has access to this manual Every effort has been made to make this manual as accurate and complete as possible The information is believed to be correct but does not aim to be all inclusive and shall be used only as a guide Should you discover an...

Страница 6: ...tus3D printer Persons with reduced physical and or mental capabilities that are unable them to act accurately in case of emergency or persons with lack of experience and knowledge should not use the Tractus3D Printer Only when given instructions concerning the use of the appliance or under supervision by a person responsible for their safety Children should always be under supervision when using t...

Страница 7: ...risk of burns Let the 3D printer cool down for 30 minutes before you perform any maintenance Never turn off printer with a print head above 50 degrees Celsius Health and safety Our printers are compatible with all brands of 3D print filament but we do recommend the use of Tractus3D materials for the best results The properties of these materials are fully matched with our printer settings These ma...

Страница 8: ...erties Printing technology Fused filament fabrication FFF Fused deposition modeling FDM Build width 280 mm diameter 11 Build height 400 mm 15 7 Speed 450 mm s XYZ resolution 10 10 10 micron Layer resolution 0 4 mm nozzle 300 10 micron 0 6 mm nozzle 450 10 micron 0 8 mm nozzle 600 10 micron 1 0 mm nozzle 800 50 micron Operating sound 40 dBA Power rating max 3100 W Connectivity LAN Display 7 color t...

Страница 9: ... time 2 min from 20 to 60 C Print head Feeder type Hardened steel geared ready for composite materials Nozzle diameter 0 4 mm 0 6 mm 0 8 mm 1 0 mm Nozzle temperature Up to 450 C Nozzle heat up time 90 sec Max extrusion volume 40 mm3 s Ambient conditions Operating ambient temperature 15 35 C 10 90 RH non condensing Materials Supported materials PEEK PEI PLA PRO1 PET G ABS ASA Facilan C8 TPU TPE Nyl...

Страница 10: ...isplay 5 color touchscreen 12 7 cm Language support English Dutch French German Monitoring Web interface Physical dimensions Dimensions 371 mm x 324 mm x 845 mm Net weight 9 kg Shipping weight 20 kg Shipping box dimensions 430 mm x 495 mm x 905 mm Build plate Build plate material Heated glass build plate Build plate temperature 10 150 C Build plate levelling Automatic bed levelling Build plate hea...

Страница 11: ...ing Materials Supported materials PEEK PEI PLA PRO1 PET G ABS ASA Facilan C8 TPU TPE Nylon PC Fillers Filament diameter 1 75 mm Software Supplied software Simplify3D with 1 license usage on 2 computers Supported OS MacOS Windows and Linux File types STL OBJ 3MF JPG PNG Printable formats G GCODE ...

Страница 12: ...pter will explain how to set up network settings load materials update the firmware install Simplify3D and prepare the build plate Turn on the printer with the power switch at the front to perform the setup steps 4 1 Set up network After turning on the printer you need to configure the printer to be used in your network We prefer to have static IP address for the printer or a DHCP reservation made...

Страница 13: ...g instructions in the Web Interface of the printer To access the web interface open a web browser prefer Chrome and surf to the IP address which you found on the console tab of the LCD screen Go to Settings and select the System Editor Open the config g file via a left mouse click on the name config g ...

Страница 14: ...ou have to change it do this accordingly your details of the subnet mask in the same way as you changed the IP address Next search for the line M554 P0 0 0 0 Here you set your Gateway IP address in the same way as you changed the IP address After changing this detail please click on Save Changes in the bottom of the editor Now you only have to reboot the machine to make the changes active At the q...

Страница 15: ...with the latest firmware onboard In some rare situations it s possible that while shipping your 3D printer a new firmware is released In this case follow these steps to update the firmware Make sure you did the setup procedure for the web interface described in chapter 4 1 Set Up Network In the web interface go to Settings and tab General Click on the blue button Upload File s and select the firmw...

Страница 16: ... please always calibrate the print bed Make sure the print bed is empty and cleaned The nozzle is clean without any residue of filament Heat up the bed to 60 degrees by clicking the LCD screen on the BED heater icon Click on the active temperature box below this heater and set the temperature to 60 select temperature by clicking until desired temperature is reached and click SET afterwards You can...

Страница 17: ...g software Default we supply Simplify3D with our 3D printers as slicing software As we do recommend this software it s not the only one that you can use for the 3D printer Tractus3D is a reseller of Simplify3D and does give basic support for this and their printers but most of the support will be found online at the Simplify3D website https www simplify3d com support To get the Simplify3D license ...

Страница 18: ... your operating system See the Windows Installation Instructions on the website how to open the installer Select your installation language and click OK Select Next read the Simplify3D software End User License Agreement and Accept the agreement to continue Choose I accept the agreement and click Next ...

Страница 19: ... first time On the printer installation screen click Cancel Simplify3D will now open in default settings Importing Tractus3D settings in Simplify3D Now it s time to setup your printer in Simplify3D by the latest settings delivered by Tractus3D When you requested your license you also received a mail from Tractus3D with a FFF file settings file for Simplify3D In Simplify3D go to File Import FFF pro...

Страница 20: ...ings file Next go at the left side of the screen to Processes and click the Add button Select the imported settings under Select Profile Give the process profile you are making a name by entering a recognizable name in Process Name To see more details of the process click on Show Advanced Click on OK to close this window your process profile is set up now ...

Страница 21: ...Import at the Models section to import a STL or OBJ file which you want to print For more information how to get the best results with Simplify3D we recommend reading the support page on their website https www simplify3d com support ...

Страница 22: ...printer profile Follow the steps below to update the firmware settings in Simplify3D In Simplify3D go to Tools Firmware configuration In this window choose Import and navigate to the location where you placed the firmware file Please be aware that this file has to be loaded on overy boot of Simplify3D So best practice is to store the file in a location that is always accessible ...

Страница 23: ...er of uploading this to the 3D printer to get started To upload the file please open the web interface Go to G Code Files and click the Upload G Code File s button Select your file s from your computer To upload click Open Now you will see an upload box wait for it to complete When the upload is complete there will be a green CLOSE button Now you can start printing your files ...

Страница 24: ...erface buttons and actions takes or NOT to be taken while printing Machine Control The web interface contains a lot of technical information which gives you heads up about your printer and status Basic information about the position of the printhead speeds achieved and hardware monitoring such as input voltage and mainboard temperature Here you can see the actual temperature of your bed and nozzle...

Страница 25: ...ons while the printer is printing an object Here you can find pre defined shortcuts or make your own shortcuts macro s A macro is a sequence of g code commands which you are using more often When you want to extrude manually use this control The buttons Retract and Extrude will be only available when the nozzle Tool 0 is at temperature for at least 170 degrees Celsius For quick loading use the fee...

Страница 26: ...he first layer your print head nozzle can be too high or too low from the bed With Baby Stepping you can correct this for a better result because your first layer is very important To correct some slight offset you can use the baby stepping to get the print head closer to the bed 0 05mm or get the print head further away from the bed 0 05mm When the print is ready you can click Print Another to ma...

Страница 27: ...r of the printer G Code Files Here you can upload your files or start a print It s also possible to create folders to get your files organised Start a print Click on a filename in the G Code Files list to start printing this file If you press Yes the 3D printer will start this file Most of the time depending of the start up settings part of your slicing software the 3D printer will start warming u...

Страница 28: ...really accurate time of printing and usage of the material When the simulation is finished you will get a message on the web interface File Demo_Material_Part_PETG gcode will print in 0h 38m plus heating time With the more option list you can also rename delete a file or download the file to the computer We don t advise to use the Edit if you have an editor like notepad on your computer as this is...

Страница 29: ...box Wait for temperature controller to stabilize which means the print will start no matter what the chamber temperature is at that point The chamber temperature can also be set via the webinterface or via gcode on the lcd Please use the following gcode in the console tab of the lcd M141 S65 to set the temperature to 65 degrees Celcius Currently the active chamber temperature is only displayed on ...

Страница 30: ...filament PEEK CF and normal PEI PLA PETG ABS Facilan C8 PRO1 Known experimental materials can be used not supported ASA TPU all shore values PC PolyCarbonate POM PA Nylon PP CF PET Carbon Wood Brass Bronze Copper Fillers HIPS If you are using Glow in the Dark or Filler materials like Carbon Wood Brass etc please make sure to use a special nozzle hardened ruby or stainless steel which you can order...

Страница 31: ... speed 60mm s Full cooling with material fan after first layers are printed PETG Bed temperature between 70 and 80 degrees Celsius first layer 80 degrees Celsius after first layer back to 70 degrees Celsius Nozzle temperature 230 degrees Celsius Print speed 80mm s Full cooling with material fan after first layers are printed ABS Bed temperature between 90 and 100 degrees Celsius first layer 95 deg...

Страница 32: ...ter first layers are printed 6 3 Tips for experimental materials When you are going to use experimental materials always remember to watch the print process as much as possible to change settings while printing Tractus3D printers can be adjusted while printing such as temperature adjustments fan speed adjustments speed adjustments and many more options Printing with filled materials like Glow in t...

Страница 33: ...using warping at overhangs or the material will degrade in the nozzle which gives a nozzle block after a while Start printing with a low speed and slowly rise the speed Never try to run before you can walk Also remember that every material has its own properties like contraction after cooldown This means that the dimensional accuracy will be different for every material ...

Страница 34: ...It is recommended to use the spools of PLA that comes with your 3Dprinter Take the filament out of the box and place it on the printer like the picture below Watch the place where the filament wire is located on the spool Wire needs to go to printer on top of the spool Put the filament wire inside the white tube on top of the printer see picture below ...

Страница 35: ...y cold extrusion damage Heat up the nozzle temperature to load the filament Click on the nozzle icon on the LCD screen it will become RED to show you it s powered on Click on the active selection box below the nozzle to set the temperature at 180 degrees select temperature by clicking until desired temperature is reached and click SET afterwards You can also use the web interface to set the nozzle...

Страница 36: ...ting temperature of the material which is inside your 3D printer at this moment Click on the nozzle icon on the LCD screen it will become RED to show you it s powered on Click on the active selection box below the nozzle to set the temperature select temperature by clicking until desired temperature is reached and click SET afterwards You can also use the web interface to set the nozzle temperatur...

Страница 37: ...by gently pulling the filament wire When you feel any obstruction or friction please stop pulling and push the filament back a little There is a chance you have a blob on your filament 7 3 Removing the filament with a blob Remove the tube from the feeder by removing the blue clip from the fitting ...

Страница 38: ... You will see the filament getting out of the feeder with the blob Get a cutter to cut off the blob of the filament Now push back the tube inside the fitting place the blue clip back on the fitting and try to remove the filament again by pushing the black button on top of the printer and pulling on the filament ...

Страница 39: ...se of some remaining grease use some Isopropanol Make sure the bed is completely cleaned and don t touch the plate after cleaning We recommend using an adhesion product like spray 3DLac or hairspray make sure it s sticky In some cases using glue sticks Elmer s Washable School Glue will work great too Make sure you not to use too much of the adhesion product as this will make the adhesion to the be...

Страница 40: ... print Otherwise you can damage the bed There are several methods to remove the printed object from the bed on room temperature After cooldown is completed just remove the loosened prints from the bed Use a spatula under the edge of a print keep the spatula always as flat as possible parallel with the bed to avoid scratches or damage to the bed Apply a little amount of force to remove the print of...

Страница 41: ...y break the support structures from the model you printed It will require sometimes a tool like pliers or tweezers to break away the support material It is advised to wear protective gloves when the support structure contains sharp corners or half broken parts After removing most of the support structure the remaining part s of the support structure can be pulled from the model with cutting pliers...

Страница 42: ...ting up Clean the print head and nozzle Every month Clean the 3D printer Check all arms Clean the slide wheels Every 3 months Check tension and wear of belts Check for play on the slides Clean the feeder extruder motor Clean the Bowden tube Every 12 months Replace the main Bowden tube Replace the feeder extruder gear If the usage frequency is higher we recommend performing more frequent maintenanc...

Страница 43: ...ading filament for help If this is really stuck continue to next step and cut the remains of filament Remove the Bowden tube from the print head Lower the print head by moving the printer to the maintenance location Press Macro Maintenance Remove the blue clip if present from the print head Press the black ring pneufit down with your finger and pull the tube upwards away from the print head ...

Страница 44: ...is really stuck inside the print head In this case you want to change the print head but the filament is holding you for a quick swap Disconnect the main cable When the bowden tube is disconnected unscrew the silver connector of the print head from the main cable ...

Страница 45: ...e arms from the print head Now unscrew the small screws between the arms on the hotend unit while holding the fanduct Take the fan duct unit off the printhead For the T850P unscrew the 3 screws at the bottom of the printhead unit ...

Страница 46: ...in place Secure the main cable to the print head by plugging in the connector and tighten the screw fitting Push back in the bowden tube until you can t get in any further Place the blue clip if present back under the black ring of the bowden tube Restart the printer by turning it off and on again or pressing the STOP button on the LCD screen ...

Страница 47: ...ure you calibrate the machine after installing a plate Turn around quarter turn the bed clip with some force it s spring loaded Do this for all 3 clips around the bed and remove the glass bed When placing a new glass plate back do it the other way around and carefully turn the clips ...

Страница 48: ... super high accuracy in your printed dimensions Some materials will contract more than others In the folder Tractus3D on the machine if not deleted you will find a file called DimensionCalibration gcode Use this file only for PLA on the machine in combination with a 0 4 nozzle If you want to calibrate for other materials use the STL file and slice the file to generate a g code don t rotate the fil...

Страница 49: ...09 Z 1 000 Rename this MachineX MachineY and MachineZ to make the calculation If the dimensions are right the PrintX and PrintY side of the print would be 100mm and the PrintZ height would be 10mm In this example your print as PrintX 99 82mm and PrintY 100 33mm and PrintZ is correct Formula for dimension calibration To calculate the scaling factor we need to do the following steps PrintX MachineX ...

Страница 50: ... you must store them properly It may affect its quality and usability if the filament is not correctly stored To preserve the optimal conditions of your filament it is important that you store them Cool below 30 degrees Celsius and dry Humidity below 50 Out of direct sunlight In a resealable bag or box If the filament is exposed to a higher humidity the quality of the filament can be affected You ...

Страница 51: ...bonate Using a dry cloth to clean your polycarbonate will rub the dirt and dust into your polycarbonate sheet scratching or causing damage to it This is the same reason that car washes use damp towels instead of dry ones for drying cars to avoid unnecessary scratches For proper cleaning and care of your polycarbonate sheets we recommend a soft cloth The first step to cleaning your polycarbonate is...

Страница 52: ...moving the printer to the maintenance location Press Macro Maintenance 3 Wait for the print head to reach this temperature 4 Take a heat resistant towel cloth and wipe the nozzle block quickly on all 4 sides don t do this too slowly as your towel cloth maybe get too hot 5 Cool down the print head again 6 If there is still a lot of debris on the print head please contact our support desk Case of PE...

Страница 53: ...es they must first be removed from the printer Unload the filament first see chapter 7 2 Unload Filament for help Lower the print head by moving the printer to the maintenance location Press Macro Maintenance You can alternatively also use PTFE to grease between the magnet and balls Remove the blue clip if present from the print head Press the black ring pneufit down with your finger and pull the ...

Страница 54: ...54 Maintenance Remove the front air diffuser panel by clicking the clips to the outside Press the black ring pneufit on the feeder extruder motor and pull out the tube ...

Страница 55: ...s in the printer print head slightly chamfered outside is the print head side of the tube 8 10 Clean the slide wheels The linear slide of the printer needs to be clean all time For an optimal print result clean the linear rails by following these steps Lower the print head by moving the printer to the maintenance location Press Macro Maintenance Take a dry cloth towel to manually clean the linear ...

Страница 56: ...ths Pluck the three belts to check their tension They should resonate like a guitar string Furthermore the tension of the three belts should be equal To restore the tension perform the following steps 1 Home the printer make sure the slides are all the way up 2 Loosen the set screws of the idler pulley with only 2 turns don t unscrew them completely 3 Push the idler unit firmly down with your thum...

Страница 57: ...t it cool down See if there are any obstructions in the fan If there are any remove them with some tweezers If the fan is still not spinning and there is no obstruction found the fan should be replaced Contact our support desk for more information 8 13 Clean or replace the feeder extruder motor The feeder leads the filament to the print head To ensure that the exact right amount of filament is ext...

Страница 58: ... find a silver black feeder unit with an extruder motor attached To clean this motor and gear you need to remove the motor from the ceiling for easy access This can be done with only removing 2 screws and 1 connector Please make sure the printer is power off before removing the extruder motor connector Unscrew the two hexagon screws to get the unit loose Disconnect the white connector gently ...

Страница 59: ... you can use a toothbrush or brass brush while slowly spinning the gear with a finger After cleaning or replacing the gear make sure you carefully connect the connector on the motor again Watch the connector closely as it will fit only in one way You don t need a lot of pressure to connect the connector Push the small Bowden tube through the hole in the ceiling and roof Screw back the two hexagon ...

Страница 60: ...ies to your hands in case the material breaks 3 Cut off the tip of the filament that you have just pulled out Cold Pull 1 Insert the filament cleaning filament or PLA into the heated 200 degrees Celsius print head until you feel some resistance 2 Hold the filament with pliers and gently apply pressure to extrude some material 3 Maintain pressure on the filament with the pliers while you switch off...

Страница 61: ...eeder tension Friction in the Bowden tube Small filament particles in the feeder or Bowden tube A partial obstruction in the print core If under extrusion is affecting your 3D printer and mentioned causes do not apply please contact the support desk Warping When filament shrinkage occurs while printing the corners of the print will lift and the print will become detached from the bed plate This is...

Страница 62: ...Phone Email Website Address 31 0 85 130 72 70 support tractus3d com www tractus3d com Bernseweg 14 5324 JW Ammerzoden The Netherlands ...

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