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# Raccoon 3D Printer Manual :::spoiler **Table of content** [ToC] ::: For general information about the 3D printers, including access procedure, pricing, and allowed material, please refer to [page](https://wip.rccn.dev/en/equipment/hardware/3d-printers/) on the raccoon website. ## Basic Currently all 3D printers at Raccoon are FDM 3d printers. ### FDM Fused Deposition Modeling is probably one of the most common types of 3D printing, and it is the easiest to understand. In this type of 3D printing, the material, usually ABS or PLA plastic, is melted down by the printer head and extruded onto the printer bed, similar to how ink is deposited onto a page on a paper printer. The extruder head of the printer lays down material layer by layer to build up a 3D model, and each layer fuses to the previous one as it cools. FDM printers are very common desktop printers because they are inexpensive and easy to build. Their precision depends upon the quality of the motors that control the position of the extruder head relative to the build platform, and the fineness of the extruder head as it extrudes material. Because the material is built up layer by layer, printed parts tend to be weak along their horizontal cross sections. Additionally, any overhanging sections of 3D printed parts on FDM printers require support material to hold up the overhang. FDM printers with multiple extruder heads can print in a soluble support material that dissolves when immersed in certain chemicals, while those with single extruders print in a less dense material that can be broken off after the print is complete. Multiple extruder heads also allow FDM printers to print in multiple colors or materials, expanding their capabilities. ## Modules and components of a FDM 3D printer ### Extruder Module: The extruder module is an essential part of a 3D printer that is responsible for feeding and melting the filament material and depositing it layer-by-layer to form the 3D object. It consists of a hotend, motor, and print bed. * Hotend: The hotend is the component that heats up and melts the filament material. It typically has a nozzle that melts the filament and extrudes it through a small opening. * Motor: The motor drives the filament through the hotend and into the nozzle. It is usually a stepper motor that can precisely control the speed and amount of filament extruded. * Print Bed: The print bed is the surface where the 3D object is printed. It is usually heated to prevent warping and help with adhesion. ### Mechanical Module: The mechanical module provides the structural support and movement of the printer components. It consists of a frame, stepper motor, end stop, belt, and screw drive. * Frame: The frame is the main structure of the printer, providing stability and support for the other components. * Stepper Motor: The stepper motor is a precision motor that is used to control the movement of the printer. It provides precise control over the positioning of the extruder. * End Stop: The end stop is a switch that is used to determine the home position of the extruder and prevent it from moving too far in any direction. * Belt and Screw Drive: The belt and screw drive are used to control the movement of the extruder and print bed. The belt is used to control the movement in the x and y direction, while the screw drive is used to control the movement in the z direction. ### Control Module: The control module is responsible for controlling the various components of the printer. It consists of a control board, firmware, and power supply unit (PSU). * Control Board: The control board is the brain of the printer. It controls the movement of the stepper motors, regulates the temperature of the hotend and print bed, and communicates with the firmware. * Firmware: The firmware is the software that runs on the control board. It provides the instructions for controlling the printer and interpreting the 3D model data. * Power Supply Unit (PSU): The PSU is responsible for providing power to the various components of the printer. It typically provides separate power to the control board and the hotend and print bed. ## 3D Design for 3D Printing When designing for 3D printing, there are a few design guidelines and constraints that should be followed, as there are for any manufacturing process. One of the most important considerations during the design process involves designing with a build face in mind. All printers start building the part from the print bed, so remembering what face the part is being printed from is important. While determining optimal part orientation is slightly different on all printers, designing to optimize that orientation will minimize material usage, print time, and risk of print failure. ### Reducing Print Time and Support Material By orienting your part well, you can reduce the amount of support material needed, which can minimize material and print time. Support material can be hard to remove and creates a rough surface finish, which isn't the best if you want your part to look like a finished product. In order to remove the effects of the support material, parts need to be polished and sanded down, which may affect the tolerances of your part if it is interfacing with something else. ### Part Strength On most desktop printers, parts usually tend to break along cross-sections of the part that are parallel to the build plate. Material is laid down or cured layer by layer, and the layers don't fuse as well as they do in higher end printers, creating seams along the cross-sections of the part. This means that parts can shear easily along those planes if force is applied. If you know how and where force will be applied to your part, orient your part such that the direction of force is not along those cross-sectional planes. ### Build Adhesion On most printers, primarily FDM machines, the 3D printed parts stick to the build plate as they are printing, and a very small contact area may result in the part falling off the build plate. The side of your part has the most surface area on the same plane is usually the side you'll want to print on, although this can change depending on the features of a given printer. ### Interfacing With Other Parts Most 3D printers involve the heating and melting of plastic or resin, so parts tend to shrink slightly when they cool down. This means that printing parts like gears, sliders, or holders that will interface with other objects can be tricky. #### Tolerances If you are designing a part that will fit into or around something else, make sure you leave some clearance tolerance between the two parts. This tolerance will depend upon the printer you are using, so you may want to print out a few test pieces to try out the fit. #### Holes On many 3D printers, holes are never going to be as precise as they would be if you drilled or reamed them out. This is because the shrinking of the parts alters the size of the part slightly, and also because usually a cartesian-based printer is being used to make a circular hole. To ensure precise holes on your parts, design the hole to be slightly undersized (by a few thousandths of an inch) and then use a reamer to drill out the hole to the right size. #### Threads When designing parts that screws or nuts will screw onto, don't print the threads, because the tolerances may not be able to make them as precise as the threads on the components. To fix a screw to a 3D printed part, make the hole slightly smaller than the thread diameter of the component and tap the hole after the print is finished. #### Part Corrosion Most 3D printers use plastic that have relatively low melting points because the plastic needs to be feasibly heated and safe when hot. This is why ABS and PLA are commonly used for FDM machines. However, a low melting point means that they corrode very easily with applied friction. SLA printers usually produce very brittle parts because of the type of resin they require. 3D printed parts are usually not well suited for high speed or high force situations because features tend to rub off after a while, or parts break. Sliding, spinning, or moving parts will work when 3D printed, but will wear down. ## Software and Firmware Currently all 3D printers are compatible with [Cura](https://ultimaker.com/software/ultimaker-cura). The following setup assume using Cura v5. ## 3D Printer Settings ### Prusa i3 MK3S TallBear #### Machine Settings ##### Printer Settings * X(Width): `250.0` mm * Y(Depth): `210.0` mm * Z(Height): `410.0` mm * Build plate shape: `Rectangular` * Origin at center: `false` * Heated bed: `true` * Heated build volume: `false` * G-code flavor: `Marlin` ##### Printhead Setting * X min: `-31` mm * Y min: `-40` mm * X max: `34` mm * Y max: `31` mm * Gantry Height: `28` mm * Number of extruder: `1` * Apply offsets to GCode: `true` ##### Start GCode ```gcode G21 ; set units to millimeters G90 ; use absolute positioning M82 ; absolute extrusion mode M900 K0.0 ; place your linear advance value here G28 ; home all G29 ; mesh bed leveling M420 S1; M104 S{material_print_temperature_layer_0} ; set extruder temp M140 S{material_bed_temperature_layer_0} ; set bed temp M190 S{material_bed_temperature_layer_0} ; wait for bed temp M109 S{material_print_temperature_layer_0} ; wait for extruder temp G1 X5 Z0.6 Y1.0 F1000.0 ; go outside print area G92 E0.0 G1 X60.0 E9.0 F1000.0 ; intro line G1 X100.0 E12.5 F1000.0 ; intro line G92 E0.0 ``` ##### End GCode ```gcode M104 S0 ; turn off extruder M140 S0 ; turn off heatbed M107 ; turn off fan G1 X0 Y210; home X axis and push Y forward M84 ; disable motors ``` #### Extruder 1 Settings ##### Nozzle Settings * Nozzle Size: `0.4` mm * Compatible material diameter: `1.75` mm * Nozzle offset X: `0.0` mm * Nozzle offset Y: `0.0` mm * Cooling Fan Number: `0` ##### Extruder Start/End Gcode For `Extruder Start Gcode` and `Extruder End Gcode`,just leave them empty. ### Ping EDU #### Machine Settings ##### Printer Settings * X(Width): `200.0` mm * Y(Depth): `200.0` mm * Z(Height): `200.0` mm * Build plate shape: `Elliptic` * Origin at center: `true` * Heated bed: `false` * Heated build volume: `false` * G-code flavor: `Marlin` ##### Printhead Setting * X min: `-20` mm * Y min: `-10` mm * X max: `10` mm * Y max: `10` mm * Gantry Height: `200` mm * Number of extruder: `1` * Apply offsets to GCode: `true` ##### Start GCode ```gcode G28 ;Home G92 E0 G1 F200 E3 G92 E0 ``` ##### End GCode ```gcode M104 S0 M140 S0 ;Retract the filament G92 E1 G1 E-1 F300 G28 X0 Y0 M84 ``` #### Extruder 1 Settings ##### Nozzle Settings * Nozzle Size: `0.6` mm * Compatible material diameter: `1.75` mm * Nozzle offset X: `0.0` mm * Nozzle offset Y: `0.0` mm * Cooling Fan Number: `0` ##### Extruder Start/End Gcode For `Extruder Start Gcode` and `Extruder End Gcode`,just leave them empty. ### L2D MakerBot Replicator ::: warning **L2D use X3G format instead of G-Code** You have to install the Cura plugin `X3G writer` from marketplace and restart Cura. Save as X3G when exporting printing file. ::: #### Machine Settings ##### Printer Settings * X(Width): `225.0` mm * Y(Depth): `145.0` mm * Z(Height): `150.0` mm * Build plate shape: `Rectangular` * Origin at center: `true` * Heated bed: `false` * Heated build volume: `false` * G-code flavor: `MakerBot` ##### Printhead Setting * X min: `-20` mm * Y min: `-10` mm * X max: `10` mm * Y max: `10` mm * Gantry Height: `200` mm * Number of extruder: `1` * Apply offsets to GCode: `true` ##### Start GCode ```gcode ; - start of START GCODE - M73 P0 (enable build progress) M92 X88.8 Y88.8 Z400 E101 ; sets steps per mm for Rep2 G90 (set positioning to absolute) (**** begin homing ****) G162 X Y F4000 (home XY axes maximum) G161 Z F3500 (home Z axis minimum) G92 Z-5 (set Z to -5) G1 Z0.0 (move Z to "0") G161 Z F100 (home Z axis minimum) M132 X Y Z A B (Recall stored home offsets for XYZAB axis) (**** end homing ****) G92 X147 Y66 Z5 G1 X105 Y-60 Z10 F4000.0 (move to waiting position) G130 X0 Y0 A0 B0 (Set Stepper motor Vref to lower value while heating) G130 X127 Y127 A127 B127 (Set Stepper motor Vref to defaults) G0 X105 Y-60 (Position Nozzle) G0 Z0.6 (Position Height) ``` ##### End GCode ```gcode ; - start of END GCODE - G92 Z0 G1 Z10 F400 M18 M104 S0 T0 M73 P100 (end build progress) G162 X Y F3000 M18 ``` #### Extruder 1 Settings ##### Nozzle Settings * Nozzle Size: `0.4` mm * Compatible material diameter: `1.75` mm * Nozzle offset X: `0.0` mm * Nozzle offset Y: `0.0` mm * Cooling Fan Number: `0` ##### Extruder Start/End Gcode For `Extruder Start Gcode` and `Extruder End Gcode`,just leave them empty. ## Cura Settings please refer to this [note](https://note.rccn.dev/s/vI8tkPcZ3) ## Reference * [3D Printing Basics by printeraction](https://www.instructables.com/3D-Printing-Basics/)