3DMakerWorld Artifex 2, User Manual

Page 1: ...The User Manual of Artifex 2 Desktop 3D Printer http 3dmakerworld com Document date July 12 2017 Check website for latest update...

Page 2: ...Getting 3D models 46 3 1 1 Creating your own 3D models 46 3 1 2 Downloading 3D models from online repositories 46 3 2 Generating G code from 3D models 47 3 2 1 Loading 3D models 47 3 2 2 Slicing 3D mo...

Page 3: ...2 2 Defining nozzle offsets 71 6 3 Printing with two colors 74 6 4 Printing with dissolvable support materials 78 6 5 Using one extruder 80 7 Printing with LCD Controller 82 8 Support 85 http 3dmakerw...

Page 4: ...truder models Figure 1 1 The design of Artifex 2 3D Printer is open to the public under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3 0 Unported license CC BY SA 3 0 Figure 1 1 The Artifex 2 3D printe...

Page 5: ...exible Material Extrusion Single Dual Head Extrusion LCD Controller SD Card Reader Large Build Volume 952 Single 640 Dual cubic inch High Layer Resolution 50 micron Fast Print Speed 150 mm sec Below a...

Page 6: ...1 INTRODUCTION Figure 1 3 Recreus sandals thing 404014 printed by Artifex 2 Figure 1 4 Giant hollow two color world thing 15658 printed by Artifex 2 Duo http 3dmakerworld com 6...

Page 7: ...Yoda bust thing 14104 printed by Artifex 2 Figure 1 6 The T Rex skull thing 308335 printed by Artifex 2 1 2 Specifications The technical specifications of Artifex 2 3D printers are listed in Figure 1...

Page 8: ...1 INTRODUCTION Figure 1 7 The technical specifications of Artifex 2 http 3dmakerworld com 8...

Page 9: ...he printer and disconnect USB cable before any service or trou bleshooting operation Always discharge yourself by touching a grounded source before touching the electron ics Never leave flammable mate...

Page 10: ...ts By the end of Chapter 2 you will be able to print out your first 3D model using a pre generated g code for the Artifex 2 3D printer Chapter 3 will discuss how to generate g code from a 3D model of...

Page 11: ...m Ultimachine No installation is required for Mac and Linux systems The driver file for Windows RAMBo USBdriver zip can be downloaded on our website Follow steps below to install the driver for Window...

Page 12: ...m Under Other devices you will find the RAMBo device right click and select Update Driver Software Figure 2 2 Figure 2 2 Update driver software 5 A window will pop up asking whether to Search automati...

Page 13: ...ure 2 3 Select Browse my computer 6 In the popped up window select the folder where you unzipped the archive file In our case the location is C Desktop RAMBo USBdriver Then click Next Fig ure 2 4 http...

Page 14: ...file 7 A security window may pop up Figure 2 5 If so click Install Figure 2 5 Confirm software installation 8 After the installation you will be noticed that Windows has successfully updated your dri...

Page 15: ...essfully 9 Now the RAMBo electronics will appear under the Ports COM LPT Write down the COM port which the electronics uses We will need this information later when setting up the printing software In...

Page 16: ...your 3D printer is like the operating system of your computer The Artifex 2 3D Printer uses a customized Marlin based firmware For a fully assembled Artifex 2 3D Printer its firmware is already loaded...

Page 17: ...he following steps are based on the Ar duino 1 0 5 released version for Windows Download the Zip file of Arduino software arduino 1 0 5 windows zip and save it to your computer s Desktop or a location...

Page 18: ...Sketch Import Library Add Library and then pointing to the folder of unzipped library files 3 Upload the firmware of Artifex 2 3D Printer The Artifex 2 3D Printer is shipped with a customized Marlin...

Page 19: ...ED Figure 2 10 Unzip the Artifex 2 firmware zip file using 7 Zip Open the Arduino IDE software arduino exe The software interface is shown in Figure 2 11 Figure 2 11 The Arduino IDE software http 3dma...

Page 20: ...e Select the file Marlin ino in the unzipped Artifex 2 firmware file folder C Desktop Artifex2Firmware1 0 Marlin Figure 2 13 and click Open Fig ure 2 14 shows the Arduino IDE with opened Artifex 2 fir...

Page 21: ...rduino IDE with opened Artifex 2 firmware files Select Tools Board Arduino Mega 2560 or Mega ADK Figure 2 15 Figure 2 15 Select the board type of Artifex 2 electronics Select Tools Serial Port COM3 Fi...

Page 22: ...lectronics Select File Upload to upload the Artifex 2 firmware to its electronics Fig ure 2 17 Before uploading the Arduino IDE will first compile the firmware files The progress of compiling and uplo...

Page 23: ...not successful the error message will be shown in the status window as well Common causes of uploading failure include wrong Arduino board type wrong serial port or serial port conflict e g the same...

Page 24: ...Host printing software due to its user friendly interface and all in one features Repetier Host can work on Windows Mac and Linux systems The following steps are based on the Windows version 1 0 6 1...

Page 25: ...m Config Printer Settings Figure 2 20 Figure 2 20 Open the Printer Settings In the window of Printer Settings Figure 2 21 enter the printer name Artifex 2 on the top and configure settings on the Conn...

Page 26: ...Settings Connection Configure the settings on the Printer page Figure 2 22 Depending on your printing materials the default temperature of extruder and heated bed can be set to either 185C 70C PLA or...

Page 27: ...GETTING STARTED Figure 2 22 Printer Settings Printer Configure the settings on the Extruder page Figure 2 23 Note For Artifex 2 All Metal change the extruder diameter to 0 4mm http 3dmakerworld com 2...

Page 28: ...2 GETTING STARTED Figure 2 23 Printer Settings Extruder Configure the settings on the Printer Shape page Figure 2 24 http 3dmakerworld com 28...

Page 29: ...24 Printer Settings Printer Shape Configure the settings on the Advanced page Nothing to change on the page Just click OK and the Repetier Host is ready to use with your Artifex 3D Printer Figure 2 2...

Page 30: ...arrow next to the Connect button and select Artifex 2 Figure 2 26 The Repetier Host is now connected with your Artifex 3D Printer as confirmed by the message shown on the bottom status bar Figure 2 2...

Page 31: ...2 2 Setting up printer hardware Caution Before powering up your Artifex 2 3D Printer check the voltage selection of the Power Supply Unit PSU on the bottom left of your Artifex 2 3D Printer and make s...

Page 32: ...power cord into the AC input receptacle on the back of your Artifex 2 3D Printer Plug the power cord into an electrical outlet and turn on the power switch next to the AC input receptacle Figure 2 29...

Page 33: ...you gain better understanding of your Artifex 2 3D printer even you start with a fully assembled Artifex Figure 2 30 shows the X Y Z axis definition of your Artifex 2 3D Printer The extruder moves alo...

Page 34: ...the electronics board The red wire of motor cable should face towards the front of printer Figure 2 32 Caution 1 Make sure there is enough distance for the extruder HBP to move freely without bumping...

Page 35: ...nozzle tip will be registered as the origin of that axis Click the Home X icon The extruder will move to the left until it triggers the X axis endstop Click the Home Y icon The HBP will move backwards...

Page 36: ...ickness of a piece of thin paper Step 1 Preparation Click the Turn Motor Off button on the Manual Control page of Repetier Host interface Figure 2 31 to turn off power of all motors so you can perform...

Page 37: ...X axis and the HBP to the middle of Y axis so the extruder s nozzle tip points towards the center of HBP Use the Z arrow commands to carefully lower the extruder to get it close to the HBP Adjust the...

Page 38: ...extruder to the right front corner of HBP Adjust the right front leveling thumb screw until the feeler gauge or the paper can just slide between the nozzle and the HBP with some resistance Manually mo...

Page 39: ...3 point thumb screws you may feel it is very tight to turn the screws This is normal The Artifex 3D Printer uses quite strong wave springs for bed leveling to prevent the screw to get loose during pri...

Page 40: ...Figure 2 39 After the Repetier Host is connected with your Artifex 2 3D printer the extruder target temperature shows 185 C as we set in Chapter 2 and the extruder is turned off Click the Extruder ic...

Page 41: ...the filament drive Figure 2 41 Figure 2 41 Feeding filament into filament drive Click the down buttons on the Repetier Host interface Figure 2 31 to extrude 50mm of filament through the filament driv...

Page 42: ...of instructions to control your Artifex 2 3D printer to make a 3D model layer by layer Chapter 4 will discuss how to generate the g code from a 3D model file to print out any 3D model of your choice 1...

Page 43: ...your computer s Desktop or a location of your choice 3 On the Repetier Host interface click the Load button on the top menu bar Figure 2 44 Locate the downloaded file CuteOcto PLA gcode and open it Fi...

Page 44: ...t up the extruder and HBP Once both the extruder and HBP reach their target temperature the printer will start the print job Figure 2 46 Running print job from the Repetier Host interface 6 After the...

Page 45: ...2 GETTING STARTED Figure 2 47 Printed cute octopus 3D model http 3dmakerworld com 45...

Page 46: ...p www openscad org Blender http www blender org SketchUp http www sketchup com FreeCAD http www freecadweb org Tinkercad http www tinkercad com Commercial 3D modeling software SolidWorks http www soli...

Page 47: ...ably more intuitive parameter settings while Slic3r offers more control options for you to fine tune the printing process once you get familiar with the settings 3 2 1 Loading 3D models 1 Download the...

Page 48: ...with loaded 3D model CuteOcto stl 3 2 2 Slicing 3D models using Slic3r Click the Slicer page next to the Object Placement page on the right side of Repetier Host interface Select Slic3r in the Slicer...

Page 49: ...NG 3D MODELS Figure 3 2 Slicer page on the Repetier Host interface with Slic3r Click the Configuration button and a separate window will pop up showing the Slic3r program Figure 3 3 http 3dmakerworld...

Page 50: ...r Artifex 2 3D Printer The process below shows how to import such configuration files into Slic3r to slice your 3D models Once you get more familiar with the Slic3r program and the printing process yo...

Page 51: ...to save filament settings and printer settings under the name Artifex2 PLA Then close the Slic3r program window Figure 3 5 Saving print settings in Slic3r On the Slicer page of Repetier Host interfac...

Page 52: ...ides an excellent capability to visualize the generated G code of your 3D models Figure 3 7 shows the model from layer 1 to layer 92 When configuring your own slicing settings this visualization featu...

Page 53: ...2 3 Slicing 3D models using CuraEngine Click the Slicer page next to the Object Placement page on the right side of Repetier Host interface Select CuraEngine in the Slicer option Figure 3 8 Figure 3 8...

Page 54: ...ion sub pages Print and Filament The Print configuration files can be downloaded from our website for example Artifex2 rcp and imported by clicking the Import button Figure 3 9 CuraEngine settings Pri...

Page 55: ...ndow Figure 3 11 Addi tional options of Adhesion Type Quality Support Type Speed Infill Density Enable Cooling can be specified for the CuraEngine slicer In Figure 3 11 the default quality of 0 2mm a...

Page 56: ...Engine slicing parameters for printing with PLA After setting up the slicing parameters click Slice with CuraEngine button and after the slicing is completed the G code is previewed in Repetier Host a...

Page 57: ...3 SLICING 3D MODELS Figure 3 12 Previewing G code generated by CuraEngine http 3dmakerworld com 57...

Page 58: ...ting settings Two configurations in Repetier Host need to be changed to work with ABS filaments the printer settings and the slicing settings 4 1 1 The printer settings The printer settings for printi...

Page 59: ...ngs In the Custom G code higher extruder and bed temperature are set before the printing starts For slicing with CuraEngine download the filament configuration file ABS rcf and import the file and sli...

Page 60: ...and pear off the liner on the back e Place the Kapton sheet onto the glass top and use the squeegee provided in the printer package to remove bubbles between the glass and the Kapton sheet 3 Installin...

Page 61: ...filaments are Extrusion speed Since flexible filaments are difficult to be pushed through extruder with out bending a lower printing speed is required when printing with flexible filaments The recomme...

Page 62: ...5 PRINTING WITH FLEXIBLE FILAMENTS Figure 5 1 Demo model for printing with NinjaFlex Figure 5 2 Slic3r slicing result for printing with NinjaFlex http 3dmakerworld com 62...

Page 63: ...igure 5 3 the default quality of 0 2mm a slow speed and a 25 infill density were selected and the cooling was enabled for printing with NinjaFlex Figure 5 3 Specifying CuraEngine slicing parameters fo...

Page 64: ...5 PRINTING WITH FLEXIBLE FILAMENTS Figure 5 4 CuraEngine slicing result for printing with NinjaFlex http 3dmakerworld com 64...

Page 65: ...r Host First we need to create a printer profile in Repetier Host for Artifex 2 Duo by following the configuration shown in Figure 6 1 to Figure 6 5 Note For Artifex 2 All Metal change the extruder di...

Page 66: ...6 PRINTING WITH DUAL EXTRUDERS Figure 6 2 Artifex 2 Duo Printer Settings Printer http 3dmakerworld com 66...

Page 67: ...6 PRINTING WITH DUAL EXTRUDERS Figure 6 3 Artifex 2 Duo Printer Settings Extruder http 3dmakerworld com 67...

Page 68: ...6 PRINTING WITH DUAL EXTRUDERS Figure 6 4 Artifex 2 Duo Printer Settings Printer Shape http 3dmakerworld com 68...

Page 69: ...nozzles Not required for assembled package If you built your Artifex 2 Duo from a kit package you need to make sure the two nozzles are leveled before using them for printing First unplug the fan conn...

Page 70: ...2 Duo With the fan assembly removed perform the bed leveling process as explained in Sec tion 2 2 2 If the two nozzles are not perfectly leveled loose the M3 25 SHS screws to adjust the position of f...

Page 71: ...other along the X axis direction However the clearance allowance between mechanical components and other minor misalignments may change the offsets between these two nozzles The default nozzle offsets...

Page 72: ...printed by Extruder 1 and the blue lines by Extruder 2 Figure 6 9 Loading Artifex 2 Duo nozzle offsets calibration model After printing out the model check the location where the green and blue lines...

Page 73: ...ve calibration results After this change you can reprint the calibration model to verify the new offset settings Under the new settings the green and blue lines should align to each other at the 0 pos...

Page 74: ...th two colors The steps for preparing and printing two color models are explained as follows Download the example models from our website and load them into Repetier Host Figure 6 12 Figure 6 12 Loadi...

Page 75: ...roup by dragging one color model into the group of another color model Figure 6 14 Figure 6 14 Merging two color models into one object group The merged two color model can be operated as a regular on...

Page 76: ...is ready for slicing using the slicer of your choice Figure 6 15 Figure 6 16 Slicing the two color model After slicing the generated G code can be reviewed in Repetier Host before sending it to the pr...

Page 77: ...th dual extruders to assist the process of extruder switch Figure 6 18 shows the 3D preview of G code generated by CuraEngine with the wipe and prime tower on the side Both Slic3r and CuraEngine confi...

Page 78: ...the support First download the model files HilbertCube stl and HilbertCubeSupport stl from our website Then follow the instructions in Section 6 3 to load both models into Repetier Host merge them int...

Page 79: ...nd filament settings for Hilbert Cube The preview of generated G code is shown in Figure 6 21 After printed out the HIPS support structure can be dissolved in a Limonene bath Figure 6 21 Previewing th...

Page 80: ...of Artifex 2 as shown in Section 2 1 3 except for the settings of Printer Shape Figure 6 22 Figure 6 22 Defining the printer shape of Artifex 2 Duo for single extruder usage Once the new printer prof...

Page 81: ...6 PRINTING WITH DUAL EXTRUDERS Figure 6 23 Applying Artifex 2 slicing settings to Artifex 2 Duo for printing with single extruder http 3dmakerworld com 81...

Page 82: ...sing the rotary knob on the LCD controller Figure 7 2 The main control screen of Artifex 2 LCD controller The control commands can be selected by rotating and pressing the rotary knob Com mands under...

Page 83: ...ler Prepare menu tree The LCD controller can provide great convenience to the following example tasks Leveling the bed Combining the commands Home Z and Lift Z you can con veniently level the bed quic...

Page 84: ...large printing jobs the LCD controller can free up your computer for many hours and reduce the chance that the job gets ruined due to disconnected USB cable automatic computer update and restart and...

Page 85: ...com contacts For updates of software documents and other technical support topics please visit us at http www 3dmakerworld com support Please review the Build Instructions Figure 8 1 if you are buildi...