3DMakerWorld Artifex 2 User manual

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

CONTENTS
Contents
1 Introduction 4
1.1 Key Features and Sample Prints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.2 Specifications ................................... 7
1.3 Safety ....................................... 9
1.4 Acknowledgements ................................ 9
1.5 Overviewofchapters ............................... 10
2 Getting Started 11
2.1 Setting up software environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.1.1 Installing electronics driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.1.2 Uploadingfirmware............................ 16
2.1.3 Installing and configuring printing software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
2.2 Setting up printer hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
2.2.1 Checking mechanical motion (kit package only) . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
2.2.2 LevelingHBP............................... 35
2.2.3 Loadingfilaments............................. 39
2.3 Printing out your first 3D model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
3 Slicing 3D Models 46
3.1 Getting3Dmodels ................................ 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 Loading3Dmodels............................ 47
3.2.2 Slicing 3D models using Slic3r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
3.2.3 Slicing 3D models using CuraEngine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
4 Printing with ABS Filaments 58
4.1 Configuring printing settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
4.1.1 Theprintersettings............................ 58
4.1.2 The slicing settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
4.2 Preparing print surface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
5 Printing with Flexible Filaments 61
5.1 Printing NinjaFlex with Slic3r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
5.2 Printing NinjaFlex with CuraEngine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
6 Printing with Dual Extruders 65
6.1 Printer Settings in Repetier-Host . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
6.2 Calibrating dual extruders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
6.2.1 Leveling two nozzles (Not required for assembled package) . . . . . . 69
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CONTENTS
6.2.2 Defining nozzle offsets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
6.3 Printingwithtwocolors ............................. 74
6.4 Printing with dissolvable support materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
6.5 Usingoneextruder ................................ 80
7 Printing with LCD Controller 82
8 Support 85
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1 INTRODUCTION
1 Introduction
The 3DMakerWorld Artifex 2 is an open source desktop 3D printer. It makes three-
dimensional objects out of plastic filaments (PLA, ABS, PVA, HIPS, and NinjaFlex) layer
by layer. Based on the design of Artifex 3D printer, the Artifex 2 adds the flexible filament
extrusion and dual-head extrusion capabilities, LCD controller with SD card read, and other
fine improvements. The Artifex 2 offers both single and dual extruder 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 printer
Artifex 2 All Metal (Figure 1.2) is an all metal hotend version of Artifex 2. It is equipped
with E3D V6 all metal hotend to extrude up to 300C for expanded material capacity, includ-
ing Nylon and Polycarbonate. Except for the hotend set-up, Artifex 2 All Metal shares the
same structure as Artifex 2. Unless explicitly noted, information provided in this document
for Artifex 2 applies to Artifex 2 All Metal as well.
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1 INTRODUCTION
Figure 1.2: The Artifex 2 All Metal 3D printers
1.1 Key Features and Sample Prints
The key features of Artifex 2 3D printer include:
•Flexible 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 are some sample prints made with the Artifex 2 3D printers. Please check more
sample prints and printing videos at our website.
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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
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1 INTRODUCTION
Figure 1.5: 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 1.7.
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1 INTRODUCTION
Figure 1.7: The technical specifications of Artifex 2
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1 INTRODUCTION
1.3 Safety
WARNING: The 3DMakerWorld Artifex 2 3D Printer generates high temperature and con-
tains fast moving mechanical parts which may cause injury or damage. Please follow the
guidelines carefully to operate the printer safely. 3D Maker World assumes no liability for
any loss or injury caused by operating the Artifex 2 3D Printer.
•Never leave your 3D printer unattended during printing or with power on.
•Provide sufficient clear space around the printer to permit free motion of moving parts,
including the front-back movement of build platform, the up-down movement of X-axis
assembly, and the rotation of filament spool.
•When the printer is in operation, never touch moving parts, including belts, pulleys,
motor shafts, rail carriages, and lead screws.
•Never touch the extruder nozzle and heated bed without turning off the power and
allowing them to completely cool down.
•Always power off the 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 materials near printer.
•Place the printer in a well-ventilated area for printing with ABS filaments.
1.4 Acknowledgements
First, we would like to thank Maxbot for his design of MendelMax 2, which is arguably
one of the most compact desktop 3D printer designs considering the build volume and foot
print. The overall structure is what the Artifex and Artifex 2 3D printers were built upon.
Through improved product features and expanded functionalities, we believe Artifex 2 can
offer the next level of excellence to enable your 3D printing capability.
Secondly, we would like to thank the developers of open source programs used in the
Artifex 2 software toolchain, including:
•Repetier-Host: the 3D printing user interface
•CuraEngine, Slic3r: G-code generators, included in the Repetier-Host
•Marlin: the firmware of 3D printer
•Arduino: used to upload and edit the firmware of Artifex 3D Printer
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1 INTRODUCTION
We would also like to address our sincere thanks to our customers of the first generation
of Artifex 3D printers. All of your feedback and suggestions have made our products even
better and more capable.
Last, but certainly not the least, our gratitude to all the pioneers, makers and active
players in the reprap and other 3D printing communities for all the inspiration and support.
1.5 Overview of chapters
Chapter 2 will be focused on how to set up the software environment and the printer hardware
for printing using PLA filaments. 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 your choice, either
from your own creation or from an online 3D model repository. A few 3D modeling tools
and online 3D model repositories will be introduced. And the main content of Chapter 3
will be focused on the set-up of slicing parameters.
Chapter 4, and 5 will cover the configuration of printing parameters and printer set-up
for printing with ABS and flexible filaments, respectively. Chapter 6 will discuss how to
use your Artifex 2 Duo 3D Printer. Chapter 6 will list our support information for future
assistance.
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2 GETTING STARTED
2 Getting Started
2.1 Setting up software environment
The software set-up in this section is based on a Windows operating system. The similar steps
applies to set-ups for Mac or Linux based computers. All the software can be downloaded
on our website.
2.1.1 Installing electronics driver
Like other device drivers, the electronics driver of your 3D printer allows your computer to
recognize the printer when you connect it to the computer. The Artifex 2 3D Printer uses
the RAMBo electronics from 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 Windows:
1. Download the driver and save it in a folder of your choice. In our case, we saved the
file on the desktop.
2. Unzip the compressed file using 7-Zip or other archive programs. (Figure 2.1)
Figure 2.1: Unzip the driver file using 7-Zip
3. Connect the printer to your computer via the provided USB cable. At the first time
of connecting Artifex 2 to your computer, your computer will likely fail to allocate a
driver for the hardware to work correctly. We will manually update the device driver.
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2 GETTING STARTED
4. Open the Device Manager under ”Control Panel →System and Security →System”.
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 automatically...” or ”Browse my
computer...”. Select ”Browse my computer...” (Figure 2.3)
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2 GETTING STARTED
Figure 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)
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2 GETTING STARTED
Figure 2.4: Allocate the location of driver 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 driver software”. Click ”Close”. (Figure 2.6)
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2 GETTING STARTED
Figure 2.6: Installation completed successfully
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 our case, it is COM3. (Figure 2.7)
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2 GETTING STARTED
Figure 2.7: COM port used by the electronics board
2.1.2 Uploading firmware
(Note: All Artifex 2 packages, including both fully assembled and kit packages, are now
shipped with firmware pre-loaded. The instructions below are provided for users who want to
modify and update the firmware for advanced usage.)
The firmware of 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 before the
shipment. You can skip this section. In the future, if you need to update the firmware
for your Artifex 2 3D Printer, please follow steps listed in this section.
•For a kit package of Artifex 2 3D Printer, after you install the electronics, you need to
upload its firmware.
1. Download the Arduino software
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2 GETTING STARTED
The RAMBo electronics used in your Artifex 2 3D Printer is an Arduino-compatible
control board. The Arduino integrated development environment (IDE) software will
be installed on your computer to communicate with the printer electronics. The Ar-
duino IDE software runs on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux, and can be downloaded
from http://arduino.cc/en/Main/Software. The 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 of your choice.
•Unzip the file using 7-Zip or other archive software (Figure 2.8). The unzipped
files will appear in a folder named “arduino-1.0.5”.
Figure 2.8: Unzip the Arduino zip file using 7-Zip
•Open the folder and there is a file named “arduino.exe” (Figure 2.9). It is
the executable program of the Arduino IDE software. No further installation is
needed.
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2 GETTING STARTED
Figure 2.9: The unzipped Arduino 1.0.5 files
2. Add library files for LCD controller
A library is required to use the LCD controller on Artifex 2. The library can be
downloaded at: https://bintray.com/olikraus/u8glib/Arduino. After unzipped, the
library can be imported in Arduino IDE by selecting the menu ”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-based firmware.
•Download the Artifex 2 firmware from http://3dmakerworld.com/support/downloads,
save it to your computer’s Desktop or a location of your choice. (Note: For Artifex
2 All Metal, select the All Metal version of firmware.)
•Unzip the file using 7-Zip or other archive software. (Figure 2.10)
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2 GETTING STARTED
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
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2 GETTING STARTED
•Click “File →Open...” (Figure 2.12).
Figure 2.12: Open files in the Arduino IDE software
•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 firmware files.
Figure 2.13: The main file of Artifex 2 firmware “Marlin.ino”
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