FABtotum Personal Fabricator User manual

FABtotum Complete Manual
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FABTOTUM MANUAL
INDEX OF CONTENTS
0. Safety
1. Getting started
1.1 Unboxing the FABtotum Personal Fabricator
1.2 First setup
2. Software
2.1 FABUI Overview
2.2 Network Configuration
3. 3D Printing
3.1 Your first 3D Print
3.2 Slicing with cura 2.X
3.3 3D Printing filaments guide
3.4 Improving adhesion
3.5 Advanced: Printing Head PRO
3.6 General 3D printing troubleshooting
4. Milling
4.1 CNC Milling: Making a “Make More” Sign
4.2 Milling & Engraving Bits
5. Laser Engraving

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5.1 Laser Head: Safety & health guidelines
5.2 Calibrating the Laser Head
5.3 Laser Head: engraving and cutting
6. 3D Scanning
6.1 Getting started
7. Maintenance
7.1 Head Installation
7.2 Bed calibration
7.3 Nozzle Height calibration
7.4 Filament loading / unloading
7.5 Feeder Maintenance
7.6 Changing the nozzles
8. Resources & Developers
8.1 Totumduino Board Overview
8.2 Head Development Board
8.3 Head Development Guidelines

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SAFETY & WARRANTY GUIDELINES
Before we venture into uncharted territory, let’s make sure to cover safety basics of the FABtotum Personal Fabricator.
As a general rule, please operate according to the instructions provided by authorized sources only.
Follow the safety instructions below and use common safety practices. Always contact support for advice before modifying
or employing the machine in a way that could cause hazards.
FIRST SETUP AND PLACEMENT
Follow the first setup manual or the complete manual, available at fabtotum.com/support
Place the unit on stable, clean surfaces, away from any obstacles within 30cm / 12″ from the unit.
The unit is intended for indoor use only. Do not use or place outside.
The unit only operates with room temperatures between 15°C and 28°C.
Place unit far from sources of heat, humidity or cold air.
Keep clean dust and clear of any liquid.
IMPORTANT SAFETY NOTES:
Caution: main health risks come from the machine’s moving parts and the components that can heat up, such as the plane
and the modules.
These parts have warning stickers and status LEDs on them to inform of the dangers related to the use of the FABtotum.
Do not touch the nozzle, the heated bed or any moving part of the unit.

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DO NOT touch, move the product or leave it unattended when it’s operating or turned on.
DO NOT modify, disassemble or alter the unit and/or its components in any way.
DO NOT touch or bend the flexible connection cable, the connectors and all cables.
DO NOT touch contacts or the metal rods, as hands can ruin contacts and damage the metal protection layer.
DO NOT turn the product off without following the proper shutdown procedure.
DO NOT improperly dispose of the unit.
TECHNICAL SUPPORT
Our support team is always happy to assist you. Many information and solutions can be found at
http://www.fabtotum.com/knowledgebase
3D PRINTERS AND MANUFACTURING: HEALTH MEASURES
Inhalation
Heat may cause the release of irritating vapors. Milling can create and spread dust and other particles.
In case the user inhales them, they should be immediately taken to an aerated place and kept calm.
Always refer to the material datasheet.
For safety reasons some materials can’t be used for 3D printing, Milling or Laser engraving.
Check the material proprieties or consult support if unsure. Some materials, when exposed to high temperatures can
release dangerous fumes and volatile chemical elements.
Skin
Health risks related to the skin are very uncommon.
If material residue ends up on your epidermis wash the area with plenty of soap and rinse with water.
If skin rashes occur please seek medical attention.
Eyes
Health risks related to the eyes are mainly linked to the use of the laser head and are otherwise uncommon.
For some people dust may be irritating. If that happens rinse your eyes thoroughly with water. In case you are wearing
contacts, remove them and start rinsing as described above.
Use proper eye glasses for protection when operating the machine, especially when using the laser head.
Do not look directly inside the unit.
Most common symptoms and effects
Molten material may cause burns and scalds. Cutting tools may cause wounds and injuries.
Disclaimer: Manufacturer gives no warranty of merchantability or of fitness for a particular purpose. Any product

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purchased is sold on the assumption the purchaser will make his own tests to determine the quality and suitability of the
product. Manufacturer expressly disclaims any and all liability for incidental and/or consequential property damage arising
out of the use of this product. No information provided shall be deemed to be a recommendation to use any product in
conflict with any existing applicable law. Read the Data Sheet before handling product.
WARRANTY
Warranty will be void if the product is modified or altered in any way as well as it is opened in parts that should be kept
closed (i.e. head, rear panel, left side panel, etc …).
Operating the unit outside its specifications or purposes will also void the warranty.
Using unofficial filaments, accessories, consumables or any third party products as well as following unauthorized
maintenance procedures is done at the owner’s discretion and risk and may also cause damage to the unit, for which the
manufacturer will not be held liable.
The product and its accessories must be kept in reasonable conditions. Do not dispose of the shipping box and packaging
material.
The warranty does not cover damages caused by misuse, incorrect use or commands, mishandling or damages elicited by
the use of third party accessories.
The warranty does not cover consumables such as: head thermistor, head heating cartridges, milling chuck, SD card, fans,
nozzle, 4th axis feeder gear, hot-plate’s pogo pins and all removable connectors and PCBs.
Legally applicable warranty period(s)
2 years for natural persons and businesses in the European Union
6 months for natural persons and enterprises in the rest of the World
The Warranty period starts from product’s delivery date for online sales or from purchase date for all other acquisitions.
Warranty rights must be exercised before the end of the warranty period and only within 14 days of discovering a factory
fault.
Repairs or replacement of the product and its components do not extend warranty period nor renew warranty on the
replaced parts.
Software license and warranty
FABUI is an Open Source and all-inclusive software, except where otherwise stated and it is supplied under Creative
Commons BY-SA-NC rules (read more here: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/legalcode).
All relevant documentation is released under the following Creative Commons license:
(CC) Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0).
You may find a copy here: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED “AS IS”, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING
BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-
INFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM,
DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS WITH THE SOFTWARE.

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1. GETTING STARTED
UNBOXING THE FABTOTUM PERSONAL FABRICATOR
The unboxing procedure is important to prepare the FABtotum before the first setup without damaging the unit. Particular
attention must be paid when removing the unit from its box. During unboxing you should also make sure there are no
damages that might have occurred during transportation.
NOTICE: Always operate according the Safety and Warranty Guidelines
Unboxing the package

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What’s in the box

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Connecting to the FABtotum

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Installing heads and modules

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FIRST SETUP
Now it’s time to do the first setup and unit calibration!
The unit Calibration of the FABtotum is a critical step in all future operations. A non-calibrated unit is unable to perform
most basic task like printing and milling. Using a non-calibrated hardware could even damage the unit in the long run!
After unboxing, setting up the machine and connecting to it with your favourite browser, you’ll be prompted with a
setup/configuration wizard.
Once connected to the FABtotum via ethernet cable, you’ll be prompted to initialize the unit operating system
(FABUI Colibri) click ok and follow the instructions to proceed.
The OS will be installed in a few minutes.

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Now it’s time to enter your settings and read carefully all the safety notices, also available on
fabtotum.com/knowledgebase.
Enter the username (email) Name, Surname and password.
these will be used to access and operate the device.

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This passage is not mandatory, but you can set up a short name for your unit (a-z 0-9) that will be always accessible
in your local Wlan/Lan (in this example http://fab01.local/ )

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Choose the Wlan you wish your unit will be connected to.

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The procedure is finished, the installation will be finalized and you will be redirected to the onboard FABtotum User
Interface (FABUI)

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The calibration wizard
After the first setup you’ll be able to use the “calibration wizard” (either by clicking on the pop-up alert or going to
Maintenance→ first setup).
You can do all the wizard operations later by using the Maintenance menu.

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2. SOFTWARE
FABTOTUM FABUI SOFTWARE OVERVIEW
The FABUI is the onboard user interface of the FABtotum Personal Fabricator. It’s used to store and launch all the “jobs”
like 3D printing, milling, etc.
After having setup the machine, unless otherwise specified, the FABUI will be accessible at http://169.254.1.2 once the
FABtotum is switched on and connected directly to your computer via LAN cable.
here some of the main features you can access once connected to the FABUI
The login screen allows to secure the session to a single user. Files and projcts will be “locked” or shared between
users based on the login.
The dashboard is the first page you see once connected and logged in the FABtotum.

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The FABUI controls and menu are locate around the main page, that is dynamically loaded with different contents
The FABUI allows to monitor , start, pause and stop any manufacturing job and have it run without the need of a
connected computer. Il will also send an email notification when the task has been completed.

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The project Manager is where you can upload and manage files for manufacturing: 3D printing, Milling, Laser
engraving etc.
The JOG menu is used to manually move the gantry and enter direct comands (suggested for expert users only)

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The Updates Menu allows you to quickly install available updates directly from the internet once they become
available.