Flashforge Creator Pro User manual

www.ff3dp.com
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User Guide
Creator Pro Desktop 3D Printer

www.ff3dp.com
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Contents
Acknowledgment..................................................................................................................................3
Commitment......................................................................................................................................... 4
PRECAUTIONS...................................................................................................................................5
Chapter 1: What’s in the Box?..............................................................................................................6
Chapter 2: Unpacking...........................................................................................................................7
Chapter 3: Hardware Assembly..........................................................................................................10
Chapter 4:Software Installation.......................................................................................................... 12
Chapter 5: USB Connection & Temperature Setting..........................................................................19
Chapter 6: Filament............................................................................................................................ 24
6.1 Installing Filament................................................................................................................24
6.2 Feeding the Filament Using the LCD Screen.......................................................................25
6.3 Withdrawing the Filament Using LCD Screen.....................................................................26
6.4 Feeding the Filament Using Replicator G Control Panel.....................................................27
6.5 Setting Parameters................................................................................................................ 28
Chapter 7: First Print.......................................................................................................................... 29
Chapter 8: Dual Extruder Print...........................................................................................................34
Chapter 9: Other Information............................................................................................................. 37
9.1.Supports and Service............................................................................................................ 37
9.2 References............................................................................................................................ 38

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Acknowledgment
Our sincere gratitude goes to you for your great support to Flashforge Corporation. Even if you are
familiar with earlier Flashforge machines or 3D printing technology, we still recommend that you
read through this guide, as there is lots of important information about the Creator pro for you to get
a better 3D experience. Following this guide will ensure your successful first print journey.

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Commitment
Each member of Flashforge team is definitely passionate about 3D printing and willing to share this
new technology with each individuals of the world. Flashforge is committing to providing the best
3D printers and best service to each clients and customers.
If you can imagine it, you can make it. Together with Flashforge team, let’s turn the sky into limit.

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PRECAUTIONS
Please make sure to read this page carefully prior to setting up and operating the Creator Pro.
Ensure that your Creator pro is earthed lest electrostatic interference.
Turn off the machine and unplug the power cord before any maintenance or modifications.
Always avoid touching the heating nozzle and build plate during operation
Only use your Creator pro in a well-ventilated area. (When printing with ABS, small
concentrations of Styrene vapor can be released. This may (in some cases) make you
uncomfortable.)
Do not wear gloves when operating or repairing, as entanglement may occur and injury may
cause .
Do not leave the machine unattended when during operation.

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Chapter 1: What’s in the Box?
Along with your Creator Pro 3D printer, the box also contains the followings:
On the top of the PE foam sheet, you’ll find:
Filament guide tube*2
Quick start*1
Build tape*2
Leveling card*1
Within the accessory PE foam
Power cable *1
USB cable*1
Spool holder*2
Dual extruder*1
Tool bag(Allen Wrench/Leveling knob/Bolt)
Extruder’s accessory kit(Bolt/Turbofan baffle)
4G SD card *1
Under Creator Pro’s build platform:
ABS filament*1kg (2.2pounds),
PLA filament*1kg (2.2pounds),
Lid*1

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Chapter 2: Unpacking
The Creator Pro was carefully packaged at FLASHFORGE manufacturing facility. Please follow
the unpacking steps laid out below.
Place your Creator Pro on a clean and stable surface, open the carton and then take the foam sheet
out. Within the PE foam sheet are lying two filament guide tubes, one piece of build tape, one
piece of Flashforge leveling card and one Quick Start Guide.
Firmly grasp the two side handles of Flashforge Creator Pro. Lift it out of the box and place it on a
stable surface. Then open and remove the transparent covering.
The Flashforge Creator Pro and its accessories shall be displayed in front of you. Take the dual
extruder out and place it onto a clean ground.
CAUTION
Handle the package and its contents with extra care; do not use any unnecessary force.
Do not remove the wrapping around the nozzle. It consists of a ceramic fiber fabric and heat
resistant tape that helps to keep the nozzle at a constant temperature.

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Take the accessory foam container out, within which are lying a power cable, a USB cable, two
spool holders, a bag of tools, a SD card, a bag of extruder accessories and turbofan baffle.
Slide the X-axis rods to the very back. Take the transparent lid together with two rolls of filament
out from the printer. Take the two rolls of filament(PLA filament * 1, ABS filament * 1) out from
the enclosed lid.
Elevate the build plate to its limit. Take the side protective foam sheets from the printer. Take the
bottom protective foam from the printer.

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Congratulations! You’ve finished the unpacking process. (Tip: Save your Flashforge Creator Pro
packaging for future transportation and storage. )

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Chapter 3: Hardware Assembly
First, you need two M3*8 bolts from the extruder’s accessories kit(including bolts and turbofan
baffle), and the 2.5mm Allen Wrench. Lower the build plate as much as possible, hold the extruder
by both sides, take it out of the accessory sleeve and position it on the extruder seat with the fan
facing forward. Align the screw holes and fasten with the two short silver bolts.
Unscrew the two turbofan bolts and take out the turbofan baffle to install.(Note: Beside the turbofan
bolt hole locates a small hole. You need to insert the bump of turbofan baffle to this hole) Take out a
M3 x 6 bolt and a 2.5mm Allen Wrench to secure the turbofan baffle onto the extruder. Finally,
screw the two turbofan bolts.
The next step goes to the installation of the spool holders. Install one on each side.
To install a spool holder, level it and insert the end into one of the openings. Turn down the spool
holder to make the holder bottom cleave to the printer back.

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To lock the filament guide tube with R-shape buckles and insert another end to the filament intake.
To avoid filament jams, always ensure that any filament spool you mount on the Creator pro feeds
from the bottom of the spool toward the top. Filament mounted on the right spool holder when
viewed from the back should always unspool clockwise and filament loaded onto the left spool
holder should always unspool counterclockwise.
Congratulations! You’ve finished the hardware assembly process.

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Chapter 4:Software Installation
Steps for installing your software:
Method 1: (1)Download the appropriate version of ReplicatorG suitable for your system
from: www.ff3dp.com
Steps：Support--Downloads--Creator Pro FDM 3D Printer--Software(ReplicatorG&Python)
(2) After completing loading, please decompress the RAR. files.
(3) First, run Python-2.7.8.amd64 and the Python 2.7.8 and the double click the Replicator
G icon to start the software.
Method 2: From the SD card shipped with your printer, browse to the “ operational
software ” folder and run Python-2.7.8.amd64 and the Python 2.7.8.
After completing the Python component installation, click Replicator-0040r24-Sailfish-
windows to install the ReplicatorG software.
To run the ReplicatorG software, double click the shortcut on your desktop or in your start
menu.
SPECIAL NOTES TO WIN 8 and WIN 10 USERS BEFORE SOFTWARE INSTALLATION
Win 8 and Win 10 users please make sure that you have disabled the Driver Signature Enforcement setting before
installing the ReplicatorG software. Below is a video link showing you how to accomplish this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NM1MN8QZhnk

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After opening ReplicatorG software, click on Machine to select your Machine Type(Driver).
Choose The Replicator Dual for Creator Pro dual extruder machine.
After selecting the appropriate machine type, click on GCode on the top navigation bar, and under
GCode Generator, select Skeinforge(50).

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The following gives an introduction on how to import files (.STL) into the Replicator G software
and then generate Gcode to print your creation.
Click File >Open, then browse and select the file (.STL) that you would like to print. Import the
file by double-clicking on it. Then the drawing will appear on the Replicator G interface.
When the object is imported you may find that it is not on the virtual build platform or even on the
screen, using the function keys indicated by the blue boxes in the illustration above, you can change
the camera angle and click [Move]--[Center] to re-position the object onto the center of the build
platform. Once you've done this, the next step is to generate the Gcode. This is achieved by clicking

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on the button (Generate GCode) at the bottom of the panel.
EXPLANATION OF GCODE SETTINGS
A new window will pop up, giving you several options on how the Gcode will be generated:
A. Slicing Profile: select Replicator slicing defaults for ABS printing, then select Replicator
2 slicing defaults for PLA printing.
B. This tells the printer which extruder to use for a dual-extruder head printer, either the left or
right head can be selected.
Use Raft/Support: Raft helps the model stick to the build plate firmly and the supports works
as the bridge pillars. (If raft or supports are necessary, you need check the box )
C. If your sample will have any hanging surfaces, it is recommended to have support. Select
None indicates that there is no support. Exterior support means surface support. Full
support means all support.
D. Object infill: where 100% is a solid print, 0% is a hollow object. The recommended setting
is 10%; this will save time and filament. Low infill also can reduce the corners lift up issue
during ABS printing.
E. Layer Height: the thickness of each layer. The recommended thickness is 0.27mm.
F. Number of shells: this is the wall thickness; it’s usually set at 1. (Default thickness is 1.2mm)
G. Feedrate（mm/s）is the extruder speed while extruding filament, and this is usually set
between 30 and 100.For ABS printing,60 is recommended; for PLA printing,80℃is
recommended.
A
B
C
D
F
G
H
I
E

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H. Travel feedrate is the extruder speed at while no filament is extruded, and it’s usually set
between 30 and 120. For ABS printing, 80℃is recommended; for PLA printing, 100℃is
recommended.
I. Print Temperature is the temperature to which the nozzle is heated. This varies between
filament types. Set it to 220 for the default filament.
As for the” plastic”, “extruder” and “Defaults”, you just need to maintain the default settings.
After you finish inputting in the settings, click Generate Gcode and the progress bar will appear.
For users who did not choose the default installation path in the installation of Python, clicking the
Generate Gcode button in Replicator G will result in dialogue box popping up alerting that the
executable Python file cannot be found.
In order to solve this, click the No button to dismiss the dialogue box. Next, we need to configure
the corresponding menu.

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Click File >Preferences, then click Select Python interpreter under the Advanced tab. A
window will pop up. Navigate to the Python installation directory, and select python.exe and click
Open.

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Last, click Close on the Preferences menu and you are done!
The machine will now work as normal when generating Gcode, and the Python error message will
not pop up again.In the next section, we will start a preliminary test on the machine’s connections,
and heat the platform and extruder so that the extruder is ready for its first print.

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Chapter 5: USB Connection & Temperature
Setting
First, connect the machine and computer with the provided USB cable. The USB port on the
machine is bound by the box in the below image. After connecting the cable, open the ReplicatorG
software as we are going to link the computer and printer.
Inside the ReplicatorG software, click Machine >Connection (serial port) >Rescan serial ports,
if no new ports appear then the software driver has not been installed. To install the driver manually,
go to My computer and right click on Properties. The basic system parameters appear. Next select
Device Manager.