Flashforge Invertor II User manual

FlashForge Corporation
InventorⅡUser Guide | www.flashforge.com 400-699-1063
FlashForge InventorⅡ3D Printer
User Guide

InventorⅡUser Guide | www.flashforge.com 400-699-1063
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Content
Content............................................................................................................................ 2
Preface.............................................................................................................................3
Introduction.....................................................................................................................4
Notice.............................................................................................................................. 5
Chapter 2: About InventorⅡ.........................................................................................10
2.1 About Your InventorⅡ.................................................................................... 10
Chapter 3：Unpacking................................................................................................. 20
Chapter 4: Hardware Assembly.................................................................................... 24
4.1 Filament Installation........................................................................................ 24
4.2 Printer Start-up.................................................................................................25
4.3 Loading Filament.............................................................................................25
4.4 Unloading Filament.........................................................................................27
Chapter 5: Build Plate Leveling....................................................................................29
Chapter 6: About Software............................................................................................32
6.1 Software Installation........................................................................................32
6.2 Exploring FlashPrint........................................................................................32
Chapter 7: Basic Printing.............................................................................................. 56
7.1 Generate a Gcode.............................................................................................56
7.2 Print Methods...................................................................................................58
Chapter 8: Supports and Service................................................................................... 62

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Preface
Note: Each device must be tested before leaving factory. If there are some residues in extruder
or some tiny scratches on the build tape, it is normal and won’t affect the printing quality.
On the completion of this User Guide, thanks all FlashForge engineers and the
FlashForge 3D printer users for their unremitting efforts and sincere assistance.
The FlashForge InventorⅡUser Guide is designed for the InventorⅡusers to start
their printing journey with FlashForge InventorⅡ. Even if you are familiar with
earlier FlashForge machines or 3D printing technology, we still recommend that please
read this guide, as there is lots of important information about the InventorⅡfor you
to get a better 3D experience.
For a better and more successful printing experience, you can refer to the following
materials:
(1) Quick Start Guide
Users will find the Quick Start Guide together with the printer accessories. The Quick
Start Guide will help you start your print journey as soon as possible.
(2) Official FlashForge Website:
The official FlashForge website contains the up-to-date information concerning
FlashForge software, firmware, device maintenance and so on. Users are also able to
get the contact information from there.

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Introduction
Notes：
The FlashForge Inventor Ⅱ 3D Printer User Guide contains the information needed
for you to set up and use this device.
This User Guide including the following parts: Preface, Introduction and After-sale
service.
The Preface section includes resource acquisition channel, the overall framework of
the manual, and the problems that should be paid attention to while printing.
The introduction section contains the overview of 3D printing technology, equipment
introduction, unpacking and installation of equipment, software installation and usage.
After-sale section contains the user how to get the support and help.
·Please read FlashForge Inventor Ⅱ 3D Printer User Guide carefully before use.
·The User Guide is written based on Windows 7 OS.
·The version of the FlashPrint is latest.

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Notice
Safety Notice
! Notices: Read all the instructions in the manual and familiarize yourself with the
FlashForge InventorⅡUser Guide before setting-up and using. Failure to comply with
the warning and instructions may result in individual injury, fire, equipment damage or
property damage.
PLEASE STRICTLY FOLLOW ALL THE SAFETY WARNINGS AND NOTICE
BELOW ALL THE TIME.
· Work Environment Safety
①Keep your work place tidy.
②Do not operate InventorⅡin the presence of flammable liquids, gases or dust.
③Keep InventorⅡout of children and untrained people’s reach.
· Electrical Safety
①Always use the InventorⅡwith a properly grounded outlet. Do not refit
InventorⅡplug.
②Do not use InventorⅡin damp or wet locations. Do not expose InventorⅡto
burning sun.
③In case of device damage, please use the power supply provided by FlashForge.
④Avoid using the device during an thunderstorm.
⑤In case of uncertain accident, please unplug the device if you do not use it for long.
·Personal Safety
①Do not touch the nozzle and build plate during printing.
②Do not touch the nozzle after finishing printing.

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③Dress properly. Do not wear loose clothing or jewelry. Keep your hair, clothing
and gloves away from moving parts.
④Do not operate the device while you are tired or under the influence of drugs,
alcohol or medication.
· Cautions
①Do not leave the device unattended for long.
②Do not make any modifications to the device.
③To lower the build plate before loading/unloading filament. (The distance between
the nozzle and build plate should be kept for at least 50mm)
④Operate the device in a well-ventilated environment.
⑤Never use the device for illegal activities.
⑥Never use the device to make any food storage vessels.
⑦Never use the device to make any electrical appliance.
⑧Never put the model into your mouth.
⑨Do not remove the models with force.
· Environment Requirements
Temperature: RT 15-30℃
Moisture: 20%-70%
· Place Requirements
The device must be placed in a dry and ventilated environment. The distances of the
left, right and back side space should be at least 20cm, and the distance of the front
side space should be at least 35cm.

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· Filament Requirements
Do not abuse the filament. Please make sure you use the FlashForge filament or the
filament from the brands accepted by FlashForge.
· Filament Storage
All polymers degrade with time. Do not unpack filament until necessary. Filament
should be stored at clean and dry conditions.
Legal Notice
All the information in this document is subject to any amendment or change without
the official authorization from FlashForge.
FLASHFORGE CORPORATION MAKES NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND WITH
REGARD TO THIS DOCUMENT, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
IMPLIED WARRATIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
FlashForge shall not be liable for errors contained herein for incidental consequential
damages in connection with furnishing, performance or use of this material
This device complies with part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the
following two conditions: (1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and (2)
this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may
cause undesired operation.
This document contains proprietary information protected by copyright.
Copyright © 2017 FlashForge Corp. All Rights Reserved

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Chapter 1: 3D Printing Technology
3D printing refers to transforming three-dimensional models into physical objects that
you can hold and touch. It is also called additive manufacturing because the 3D model
is created by “adding” layers upon layers of material until the object is fully formed.
Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) is the most common method of 3D printing. It is
also the method that the InventorⅡuses. It works by melting plastic material called
filament onto a print surface in high temperature. The filament solidifies after it cools
down, which happens instantaneously after it is extruded from the nozzle. 3D objects
are formed with the filament laying down multiple layers.
1.1 Process
3D printing involves three steps:
1.) Make or download a 3D model
2.) Slice and export the 3D model
3.) Build the 3D model
1.1.1 Make a 3D Model:
Currently, there are three ways to creating a 3D model.
·Designing From Scratch You can use free CAD (computer-aided design) software
such as 3DTADA, AutoCAD, SolidWorks, Pro-E, and our own software Happy 3D to
design your own 3D model.
·3D Scanners An alternative method to creating a 3D model is to scan an object. 3D
scanners work by digitizing a physical object, collecting its geometric data, and saving
it to a file on your PC. There are also apps that can turn a mobile device into a 3D
scanner.

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·From the Cloud The most popular way of obtaining a 3D model is to download it
from websites that allow users to upload 3D models that they designed.
E.g. : www. thingiverse.com
1.1.2 Slice and Export the 3D Model:
Slice software is the software that prepares 3D models for printing and turns them into
instructions for the 3D printers. FlashPrint is the slicing software used for the
FlashForge InventorⅡ.
Using FlashPrint, you can turn .stl files into .g or .gx files for printing. Then the files
can be transferred to your InventorⅡvia USB cable, USB stick or Wi-Fi.
1.1.3 Build the 3D Model:
Once the output file has been transferred to your InventorⅡ, it will start to turn the 3D
model into a physical object by laying down layers of filament.

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Chapter 2: About InventorⅡ
2.1 About Your InventorⅡ
2.1.1 Views
Front Top
Right Back
1. Touch screen
2. Touch screen button
3. Nozzle
4. Z-axis guide rod
5. Build plate
11. Spring presser
12. USB stick input
13. USB cable input
14. Power input
6. Leveling knob
7. Filament cartridge
8. Extruder
9. Filament intake
10. X-axis guide rod

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2.1.2 Terms
Build Plate
The surface on which the InventorⅡbuilds an object.
Build Tape
The blue tape that covers Inventor Ⅱ’s build plate so
that the object can stick to the build plate well.
Build Volume
The three dimensional amount of space that an object
will use once it is completed. The largest build volume
of InventorⅡis 150*140*140mm.
Leveling Knobs
Knobs under the build platform that are used for
adjusting the distance between the nozzle and build
plate.
Extruder
The device that draws the filament from the spool,
melts it and pushes it through a nozzle into the build
plate.
Nozzle
Also called “print head”, which located at the bottom
of the extruder where heated filament is squeezed out.
Cooling Fan
To cool the outer assembly of the extruder and gear
motor.
Filament Intake
An opening located at the top of the extruder.
Filament Guide Tube
A black plastic piece that guides the filament from the
filament box to the filament intake.
Filament Cartridge
A specific box for placing FlashForge filament.
Solid Glue Stick
A solid adhesive used for making the model stick to the
build plate firmly.
Unclogging Pin Tool
A tool that used for cleaning and unclogging the
extruder.
Stamping Wrench
A tool that used for seizing the nozzle’s metal cube.

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2.1.3 Reference
Name
InventorⅡ
Number of Extruder
1
Print Technology
Fused Filament Fabrication(FFF)
Screen Size
3.5’’ color IPS Touch Screen
Build Volume
150×140×140mm
Layer Resolution
0.1 - 0.4mm
Build Accuracy
±0.1mm
Positioning Accuracy
Z axis 0.0025mm; XY axis 0.011mm
Filament Diameter
1.75mm（±0.07）
Nozzle Diameter
0.4mm
Build Speed
10~200 mm/s
Software
FlashPrint
Support Formats
Input: 3MF/ STL/OBJ/FPP/BMP/PNG/JPG/JPEG
Output: GX/G
OS
Win xp/Vista/7/8/10、Mac OS、Linux
Device Size
420*420*420mm
Net Weight
11.7Kg
AC Input
Input:100V-240VAC, 50-60Hz Power: 65W
Connectivity
USB cable, USB stick, WiFi

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2.1.4 Interface Menus
Build
Read the print file from
The internal memory
The USB stick
Back
Select the target print file among the list
Build: To begin printing
Copy: To copy the files to the local
memory card from the USB stick.(The
button is not available while printing from
internal memory )
Delete: To delete the print file
Back
Print interface
Abort: To abort the print job.
Pause/Resume: To suspend or resume the
printing job.
More: To change filament and set up auto
shutdown after printing.

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More in print interface
Filament: To change filament during
printing.
(Note: You need to suspend the operation
first)
Finish-Shutdown: To start auto shutdown
after finishing printing
Cancel: To end the tool orders and return
to the print interface.
Preheat
Tap the [Preheat] button to enter the
preheat interface. Tap the [Start] button to
heat up to the setting temperature.
The default temperature is 220℃.
Tap the temperature display bar to set the
temperature.
To set the preheat temperature.
Tap [Yes] to save the setting while tap [No]
to cancel the setting.

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The picture displays the preheat interface. It
shows the actual temperature and the target
temperature. Tap the [Cancel] button to
abort the preheat job.
Tools
Tap [Tools] to enter tool options.
Filament: To load/unload the filament.
Level: To adjust the build plate.
Home: To make the X, Y and Z axes
back to the zero point.
Manual: To manually adjust the positions
of X, Y and Z axes.
Setting: To implement relevant function
setups.
Status: The check the real-time status of
the printer.
About: Information about the printer.
Back
Manual adjustment
Y+: The extruder moves to the zero
point, that is, the back of the machine
Y-: The extruder moves to the direction
opposite to the Y+.
X+: The extruder moves to the zero
points, that is, to the right direction
X-: The extruder moves to the direction
opposite to the X+.
Z+: The build plate elevates.
Z-: The build plate descends.
Back

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Tap [Setting] to enter the setting
interface
Language: To set the display language
WiFi: To turn on/off the WiFi
WLan hotspot: To turn on/off the
WLan hotspot.
Extruder Calibration: To adjust the
initial distance between the extruder and
the build plate.
Filament Check: To turn on/off the
filament check
Door Opened Pause: To turn on/off
the function of door pause
Factory Reset ：Return to factory
setting
Update: To update the firmware
version.
Back
WiFi:
Turn on WiFi: Turn on the WiFi,
release the WiFi hotspot and set the WiFi
on computer
Back

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WLan hotspot
OFF/On: To turn on/off the Wlan
hotspot.
Setup Wlan hotspot: To set the SSID and
password.
SSID: The name of hotspot.
Password: The password of hotspot.
Save: To save the setting.
Back
Extruder Adjust:
After the build plate and extruder
finish the initial movement, you can
tap ‘+’or ‘-’ to adjust the distance
between the build plate and nozzle.
Z：0. 00 stands for the position where
the servo is precisely triggered.
Status:
It displays the real-time status of the
extruder temperature, fan and filament.

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About:
It displays the basic information about
the device.

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2.2 Accessories
Filament*1 Power Adapter Power Cable USB Cable
Filament Guide Tube Quick Start Guide USB Stick Screwdriver
Allen Wrench Solid Glue Stamping Wrench Unclogging Pin Tool
Lid After-sale Service Card PTFE Tube Grease

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Chapter 3：Unpacking
(reference video：Unpacking）
This chapter will present you the whole unpacking procedure of InventorⅡ3D
printer.(Note: Make sure you read the whole unpacking guide)
3-1
(3-1) Place the packaging box on a clean work surface.
3-2