Fusion3 Design F306 Generation I User manual

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Affordable High-Performance 3D Printers
Operation Guide
F306 Generation I
Revision 5 | 12-31-2014
1. Table of Contents
1. Table of Contents .................................................................................................................................. 1
2. Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 1
2. Your First Print....................................................................................................................................... 2
3. General Info—Software ......................................................................................................................... 4
4. General Info—Hardware........................................................................................................................ 7
5. General Tasks ...................................................................................................................................... 14
6. Troubleshooting & Advanced Techniques............................................................................................. 24
7. Maintenance ....................................................................................................................................... 39
8. Further Support................................................................................................................................... 44
9. Glossary............................................................................................................................................... 44
APPENDIX A: Unpacking & Setup.................................................................................................................... 45
APPENDIX B: High-Precision Flow Rate Calibration ......................................................................................... 54
APPENDIX C: Notes for Dual Extrusion Owners............................................................................................... 58
2. Introduction
Thank you for purchasing Fusion3’s F306 3D printer!
This manual is designed to familiarize you with your F306 and its use and give you the tools to get the most out of
your new printer. The F306 has been engineered for many years of trouble-free operation and outstanding output
quality.
1.1. Warnings
Your F306 contains parts that reach high temperatures during operation, such as the print head and the print bed.
Take care not to touch these components while the F306 is in operation or while they are at an elevated
temperature (see Front View figure below).

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While we have carefully designed your F306 to operate in a safe manner, accidents can happen. Your F306 should
NEVER be run unattended or overnight.
Your F306 contains components that operate at 110VAC. These components have been shielded to prevent
accidental access. These guards are marked with the warning below. Do not remove these guards while your
machine is in operation, or plugged into the wall.
Your F306 also contains components that pose a pinch hazard while in operation, such as the linear motion
carriages and the extruder feed system. Take care to keep fingers, hair, other body parts, and clothing away from
these components while your F306 is in operation.
Your F306 is a high-precision piece of equipment that is precisely constructed, aligned, and calibrated at our
factory. Refrain from subjecting your printer to shocks, drops, or heavy forces that may cause misalignment of the
components.
2. Your First Print
This section will guide you through the steps to get your F306 printing for the first time. We highly recommend
using the included roll of PLA filament, and printing the pre-prepared file on your SD card. These instructions will
walk you through how to accomplish this.
2.1.Inspect Your System
If you had your F306 system shipped to you, see Appendix A for inspection instructions. If anything has been
damaged in shipping, it’s important to catch it now before it might damage something else!
2.2.Level the Print Bed
See section 5.2 for instructions on how to level the print bed.
2.3.Load Filament & Prepare to Print
Every F306 comes with a free roll of high-quality PLA. We highly recommend using this included material for your
first print. Not only is PLA an easy material to work with for beginners, but your SD card includes a pre-prepared
print file that is configured to be run with PLA.
Load the filament into your F306 using the “Load filament” script in the “Prepare” menu. See section 5.3 for more
information.
First, we need to prepare the print bed for printing.

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Fill the included spray bottle with normal tap water. If the print surface is dirty, use the spray bottle and paper
towels to clean it. DO NOT use cleaners such as Windex, acetone, or rubbing alcohol to clean the print surface.
Using these chemicals can cause print adhesion problems.
Once the print surface is clean and dry, it’s time to apply the included purple gluestick. Hold the stick vertically and
wipe back and forth to apply a single, even layer of glue to the bed. Since this is a small part we don’t need to coat
the entire surface, just a roughly 6 inch by 6 inch section in the center of the bed. See section 5.4 for more
information.
2.4.Print!
Now we’re ready to print! Navigate to the “Card Menu” on the control panel and select the “getting started
prints” folder. You should see one file called “Twisted_Bottle_PLA.gcode” (the file name might be truncated).
Press to select it, and your F306 will automatically begin the print!
First, your printer will move all three axes towards their minimum positions until it bumps the limit switches. This
is called “homing the axes”, and is how your F306 knows where it is in 3D space.
While it’s homing, it will begin heating the print bed to the correct temperature for PLA (45oC). You can watch the
temperature climb on the control panel.
Once all three axes are homed, your F306 will finish heating the bed. Then it will begin heating the print head to
the correct temperature for PLA (205-215oC). The print head will take 2-3 minutes to come up to temperature and
stabilize. It’s normal for the temperature to oscillate around the set point 2-3 degrees before it begins to print.
Once both the head and bed are up to temperature, your F306 will begin the print by dropping the bed about
10mm. It will then pump out about 30mm of filament. This is to ensure the melt chamber in the print head is
completely filled with plastic before beginning the print. Then the print head will move over and the table will rise
back to the 0 point. The print head will then perform a rapid “wipe” move to the right, in order to wipe the purged
filament off of the head.
Then the print head will move to the center of the bed and begin to print your object! First, it will draw an outline
around the part called a “skirt”. This is a single extrusion bead offset by about 5mm. The main purpose of this is to
stabilize the flow rate of plastic before beginning the actual part. It also allows you to make sure the height of the
first layer is correct, and that the material is laying down correctly.
After the skirt is complete, it will start printing the actual part. The first layer is always done at about 40% of
normal print speed, to ensure the material bonds to the print bed correctly. Your F306 builds parts by tracing one
or more outlines (default is 2) around the perimeter of the part, then filling the rest of the cross section with a zig-
zag infill. The 3 top and bottom layers are done solid, and the rest of the interior is a mostly hollow lattice (all of
these settings are adjustable in Simplify3D).
After the first layer of both pieces is complete, your printer will speed up to the default printing speed of 100mm/s
for the rest of the part. The twisted bottle is a 2 piece print (body and top). It should take about 30 minutes to
finish.
2.5.After the Print
After your F306 is finished building the part, the head will move to the back left corner and the print bed will drop
to the bottom of the machine. You can then remove the parts!

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For PLA, you should be able to pop small parts off easily by hand. Large parts may need to have the table
heated to 70oC in order to make them easier to release by prying them off with the included part scraper.
For ABS, wait for the table to cool to ~50oC and the parts should self-release (sometimes accompanied by
a loud “pop”).
You should be able to thread the top and body together. The first couple of assemblies can be tight. Also be sure
the top doesn’t cross-thread the first couple times you assemble it.
Congratulations! You’ve finished your first print on your F306!
As a final step, remove the skirt and priming pile of filament from the print bed. Remove the used gluestick from
the bed using the spray bottle to wet it down, then use the part scraper to remove most of it. A paper towel or
two will finish the cleanup.
3. General Info—Software
3.1. Software toolchain overview
The job of the software toolchain is to convert a 3D model file into a list of commands that the F306 will follow to
build the object. The central piece of software in this process is called the slicer. While there are many slicers
available to perform this task, they are not equal. We’ve selected Simplfiy3D Creator because it combines
excellent usability with a powerful, intelligent slicing engine. A 2-seat license to Simplify is included with your
F306.
The basic steps of the slicing and printing process are shown below:
Figure 1: Slicing & Printing Workflow
3.2. Simplify3D Tutorials
Simplify 3D has provided tutorials to cover operation of their software at:
http://www.simplify3d.com/support/tutorials/
Setting up Simplfiy3D
As part of the delivery process you should receive an email from Simplify with your license key and instructions for
downloading and installing their software. At the end of the installation process you will be presented with a
couple of windows to set up your 3D printer. In the type of 3D printer, select “other” (bottom of the list), and
simply hit “next” to skip through the remaining screen. When we import the settings for your F306 it will
automatically set the software up correctly.

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Importing the F306 Process Settings
You will need to import the F306 configuration settings into Simplify in order to properly configure the software
for your printer.
First, copy the configuration files off of your SD card to your local hard drive. In Simplify, in the “Processes”
section, click “Add.” In the dialog window that appears, you will see an “Import” button at the top. Click that,
navigate to where you copied the files, and select the each configuration file one at a time. They will be added to
the drop-down list, at the bottom.
Figure 2: Add a Process
Figure 3: Click "Import"

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Figure 4: Select each preset
We provide a separate configuration for each printing material. It’s important to make sure you select the
appropriate preset for the material you’re using.
IMPORTANT: In Simplify’s options it will give you the ability to select English or metric units. Please leave the units
as metric, as English units appear to be broken in the software.
Where Can I Get Models to Print?
If you don’t want to design your own parts, there are many sites on the Internet with freely available models
designed for 3D printing. Here’s a partial list:
http://www.thingiverse.com/
https://www.youmagine.com/
http://repables.com
https://cubehero.com/

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4. General Info—Hardware
4.1. Machine Overview
Figure 5: Front View
Figure 6: Side View

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Figure 7: Axes Layout
Figure 8: Control Board Detail

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Figure 9: Print Head Detail
Figure 10: Extruder Cold End Detail

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Figure 11: Control Panel
1. Print head current temperature
2. Print head set point (0 means the heater is off)
3. Heat bed current temperature and set point
4. Print head position in XYZ space
5. Feed rate (turning this knob will increase or decrease the print speed in real time
6. Indicates % complete while a print is running
7. Print elapsed time
8. Message row
4.2. Precautions
Moving Components By Hand
If you need to move the print head, X crossbar, or Z axis by hand, you should do this with your F306 powered ON,
but the stepper motors disabled (Prepare -> Disable Motors). Move components gently and do not move them
too quickly.
Particularly on the print head, do not use the cooling fan as a grab point. The proper method is to grasp the sides
of the carriage with your fingers as shown.

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Figure 12: Print Head Recommended Grab Points
On the Z axis, use the toothed belt to move the platform up or down. DO NOT attempt to move the Z axis by
pushing or pulling on the platform directly. When moving the Z axis up, take care that you don’t move it too far
up and collide with the print head. This can damage the print surface, the print head and cause misalignment.
Figure 13: Moving the Z Axis by Hand
IMPORTANT: DO NOT move any part of the machine while it is powered completely off. When powered off the
motors will act as generators and cause electricity to be generated in the electronics, and this may damage the
control board.
Cleaning the Print Bed
Do not use cleaners such as Windex, acetone, or mineral spirits to clean the print bed. These will leave a residue on
the print bed and adversely impact print adhesion. Only use water to clean the print bed.

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Lifting and Carrying
To move your F306, position the print head and crossbar at the rear of the machine (remember, move them slowly
by hand) and position the print bed at the bottom of its travel. Use the “Drop Table” file on your provided SD card.
Grasp the machine by the Y bars as shown and carefully lift the machine up. Take care not to catch the control
panel on you as you lift.
Optionally, you can remove the control panel from the printer for transport. This eliminates the chance of
inadvertent damage.
If you are going to be carrying your F306 through a doorway, we recommend folding the spool holder against the
frame. To do this, loosen the 2 bolts that hold the holder in the brackets, and fold it back. Re-tighten the bolts to
keep it in place.
Figure 14: Proper Lifting Technique
Figure 15: Proper Grab Points Detail

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Figure 16: Spool Holder Folded In
4.3.Filament
Quality Matters
During development of the F306, we tested filament from multiple suppliers all over the globe. We found that the
quality of the filament matters a surprising amount. Even with an excellent 3D printer, poor quality filament
resulted in poor quality parts. As a result we’ve worked hard to locate and partner with top-tier suppliers.
Where to Buy?
We recommend buying filament directly from Fusion3. The material we supply has been extensively tested and
tuned on our equipment. Our default printing profiles are set up for these materials as well. Currently we can
supply the following materials:
ABS
ABSpro (a high-strength, high-temperature ABS blend)
PLA
Bridge Nylon
Nylon 618
PET / T-Glase
HIPS
Polycarbonate (experimental)
However if buying from us is not an option, we have the following approved suppliers list:
Ultimachine (https://ultimachine.com/) for PLA, ABS, HIPS, and PC
Taulman (http://taulman3d.com/) for Nylon 618, Bridge Nylon, and T-Glase

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5. General Tasks
5.1. General Menu Information
The LCD screen attached to your F306 contains a set of menus that allow you to perform basic functions without
needing a PC attached. For instance, you can load and unload filament, home the axes, and set the temperatures
of the print head and bed.
Navigate through the menus using the scroll wheel. Turning the wheel left or right will scroll through the menu
entries, and pressing the scroll wheel in will select the highlighted entry. Spend some time scrolling through the
menus to become familiar with how they work. Note that when you press the scroll wheel on some items a sub-
menu will appear to make the selections related to that item.
Menu Structure:
Prepare
oDisable Motors (de-powers stepper motors)
oHome All Axes (homes machine to 0,0,0)
oLoad Filament (script for loading filament into extruder)
oUnload filament (script for unloading filament from extruder)
oDisable Heaters (turns off print head and bed heaters, if running)
Control
oTemperature
Nozzle (sets nozzle temperature)
Bed (sets bed temperature)
Fan speed (controls speed of cooling fan, 255=max power)
Other settings on this menu can be ignored
oMotion (can ignore this menu)
Card Menu (shows list of all gcode files on SD card)
Tune (only shown during prints)
oSpeed (adjust speed of printer during print)
oNozzle (adjust nozzle temperature)
oBed (adjust bed temperature)
oFan speed (adjust fan speed)
oFlow (adjust flow rate of plastic in real time)
Pause Print (during print) (pauses print until resumed by user; heaters are left on)
Stop Print (during print) (stops print, disables heaters)
5.2. Leveling the Bed
Making sure there is a consistent gap between the print head and the bed is known as “leveling the print bed.”
This is a very important step to get consistent high-quality prints and good bed adhesion. We’ve designed the F306
to be easy to level and to hold this calibration well, so you should not have to perform this procedure often.
Video of leveling the print bed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQlVLfrwclE
First, make sure the tip of the print head is completely free of debris and plastic. If necessary, heat the print head
up to ~200oC and gently wipe it clean with a dry paper towel. Allow it to cool to less than 50oC before continuing.

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With the print head clean, home the printer using the menus and disable the motors. Begin in the front left
corner.
Use the 0.008” feeler gauge (provided in your toolkit) to check the gap between the print head and glass at the
front left corner. You want to feel very slight drag as you gently move the gauge under the nozzle. Be careful that
you are not lifting up on the feeler gauge when making this measurement because this can cause inaccurate
measurements.
You can adjust the height of the corner by turning the bolt that holds the corner clamp. Use the 2.5mm ball-end
hex wrench to turn the bolts.
Figure 17: Leveling the Print Bed
A feeler gauge is provided with the printer, but if you have misplaced it, a piece of paper folded over 1 or more
times can work. Check the thickness with calipers, if you have them, and adjust the number of folds until the total
thickness is 0.008–0.009” (since paper can compress under the nozzle). You may also need to try different weights
of paper to get the right thickness. (If you lose your feeler gauge, let us know and we’ll mail you another one).
With the front left corner adjusted, manually move the print head to the other 3 corners and adjust the height of
each corner. Then check the front left corner again to ensure it’s still within spec. At each corner, make sure the
nozzle is directly over the spring. If you have to move the head to access the corner bolt, make sure you move the
head back to the same spot to re-check the gap.
As you gain experience with your F306, you may find that you need to tweak the gap to slightly larger or smaller
than described here to get optimal first layers, especially as you change materials.
Note: With the bed cold, it is normal for the center of the bed to have a smaller gap than the corners. Your F306
has been designed so that when the bed heater is on, this gap will be the correct distance.

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Important: The small pressure switch mounted to the upper rear rail is the end-stop trigger. Do not adjust this Z
endstop trigger. This is set at the factory to the correct distance from the bed and should not be adjusted by the
end user.
5.3. Loading & Unloading Filament Spools
Loading Filament
First, trim the end of the filament to remove any previously melted plastic, or any bends. It can help to trim the
end at an angle, as shown. This will help the end feed through the extruder system more easily.
Figure 18: Trim the End of the Filament
Install the filament spool onto the spool holder so that the filament pays off from the front of the spool. On the
extruder body, pull the springs down off of the idler bar. The bolts will pivot down. Lift the idler bar up so that you
can see the feed gear. Now is a good time to check for debris! If you see debris, use the provided toothbrush to
gently remove it.

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Figure 19: Extruder Ready for Loading Filament
NOTE: Some older machines do not have firmware equipped with the filament loading and unloading scripts.
These users should use the manual load procedure described below.
NOTE: Only use the automatic loading procedure for PLA, ABS, and Bridge Nylon. Other materials need to be
loaded manually.
Automatic Loading: Navigate to the “prepare” menu and select the “load filament” option. The print head will
begin heating and you will see instructions on-screen to load the filament into the extruder.
Manual Loading: Navigate to the temperature control menu (Main -> Control -> Temperature) and set the nozzle
temperature to approximately 215oC.
Feed the end of the filament through the lower hole in the extruder body, across the feed gear, and into the exit
hole above the feed gear. Let the idler bar drop back into position once the filament is properly fed, and place the
clamp springs back onto the idler bar (easier to do this one at a time).

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Figure 20: Filament Fed Across Hobbed Gear
Figure 21: Disengaging the Idler Bar Springs

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Figure 22: Engaging the Idler Bar Springs
Slowly turn the large gear on the side of the extruder. Watch for the tip of the filament to come into view inside
the feed tube at the exit of the extruder. If you feel a sharp increase in resistance to turning the gear, STOP and
remove the filament. There may be debris in the tube or some part of the feed system has come out of alignment.
Once you see the filament just appear in the feed tube, proceed to the next step.
Automatic Loading: After the filament is fed about 1.5 inches into the tube, press the control knob to tell the
printer the filament is loaded. After the print head is up to temperature, your F306 will automatically feed the
filament through the tube and purge the print head. When that is done, the F306 will turn the heaters off, and you
are ready to print!
IMPORTANT: The automatic load script does not “know” where the filament is in the system. It’s important not to
manually feed it any further than 1-1.5 inches into the tube. Otherwise it may attempt to feed the filament too
quickly into the print head and damage the system.
Manual Loading: While the print head is heating, turn the large gear on the side of the extruder by hand to feed
the filament through the tube to the print head. Once the tip of the filament enters the print head you will feel
the resistance to your turning increase. At this point stop and wait for the print head to come up to temperature.
Manual: Once the print head is up to temperature, slowly turn the gear to feed the filament into the melt
chamber. If you are switching materials, you will see the old material extrude and gradually transition to the new
material. Continue to run new material through until no traces of the old remain in the plastic.
Unloading Filament
Automatic: Navigate to the “prepare” menu and select the “unload filament” option. Your F306 will automatically
heat the print head and reverse the filament out of the extruder.
When the extruder stops turning, you can remove the springs from the idler bar and pull the filament completely
out of the extruder. There may be a “string” of plastic attached to the end of the filament, it is best to remove this
intact vs. breaking it off in the feed tube.

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Manual: Grasp the large gear on the extruder and turn it backwards gently. Sometimes the filament will come out
of the print head without needing to heat it up. If it won’t come out, set the print head to about 200oC and wait
for it to heat up. Turn the gear in reverse to back the filament all the way out of the tube and extruder. Make sure
you turn off the heater after you’ve unloaded the filament!
Secure the loose end of filament to the spool by routing it through the holes in the sidewalls or use a small piece of
tape. If you do not secure the loose end, it can unspool and tangle itself, which will result in an extruder jam and
failed print.
Lastly, check the feed gear for debris in the teeth. Debris in the teeth will make the gear grip less and more prone
to slipping again. If you see debris, use the supplied toothbrush to clean it out.
Storing Unused Filament
Your filament is shipped in a sealed plastic package with a pack of moisture-absorbing desiccant. This is because all
types of filament will absorb moisture from the air if they are left out in the open for extended periods of time.
When you are not using a spool of filament, we strongly recommend you store it in a re-sealable plastic bag, such
as a Ziploc, with the desiccant pack it came with. This will keep moisture absorption to a minimum.
Leaving filament out for a couple days is not a problem. But you don’t want to leave a roll out in the open if you
aren’t going to use it for an entire week. Filament that has absorbed moisture will not print nearly as well as dry
filament.
Note: Nylon is more prone to moisture absorption than other types of plastic and should not be left in the open for
any length of time. Nylon’s printing performance degrades sharply with moisture absorption.
5.4. Cleaning and Prepping the Bed
Important: Only use water to clean the print bed! Cleaners like Windex, acetone, etc. will leave a residue on the
glass and adversely affect print adhesion.
Preparing the print bed for printing is very simple! Your F306 uses a water-soluble glue stick to coat the glass and
help objects stick. This has many advantages:
It works for PLA, ABS, and Nylon.
It is easy to apply.
It is easy to clean up since it is water soluble.
It is non-toxic and non-hazardous.
It provides consistent adhesion.
There is no risk of damaging a plastic film laminated to the glass.
It releases easily when cold. (so let your prints cool before you try and pull them off the printer)
Prepping for a Print
With the bed less than 40oC and previous glue removed (see below), hold the glue stick perpendicular to the bed
and apply to the bed with parallel wipes. Small gaps between the wipe passes are acceptable, but you don’t want
anything larger than 2–3 mm. The goal is an even, light coating on the glass. For PLA, a single layer of glue is
sufficient. For ABS, 2 layers of glue laid down at 90oto each other should be used.