LulzBot TAZ User manual

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Start Here
unpacking your
TAZ 3D printer
Save all packing materials,
packing clips, inserts,
documents, and the box in case
you need to ship your printer or
contact customer support.
ote:
1
Remove the Accessory Tray foam insert from the
box, set aside.
2
Slide out the tool bag and foam padding from the
left side of the printer frame.
Carefully remove printer frame from box and set it
on a sturdy, flat surface - you're ready for
assembly!
next up: Setting p yo r printer
A Remove the printer bed assembly (Y-axis)
packed in the body of the printer by sliding it up
6", freeing it from the packing foam.
A While keeping the printer in the box, pick up by
the black aluminum frame and rotate the printer
and foam 90 degrees - setting it upwright within
the box. Make sure name plate at top is UP. Remove
top foam.
4
B Rotate printing bed assembly, tilting the bottom
toward front of box. Lower entire bed into box so it is
parallel with printer frame, then lift out and set aside.
3

Quick Start Guide
setting up your
TAZ 3D printer
1
Place the TAZ frame and Y axis assembly on a flat and
level surface. Remove four pieces of tape from the print
bed. Gently remove the tape from each end-stop
switch.
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Remove Protective Pieces!
Locate and remove the gray foam block
used to hold the X axis carriage in place
during shipping.
Remove red protective packing clips
READ THE ENCLOSED SER MAN AL COMPLETELY
BEFORE POWERING P YO R TAZ 3D PRINTER
Mounting Printer Bed (Y Axis)
to Printer Frame
2
Locate the four Y axis bolts on the TAZ frame (see green
circles below). Turning counter clockwise, remove each
Y axis bolt and set aside.

Locate and remove, with the included 2.5mm hex
driver, the tool head 3mm screw in top center of
the X axis carriage. Remove the extruder head
from the Accessory Tray foam insert.
Place the extruder tool head mount onto the X axis
carriage bottom first. The extruder mount will slide into
the bottom portion of the carriage and self center.
Replace the 3mm screw to secure the extruder tool
head onto the X axis carriage.
3
Locate the four Y axis mount brackets on the TAZ Y
axis.
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Before completely tightening the Y axis bolts,
push down on the y axis aluminum bars against
the TAZ frame lower bars by slightly tilting the
printer on the side edge, enough to lift the feet
of the Y axis off the table. The weight of the Y
axis will seat it against the TAZ frame. While the
printer is slightly tilted, tighten the four Y axis
bolts.
ote:
Pull the print bed completely to the front of the
printer to access the Y axis connectors. You will
find matching male and female 4-pin stepper
motor connectors and Y axis connectors by
matching the male and female connectors. The
connector will click to ensure it is locked. Locate one of
the three small black zip ties that are included in the
documents bag. Wrap and tighten the zip tie around the Y
axis wiring and the black Y axis frame extrusion.
5
6
Connect the extruder assemblies' 4-pin
connectors: match the orange/red wire connector
pair for the hot end and the mixed color wired
connector pair for the extruder motor. Connect
the matching pairs together so they lock and click.
7
Locate the four locking connectors on the back
of the electronics case enclosure. Each connector
matches a keyed plug, which may require
rotating the plug until the keys line up and the
plug can be pushed in. Once the plug is pushed
in, turn the locking sleeve clockwise until it is tight
against the electronics enclosure.
8
With the print surface facing up and the stepper
motor end of the Y axis facing back, slide the Y
axis assembly on to the Y axis mount brackets,
aligning the holes on the brackets with the bolt
holes on the Y axis assembly.
Thread the four Y axis bolts through the brackets, into the
TAZ frame.
4

ote:
Make sure your printer work space is
clear of anything that could obstruct the
movement of the printer, and that there
are no flammable fabrics or liquids near
the printer surface. Avoid placing your
printer near a drafty window or air
conditioner vent.
The top most connector matches the large straight plug
from the XZ cable. The next connector down matches the
large angled plug from the YZ cable. The third connector
matches the smallest plug, from the heated bed cable.
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Attaching the Power Supply
Locate and unwrap the power supply, USB cables,
and AC power cable. Make sure the power supply is
completely unplugged before moving on to the
next step. Change the AC input switch to 110V or
220V, depending on your regional AC voltage standard.
The switch is located on the side of the power supply.
9
Locate the blue 24VDC output cable plug from
the power supply. Connect the blue power
supply plug into the keyed power supply
connector on the TAZ electronics enclosure.
Once the plug is pushed in completely, turn the locking
sleeve clockwise until it is tight against the electronics
enclosure.
10
Locate the USB plug on the front of the TAZ
electronics enclosure. Plug in the USB cable,
square B plug end, into the USB receptacle on
the front of the electronics enclosure. Plug the
A end of the USB cable into your computer.
12
Attaching the Filament Guide
Locate the filament guide with attached PTFE
tube. The filament guide easily attaches to the
filament guide mount on the top right side of
the printer frame.
13
Before printing, familiarize yourself
with the TAZ cartesian type system
A The printer moves in three axes: X, Y, and Z.
These three axes allow the tool head to move
to any point within the print area. ote the
location of the mechanical end stops, which are
small switches at the home point of each axis. Each end
stop switch allows the printer to find the home, or
starting point, of each axis.
14
Check that all four
plugs are inserted
into the correct
connector. Use the
image to the right to
reference how the rear of
the electronics should
appear with all four plugs
connected.
Check that the locking
sleeve of each connector is
firmly hand tightened.
11

B The mechanical endstops should never be blocked
during the initial homing function or during a print.
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Adjustment of the Z Axis
A Take the time to go through the leveling
procedure to help ensure that your prints are
consistent and trouble free. Install the Printrun
software and connect to the printer as described
in the Printrun software section in the complete TAZ 3D
printer manual. Use the homing buttons to home the X
and Y axis.
15
Do not use the Home Z button until after the Z
axis end stop has been adjusted. Make sure you
have removed the red shipping clamps on the
Z axis smooth rods.
Raising the Z Axis
A Use the +Z 10 button to move the Z axis up
in 10mm increments. Raise the Z axis until the
hot end nozzle is approximately 40-50mm away
from the print bed.
16
B With the Z axis above
the bed, use the included
150mm ruler to measure
the distance from the
bottom of the X axis
smooth rod and the top
surface of the Y axis
aluminum bed plate on the
left side. The distance
measurement should be
the same on left and right.
If not, in Pronterface, turn
off the stepper motors by
pressing the Motors Off button. Turn the threaded rod
on one side of the printer to raise or lower that side to
match the measurement on the other side.
Fine Adjustment of the Z Axis End Stop
Rotate the screw counter-clockwise to raise the
surface of the thumb-screw by roughly the
same amount as the distance between the
nozzle tip and the print surface. Press the
Home Z button to home the Z axis. The tip of the nozzle
should now be very close to the surface of the bed.
17
A Slide a piece of paper underneath the
nozzle, adjust the Z axis end stop and home
the Z axis until the tip of the nozzle applies
firm pressure on the paper. You should be able
to slowly pull out the sheet of paper with only slight
resistance.
18
Leveling the Print Bed
B Move the hot end nozzle tip over to the far right side
of the X axis by using the +X 100 button. As the X axis
carriage approaches the end of the Y axis, use the +X 10
button and the +X1 button until the tip of the nozzle is
near the front right corner of the bed.
C Slide the same piece of paper under the nozzle and
home the Z axis. Adjust the bed corner's bed leveling
screws so that the tension felt when moving the paper
under the nozzle matches the tension felt previously. To
raise or lower the front right corner of the bed, adjust
only the screw with the spring. Turn the screw
clockwise to lower the bed, decreasing the tension felt
when moving the paper. Turn the screw counter-
clockwise (raising the corner) to increase the tension felt
when moving the piece of paper under the nozzle.
Once adjusted, press the +Z 10 button to raise the Z axis.
D Repeat the same process, first raising the Z axis, then
using the +Y button to move the heated bed to place
the nozzle on the rear right corner of the bed. Adjust
the height of the bed using the same procedure as
outlined above. Finally, raise the Z axis and move the X
axis carriage over to the rear left corner of the bed and
perform the same leveling procedure to adjust the last
corner.
B Adjust the Z axis end stop trigger on the far left of the
printer, mounted on the X-axis motor mount. Once
connected to the printer in Pronterface, rotate the Z axis
end stop trigger counter-clockwise to raise the thumb-
screw approximately 1cm toward the Z axis end stop.
C Press the Home Z button to home the Z axis. The hot
end will lower to about a centimeter above the heated
bed. If there's a grinding sound, stop, turn the printer off
and check that the Z axis is level in relation to the body of
the printer. Manually rotate one of the Z axis linear
threaded rods by hand if needed.
next up: Create your first 3D print

1. attach filament
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Before printing, load a reel of filament onto the filament
arm, which holds 1kg and 5lb plastic reels but can be
modified to work with other reel and spool types.
Place the filament reel on the filament arm (front right
hand side of the printer) with the filament feeding
counter clockwise. Feed the end of the filament through
the feed tube, through the PTFE sleeve and exiting near
the extruder. Your filament reel is now mounted and
ready for the next steps.
When changing filament, slide the opposite end of the
filament through one of the holes in hub of the filament
spool to keep the filament from unwinding.
2. Set Temperature
Set the hot end and print surface for ABS or PLA plastic
and turn both on. Temperature settings for ABS should be
set at 230C for the hot end and 85C for print surface.
185C for the hot end and 55C for print surface for PLA.
These temperatures are for Lulzbot filaments. You may
need to adjust the temperature depending on the
filament source, color, and type. Click the Motors Off
button.
3. Load Filament
A Load the plastic filament into the extruder by gently
squeezing both the idler screws and the plastic clip
together and pull upwards to release the idler. The idler
can be rotated downward, allowing access to the hobbed
bolt and filament feed hole. Once the hot end is up to
extrusion temperature, remove the short length of ABS
that is left in the extruder for shipping. If you are using
PLA, you may need to raise the temperature to 230C to
remove the ABS filament and then drop the temperature
back down to 185C.
B Feed the end of the plastic filament into the filament
feed hole and push the filament through the extruder by
slowly pushing the filament down into the hot end.
C Once the filament extrudes a small amount out of
the nozzle, raise the idler and slide the two idler bolts
and plate back into place. Tighten the two idler bolts.
Tighten the two screws until the top of the
thumbscrews are about 10mm away from the plastic
clip.
D Change the Z manual extrude speed to 150mm/min
in Printrun (found to the right of the Reverse button).
Press the Extrude button in Printrun. Slowly tighten the
two extruder thumbscrews while extruding until you
achieve reliable, repeatable extrusion, compressing the
springs to (~5mm +-2mm). If the extrusion stalls, you
may need to open the extruder and trim off any filament
with a chewed out section.
4. Home Printer
A Use the home buttons to home the X axis and Y axis,
then the Z axis. When the Z axis is at home, the nozzle
tip should be right above the glass.
Create Your
First 3D Print

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B To lower or raise the Z home height, adjust the Z end
stop trigger, which is on the far left of the printer,
mounted on the X axis motor mount. Lower it by turning
clockwise and raise it by turning counter-clockwise. Once
you have homed the axes and the hot end and bed have
reached the correct temperature, it is time to print!
5. Z Print Height
A Load the bed_level.gcode file, which can be found in
the calibration directory on the included SD card or at:
http://www.LulzBot.com/support/downloads. Once you
have downloaded the file, press the Load File button in
Printrun.
B Highlight the bed_level.gcode file and select the Open
button. It should appear in the Printrun G-Code viewer.
Press the Print button to begin the print.
C When the print starts, check to ensure a good first
layer adhesion. If the first layer is too high or low, pause
the print and adjust the Z end stop trigger. Raise/lower a
corner to minimize/increase the extrusion width to
match the others. Remove any printed material and
press Restart.
Very
Low Low High Very high
perfect
Your First Octopus!
Load the octopus.gcode file:
http://download.lulzbot.com/TAZ/4.0/novelties/
Load the file in Pronterface, bring the hot end
(230C ABS/185C PLA) and the heated bed
(85C ABS/60C PLA) up to printing temperature.
Once the printer is at the appropriate
temperature, press the Print button to begin the
print.
6. Remove Part
A After the part is finished, the hot end will
automatically cool down. If you are printing PLA, you
will need to turn the heated bed off. Once the bed cools,
pop the part off the surface with the included clam knife.
If your part is large, you may need to pry at multiple
points.
B Reset the heated bed to the correct temperature
before starting the next print.
For more information, call [phone]
or email s pport@l lzbot.com
626 West 66th Street, Loveland, Colorado
80538 USA
LulzBot is a trademark of Aleph Objects, Inc.
2014 Aleph Objects, Inc.

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