MAKERGEAR M2 User manual

M2revG
USER GUIDE

1 - Welcome
2 - Important Safeguards
3 - What’s Included
4 - Hardware Setup
7 - A Note About Nozzles
8 - Slicing Files
9 - Changing Filament
10 - M2 Features
13 - What’s the Function?
14 - Filament Settings
15 - Maintenance & Storage
16 - Warranty & Support
17 - About Us
Contents

1
Welcome
Your MakerGear M2 3D Printer has arrived!
Do not change the M2’s rmware unless you know exactly
what you’re doing or have been instructed to do so by
MakerGear support.
This User Guide can also be found on the MakerGear website at
www.makergear.com/pages/user-guides, where you can access
additional, more specic information and resources.
Following minimal setup, your M2 is ready to print out-of-the-box. To
ensure safety as well as high quality printing, carefully follow the setup
instructions included in this User Guide.
This printer was assembled at the MakerGear factory in Beachwood,
Ohio, USA, and was tested for at least six hours to ensure that it was fully
operational at the time of shipping.
Do not remove the lm of yellow polyimide tape from the
M2’s glass build plate; this functions as the print surface, and
should be facing up.

3. To protect against electrical shock, do not put the printer body,
cord, or electrical plug in liquid. If the printer falls into liquid, do not
touch it. Instead, unplug the printer from power outlet, then remove
it immediately. Do not reach into the liquid without unplugging the
4. This printer should not be used by children unless supervised by an
adult who understands the risks and precautions involved in its use. To
avoid potential injuries, close supervision is necessary when the printer
is used by or near children.
2. Unplug the power cord when the printer is not in use. To unplug,
grasp the plug and rmly pull it from power outlet. You should never
5. Avoid any contact with moving parts. The printer can move quickly,
so stay clear to avoid being struck or pinched.
6. Keep hands/hair/clothing away from printer attachments while the
printer is operating to reduce risk of injury to persons and/or damage to
7. Do not operate the printer if it has a damaged cord/plug, is
malfunctioning, or has been dropped or damaged in any way. If
you are having any problems with the printer (such as temperature
errors, unexplained shutdowns, or other erratic behavior), unplug
the printer from power outlet and contact support. Do not operate a
malfunctioning printer.
1. The following safeguards exist to ensure the safety of users and to
avoid potential risks. Ignoring these safeguards can cause damage to
the printer and its environment.
8. Keep area around the printer clear. The heated build platform moves
horizontally and vertically and may cause the printer to move or dam-
age other pieces of equipment if it strikes them.
2
Important Safeguards

3
Power supply and cord. If
your power supply has a
voltage switch as shown
to the right, ensure that
it is set to the correct
voltage.
Tool kit: hex drivers, tweezers,
lament guide tube, polyimide tape,
USB cord, feeler gauge, brush, and 4
extra build plate hold-down clips.
1 kg spool of 1.75 mm PLA (color may
vary).
Spool holder with screws which
was printed on your M2 using the
included SD card.
What’s Included

4
1. Carefully compress and remove the foam from the top of the printer
and from inside the printer frame.
2. Remove foam from above and below the 4-legged “spider” inside the
frame. Remove the heated build platform from its slot in the foam and
place it on the spider with the glass build plate facing up, as shown on
page 5.
3. Grasp the printer where the arrows indicate, and remove it from the
box.
Hardware Setup

5
4. Remove the binder clip, and rotate the hold-down clips to point to-
ward the front and back of the glass build plate in order to secure it in
place.
5. Install the spool holder with the 4 included screws using the 3 mm
allen key, ensuring that the longer side is facing up. Place your PLA
spool on the spool holder so that the lament unwinds clockwise.

6. Insert the 6-position power supply connector into the 6-position
electronics connector, making sure that it is SECURELY IN PLACE in the
electronics case. Connect the power supply cord to the power supply.
Next, plug the power supply into power outlet, and ip the switch on
the power supply to the on position.
6
7. Visit www.makergear.com/pages/get-started to register your printer,
download the QuickStart App, and watch a tutorial on the process.
8. In the QuickStart App, you will:
a. Connect install driver (Windows only)
b. Check your build platform’s level and starting height
c. Heat your build platform & extruder and load lament.
d. Print “Bracelet.g” from your SD Card
9. After printing “Bracelet.g”, you will be given three options:
a. Print Another File: click this to print another le stored on
your SD Card.
b. Retry: this will return you to re-check your build platform in
order to address any issues that may have caused print defects.
c. Done: click this to navigate to the “Advanced” tab, where you
can nd manual controls for your M2 as well as a real-time
display of the temperatures and coordiantes of your extruder
and HBP.

VisittheMakerGearYouTubechannelforstep-by-stepinstructionson
how to remove the V4 hot end and remove/mount a nozzle.
The nozzle is the brass conical piece with a six sided base. It attaches
to the other parts of the hot end and dispenses material through a
precisely sized hole.
If you wish to remove or change the nozzle, you must rst remove the
entire hot end. Attempting to unscrew the nozzle directly from the M2
will damage the hot end.
Some of our users choose to print with nozzles that are either larger or
smaller than the 0.35 mm nozzle included on the M2 in order to
accommodate specic printing needs. If you plan to print with dierent-
sized nozzles, we recommend keeping each nozzle installed in a
separate hot end, as this allows you to switch between nozzles more
easily.
7
A Note About Nozzles

Step 1: Using the QuickStart App, print “hexa.g” from the included SD
card, which we have sliced for you using Simplify3D software. This
should take about 15 minutes to print and will serve as a comparison to
your sliced version of the same model.
Step 2: Remove your SD card from the card reader on your M2 and in-
sert it into your computer’s card reader — this will enable signicantly
faster transfer of les between you computer and the SD card. For com-
puters that do not have an SD card reader, external card readers that
connect to your computer via USB are available.
8
Slicing Files
If you try to dowload and print a le from the internet, you’ll notice its
format is either .STL or .OBJ, which your M2 is unable to read. In order
to print these les, you must use special software designed to“slice”
them into“.g” or “.gcode” format — this le format, known as G-Code,
gives your M2 step-by-step commands for where/how to extrude ma-
terial. The steps listed below will help you set up your slicer settings to
slice a .STL le stored on your SD card into .g format.
Step 3: Download the most recent Slic3r from slic3r.org. Your slicer
settings will be incorrect. To correct them, click “Load Cong Bundle”
under “File”and select the “cong.ini” le available on your SD card.
Step 4: Import “hexa.stl” into your slicing software, slice the le (i.e.,
click export in .g format), and then name it “hexa2.g”. Transfer this new
.g le to your SD card, eject the card from your computer, and then
insert it back into the card reader on your printer.
Step 5: Use your printer control software (e.g., Printrun by Pronterface,
available at http://www.pronterface.com/#download) to instruct your
M2 to print hexa2.g from your SD card.