Mcor Technologies IRIS User manual

How to: IRIS Preparing prints
Printing models
Maintaining IRIS
Welcome! This is a step-by-step guide on how to use the Mcor IRIS paper 3D printer.
Because you are probably going to at one time, Mcor Support can be contacted at:
[phone] or [e-mail],
or through their online support centre:
supportcenter.mcortechnologies.com/support/home
Let’s begin!
First, take a look at the machine:
Printer head assembly
Glue wheel
Glue dispenser
Knife tip
Glue valve
Side door
Side door
Build space
Build plate
Printer head assembly
User display
Big Red Button
Reset button
Front
Front door
Paper depot
Heat plate On/Off (back)
Glue container

Now that you are familiar with the ins and outs of the IRIS, do this:
Prepare the machine:
1 Open it up
2 Clean the machine
3 Change blade
4 Prepare the build plate
5 Load paper
Print a model:
6 Prepare model
7 SliceIT
8 Start build
9 Pausing the build
Release model from its paper prison!
Known errors and what to do.
Prepare the machine
1 Open it up
To simply open the machine, chose option 1) Machine Access on the display. This will unlock both
doors. To prepare the machine for a build, chose option 2) Setup build –do that now!
The display says it all
Below is the Standby Mode display, which should appear when
the machine is on and not in use. Click the arrow to access the
options shown on the right. It is pretty straight forward.
2 Clean the machine
Printing with paper is a dirty process, so the machine should be cleaned regularly to prevent stops.
Use folded strips of paper, a small brush or a damp sponge to wipe off the internal surfaces,
removing paper fibres and glue residue. Close the glue valve to clean the glue wheel and dispenser.
Remember to open the glue valve again before printing! Open: Closed:

3 Change blade
The blade should be changed after every 7–8000 meter cutting distance. One model can require
anything from 50 to 5 000 meter. A dull knife makes rugged cuts. Tip: In SliceIT (See point 7), click
Machine Interface –> Set Knife Usage to see or set current distance.
Mcor’s video on how to change the blade: Setting the cutting blade height
4 Prepare build plate
The very first sheet of the build has to be manually fastened to the build plate with tape.
To remove the build plate from the machine, loosen the screw in the front and lift up the plate.
Centre a paper sheet on the plate and fasten it with tape around the edges. Then put it back in the
machine and secure the screw. Mcor video: Preparing build plate
NB:Before every print, make sure there are no pieces of paper or dried glue stuck between the
glue wheel’s pulley and belt, and to the glue wheel it self. This may overload the motor. The knife
and holster should also be cleaned of paper dust every 200-250 layers to maintain free rotation
and good cuts. This will ease the de-cubing process.
Mcor videos: Cleaning printer Cleaning heat plate Cleaning rollers
5 Load paper
To load more paper, open the door on the side.
Since you chose 2) Setup up machine, the paper
tray should be at the lower position. The machine
can hold up to 15 cm of paper sheets, 80gsm
(about three stacks of regular office A4 paper).
More paper can also be loaded during the build
process by pausing the build (point 9).

Finally, it is time to:
6 Prepare model
For this guide, download the IRIS Guide Model from Troll Labs wiki:
https://www.ntnu.no/wiki/display/TrollLABS/MCOR+IRIS
When creating your own models, keep this in mind:
•Details should be larger than 4 mm in diameter or width, relative to the XY-plane.
•The waste material must be removed manually after the print, which creates some limitations:
–Closed spaces can not be made hollow.
–Holes and slots in the model should go all the way through or be conical (larger diameter
on top than bottom). Deep holes and slots can be very difficult to dig out.
–Surfaces in the XY-plane should have slightly rounded edges. This makes it harder to
accidentaly rip off the top layers when removing the waste material around.
•All surface normals must point outwards.
•Accepted file formats: STL, OBJ, VRML and Collada.
7 SliceIT
SliceIT is IRIS’s print preparation program, in which you add and orient your model(s) inside the
build space. NB:SliceIT has to run while the print is in progress. Let’s explore the command line:
Save project Move model Orient view Rotate model Copy/delete Generate layers
Print a model
To print a model:
1. Start new project: File –> New Project.
2. Right-click project name –> Add 3D File
to Project. This time, find and chose the
example model.
3. Add, move and orient your model(s)
inside the build space.
4. When happy, click Generate Layers. This
does just that, and gives you information
about the build, like on the right.

Pro tips:
•Unless layer orientation is critical, orient your model flat to the bottom, making it as low as
possible, to reduce build time. If you plan on printing many models, combine those of same or
similar height –this is most efficient and makes the digging easier.
•Orient your model(s) with their longest axes parallell to the long side of the page, as this is the
direction the glue wheel rolls. This can significantly reduce your build time, like in this example:
8 Start build
Return to IRIS and click on the Standby arrow.
•If you have done what you should and already prepared the machine, chose option 3) Run Build.
•If not, chose option 2) Setup Build and do point 2–5of this guide in shame.
The display should now say «Part Building. Press OK to pause». Now we wait and hope for the best.
(In the lower left corner of SliceIT you can see the current layer and remaining build time)
9 Pausing the build
If you want to open the machine while it is building, or simply want to pause the build, go ahead
and click OK. The display will change to «Finishing current page, please wait». When it is done, the
display will say «Build paused, select an option». Select:
1) Machine Access 2) Load Paper 3) Continue Build 4) Terminate Build.
NB:For emergency stops, push the Big Red Button. This will immidiately stop the build and unlock
the doors. The display will say «Following Error, contact service». Resolve the emergency and then
rotate the big red button to release it. Restart the machine using the On/Off button on the back
side and let it power up.Do what the display says.
The machine should now be ready for
printing, displaying «Ready to Print».
Go to SliceIT, click Machine Interface in the
toolbar and chose Print Model.
Same pieces:
<–16 hours
7 hours –>

If you have come this far, congratulations! You will now have to do the rest manually. The model
has to be dug out of the paper block. You should have a good idea of where it is, so remove the
outermost waste material forcefully and the material close to your model carefully. A tong,
flathead screwdriver, stationary knife and tweezer makes the job a lot easier (on your hands).
Begin with the rim. Dig, dig, dig Enjoy your success!
De-cubing: Release model from its paper prison!
Known errors/problems and what you do
If the error can not be solved in the ways listed here, contact Mcor Support. They will probably ask
for the data, log and error files, which can all be found in the SliceITWorkspace directory on the PC.
Error/problem Known cause(s) Action
«Current Limit» A motor is overworked, probably
because built up dirt, paper debris
or glue residue is causing extra
strain on it.
Mcor Support can tell you which motor
caused the problem if you send them the
error files.
Thoroughly clean the parts driven by the
overworked motor, let IRIS rest and
restart the machina via power button.
«Command Error»
A problem with the communication
between SliceIT and IRIS.
Restart IRIS and SliceIT, and restart the
build from the layer it stopped at.
«Top sheet could not
be loaded»
Last sheet of paper was placed
incorrectly on the build plate.
Open IRIS, remove the last sheet placed
on the build and restart build.
«Jam occured.
Separate top sheet»
The paper rollers grabbed two
sheets and cannot separate them.
Separate the top two sheet in the paper
depot.
«Following Error» Something is prohibiting IRIS from
printing. Known causes: Jammed
paper debris, Emergency button
not released, knife not rotating.
Find and remove/resolve the cause of
the stop and restart IRIS via power
button. If this does not work, clean IRIS
thoroughly. If still, contact service.
Glue leaking from
the dispenser
The glue dispenser is not aligned
with the glue wheel’s indentations.
Close the valve, clean the wheel, reset
the machine and THEN open the valve. It
should align itself when it is reset.
Shredded paper
everywhere!
You forgot to open the glue valve... Open glue valve. Read throught this
guide one more time.