Zcorporation Z402C User manual

Z402C System User Manual
November 2001
ZTM402C 3D Color Printer
User Manual
Z Corporation
Software Version 5.1.40
Copyright©2001 Z Corporation Part Number 09501

Z402C System User Manual Z Corporation
Table of Contents:
1YOUR Z402C SYSTEM ................................................................................................5
1.1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................5
1.1.1 OVERVIEW ..................................................................................................................5
1.1.2 HOW IT WORKS ......................................................................................................6
1.2 PRINTING A PART OVERVIEW............................................................................9
1.2.1 STEP 1: IMPORTING THE FILE ..................................................................................9
1.2.2 STEP 2: PREPARING THE 3D PRINTER ...............................................................9
1.2.3 STEP 3: PRINTING THE PART ...............................................................................9
2THE ZCORP SYSTEM SOFTWARE..........................................................................10
2.1 RECOMMENDED SYSTEM.................................................................................10
2.2 INSTALLING THE ZCORP SYSTEM SOFTWARE .........................................10
2.3 MAIN WINDOW....................................................................................................11
2.4 TOOLBAR ............................................................................................................12
2.5 OPENING A FILE ................................................................................................12
2.6 NAVIGATING THROUGH THE BUILD AREA .....................................................14
2.6.1 VIEWING CROSS SECTIONS OF THE BUILD..........................................................14
2.7 TRANSFORMING THE PART .............................................................................15
2.8 GETTING INFORMATION ABOUT THE BUILD .............................................18
2.9 SAVING YOUR WORK ........................................................................................19
2.10 3D PRINT SETUP ................................................................................................19
2.10.1 RECOMMENDED SETUP PROCEDURE* ................................................................20
2.10.2 CHANGING POWDER PARAMETERS .....................................................................20
2.11 SETTING USER PREFERENCES.......................................................................21
2.12 SERVICE MENUS................................................................................................23
3PREPARING THE Z402C SYSTEM TO PRINT.........................................................24
3.1 HARDWARE CONTROLS ...................................................................................24
3.2 PREPARING THE 3D PRINTER..........................................................................24
3.2.1 FILLING THE FEED BOX WITH POWDER................................................................25
3.2.2 RINSING THE CARWASH .........................................................................................27
3.2.3 CHECKING FLUID LEVELS ..................................................................................27
3.2.4 CHECKING OVERFLOW VACUUM BAG ..................................................................28
3.2.5 PUTTING THE MACHINE ONLINE ............................................................................28
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Z Corporation Z402C System User Manual
4PRINTING THE PART ........................................................................................... 29
5POST PROCESSING THE PART.............................................................................. 32
5.1 REMOVING THE FINISHED PART..................................................................... 32
5.2 DEPOWDERING THE PART............................................................................... 33
5.3 DRYING THE PART ............................................................................................ 33
5.4 INFILTRATING THE PART.................................................................................. 34
5.4.1 TO INFILTRATE THE PART USING RESIN: .............................................................34
6ADVANCED USER FEATURES................................................................................ 35
6.1 ORIENTATION FOR SPEED............................................................................... 35
6.2 ORIENTATION FOR STRENGTH....................................................................... 35
6.3 ORIENTATION TO PREVENT WARPING .......................................................... 35
7MAINTENANCE ......................................................................................................... 36
7.1 CHANGING THE COLOR PRINT HEAD ........................................................ 36
7.2 CHANGING MONOCHROME PRINT HEADS.................................................... 41
7.3 FLUSHING THE BINDER .................................................................................... 44
7.4 GREASING THE FAST AXIS .......................................................................... 45
7.5 CHANGING BETWEEN COLOR AND MONOCHROME ADAPTERS ............... 46
7.6 LOGGING YOUR BUILDS................................................................................... 48
8TROUBLESHOOTING............................................................................................... 49
8.1 THE BINDER SOLUTION IS BEING APPLIED IN ERRATIC STRIPES............. 49
8.2 THE SYSTEM SOFTWARE FREEZES DURING USE ...................................... 49
8.3 THIN PLANAR PARTS ARE WARPING ......................................................... 49
8.4 NOTHING HAPPENS WHEN I TRY TO PRINT .............................................. 49
8.5 MY STARCH-BASED PARTS ARE UNUSUALLY “CAKEY” .............................. 50
8.6 PARTS ARE UNUSUALLY WEAK OR CRUMBLY ............................................. 50
8.7 PRINTER LOOKS LIKE IT IS PRINTING, BUT IS NOT LAYING DOWN BINDER50
9Z402C SYSTEM DETAILS......................................................................................... 51
9.1 DESCRIPTION OF REAR I/O PANEL................................................................. 51
9.2 SYMBOLS USED................................................................................................. 52
9.3 SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS ............................................................................... 53
9.4 MATERIAL STORAGE PRECAUTIONS ............................................................. 54
10 INDEX......................................................................................................................... 55
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Z402C System User Manual Z Corporation
Table of Figures
Figure 1. The Printing Process ............................................................................................................... 6
Figure 2: The Z402C System Shelling and Infrastructure Features....................................................... 7
Figure 3: Illustration of Z402C System Print Orientations ..................................................................... 8
Figure 4: The Main System Software Window ..................................................................................... 11
Figure 5: Carwash Detail ..................................................................................................................... 27
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Z Corporation Z402C System User Manual
The Z Corporation Rapid Prototyping System is manufactured under patent license to be used for the
fabrication of appearance parts and facsimile prototypes. Other uses may be restricted; contact Z
Corporation for further information.
Our equipment is designed to be used by design engineers and other professionals in the production
of early-stage 3D appearance parts. Our equipment is not to be used to produce, either directly or
indirectly, medical or other products that may require precise dimensions or tolerances to ensure the
safe and effective operation of such products. You agree to indemnify, defend and hold Z
Corporation and its officers, directors and employees harmless from and against any and all claims,
losses, damages, costs and expenses resulting from any use of our equipment other than for the
production of early-stage appearance parts.
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Z402C System User Manual Z Corporation
1 YOUR Z402C SYSTEM
1.1 INTRODUCTION
1.1.1 OVERVIEW
This Z402C 3D Color Printer Manual will speed you along the path towards quickly and
inexpensively building parts. The manual contains the following sections:
1. Introduction. This section will give you an overview of the principles behind the Z402C
System, familiarize you with the terminology we will use to describe the Z402C System
and introduce you to some of the features of this manual. This section concludes with an
outline of the three quick and easy steps to printing parts.
2. Z Corporation System Software. This section will guide you through the features of the
Z Corporation System Software.
3. Preparing the Z402C System to Print. This section will guide you through putting
powder, binder solution and washer fluid in the Z402C 3D Printer, and preparing the
system to print a part.
4. Printing a Part. This section describes the steps of actually printing the part.
5. Post Processing a Part. This section guides you through removing your printed part,
removing any excess powder and infiltrating the part with resin to improve strength and
finish.
6. Advanced User Features. This section will help you get the maximum performance out
of your Z402C System.
7. Maintenance. This section contains instructions for keeping your Z402C 3D Printer in
proper condition through regular preventative maintenance.
8. Troubleshooting. This section offers some troubleshooting tips.
9. Index.
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Z Corporation Z402C System User Manual
1.1.2 HOW IT WORKS
The Z402C System is based on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s patented 3DP(3D
Printing) technology.
The System Software first converts a three-dimensional design built using 3D CAD (and saved in
VRML or STL format) into cross-sections or slices that can be between 0.003” – 0.009” thick.
The Z402C 3D Printer then prints these cross-sections one after another from the bottom of the part
to the top.
Inside the Z402C 3D Printer there are two pistons (see Figure 1.)The feed piston is represented in
the diagrams below on the left and is shown in the ‘down’ position filled with powder. The build piston
is the piston on the right, shown below in the ‘up’ position. Also represented in the diagrams is the
roller (drawn as a circle) and the print assembly (drawn as a square.) On the Z402C printer, the
roller and the print assembly are mounted together on the gantry which moves horizontally across the
build area.
To begin the 3D printing process, the Z402C System first spreads a layer of zpTM series powder in
the same thickness as the cross section to be printed. The Z402C print heads then apply a binder
solution to the powder causing the powder particles to bind to one another and to the printed cross-
section one level below. The feed piston comes up one layer and the build piston drops one layer.
The Z402C System then spreads a new layer of powder and repeats the process, and in a short time
the entire part is printed.
Step 1: As the gantry traverses left
to right, the roller collects powder.
Step 2: The roller spreads a thin
layer of powder over the build
piston.
Step 3: The roller discharges
excess powder down the powder
overflow chute.
Step 4: As the gantry traverses
right to left, the print head prints
the part cross-section.
Step 5: The feed piston moves up
one layer, the build piston moves
down one layer, and the process is
repeated.
Figure 1. The Printing Process
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Z402C System User Manual Z Corporation
The Z402C System employs several techniques to quickly build parts. First, binder solution is applied
in a higher concentration around the edges of the part, creating a strong “shell” around the exterior of
the part. Within parts, the Z402C Printer builds an infrastructure by printing strong scaffolding within
part walls with a higher concentration of binder solution. The remaining interior areas are printed with
a lower saturation, which gives them stability, but prevents over saturation, which can lead to part
distortion.
Other interior areas
p
rinted at lower
s
aturation
I
nterior in
f
rastructure
p
rinted at a hi
g
her saturation
E
xterior walls printed a
t
hi
g
her saturation.
Figure 2: The Z402C System Shelling and Infrastructure Features
After printing, the part is removed from the powder bed, depowdered and dried. The part can then be
infiltrated with wax, resin, or other materials to increase strength and durability. You will have the part
in your hands and can start improving your design within the same day—usually within hours.
Because the powder layers support the structures being printed above, the Z402C System prints
parts without support structures and can print parts with complex geometries.
There are several important features of the Z402C System that will help you print the best parts for
your intended purpose.
Part Placement. The System Software will automatically place the parts within the build box to
maximize build speed, the most important criteria for the majority of our users. The software
positions the parts with the smallest dimension in the z (vertical) axis. In addition to part placement,
the following other characteristics should be considered.
Strength. The ultimate strength of the part will be somewhat affected by its orientation within the
build box. The part will be strongest along the y-axis and the x-axis and less strong along the z-axis.
This is because the cross sections are printed in continuous strips along the y or the “fast” axis (the
print heads direction of travel), bands across the x or the “slow” axis (the gantry direction of travel)
and laminated layers along the z-axis. (See figure 3 below.) This discussion only applies to
untreated parts; once parts are infiltrated, they uniformly take on the strength characteristics of the
infiltration material.
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Z Corporation Z402C System User Manual
Less Strong
z-axis
x
-axis
Strong
y-axis Strong
Figure 3: Illustration of Z402C System Print Orientations
Accuracy. The accuracy of the system depends on the materials you choose. You can employ the
anisotropic scaling feature in the software to adjust for expected shrinkage and bring your parts into
true scale. For more information, please see Section 2.10.1 Changing Powder Parameters.
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Z402C System User Manual Z Corporation
1.2 PRINTING A PART OVERVIEW
Printing a part using the Z402C 3D Printer is fast, easy, clean and fully compatible with an office
environment. This manual will show tips on how to print the most challenging parts, but for most
purposes printing a part is as simple as 1-2-3.
1.2.1 STEP 1: IMPORTING THE FILE
OPENING A FILE – Upon launching the Z Corporation System Software, you will be presented with
the ‘Open’ dialog box. Select the file you wish to print. The ZCorp System Software allows you to
open a variety of monochrome and color file formats including STL, PLY, SFX, VRML (WRL), BLD,
ZEC, ZBD and ZCP files. The System Software also allows you to move and scale your part, or pick
a color for monochrome (STL) files before printing.
1.2.2 STEP 2: PREPARING THE 3D PRINTER
Carefully following the steps outlined in Chapter 3, you can prepare the 3D printer in less than ten
minutes. You will put powder in the feed piston, and ensure fluid levels are correct and that the
powder overflow bin is empty.
1.2.3 STEP 3: PRINTING THE PART
The Z402C 3D Printer prints most parts in minutes and prints even the largest parts in a few hours.
You may then remove the part, depowder any excess powder and, if desired, dry and infiltrate the
part with wax or other materials to give the part the desired strength and finish. The post-processing
phase takes less than ten minutes for small parts and only an hour or so for the most massive parts.
Once you have completed these steps you are ready to start using parts to improve design,
communicate with other departments and reduce the time it takes you to get new products to market.
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