Using the Chapman 103 Lab 3D Printer

Installing and Configuring the Software

• Download the printer control software Printrun.  If needed, download Slic3r (it's part of the Printrun .zip for Windows and OS X)
  
• Configure Printrun via Settings -> Options
• Bed width (x) is 192, depth (y) is 205 mm
• Set hotend to 200C
  
• Set bed to 90C

Preparing gcode from your STL file

1. Open Slic3r, and verify you've chosen the "CS 480" print settings.
• If you don't see "CS 480", configure Slic3r via File -> Load Config Bundle...  and load this Slic3r config bundle file.
  
2. Add your STL file, and verify it looks OK
3. Export gcode file
   

Printing your file

1. Turn on the printer's AC power supply.  You should hear the fan spinning.
2. Plug in the printer's USB cable into your computer.
   
3. Open Pronterface (part of Printrun)
4. Hit "Load File" button, and load your gcode file. 
   
• Doublecheck the red paths to make sure they look OK, and will fit on the print bed.
• Check the "Estimated duration" (hours:minutes:seconds) and verify your schedule will let you babysit the printer for that long.  This doesn't include time for the printer to warm up (about 10 minutes) or cool down (another 10 minutes).
  
• Check the poster on the door to verify you will have finished printing before the next class starts--the noise of the printer could be annoying to the class, so you should not print during a class.
  
5. Hit "Print".
• The printer will first warm up the bed--you may need to add the block of insulation to have the bed warm up faster.  The bed gets HOT, so don't touch it or the extruder!
  
• The printer will zero all the axes.
• The printer will first draw an outline.  Normally the extruder starts working about halfway through this outline.
  
• The first layer is slower and thicker than the rest of the layers.  If this layer doesn't stick well, the print is unlikely to succeed, so I'll often stop a bad print here.
• To pause a print, hit Pause in pronterface.  The printer will pause after it finishes the commands in its buffer, which normally takes at least a few nerve-wracking seconds.
  
• To stop a print immediately, unplug the printer's DC power connection.
  
• The rest of the layers will be printed on top of this.
• Once the object is done, the printer stops automatically.
• It's very difficult to remove objects from the bed until it has cooled down, so wait for it to cool down.
• Objects should peel off once the bed is cool to the touch.  You may need a sharp metal object to peel up the first corner.
6. Turn off the printer's AC power supply when you're done.