LulzBot/AssembledPrusaMendel/gettingstarted

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Intro

Following is all of the info needed to get your assembled LulzBot Prusa Mendel 3D printer up and running. This wiki page matches the info found in the instructions sheets you have received with your printer. You will also find additional information here including updates, images, and videos. Please read all of the information found here or in the printed information sheets before unpacking or powering your printer.

Warnings

Read these warnings before unpacking or powering up your printer. This 3D printer is a machine with motorized and heated parts. When the printer is in operation always be aware of all possible hazards.

ELECTRIC SHOCK HAZARD
Never touch the electronics board when the printer is powered. Always power down the printer and completely turn off and unplug the power supply before touching or removing any wires from the electronics board. NEVER touch the screw terminals on the power supply when the AC plug is plugged into a power socket.
BURN HAZARD
Never touch the extruder nozzle or heater block with out first turning off the extruder heat and allowing it to cool for at least 10 minutes. Also do not touch plastic extruding out of the hot end nozzle. The plastic can stick to your skin and cause burns. Also beware of the heated bed which can reach up to temperatures 120C
FIRE HAZARD
Never place flammable materials or liquids on or near the printer when powered or in operation.
PINCH HAZARD
When the printer is in operation take care to never put your fingers in the moving parts including the belts, pulleys, or gears. Also, tie back long hair or clothing that can get caught in the moving parts of the printer.
AGE WARNING
For users under the age of 18, adult supervision is recommended. Beware of choking hazards around small children.

Printer Cautions

  1. Never run the extruder when the hotend is not fully heated to the correct temperature.
  2. Never set the hotend temperature above 230C
  3. If the hotend ever heats above 230C do not run the extruder. Let the hotend cool back down below 230C before resuming extrusion.
  4. Never allow the nozzle to drag on the print surface during X and Y axis movement.
  5. Always turn off the power supply and unplug the USB cable before touching or unplugging any of the wires or motor drivers from the printer electronics.

Lulzbot Prusa Mendel Diagram

Coming soon

Unpacking your 3D printer

  1. Remove the top foam padding
  2. Remove the two side smaller foam pads.
  3. Remove the bubble wrapped power supply and cords.
  4. Holding the top two threaded rods, SLOWLY pull the printer upwards out of the box. The two large side foam pads should fall off when the printer is out of the box.
  5. Set you printer on a stable level surface.
  6. Using scissors or wire cutters, cut and remove the four ORANGE zip ties. Make sure to not cut any of the surrounding wires or belts.

Initial Setup

  1. Your printer has been pre-calibrated and tested; however, after unpacking you will need to double check that everything is in order before you print.
  2. You should set your printer on a stable, flat, and level surface large enough for extra space around the printer. Make sure your printer work space is clear of anything that could obstruct the movement of the printer. Make sure there are no flammable fabrics or liquids near the printer space. It is also best to not put your printer near a drafty window or air conditioner vent.
  3. First check for any nuts or screws that have come loose. If you find anything loose, make sure to tighten it back. You just need to snug tighten the nuts.
  4. Check that the three mechanical end-stops (they are small lever switches) are aligned to contact with the respective ends. The X-axis end-stop should make contact with the side of the x-carriage; Y-axis end-stop should make contact with the aluminum bed mount plate; Z-axis end-stop should make contact with the bottom of the X-axis idler.
  5. Make sure none of the wires have come unplugged from the RAMPS electronics board. If any wires have come unplugged in shipping or unpacking please see the reference image on the wiki page to find where the unplugged wire(s) needs to be plugged back in.
  6. SDRAMPS placement
    Remove the SDRAMPS module from its bag. Plug in the SDRAMPS module into the 2x8 female plug on the bottom right of the RAMPS board. The image to the right shows the location and orientation of the SDRAMPS module after installed on the RAMPS electronics
  7. Unwrap the power supply, USB cable, and sample plastic filament.
  8. MAKE SURE THE POWER SUPPLY IS COMPLETELY UNPLUGGED BEFORE MOVING ON TO THE NEXT STEPS
  9. Time to wire the power supply to the printer. Get the blue twist-on wire connector that is in the bag with the instructions. Look at the two images below for referencing the next steps to wire the power supply.
  10. On the power supply there will be one black wire that is not connected to the power supply terminals. This wire needs to be connected to one of the loose black wires coming from the printer (either loose wire from the printer will work). Put both ends of the wires into the connector (one wire from the power cord and one from the printer). Twist the connector to bind the wires inside connector.
  11. The other loose wire from the printer now needs to be wired into the far right terminal of the power supply (labeled L). Pull up the screw terminal cover so the terminal can be accessed. Use a screwdriver to loosen the FAR RIGHT screw terminal. Put the end of the wire into the screw terminal under the clamp. Now tighten the screw to clamp down the wire.
  12. Push the power supply screw terminal cover back onto the screw terminals.
  13. Set the AC power setting on the side of the power supply. You will need to set it to 110V or 220V
  14. Plug in the USB cable, B plug (squarish plug) side, into the USB receptacle on the printer electronics. Plug the other end of the USB cable, A plug side, into your computer.
  15. Make sure the printer power switch is turned off (the circle side should be pushed down). Plug in the green RAMPS power plug from the power supply into the RAMPS electronics. Make sure the screw terminals on the plug are facing up. Now you can plug in the AC power plug from the power supply into an AC power outlet.


Getting software

  1. Most free open-source software can be found at Github.com or by searching the software name and Github in a web search engine. Otherwise, you can find wiki pages for software on Reprap.org.
  2. There are two basic software types you need to run your 3D printer. One is the host software which interacts with the printer sending instructions and receiving information. The other software needed is the slicer. The slicer software takes an .stl 3D model file and slices it into layers creating a .gcode file. The gcode file is instructions for the printer on how to print the 3D object. The.gcode file is sent to the printer through the host software.
  3. For a great reliable host software get Printrun. Your RAMPS electronics have already been flashed with Sprinter firmware which is completely compatible with Printrun. The file in Printrun you will need to run is pronterface.py.
  4. There are two options for 3D model slicers. The older software, SFACT is based off of the Skeinforge slicer. SFACT can be somewhat complex but is documented well and works great. Slic3r a newer slicer is currently in early development but is working. Slic3r is a much faster and easier slicer for beginners.

Printer cautions

  1. Never run the extruder when the hotend is not fully heated to the correct temperature.
  2. Never set the hotend temperature about 240C
  3. If the hotend ever heats above 240C do not run the extruder. Let the hotend cool back down below 240C before resuming extrusion.
  4. Never allow the nozzle to drag on the print surface during X and Y axis movement.
  5. Always turn of the power supply and unplug the USB cable before touching or unplugging any of the wires or motor drivers from the printer electronics.

General printer settings

These settings are default and can change with future firmware updates or due to your own updates and hacking. Extrusion temperatures may vary with different plastic filaments

  1. Nozzle temperature: 220C for printing ABS or 185C for printing PLA
  2. Bed temperature: 110C for printing ABS or 60C for printing PLA
  3. Pronterface manual extruder speed: 90mm/min
  4. Pronterface manual X and Y speed: 3000mm/min
  5. Pronterface manual Z speed: 200mm/min
  6. Print area: 170mm(X) by 160mm(Y) by 100mm(Z).

Printing your first print!

These instructions are for use with the Printrun host software. It is recommended to use Printrun for this first print test. If you use a different host software you will need to find instructions on starting a print with that software.

  1. After following the Setup instructions, the printer is now ready to be powered.
  2. Click the power button to the on position to turn on the 12V power
  3. Launch Printrun (pronterface.py) or your host software if you are using something different than Printrun.
  4. Set the connection speed to 115200. In Printrun the connection speed is at the top left of the screen in the pull down menu to the left of the @.
  5. In the top left of the Printrun window, in the Port pull down menu you will need to select the correct USB port for your printer. Generally you will only have one listed USB port. Depending on your computer operating system the name of the port can have differing names.
  6. Now press the Connect button to connect Printrun to your printer. You will know your printer is connected by seeing “Printer is now online” in the print line window on the right in the Printrun window.
  7. Now to set the hotend and bed temperatures. Both settings are near the bottom left. The heater temperature is for the hotend and bed for the bed. To set the temperature, type the temperature you would like in the temperature text box and press set.
  8. After setting both temperature settings click the Monitor Printer button. This will periodically print the current hotend and bed temperature in the print line window. Let the hotend and bed heat up to the wanted temperature.
  9. While the hotend and bed is heating up, home all three of the axes. Press the home button for each axis leaving the Z axis to home last. The axis will move in the negative direction until it touches the endstop switch.
  10. Your printer comes with an SD-RAMPS and SD card. We have put a few test .gcode files on the SD card for you to quickly make your first test prints.
  11. Once you have homed the axes and the hotend and bed have heated to the correct temperature it is time to print!
  12. Click the SD Print button. An SD file selection window will appear. Select the whistle.g file. Press OK to start the print.
  13. When the print starts make sure the first layer is not printing to close or too from the print bed. If the first layer is too high or low you can pause the print and adjust the Z-axis endstop. After making adjustments you can home the axes and press Restart to restart the print.
  14. After the whistle is finished printing, the heated bed will automatically cool down to 60C. If you are printing PLA you will need to turn the heated bed off. Once the bed cools you can you pop the finished whistle off of the printed surface.
  15. If you would like, you can now print some of the other sample gcode files on the SD card. Make sure to reset the heated bed to the correct temperature before starting the next print.

Powering down the printer

  1. Set both the hotend and bed temperature to 0C.
  2. Press the Disconnect button to disconnect Printrun from your printer.
  3. Click the printer power switch to the off position.
  4. Unplug the USB cable from the printer.
  5. Unplug the AC wall plug from the socket.
  6. Make sure the printer has completely cooled before leaving it unattended.