TripodMaker Manual v2
ii
Contents
Safety
v
1 3D printer Software
1.1 Slicers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.1.1 Kisslicer . . . . . . . . . .
1.1.2 Slic3r . . . . . . . . . . .
1.2 Hosts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.2.1 Drivers . . . . . . . . . .
1.2.2 Printrun . . . . . . . . . .
1.3 CAD and 3D Modeling Software
1.3.1 FreeCAD . . . . . . . . .
1.3.2 Blender . . . . . . . . . .
1.3.3 Shapesmith . . . . . . . .
1.3.4 OpenSCAD . . . . . . . .
1.4 Programming the printer . . . .
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1
1
2
3
4
5
5
8
8
9
9
9
9
2 Your First Print
2.1 Endstop check . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.2 Set Temperature . . . . . . . . . . .
2.3 Inserting Filament Into the Extruder
2.4 Home Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.5 Z Print Height . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.6 Print . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.7 Remove Part . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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iii
iv
CONTENTS
Safety
Read this manual before assembling or powering the TripodMaker 3D printer
Hazards and warnings
The TripodMaker is an electrical device and contains motors and hot elements. During
operation of the printer, be always aware of possible hazards.
Age Warning
User under the age of 18 are recommended adult supervision. The printer includes small
parts that can lead to choking.
Burn Hazard
The extruder nozzle or heated building platform might be hot during operation. Never
touch these before they cooled down. This can take more than 20 minutes. Also the
extruded plastic is hot and should not be touched.
Electric Shock Hazard
Never open the electronics box when the printer is powered. Make sure you disconnected
the power source and power supply. Wait at least one minute before opening the box to
allow the power supply to discharge.
Fire Hazard
Keep ﬂammable liquids and/or materials away from the printer when powered or in
operation.
v
vi
SAFETY
Pinch Hazard
During operation, keep ﬁngers, hair and loose clothing away from moving parts like
belts, pulleys, gears or fans.
Static Charge
Ground yourself before touching the printer electronics. Electrostatic charge can damage
electronic components. Ground yourself by touching a grounded source.
Chapter 1
3D printer Software
The TripodMaker uses free and opensource software. To operate the 3D printer, you
will need an 3D printer operating host, an .STL to .gcode generator, and optional a
CAD or 3D modeling software.
All of this software is available for GNU/Linux, Windows, and Apple OS X. However,
we highly recommend using this software on GNU/Linux or Windows.
1.1
Slicers
A 3D printer can not cope directly with ﬁles from a CAD program. 3D or CAD ﬁles
need to be processed before they become printable. This process is called slicing. The
slicer (software) is the ﬁrst tool we use when 3D printing.
A slicer uses commonly used .STL ﬁles to create .gcode ﬁles. Gcode ﬁles contain instructions for the 3D printer on where, when, and how fast to make movements. However,
Gcode programming is not very suitable for CAD and 3D design. This is where the slicer
and the .STL ﬁle comes into use. The .STL ﬁle is a 3D model ﬁle that can be exported
by all common CAD and 3D modeling software. The slicer software then slices the .STL
3D model into layers and print paths to create a 3D printable .gcode ﬁle.
Kisslicer and Slic3r, two of the mainly used alternatives for slicers, are explained. These
slicer programs include very simple settings that allow you to easily reﬁne prints. You
can create multiple conﬁgurations for changing printer setups including nozzle sizes and
desired print resolution. For ease of use we have predeﬁned Kisslicer and Slic3r proﬁles
available in the Support/Downloads section and on the TripodMaker product page at
www.TripodMaker.com. We highly recommend starting with our predeﬁned proﬁles for
your ﬁrst couple prints.
1
2
CHAPTER 1. 3D PRINTER SOFTWARE
1.1.1 Kisslicer
Website: http://www.kisslicer.org
Figure 1.1: Kisslicer application screen, STL to Gcode generator
Loading Conﬁgurations
To load conﬁgurations, make sure you closed Kisslicer completely (Command-Q on Mac
OS X, Alt-F4 on Windows). Navigate to the installation directory of Kisslicer. Copy the
downloaded conﬁguration ﬁles into this folder. ATTENTION: Overwriting these
ﬁles can erase previously saved conﬁgurations! Re-open the Kisslicer program
and the predeﬁned conﬁguration will be loaded in Kisslicer. You can also save custom
conﬁgurations for yourself by pressing the Copy... button and making changes to the
copied conﬁguration. ATTENTION: Changes to the existing conﬁgurations are
irreversibly saved during shut-down of the program!
1.1. SLICERS
3
Loading STL ﬁles
To load .STL ﬁles, click the Open button in the right top corner of Kisslicer. The 3D
model will appear on the building surface of your Kisslicer. ATTENTION: There is
no restriction to build outside the building platform with Kisslicer, therefore,
keep your model smaller than the printable area! You can multiply the number
of printed objects, with the counter button, change the size of the object by adjusting
the height, and change the orientation of the object with the angle selector.
Exporting Gcode ﬁles
Once you have ﬁnished setting up your part(s) on your building surface, it is time to
select the settings for slicing your object. Pick the Style, Support, Material and
Printer from the drop down boxes, according to your set-up. Afterwards, click the
Slice button to slice the object.
Once the object is sliced, the Slice button will be replaced by the Save button. Click
this button and save the .gcode ﬁle on a desired location. To print directly from the
TripodMaker Controller, save the .gcode ﬁle on the SD-card (See Section ?? page ??
for detailed info). Alternatively, a hosting program can be used (See Section 1.2).
1.1.2
Slic3r
Website: http://www.slic3r.org
Figure 1.2: Slic3r application screen, STL to Gcode generator
4
CHAPTER 1. 3D PRINTER SOFTWARE
Load Conﬁgurations
To load conﬁgurations press the Load Config... button. In the ﬁle browser that opens,
locate the downloaded conﬁguration ﬁles. Select the conﬁguration ﬁle that matches the
nozzle size currently installed on the printer (0.35mm nozzle is installed by default).
Press Open and the predeﬁned conﬁguration will load into Slic3r. You can also save custom conﬁgurations for yourself by pressing the Export Config... button. A ﬁle browser
will open that allows you to deﬁne a name and save your custom conﬁguration.
Loading STL ﬁles
To load an .STL 3D model ﬁle into Slic3r, activate the Plater tab and click the Add...
button. In the ﬁle browser navigate to the .STL you wish to load and click Open. The
silhouette of the model will appear in the Plater diagram. To print more than one copy
of the model at a time select the model name from the list and click the More button.
With each press of the More button an additional copy of the model will be added to
Plater.
To remove a copy of the model, select the model name again and click Less. To completely remove the model from Plater select the model name and click Delete.
Export Gcode ﬁles
Once you have ﬁnished setting your part(s) in Plater you can generate the Gcode by
clicking Export G-Code.... In the ﬁle browser navigate to where you would like to
save the .gcode ﬁle and list a name to save the ﬁle as. To print directly from the
TripodMaker Controller, save the .gcode ﬁle on the SD-card (See Section ?? page ??
for detailed info). Alternatively, a hosting program can be used (See Section 1.2).
Click Save and Slic3r will begin generating the .gcode ﬁle. When Slicer is ﬁnished you
will receive a prompt.
If you have created a plate with multiple model designs you can also use the Export
STL... function to save an .STL ﬁle for quickly reproducing the same plate of models.
1.2
Hosts
The 3D printer operating host is a program that can give direct commands to your
3D printer through USB connection. This topic discusses the needed drivers and software.
1.2. HOSTS
1.2.1
5
Drivers
You will need to install device drivers in order for your Windows computer to communicate with the TripodMaker Delta 3D Printer through a hosting program. A Windows
guide can be found at: www.tripodmaker.com/support/downloads. If you are using
your TripodMaker Delta 3D Printer on a Linux/Apple OS X based computer you will
not need any drivers. Support is already built into the operating system.
1.2.2
Printrun
Website: http://www.github.com/kliment/Printrun
Figure 1.3: Printrun application screen, Hosting software
The host software, Printrun, is used to start up and control your 3D printer. The host
controls include: setting the extruder and print surface temperatures, manual control
of each axis, and manual extrusion. The host is also where you will push print ﬁles
(.gcode) to the 3D printer for printing out model designs.
To launch Printrun, navigate to the Printrun directory and launch the pronterface.py
ﬁle. On GNU/Linux operating systems you may need to set the pronterface.py ﬁle as
executable. Depending on your environment you may need to launch the program by
using the full command: python pronterface.py. On other operating systems the ﬁle
may be called pronterface.exe. On Mac Os X, just run the Printrun.app ﬁle.
6
CHAPTER 1. 3D PRINTER SOFTWARE
Connecting the Printer
To start up the printer, ﬁrst you will need to connect to the printer with Printrun. Make
sure you have connected the USB cable from your PC to the printer before launching Printrun. If not, close Printrun, connect the USB cable, and relaunch Printrun.
In the top left Port pull down menu select the correct port for the printer (generally
/dev/ttyACM0). On other operating systems the port may be named such as COM1 or
tty.usbserial-USB-ID. If you only have one printer connected there will only be one
port available to select. Make sure the port baud rate is set to 115200 in the pull down
menu to the right of the port selection. You can refresh the USB ports, by clicking the
Port button.
Now, to connect to the printer click the Connect button. In the text output window
you will see multiple return lines. If you see Printer is now online you have successfully
connected to the printer. The printer control buttons on the left will also darken and
become click-able after connecting. When you need to disconnect the printer simply
press the Disconnect button. If the printer doesn’t want to connect. Unplug the printer
from your computer, turn of the power source, reconnect to the printer to the computer
and try to connect to the printer before turning on the power source.
Printer Controls
All of the printer controls can be found on the left side of the Printrun interface (Fig.
1.4). To set the hot end and print surface temperature ﬁrst click the Monitor Printer
check box on. This will enable the printer temperature bars and graph. The hot end and
print surface controls are labelled Heater and Bed. Select the temperature setting by
using the pull down menu for predeﬁned temperature settings. You can also set custom
temperature settings by typing into the temperature box.
To turn on the hot end and/or printer surface click the respective Set button. The
Set button will highlight orange when the temperature is set to on for that component.
When the hot end or print surface is set to on you will see the temperature bar and graph
display the set temperature and the current temperature. When both components have
reached the correct temperature, the printer is ready for printing. Clicking the Off
button will turn oﬀ that component and highlight the Off button blue.
Below the temperature controls are the manual extrusion controls. There you can manually extrude plastic through the hot end and retract the plastic ﬁlament from the hot end.
The Extrude button will feed the amount of plastic, set to the right in mm, through the
hot end. The rate at which the plastic is fed is set below the extrusion length (mm/min).
The Reverse button will perform the opposite of Extrude, pulling the plastic ﬁlament
back out of the hot end.
The large pattern of buttons above the temperature controls are the axes manual controls. These functions allows you to manually move each of the three axes of the printer.
1.2. HOSTS
7
Figure 1.4: Printrun Controls, Hosting software
The circular pattern of four quadrants controls the X and Y axes. The top and bottom
quadrants move the Y axis; the top in the positive direction (forward) and the bottom
in the negative direction (back). The left and right quadrants move the X axis; the left
in the negative direction (left) and the right in the positive direction (right).
Each quadrant is split into four sections that control the length of movement of 0.1mm,
1mm, 10mm, or 100mm. The innermost section moves the axis 0.1mm. The outside
section moves the axis 100mm. The linear control bar to the right controls the Z axis.
The Z axis is also separated into multiple movement lengths; 0.1mm, 1mm, and 10mm.
The upper three buttons move the Z axis up and away from the printer surface; the
three lower buttons move the Z axis closer to the print surface.
The four triangular buttons around the circular pattern are the axes home buttons. Each
home button will move that axis in the negative direction until the end stop is activated.
There is a home button for the X, Y, and Z axes. There is also a white home all button
8
CHAPTER 1. 3D PRINTER SOFTWARE
that homes all of the axes at once. The Motors oﬀ button will deactivate all motors
allowing all of the axes to be moved by hand. Caution: when homing, the axis
will continue to move in the negative direction until the end stop switch is
activated. If the printer is ever transported make sure the end stop switches
are clear before resuming printing. If an axis has missed an end stop and
is continuing to try to move in the negative direction, immediately turn the
power switch to the oﬀ position. If a print ﬁle was running, after turning
the power switch to oﬀ, pause the print by clicking the Pause button. Clear
whatever is blocking the end stop and try homing again.
Loading Print Files
To load a .gcode ﬁle into Printrun click the Load file button. Navigate to the .gcode
ﬁle in the ﬁle browser and click Open. You will now see a 2D images of the ﬁrst layer
of your model design in the Gcode viewer. Click the Gcode viewer window to see a
more detailed version. In the pop-up Gcode viewer you can zoom in using the mouse
scroll wheel and ﬂip through layers with the up and down arrow keys. To pan within the
window left-click and drag to move around the work plane. The lines shown in the Gcode
viewer represent the path the extrusion nozzle will follow to print the model.
1.3
CAD and 3D Modeling Software
Currently TripodMaker is not distributing a CAD or 3D modeling software package.
However, there are multiple free software packages available. Other common non-free
CAD and 3D modeling software are also capable of exporting the required .STL ﬁles. On
some CAD and 3D modeling software you will need to select millimeters as the output
unit. If possible it is best to build your 3D design in metric units rather than imperial
units. Kisslicer requires .STL ﬁles sized in millimeters. If an .STL with inches as units
is loaded into the Kisslicer, the model will be scaled much smaller than expected. The
software listed below outputs millimeters as the unit by default.
1.3.1
FreeCAD
Website: http://free-cad.sourceforge.net
FreeCAD is a great free CAD application. Containing a full GUI for building CAD
models, FreeCAD is capable of creating simple to complex designs. STL ﬁles can also
easily be exported for use with 3D printing. FreeCAD is available for GNU/Linux,
Windows, and Mac. The latest development version is recommended.
1.4. PROGRAMMING THE PRINTER
1.3.2
9
Blender
Website: http://blender.org
The most widely used Free 3D modeling software, Blender is well documented with
tutorials available on the Blender.org website. Numerous video tutorials can be also
found online.
1.3.3
Shapesmith
Website: http://shapesmith.net
3D Printer Software Shapesmith is a web based 3D modeling software. This means there
is no required software to get started designing models. Shapesmith is also a great choice
for anyone just starting out in CAD/ 3D modeling.
1.3.4
OpenSCAD
Website: http://openscad.org
OpenSCAD is another free CAD software; however, diﬀerent than FreeCAD, it is script
based. Rather than using a GUI to generate CAD designs, OpenSCAD CAD designs are
created using script based renderings. Users with programming experience would ﬁnd
this very useful. Also, OpenSCAD uses a simple script language that is easy to learn for
users with little or no programming experience.
1.4
Programming the printer
There are some simple changes you’ll need to make to the TripodMaker ﬁrmware as
part of the calibration and conﬁguration process. In order to send your changes to
the TripodMaker, you’ll need to download and install the Arduino IDE. The ﬁrmware
on the TripodMaker is called Marlin and requires the version of the Arduino IDE
to be at least 1.0. You can download the current release of the Arduino IDE from
http://arduino.cc/en/Main/Software. At the time of this writing, version 1.0.5 was
the current stable release. The Marlin ﬁrmware for the TripodMaker can be downloaded
from the download location www.tripodmaker.com/downloads. Extract the .zip ﬁle in
a directory of your preference.
We will slightly change some settings in the Arduino code to make the printer move ﬂat,
instead of the concave/convex shape it moves now. This is an additional calibration step
on delta printers and is due to shipment and movement of the printer. When there is a
small deformation of the frame (we are talking about <1mm deformations), the software
uses in fact wrong frame dimensions to calculate the position of the printer head.
10
CHAPTER 1. 3D PRINTER SOFTWARE
Open up the Arduino Application and open the Marlin ﬁrmware see ﬁgure 1.5 and the
conﬁgure arduino instruction. The concave/convex shape of the bed is controlled
by the DELTA_RADIUS parameter in the Marlin ﬁrmware. See ﬁgure 1.6. The height of
the printer is adjusted by MANUAL_Z_HOME_POS. See ﬁgure 1.7. Because DELTA_RADIUS
is a calculated value, we don’t change it directly. All our changes will be made o the
value called DELTA_EFFECTOR_OFFSET.
Search Conﬁguration.h for a ﬁeld that looks something like this:
#define DELTA_EFFECTOR_OFFSET
What you’re going to do is increase or decrease that ﬁgure by .5 or smaller until the
nozzle is touching the paper like just on any other spot on the printer bed.
Decrease the value in DELTA_EFFECTOR_OFFSET in order to lower the nozzle in the center. Increase the value in DELTA_EFFECTOR_OFFSET in order to raise the nozzle in the
center.
Each time you change DELTA_EFFECTOR_OFFSET, you’ll need to save your changes (arrow
down button) and upload the new ﬁrmware to the controller (arrow to the right button).
Note that the Arduino IDE won’t be able to perform the upload if you’re still connected
to the TripodMaker with Printrun-Host. Make sure you disconnect the hosting software
before you try to upload your changed ﬁrmware.
Figure 1.5: Opening the Marlin Firmware on Arduino
Once you’ve uploaded the new ﬁrmware, you can check quickly if the nozzle moves ﬂat
around the printer bed. Pay attention you don’t scratch the building surface. It may
take a number of iterations to get the center nozzle height nailed down, but it IS worth
the hassle. Your ﬁrst layer quality and plastic adhesion require that the nozzle track
across the entire bed as perfectly ﬂat as it can.
1.4. PROGRAMMING THE PRINTER
Figure 1.6: Changing the Conﬁguration.h File
11
12
CHAPTER 1. 3D PRINTER SOFTWARE
Figure 1.7: Changing the Conﬁguration.h File
Chapter 2
Your First Print
2.1
Endstop check
Turn on your TripodMaker. Be sure to test the endstop for being triggered on the same
height. Make sure the spacing between the cart and the top frame of the TripodMaker
are equidistant for all the carts when the endstop light lights up. To check this, move
the cart manually up and down. Pay attention during this action so you don’t crash the
hot-end. Adjust the endstop positions until this is satisfactory.
2.2
Set Temperature
Make sure to ﬁrst read the instructions for using the Printrun host software. Connect to
the printer as described in the Printrun software section (page 4). Set the hot end and
print surface for ABS or PLA plastic and turn both on. The temperature settings for
ABS should be set at 230◦ C for the hot end and 85◦ C for print surface; for PLA they
should be set at least 180◦ C-185◦ C for the hot end and 60◦ C for print surface. Some
PLAs require temperatures up to 230◦ C.
2.3
Inserting Filament Into the Extruder
Once the hot end is heated to the correct temperature you will now need to load the
plastic ﬁlament into the extruder. Raise the extruder handle by unscrewing the extruder
tensioner. Insert the ﬁlament in the feedhole at the bottom and push it through the
Bowden tube towards the hot-end.
Swivel the Bowden tube back and forth when the ﬁlament has nearly reached the hotend. In this way, the ﬁlament can align with the hot-end and enter it. Push the ﬁlament
13
14
CHAPTER 2. YOUR FIRST PRINT
in the heated hot-end and make sure a small ooze is dripping from the hot end. Some
force might be needed.
Once the ﬁlament extrudes a small amount out of the nozzle, raise the extruder handle
and put the extruder tensioner back into place. Tighten the extruder tensioner. Now use
the Extrude button in Printrun to test that the extruder is working properly. You may
need to extrude 30-60mm to fully prime the hot end. Set the prime speed at 50mm/min
so the extruder doesn’t skips.
2.4
Home Printer
Use the white home buttons to home the X, Y and Z axis. Check again if all carts are on
the same distance from the top frame. If not, adjust the position of the endstops.
2.5
Z Print Height
To check the print height, move the nozzle to the bed. You can do this in a fast way with
typing G0 X0 Y0 Z15 F5000 in the command line area of Printrun. Move the nozzle
around to several spots on the building surface with the Printrun Controls (ﬁgure 1.4).
Make sure the distance between nozzle and building surface is about the thickness of a
piece of paper.
2.6
Print
You are now ready for your ﬁrst build! Download our test cube from www.TripodMaker.com/
support/downloads and use the slicing software. Save the Gcode ﬁle on the SD-card
and plug this into the TripodMaker controller. Select the ﬁle on the TripodMaker.
2.7
Remove Part
After the part is ﬁnished printing, the heated bed will automatically cool down to 0◦ C.
Once the bed cools you can you pop the ﬁnished part of the printed surface. To remove
the printed part, use a putty knife. Be careful to not cut yourself and were protection
gloves if needed.
When printing large parts, you might need to pry at multiple points to pop the part
of the building surface. When removing parts take caution to not damage the building
surface.