RapMan 3

Operation Manual RapMan V3.1.0

Document No: D100242

 Operation Manual: RapMan V3.1.0

Contents

Section Title Page

Contents 2
OverviewofthePrintingProcess 3
FirstPowerUp 4
ControlInterface 5
TheCoordinateSystem 6
CheckingitallMoves 7
LevellingtheBed 8
SettingtheZHeight 9
SDCard 10
Firmware 11
ExtruderToolSetup 12
ExtruderFirstRun 13
PrintingtheTestRaft 14
RunFile 15
GCodeFiles 16
FirstPrint 17
FineTuningthePrint 18
Appendix
iGcodeinstruction 20
iiPolymerSpecifications 21

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 Operation Manual: RapMan V3.1.0

Overview of the Printing Process

Overviewoftheprintingprocess.

TheRapManprintssolidobjectsbylayingdownsuccessivelayerofplastic,itfirstdrawsanoutlineofthelayerand
thenfillsinthemiddleasrequired,muchlikeyouwouldcolourinadrawing,afterdoingonelayeritmovesontothe
nextlayerbyloweringtheprintplatformasmallamountanddrawsthenextlayerontopoftheonebeforethereby
buildingasolidobject,thelayersaretypically0.4mmthickbutcanbevariedtosuittheapplication.

TheRapMangetsitsinformationofwhattoprintfromanSDcardinsertedintheleftsideofthePCBthiscontainsa
Gcodefilethattellsthemachinewhattodo,Gcodeisasimpletextfilethathascoordinateinstructionandother
commandstocontroltheRapMan.FormoreinformationonGcodepleaseseehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gcode
theRapMandoesnotsupportallGcodesandhasafewspecialonesofitsown,theseareexplainedindetaillater.
The G code is generated using conversion software called Skeinforge, this PC application takes a 3D model and
generatestheGcodefilewhichisthencopiedtotheSDcard.Skeinforgereadsvariousfiletypesbutthecommonest
being STL which can be output by most 3D CAD packages and has become the standard for 3D printing/rapid
prototyping.TheGcodefilemustfollowthe6.3namingconventioni.e.Test01.bfbtheRapManwillonlyread*.bfb
&*.gcofilesallotherfileextensionswillbeignored.

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First Power-Up

HavingcompletedtheassemblyofyourRapMan3youarenowreadytoconnectthepower,plugthetransformer
intothemains(outlet)socketandplugthe2.1mmpowerplugintothePCB.TheredpowerindicatorLEDwilllight
andthescreenwilldisplaythestartupmessagesandthenshowthemainmenu.IftheSDcardisinsertedtheSD
cardLEDwilllight

PowerLED

12VdcConnector
SDCardLED

Warning: when the PCB is powered DO NOT disconnect the extruder or any of the stepper motors this will
damagethestepperdriverchips.

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 Operation Manual: RapMan V3.1.0

Control Interface

Ent/X+: MenumodeEnterbuttonusedtoselectthehighlighteditemonthemenu&selectfiletorun.
ManualmovemodeMovetheXaxisinapositivedirection(totheright).
ToolsetupmodeIncreasetheextruderflowrate.
PrintingmodeIncreasetheextruderflowrate.

X: MenumodeNofunction.
ManualmovemodeMovetheXaxisinanegativedirection(totheleft).
ToolsetupmodeDecreasetheextruderflowrate.
PrintingmodeDecreasetheextruderflowrate.

Y+: MenumodeScrollbuttontomoveupthemenu&moveuptheselectedfiles.
ManualmovemodeMovetheYaxisinapositivedirection(totheback).
ToolsetupmodeIncreasetheextrudertemperature.
PrintingmodeIncreasetheextrudertemperature.

Y: MenumodeScrollbuttontomovedownthemenu&movedowntheselectedfiles.
ManualmovemodeMovetheYaxisinanegativedirection(tothefront).
ToolsetupmodeDecreasetheextrudertemperature.
PrintingmodeDecreasetheextrudertemperature.

ZUp: MenumodeNofunction.
ManualmovemodeMovetheZaxisinanegativedirection(up)seesectioncoordinatesystem
ToolsetupmodeNofunction.
PrintingmodeIncreasetheheadmovespeed(feedrate).

ZDn: MenumodeNofunction.
ManualmovemodeMovetheZaxisinapositivedirection(down)seesectioncoordinatesystem
ToolsetupmodeNofunction.
PrintingmodeDecreasetheheadmovespeed(feedrate).

Esc: MenumodeInfileselectionreturntomainmenu.
ManualmovemodeReturntomainmenu.
ToolsetupmodeReturntomainmenu.
PrintingmodePausetheprintandsendtheheadtotherestposition,2ndpressresumesprinting.

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 Operation Manual: RapMan V3.1.0

The Coordinate System

TheCoordinateSystem

The RapMan 3 coordinate system is the standard Cartesian coordinate system using X, Y & Z to define the head
position. All units are millimetres (1 = 25.4mm). The RapMan 3 displays the head position accurate to 2 decimal
placei.e.0.01mm(0.4thousandsofanInch).Thisisnotthesameasresolutionorabsoluteaccuracywhichareboth
affectedbythemechanicsofthemachineandarenotbethisaccurate.

TableCoordinates

Itmightbeeasiertoviewtheprinttableasasheetofgraphpaper,andtherefore,thateachpointofthetablehasan
X,Ycoordinatewecansendthetoolheadto.TheaxesaresetsuchthatthecentreofthetableistheoriginatX=0,
Y=0.

Lookingdownonthetablewith(0,0)atthecentre,apositive(+)moveinXwouldbeamovetotherightofcentre.A
+moveinYisfromthecentretotherearofthemachine,exactlyasthestandardgraphrepresentationdrawnon
paper.
e.g.IfwepassthemachineaninstructiontogotopointX50,Y50ifstartingfromtheorigin,thetoolwillbesent
50mmtotherightinXand50mmtotherearinY
X50,Y50woulddotheoppositeandsendthetool50mmtotheleftinXand50mmforwardofcentreinY.

Thefourquadrantsasfollows.
X+,Y+Rear,righthand123Oclock
X+,YFront,righthand36Oclock
X,YFrontlefthand69Oclock
X,Y+Rearlefthand912Oclock

WearealsoabletomovetheMachineintheZaxis,thisbeingastraightlinethroughtheoriginperpendiculartoX
andY.FortheRapManwehavedefinedZ=0mmwhenthetoolisjusttouchingthetopofthetable(orworkpiece).
A10mm+moveinZwillmovethetabledowngivingthetoolanelevationof+10mmabovethetable.AmoveinZ
wouldmovethetoolintothetableorworkpiece.

Ontopofthetablethemaximumworkareais:
X135to140
Y100to105
Z0to230
Givingamaximumpotentialsizeofobjectof275x205x230mm

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Checking it all Moves

CheckingitallMoves

Thefirsttestistocheckalltheaxismovefreely.FromthemainmenuselectMANUALMOVE.

Thiswilldisplaythemachinecoordinatesinmmasthetoolheadasnotbeenhomedyettheyarenotcorrect.

Nowmoveallthreeaxisinturntocheckthehead&tablemovefreely.Onpressingabuttonthemovementisslow
to start with, and ramps up to a high speed. If any of the axis do not move freely please return to the relevant
sectionofthebuildmanualandadjustasrequired.PresstheEscbuttontoreturntothemainmenu.

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Levelling the Bed

Movetoolheadto
LevellingtheBed
backleftcorner
Togetagoodprintthebedmustbeleveltowithin+0.1mm(0.004).

Theprintbedismountedon3levellingspringsthisistoallowmicro
adjustment of the print bed without having to adjust the main Z
pulleys.3adjustersareusedasthisallowslevellinginbothplanesif4
adjusters were used (one in each corner) there is the possibility to
forcethebedintoacurvedshape,with3thisisnotpossible.

With the extruder fitted move the tool head to the back left corner
just over the printing bed move the Z axis until the setting bar just
slidesunderthenozzlewithveryslightresistance,makesureitisnot
compressingthelevellingsprings.NextmovetotheBackRightcorner
andadjustthelevellingspringbyturningtheM8nutuntilthesetting
barjustslidesunderthenozzlewithveryslightresistance,makesure
itisnotcompressingthelevellingsprings.FinallymovetheheadtotheFrontCentreoftheprintbedandadjustthe
levellingspringby turningthe M8nut until thesettingbarjustslidesunderthenozzlewithveryslight resistance,
makesureitisnotcompressingthelevellingsprings.

Whenallthreepointsarecompleterepeatwholecycletorecheckasalargeadjustmentofonespringcanaffecta
previouslysetspring.Keepdoingthisuntilallthreespringsarecorrectwithnofurtheradjustmentneeded.

SettingBar

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Setting the Z Height

SettingtheZHeight

Settingtheheightofthenozzleovertheprintbediscritical.Toolowanditwillploughthroughtheacrylicprintbed
this will, damage the nozzle, block it with acrylic, destroy the print bed or all three, it will also make it extremely
difficulttoremovethepartformtheprintbed.

Settingthenozzletohighwillstopthepartstickingtotheprintbedallowingittowarpandpossiblynotprintatallas
theheadjustpushesitaroundtheprintbed.

Itismuchbettertohaveanozzletohighthantolowsowealwayssetthenozzlehighandworkdownslowlyuntilit
issetcorrectly.

Gettingthissettingcorrectwillgivereliableprintinggettingitwrongwillleadtofrustration.

MovingtheZsettingboltup(tightening)willlowertheheadrelativetotheprintbed.StartwiththeZsettingboltset
atapproximately60mmfromthebaseoftheextruder.

EnterHOMETOOLHEADandlettheheadhomeitself.Checkthenozzleheight
and adjust if required a good setting to aim for atthe start is 0.5mm (0.020)
(thethicknessof5sheetsofprinterpaperoraStanley/boxcutterblade)above
thebedthiswillbetoohighforprintingbutwillensurenodamagetotheprint
bed. The Z height adjuster gives 0.8mm (0.031)
per full turn. After getting approximately this
setting check the bed is level by moving the head
to all four corners. If not level please refer to the
sectionLevellingthebed.

Theblade/papershould Youarenowreadytorunatestraftwhichwillallowustofinetune
theZheightsowegetaperfectraft
justslideunderthenozzle
withalittleresistance

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SD Card

SDCard

AftertheGcodefilehasbeencreateditmustbecopiedontotheSDcardtooperatetheRapMan3useanysuitable
SDcardadaptortoconnecttheSDcardtothecomputer.InwindowsexplorercopythefiletotheSDcard.
DependingonthefilenameitmightrequirechangingtokeepitwithinthespecificationrequiredbytheRapMan3.
Thenamecanonlybe6characterslonganditmusthavethebfbextensioni.e.file01.bfb

AftersavingthefiletotheSDcardwiththepoweroffinserttheSDcardintothelefthandsidethePCB.Turnonthe
powerandselectRUNFILEfromthemainmenu.TheRapMan3willdisplaythelastfileaddedtothecardfirstthis
makesselectioneasyusetheY+&YbuttonstoscrollthroughtheavailablefilesontheSDcard.

DonotuseSDcardslargerthan2GB.IftheRapMan3cannotreadavalidfilepleasechecktheSDcardasvaluecards
canbecomecorruptaftermultiplefilerewrites,reformattingwillnormallyfixthis.

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Firmware

Firmware

ThefirmwareiswritteninMicrochipCwithintheMicrochipMPLabIDE(integrateddevelopmentenvironment).The
sourcecodeisavailablefornoncommercialuseasperthelicensethatshipswiththesourcecode.Thisallowsthose
inclinedtodosotoexperimentwithdifferentprintingstrategiesthatSkeinforgedoesnotsupportortoaddextra
functionality. The PCB has a PICKit2 programming header. At the heart of the board is the main processor the
Microchip PIC32 running at 80MHz. This is one of the latest high performance 32bit devices and it controls all
aspectsoftheRapMan.

UpdatetheFirmware

Having completed the build of your RapMan you are now ready to start printing. First please check you have the
latestversionofthefirmwarewhichcanbefoundatwww.bitsfrombytes.comgotothedownloadsectionandfollow
theinstructiontoupgradethefirmwareifrequired.

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Extruder Tool Setup

Extrudertoolsetup

SelecttheTOOLSETUPfromthemainmenu.Fromthismenuoptionyoucancontroltheextruderfortemperature
andflowrate.UsetheY+toincreasethetemperature&theYbuttontodecreasethetemperature.TheX+button
increasestheextruderflowrateandtheXbuttondecreasestheextruderflowrate.Theextrudersteppermotorwill
notfunctionuntilthetemperatureisatorabove100Cthisistohelppreventdamagingtheextruderbyrunningit
withthefilamenttocold.IftheRPMisbelow1.5RPMtheextrudermotorwillturnoff.

TheToolSetupscreenshowsalltheextruderparameters:

Flowrate: Thisisdisplayedasbothmm/sofextrudateandRPMofthesteppermotorthisisonlycorrectwith
the0.5mmnozzle.
HeaterStatus: Heateron/offthisisshowninwordsandalsoindicatedbytheheateronasterisk.
SetTemp: SetpointforthetemperatureinCwhenthetemperatureisbelowthisleveltheheaterwillbeon.
ActualTemp: TemperatureoftheheaternozzleinC.

Typeoftoolconnected

Warningtempbelow100C
somotorwillnotrun

Heaterstate Flowrateinmmpersecond

FlowrateinmotorRPM
TemperaturesetpointinC
ActualtemperatureinC

As the temperature
has gone above
100C the motor

warninghasgoneoff

ThisToolSetupfunctionisespeciallyusefulwhensettingupforanewpolymerasitallowsthetemperatureandflow
ratetobeeasilytestedbeforecommittingtoaprint.

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Extruder First Run

Extruderfirstrun

Removethefilamentpressurebearingsandslidethefilamentintothefilamentguide,
it helps if the end of the filament is cut all round the end to form a point. Push the
filamentuntilitwillgonofurtherandhasdefinitelyenteredtheinsulatorsection.

Filamentguide

Shapeendof
thefilament

Filament

Removepressurebearing Enterinsulatorsection

Set the temperature to a minimum of twice the melting point of the polymer being
used,orperthesuggestedtemperaturesintheappendix.Notethatthemeltingpoint
of any polymer will be specific to the individual supplier and can vary considerably

betweensuppliersandactualchemicalcompositioni.e.notallABSsarethesame.

After the nozzle has reached temperature push the filament

by hand to check that it will extrude. Once this had been
Refitthe
established the pressure bearing can be refitted and the
pressure
springs tightened. Increase the extruder flow rate to about
bearings
15mm/s and check it runs without stalling the motor or
causingthepressurebearingstojump.

Extruderproblems

Iftheextrudermotorstallsduringoperation(canbeseeninthedrive
gear stopping and starting) the most likely cause are the pressure
bearingsbeingtootightundothepressurebearingspringsofaturn
onbothspringsatthesametimeuntilthemotorrunssmoothly.

If the pressure bearings jump during operation (can be seen in the

pressure bearing jumping once per revolution of the drive gear & a
clickingsound)thereare 2possiblecausesfirstthebearingsarenot
tightenoughcorrectbytighteningthepressurebearingspringsofa
turn or the temperature is set to low correct by increasing the
temperature.

Warning: when the PCB is powered DO NOT disconnect the

extruder or any of the stepper motors this will damage the stepper
driverchips

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Printing the Test Raft

PrintingtheTestRaft

PrintingthetestraftallowsustoquicklyassestheaccuracyoftheZheightsettinginallfourcornersandthemiddle
ofthemachine,theGcodefileissettooperatewitha0.5mmnozzleandBfBABSfilament(asperthetestsample).

Raftsareusedwhenprintingtogivegoodconsistantbaselayer,thisremovesanyirregularitiesintheprintingbed
andmakesiteasiertoremovetheprintpart.

The 3mm print bed needs to have the

surface shine removed this is best done
withsome240gritsand papertorough
thesurface.

The test raft is to sparse for use as a normal raft but is used to check Z height & bed levelness. Load the file
testra.bfbontotheSDcardandselectitfromtheRUNFILEmenuyourRapMan3willstartprintingaraftineach
corneroftheprintbedandoneinthemiddle.

All five rafts should look the same and

have the same filament width this
shouldbe1.9mm2.1mm.

A nozzle that is too high above the print bed will
createaraftwithacurlylookandwillbeveryeasy
toremovefromtheprintbed,Thepictureonthe
rightshowsanozzlethatistoohighwiththebed
onanangle,theraftgoesfromanarrowfilament
toacurlyfilamentbytheendoftheraft.

Anozzlethatistolowjustasmallamounttolow
will give a fatter raft filament. If the nozzle is
more than 0.3mm below ideal height it can
damage the print bed and cause the extruder to
skiponthefilamentyoucanclearlyseethemelted
acrylic around the sides of the very narrow
filamentbead,thiswillnotbeabletoberemoved
fromtheprintbedandhastobelightlysandedtogiveasmoothfinishtoallowfurther
printingtotakeplace.

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Run File

RunFile

FromthemainmenuselectRUNFILEthiswilltakeyoutothefileselectionscreen.

Firmwareversion

Filetobeprinted

Numberoffileselectedandtotal
numberoffilesontheSDcard


UsetheY+&YbuttonstoscrollthroughthefilesontheSDcard.PresstheEnt/x+keytoselectthefileandstartthe
print.

This will bring up the printing screen. This screen displays the printing parameters and the print progress, in this
modeyoucanalsochangesomeoftheprintingparametersonthefly.
Filebeingprinted

Gcodelinebeingprinted

Headspeed(feedrate)

Extruderflowrate(based
ona0.5mmnozzle)

Printprogressbar100%isfullwidth
ofthescreen

ExtruderRPM

Extrudertemperature Internalbuffersize Extruderactual

setpointinC temperatureinC

Changingparametersduringtheprint

Duringtheprintitispossibletochangesomeoftheprintparametersthisallowscorrectionofprintifrequiredand
alsoisveryusefulwhentestingnewmaterials.

ExtruderTemperature:TochangetheextrudertemperatureusetheY+&Ybuttons.
ExtruderFlowRate: TochangetheflowrateusetheX+&Xbuttons.
HeadSpeed: TochangetheheadspeedusetheZUp&ZDnbuttons.
PausethePrint: PressingtheEscbuttonwillpausetheprintandsendtheextrudertothewaitposition
ParametersonlychangeattheendofthecurrentlyprintinglineofGcode.
Pausecanbeespeciallyusefulforembeddingitemsintheprint,suchaselectronicsorfluidsetc.

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G code Files

GcodeFiles

G code is the term used to describe atext file that contains commands to run a CNC machine. It is called G code
becausethelinesofcodethattellthemachinewhattodoarestartedwithaGcommandsuchasG1,G2etceach
commandhasadifferentfunctionG1beingastraightmove.ItalsohasMcodesthatcontrolotheraspectsofthe
machineM101turnstheextruderonandFcodesthatcontroltheheadspeed.

Gcodefilescanbeeditedmanuallyifrequiredwithanytexteditorsuchasnotepad.TheRapMan3requiresthat
thefileisintheformat6.3i.e.MugBig.bfbandhasthesuffix*.bfbbelowisasampleGcodefile.DetailsofalltheG
codesavailableareintheappendix

Setunitstomm G1X4.66Y0.19Z2.1F1644.878
M101
CoordinatesAbsolute G1X4.64Y0.55Z2.1F1302.439
G21 G1X4.62Y0.73Z2.1F960.0
G90 Extruder OFF LINESREMOVEDFORCLARITY
M103 G1X4.6Y0.85Z2.8F960.0
M105
Extruder Flowrate in RPMx10 G1X4.66Y0.06Z2.8F960.0 ExtruderOFF
M108S370.0 ExtruderTemperature M103
M104S235.0 M104S0
G1X9.19Y8.45Z0.61F240.0 ExtruderON M103 Extrudertemperaturesettozero
M101
G1X9.19Y8.36Z0.61F240.0
Startofraftslowspeedto

G1X9.1Y8.45Z0.61F240.0 givethickraft
LINESREMOVEDFORCLARITY
G1X7.61Y8.36Z0.61F240.0
G1X7.54Y8.39Z0.61F240.0
M103
G1X9.41Y8.6Z1.05F600.0
G1X9.39Y8.66Z1.05F960.0
Secondraftlayernormal
M101
G1X9.38Y8.66Z1.05F960.0 speed
G1X9.47Y8.57Z1.05F960.0
LINESREMOVEDFORCLARITY
G1X9.38Y8.14Z1.05F960.0
G1X9.43Y8.06Z1.05F960.0 Temperaturechangeforbaselayerofobject
M103
M104S230.0
topreventitstickingtofirmlytotheraft
M104S230.0
G1X4.71Y0.17Z1.4F2400.0
G1X4.66Y0.19Z1.4F3840.0
M101
G1X4.66Y0.4Z1.4F2400.0
G1X4.64Y0.58Z1.4F960.0
LINESREMOVEDFORCLARITY
G1X4.66Y0.16Z1.4F960.0
G1X4.66Y0.03Z1.48F960.0 Temperaturechangeformainlayersofobject,
M103
theSparametersetthetemperatureinC
M104S240.0
G1X4.66Y0.06Z1.67F1302.402
G1X4.66Y0.19Z1.75F1644.804
M101 G1commandfollowedbytheX,Y&Zcoordinatesfortheheadto
G1X4.64Y0.55Z1.75F1302.402
G1X4.62Y0.73Z1.75F960.0 movetoandtheFparameterfortheheadspeedinmm/minute
LINESREMOVEDFORCLARITY
G1X4.66Y0.16Z1.75F960.0
G1X4.66Y0.03Z1.83F960.0
M103
G1X4.66Y0.06Z2.02F1302.439

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First Print

FirstPrint

HavingcompletedtheprevioussectionsespeciallyExtruderfirstrun,Levellingthebed&Printingthetestraft
youarenowreadytoprintyourfirstrealobject.Traditionallythisisasmallmugtoallowyoutotoastyoursuccessful
buildoftheRapMan3.Ittakesapproximately15minutes.TheGcodetextfilefortheMiniMugtoprintinBfBABSis
onourwebsitewww.bitsfrombytes.com

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Fine tuning the Print (1)

TooCold
Thefilamentlookslikeitiswirywithstrandsthatpopupfromtheraft,
interlayeradhesionispoorornonexistent.

TooHot
This is harder to
diagnose, you might find
you can build the object
completely especially if
the object is small.
Generally speaking the characteristic of to high temperature is the
layersmeltintooneanothertoomuch,finedetailintheshapeishard
to maintain and the object is likely to exhibit more warping. The
easiestwaytodiagnosethisistoprintatestobjectthatasafinestem,

likethewineglass.

PrintspeedgreaterthenExtrusionrate
Thispullsthefilamentthinner,ifyouintendtorunlikethisyoumustmakeallowanceforitinSkeinforge,setthe
layerthicknesstoalowervalueindirectproportion.

PrintspeedlessthanExtrusionrate
Thisisusedtogoodeffectonthebaselayeroftheraft,morematerialispumpedoutthickeningthefilament.As
aboveifyouwishtomaintaindimensionalaccuracyinthemainbodyoftheprintyoumustmakeallowanceforitin
Skeinforge,setthelayerthicknesstoahighervalueindirectproportion.

Warping
Running 16mm/s at 40rpm with ABS is good for small objects but starts to cause
problems the larger the object gets. By the time any dimension is > 50mm warping
canbeasignificanteffectdependingontheactualdesign,longstraightsectionsbeing
the worst. Warping can be reduced if the print speed is reduced. Try 8mm/sec at
20rpm, this has produced objects > 100mm long with minimal warping, the obvious
downsideisthebuildtimeisdoubled.Anotheroptionistowarmtheprinttableor
blowhotairroundtheprint,bothmethodshavebeenusedtogoodeffect.

WarpingisatitsmostextremewithHDPE&PPbetterwithABSandatitsleastwith
PLA



Removaloftheobject
Theeasiestwayistoslideaflatbladeundertheraftandworkallthewayround,chancesaretheobjectwillpopoff
beforeyouarefinished.Alternativelyiftheobjectremainsstubbornlyfixedtothetable(probablyZsettolow).Push
thebladeasfarasyoucanunderoneedge,thengetaflatbladedscrewdriveranduseittohelpleaverofthepart.

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Fine tuning the Print (2)

Ovality
Whenprintingaroundobjectisitroundorveryslightlyoval?Youmay
need to run a large circular object to be sure of this. If there is any
ovality it will be aligned with either the X or Y axis. Take the small
diameter and note the axis that is running undersized. Check the belt
tension on that axis, also check all the pulleys are tight.
Thephotoshowsgoodprintstopandbottom,leftandrightareslightly
oval.

MaterialFeedfault
This otherwise good print was
spoilt by the material feed, the
plastic reel was too stiff on its
axle, the extra drag was too
much for the extruder and it
slippedafewtimesduringbuild.



Examiningtheprintedobject
Haveagoodlookatthefinishedobject.Theminimugisagoodsampleitem
toprint,itisquitestrong,itshouldbeveryhardtobreakit.Ifitdoesfracture
along the layers then try a slightly higher temperature. Are the sides of the
muggoodquality,withnohangingfilamentsontheoutside,itmayhaveslight
imperfectionsduetoZmoves.Insidewillhaveafewhairs,thisisnormal.The
minimugisagoodstartingpoint,butitwillnotallowthefinetuningrequired
torunoffsomeofthemoredemandingobjects,fornow,tryaseriesofmini
mugs,playwiththesettingsandobservetheresults,youwillsoonstarttoget
afeelforthemachineandhowthematerialbehaves.Continueuntilyoucan
reliablyproduceagoodmug.

Changesonthefly
Itispossibletochangetheextruderflowrate,theextrudertemperatureandtheheadspeedduringaprintrun(see
therunfilesection).Onceyoustartprintingyoucandofineadjustmentandimmediatelyobservetheresultinthe
print.Thisisalsoarealhelpwhentestingnewmaterials,itcansavemuchcardswapping&compilingoffiles.When
youseetheresultyouwant,makeanoteofthesettingsandedittheGCodefiletosuit.Iencourageyoutohavea
playwiththefeaturesandlearnwhatchangescanbemadetotheprintquality.Takecarewhenyourundowntothe
lowertemperaturesforthematerialinuse.

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Appendix i

Gcodeinstructions

Parametersin()areoptional

Command Parameter Note Example

GCodes
G0 X,Y,Z(F) RapidMotion G0X10.0Y20.0Z1.25
G1 X,Y,Z(F) CoordinateMotion* G1X10.0Y20.0Z1.25F960.0
G4 S Dwelltimeinseconds** G4S20
G21 none Millimetresasunits G21
G28 none Gotohomeposition G28
G90 none Absolutepositioning G90
G92 Setcurrentpositionashome G92
MCodes
M101 none TurnextruderonForward M101
M103 none Turnextruderoff M103
M104 S SettargettemperatureinC M104S145.0
M106 none Turnfanon M106
M107 none Turnfanoff M107
M108 S ExtruderspeedS=RPMx10i.e.S400=40RPM M108S400
M220 none TurnoffAUX
M221 none TurnonAUX
M222 S SpeedoffastXYmoves*** M222S500
M223 S SpeedoffastZmoves*** M223S500
M224 none Enableextruderduringfastmoves M224
M225 none Disableonextruderduringfastmoves M225
M226 none PauseRapManasifpausebuttonpressed**** M226

* Fisinmmperminutei.e.F960.0=16mm/s(960/60=16)
** Approximatetimeinseconds
*** S500isdefaultlargernumber=slowerspeedsmallernumber=fasterspeed.
**** Thiscommandcanbeusedtoembeddedelectronics,fillwithliquidetcduringaprint

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 Operation Manual: RapMan V3.1.0

Appendix ii

PolymerSpecifications

ThetablebelowhassomerecommendationforprintingwithBfBsuppliedpolymers.

Polymer ABS ABS HDPE HDPE PLA

Properties natural coloured natural coloured natural
PrintTemperature 240245 243248 210220
RaftTemperature 235 235 190
FirstLayer
Temperature 230 232 200
Warping 5 6 8 8 2
Printbasematerial Acrylic/ABS Acrylic/ABS HDPE HDPE MDF/Acrylic
Raftrequired Yes Yes Yes Yes Optional

Polymer PP LDPE PC uPVC**

Properties natural natural natural coloured
PrintTemperature 180220 nottested nottested nottested
RaftTemperature
FirstLayer
Temperature
Warping 9
Printbasematerial PP
Raftrequired Yes

*1=nowarping10=severewarping
**uPVCcangiveofftoxicfumesifruntohot&canblocktheheaternozzle

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