Makerbot Replicator

Preparing your model for printing

First, you need a 3D model to print. You can design it yourself using any number of 3D CAD software packages (TinkerCad, Sketchup, Inventor, Fusion 360, Alibre Design, Openscad, etc). Export your model as an STL file (depending on your software, you may need an optional add-on feature to do this). If you don’t want to agony of designing your own object to print, there are a LARGE number of interesting things to print that can be found on Thingiverse. Just look for things that have STL files that you can download.

Once you have an STL file, an optional step is to have it checked out for errors. This is pretty easy to do and can save you some grief later on. The easiest way to check (and possibly repair) your STL file is to upload it to the netfabb Cloud Service. This service with look over your model and fix things that might give the printer problems. Netfabb will then email you back the fixed STL file (the turnaround time is usually only a couple of minutes).

Next, convert your STL file into a format the printer understands. To do this you must use Makerware. (ReplicatorG is the old software and no longer supports the latest Makerbot firmware). You may need to get a more recent version of Makerware that supports generating an ".x3g" file format. Follow the previous links to get the software. There user manuals are found here. The important things to remember are:

1. You are printing on a Replicator with 1 head.
2. You are printing in ABS, so make sure the settings reflect this (this makes sure your printing temperature is correct).
3. If your model has parts that hang out over open air, print with “support” turned on. This keeps those bits that are hanging out from falling down while printing.
4. Really consider printing with a raft. It makes your printed model much easier to peal off the print bed. Yes, it may require a little cleanup of your model after you print it and peal off the raft, but that’s a small price to pay for making it easier to pry your stuff off of the print bed.
5. Make sure that you save the results as an X3G file, not as an S3G file or a basic gcode file. What’s the difference? A basic gcode file is a text file – nice an easy to read if you want to see what’s going on, but the printer doesn’t like it. An X3G file has all the same info in a binary format that the printer likes. An S3G file is an older file format that the printer no longer recognizes.

Ok, so now you have an X3G file. Copy it onto an SD card. There should be one in the slot on the printer if you want to use it, but using your own card can make it easier to find the file when you are ready to print. If you use your own card, use a 2GB (or smaller) card that it is formatted as a “FAT” or “FAT16” format. These can be somewhat hard to buy, but you can use a microSD card sold for cell phones and put it in a little adapter so it is the size of a normal SD card.

P.S. If you want to see what Gcode looks like, you can tell Makerware to generate a gcode file instead of an X3G file. If the gcode in the resulting file still looks like greek to you, the internet is full of guides to interpreting the commands. One is found here.

Preparing the Printer to Print

By now you should have a model that you want to print and you have converted it into an X3G file. (If not, go back and read about how to prepare your model).

The next step is to get the printer set up to print. The Replicator manual has all of the details (except always level the build platform when it’s hot). For those who are impatient or don’t like to read manuals, here is a summary of the instructions:

1. Turn the printer on. As you face the front of the printer, the power switch is on the back of the printer at the lower right. (Plug the printer in if you need to.) This should turn the lights on so it’s easier to see what you are doing in the next steps.
2. Wipe the build platform (the “golden” surface) with a clean paper towel to get the dust off of it. Dust tends to make it harder for the plastic to stick.
3. (Optional) Look the build surface over and see if there is any gunk (or old plastic) stuck to it from previous prints. If there is, and the build platform is at room temperature, use a little acetone to clean the build platform. There is a bottle of acetone on the shelves by the printer and a bag of cotton swabs in the “printer tools” toolbox.
4. (Optional, but recommended) You can skip this step if you have recently performed it, or the last person that printed has performed it, and you haven’t had to use a lot of force to get the last printed object off of the build platform. Ok, now using the control panel, preheat the build platform. It’s going to get hot enough to boil water, so don’t tough the print surface after it heats up. Once it is over 100 °C, use the control panel to “level the build platform”. The calibrated tool that you will use is the Makerbot business card that is found in the printer tool box. Don’t use a metal shim, as it will get too hot to handle very quickly (remember 100 °C?). Instructions on the control panel will walk you through the steps.
5. (Optional) You can change the color of the plastic loaded into the printer. The instructions are in the manual, but the control panel on the front of the printer will walk you through unloading one spool of plastic and loading another.
6. Put your SD card into the printer (slot on the right side), use the control panel on the front of the printer to select your file, and PRINT!
7. When the print is finished, the print head will move out of the way. The next step is to sit down, open up a beer and WAIT. Wait until the build platform has cooled down so that you can touch it. When the build platform is fairly cool your printed object will be much easier to remove. If your object is still stuck to the build platform, you can use a fingernail or some plastic wedge to gently pry it loose. DON’T use a metal object to pry it loose!. If you damage the golden surface (it’s really plastic tape on an aluminum plate) you will go through a lot of grief to re-tape the surface.
8. Got more things to print? Go back to step 1!

Finally, once you've proven your exquisite printing skills, here's some guidance on Tips for Quality Printing.