BFB-3000
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 (Tinkerware, Sketchup, Inventor, 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 can use either AXON (Windows only) or KISSlicer. AXON is the old standby (maintained by the hardware vendor) and KISSlicer is the software of the future (I haven't tried it, but a lot of users love it). Follow the previous links to get the software. The user manuals are found here, here, and here.
The important things to remember are:
- You are printing in PLA, so make sure the settings reflect this (this makes sure your printing temperature is correct).
- You are printing on a BFB-3000 with 1 head. (Yeah, I know, the sticker at the back of the printer says it is a dual-head printer. The second head was interfering with printing and was removed.)
- 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.
- Always print with a raft. The BFB-3000 doesn't have a heated bed, so a raft makes it easier to keep your print on the bed when you want it to be and easier to remove it when you don't. 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.
- Make sure that you save the results as an gcode file with a "bfb" extension. It's also good to use an "8.3" file name. Even though the file has a "bfb" extension, it's still just ASCII text, just with a few printer-specific gcode commands.
Ok, so now you have a bfb 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. NEVER erase a file from the card - just copy new files onto the card. If the card gets full, reformat it. Why is this? The printer is a little slow reading the card and a fragmented card will slow the file reading down even more - sometimes enough that the printer stalls during printing.
Preparing the Printer to Print
By now you should have a model that you want to print and you have converted it into an bfb 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 BFB-3000 manual has all of the details. For those who are impatient or don’t like to read manuals, here is a summary of the instructions:
- Turn the printer on. As you face the front of the printer, the power switch is on the control box on the front. (Plug the printer in if you need to.) You should see the LCD panel light up and a menu will appear.
- Wipe the build platform with a clean paper towel to get the dust off of it. Dust tends to make it harder for the plastic to stick.
- (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, select the "level bed" option. The printer manual has a really good walkthrough for this procedure. The process first does a "coarse leveling" and then a "fine leveling". I usually only do it once, but use a short length of steel rod (found in the toolbox) laying down on the build platform so that you can roll it under the nozzle with one finger. If you want to do the second "fine leveling", try the Makerbot business card (found in the toolbox) as a feeler gauge.
- The Operations manual suggests printing a "raft check file". This is good if you are new to the printer or the leveling of the bed is questionable. The raft check file can be downloaded from here: [RaftPLA_CheckFile_0.bfb]. The Operations manual also talks about printing the "duck" as a first print to make sure the printer is operating properly. The "duck" file is located here: [Duck1P_E1_PLA.bfb]. (Before too long you can download these print files. For now they should be found on the SD card in the printer.)
- Put your SD card into the printer (slot on the right side of the control box), use the control panel on the front of the printer to select your file, and PRINT!
- When the print is finished, the print head will move out of the way. The next step is to pry your print off the print bed. In the printer tools box (on the nearby set of shelves) there is a metal scraper that is designed to help loosen your print from the print bed. Go slow and gently, trying not to scar the print bed.
- 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.