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Ultimaker 3 Installation And User Manual
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Ultimaker 3 Installation And User Manual

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Ultimaker 3
Installation and user manual
01765 694007
team@goprint3d.co.uk
www.goprint3d.co.uk
2017

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Summary of Contents for Ultimaker 3

  • Page 1 Ultimaker 3 Installation and user manual 01765 694007 team@goprint3d.co.uk www.goprint3d.co.uk 2017...
  • Page 2 Ultimaker 3. Always make sure that anyone who uses the 3D printer knows and understand the contents of the manual and makes the most out of the Ultimaker 3 or Ultimaker 3 Extended.

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    Table of Contents 1. Safety and compliance Safety messages Hazards 2. Introduction Main components Ultimaker 3 or Ultimaker 3 Extended Specifications 3. Unpack and install the hardware Unboxing Installing the hardware accessories 4. Set up for first use Print core installation...
  • Page 4 Preface This is the installation and user manual for your Ultimaker 3 or Ultimaker 3 Extended. This manual contains chapters about the installation and use of the 3D printer. The manual contains important information and instructions on safety, installation and use. Please read all information and follow the instructions and guidelines in this manual carefully.
  • Page 5 Certifications...

  • Page 6: Safety And Compliance

    Safety and compliance It is very important to work safely with your Ultimaker 3 or Ultimaker 3 Extended. This chapter is about safety and hazards. Please read all information carefully to prevent possible accidents and injuries.

  • Page 7: Safety Messages

    Never reach inside of the Ultimaker 3 or Ultimaker 3 Extended while it is in operation. Always control the printer with the button at the front or the power switch at the back. Allow the Ultimaker 3 or Ultimaker 3 Extended to cool down for 5 minutes before reaching inside.

  • Page 8: Hazards

    Mechanical Safety The Ultimaker 3 contains moving parts. No damage to the user will be expected from the drive belts. The force of the build plate is big enough to give some damage, so keep hands out of the reach of the build plate during operation.

  • Page 9: Introduction

    Introduction Meet your Ultimaker 3 and learn what the possibilities of this 3D printer are.

  • Page 10: Main Components Ultimaker 3 Or Ultimaker 3 Extended

    14. Power cable The model exposed is the Ultimaker 3. The main components of the Ultimaker 3 Extended are the same and on the exact same position. The only difference between the two printers is the height of the housing. See Specifications...

  • Page 11: Specifications

    Print head Dual extrusion print head with a unique auto-nozzle lifting system and swappable print cores Build volume Ultimaker 3 Ultimaker 3 Extended Left nozzle: 215 x 215 x 200 mm 215 x 215 x 300 mm Right nozzle: 215 x 215 x 200 mm...

  • Page 12: Unpack And Install The Hardware

    Unpack and install the hardware Carefully unpack your Ultimaker 3 or Ultimaker 3 Extended and set up the hardware according to the instructions in this chapter.

  • Page 13: Unboxing

    Remove the styrofoam part that is placed at the front bottom side of the Ultimaker 3. Take the Ultimaker 3, remove the bottom styrofoam part and place the Ultimaker 3 on a flat surface. Cut the zip tie that secures the print head.
  • Page 14 This in the box Besides the spools of PLA (350 g) and PLA (350 g), test print and a quick start guide, the Ultimaker 3 is supplied with several hardware accessories. Check if all these accessories are included before continuing.

  • Page 15: Installing The Hardware Accessories

    Guide the NFC cable through the notch in the back panel. If you have an Ultimaker 3 you should coil the remaining cable up against the back panel, so that it fits behind the cable cover properly. This is not necessary for the Ultimaker 3 Extended.
  • Page 16 Plug the power cable into the wall socket. Connect the other side of the power adapter to the Ultimaker 3. The flat side of the connector needs to face downwards. Before you push the cable firmly into the port, you have to pull the sliding mechanism back. When the...

  • Page 17: Set Up For First Use

    Set up for first use After installing the accessories, you have to set up the printer for the first use. In this chapter you find the steps to be taken for print core installation, loading the materials, setting up WiFi, updating the firmware and installing Cura software.

  • Page 18: Print Core Installation

    Type BB: for printing support material Each Ultimaker 3 comes with two AA print cores - of which one is already installed in print head slot 1 - and one BB print core. This means that it is possible to make prints with two build materials or with a build and support material.

  • Page 19: Loading Materials

    Loading materials Before you can start printing on the Ultimaker 3, you need to load materials into the printer. For the first use it is recommended to use the spools of PLA and PVA that came with the Ultimaker 3.
  • Page 20 Insert the end of the material into feeder 1 and gently push it until the material is grabbed by the feeder and is visible in the bowden tube. Select confirm to continue. Wait for the Ultimaker 3 to heat up print core 1 and to load the material into the print head. Confirm when the new material extrudes from the print head.

  • Page 21: Installing Wifi And Firmware

    System g Network g Run WiFi setup. Updating the firmware As a last step the Ultimaker 3 will check if the latest firmware is installed. If not, it will get the latest firmware from the network and install it. This will take several minutes.

  • Page 22: Installing Cura

    Installing Cura For the Ultimaker 3, we recommend our free slicer software Cura to prepare your 3D print files. Cura can accurately convert 3D models into 3D print files, preview the objects you want to print and send them to your Ultimaker 3.

  • Page 23: Operation

    Operation After installation, it is time to start printing with your Ultimaker 3. This chapter provides information about the control and display, materials, Cura, starting and monitoring your print, removing the print and support material, and changing materials and print cores.

  • Page 24: Control And Display

    Ultimaker 3. When turning on the Ultimaker 3 for the first time you will be guided through the welcome setup. When turning on your Ultimaker 3 after the first use, you will always see the Ultimaker logo first after which the main menu appears.

  • Page 25: Materials

    This setting is selected by default in all the Cura profiles for these materials on the Ultimaker 3. Please note that if you are printing PLA or Nylon in...

  • Page 26: Preparing A Print With Cura

    Preparing a print with Cura After you have added the Ultimaker 3 in Cura, the main interface will become visible. Here is an overview of the interface. When preparing a model, you always need to make sure that the print core and material configuration match with the configuration on your Ultimaker 3.
  • Page 27 In the bottom right corner, select “Save file” , “Save to USB” or “Print over network” depending on the printing method. Printing with one material Although the Ultimaker 3 allows printing with two materials at the same time, it is also possible to make single extrusion prints. The workflow for this is described below.

  • Page 28: Starting A Print

    Starting a print Printing from Cura The Ultimaker 3 offers the possibility to print over a network, either via WiFi or Ethernet. This can be done when your Ultimaker 3 and computer are connected to the same network. WiFi To start a print over WiFi via Cura, take the following steps: Install WiFi (if not done yet) by going to System g Network g Run WiFi setup and follow the steps on the display.
  • Page 29 Printing with USB When it is not possible to print via a network, 3D print files can still be transferred to your Ultimaker 3 with a USB stick. Place the USB stick in your computer. Slice your 3D model in Cura. Ensure that the print core and material configuration in Cura match the configuration on your Ultimaker 3 or change the configuration on your printer to match the settings in Cura.

  • Page 30: Monitoring Your Print

    To open the print monitor, click on the printer icon in the top right corner. The printer icon should have a green checkmark next to it when it is ready to start a print. While the Ultimaker 3 is printing blue dots will be displayed next to the printer icon.

  • Page 31: Removing The Print

    Use water If neither of these methods works, remove your print using water. Remove the glass plate and print from the Ultimaker 3. Be careful not to burn your fingers if the glass plate is still warm. Run cool tap water on the back side of the plate to cool quickly.

  • Page 32: Removing Support Material

    Removing support material Prints for which PVA has been used as support material require some post-processing to remove the PVA support material. This can be done by dissolving the PVA in water. Submerge the print in water By putting a print with PVA in water the PVA will slowly dissolve. You can however speed up this process in a few ways: •...

  • Page 33: Changing Materials And Print Cores

    Insert the material into the feeder and push it until the feeder grabs it. Confirm that you have inserted the material into the feeder by pushing the button at the front side of the Ultimaker 3. After the material has been forwarded, wait until it extrudes from the print head and then push on the button.

  • Page 34: Maintenance

    Maintenance In order to have a smoothly working Ultimaker 3 it is important to maintain it correctly. In this chapter the most important maintenance tips are described. Read them carefully in order to achieve the best results with your Ultimaker 3.

  • Page 35: Updating The Firmware

    Place the USB stick in the Ultimaker 3. Go to System g Maintenance g Update firmware. The Ultimaker 3 will detect it if there is a firmware file on the USB stick. Select the file to start the firmware update.

  • Page 36: Calibrations

    If the level of the build plate is off too much (and active leveling cannot compensate for this), manual leveling can be done. Go to System g Build plate g Manual leveling. Wait for the Ultimaker 3 to do its homing procedure and continue when the print head is in the center at the back of the build plate.
  • Page 37 For this it is only necessary to set the correct height by using the calibration card. Place the calibration card between the second nozzle and build plate. Rotate the button at the front of the Ultimaker 3 until it touches the calibration card and fine-tune it until you feel slight friction/resistance when moving the card.
  • Page 38 The Ultimaker 3 will now print a grid structure on the build plate. Wait until it is finished. Once the Ultimaker 3 has cooled down, remove the glass plate from the printer and place it on the XY calibration sheet. Ensure the printed grid it is exactly placed on the two rectangles on the sheet.

  • Page 39: Lubricating The Axles

    Z axles Unilube can also be applied to the Z axles. Put a single small drop on each of the axles. In the Ultimaker menu, go to System g Build plate. Select Raise and then Lower to move the build plate up and down to equally distribute the oil.

  • Page 40: Keeping The Printer Clean

    Keeping the printer clean For the best print results it is important to keep the Ultimaker 3 clean while using it. Therefore it is advised to not use the Ultimaker 3 in a room where it can easily be covered with dust and to remove small pieces of material that might be in the printer.
  • Page 41 Cleaning the feeders and bowden tubes After many hours of printing, or when material has been ground down, there is a chance that there are small filament particles in the feeders. These can end up in the bowden tubes or print cores, so it is important to clean the feeders. This can be done by blowing the particles out of the feeders or by using a vacuum cleaner.

  • Page 42: Tensioning The Belts

    Tensioning the belts Maintaining proper tension on the short belts is important to ensure good print quality. If the belts are too loose, the movement of the print head may not be accurate. In turn, the dimensions of the print can be different from what you expect.

  • Page 43: Storage And Handling Of Materials

    Storage and handling of materials When you have multiple spools of material in use or do not print with a material, it is very important that you store them properly. When stored incorrectly this may affect the quality and process-ability of the material. To keep your materials in optimal condition it is important that you keep them: •...
  • Page 44 Help & support There are a few printer specific issues that could occur while using your Ultimaker 3. In you run into one of these issues, you can troubleshoot the issue yourself with the help of the information on the next pages.

  • Page 45: Troubleshooting

    Error messages This is the complete list of error messages that can show up on the Ultimaker 3. For more information on troubleshooting these error messages please go to the error specific page on the Ultimaker website. • An unspecified error has occurred. Restart the printer or go to ultimaker.com/ER11.

  • Page 46: Clogged Print Core

    Clogged print core If there is no material flowing from the print core for at least 10 minutes it could suggest that there is some burnt material in the nozzle, leading to a nozzle clog. In this case, the print core should be cleaned by performing the below described method.
  • Page 47 Pull the material out with a quick, firm pull once the 2 seconds have passed. Cut off the tip of the filament that you have just pulled out. Check the color and the shape of the tip of the filament and compare it with the pictures below. Repeat this hot pull process until no more degraded material is visible on the tip of the filament and the tip of the filament looks as clean as the picture on the right.

  • Page 48: Grinding Pva

    Grinding PVA There could be several reasons for grinding material, but specifically for PVA incorrect handling or storage of the material can lead to grinding. PVA should be printed and stored at a low humidity to avoid problems while printing. We advise a humidity below 50% for storage and below 55% while printing.

  • Page 49: Print Core Not Recognized

    Print core not recognized If a print core is not recognized by the Ultimaker 3, the printer will inform you about this. The main reason for this are dirty contact points on the chip at the back side of the print core. When this happens, clean the contact points with a cotton swab...

  • Page 50: Print Quality Issues

    Small particles of material in the feeder or bowden tube • A partial clog in the print core When your Ultimaker 3 is suffering from under extrusion, it is advised to take a look at this page for detailed troubleshooting instructions. Warping Warping occurs due to material shrinkage whilst 3D printing, which causes the corners of the print to lift and detach from the build plate.

This manual is also suitable for:

3 extended