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Legal Notice The information in this document is subject to change without notice. Beijing Tiertime Technology Co. Ltd. (Tiertime) MAKES NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND WITH REGARD TO THIS MATERIAL, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. Beijing Tiertime Technology Co. Ltd. shall not be liable for errors contained herein or for incidental or consequential damages in connection with the furnishing, performance, or use of this Material.
1. Introduction 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... 3 1.1 HOW TO USE THIS MANUAL .................................................................................................. 3 1.2PRECAUTIONS..................................................................................................................... 3 1.2.1 Safety .......................................................................................
1. Introduction 1. Introduction 1.1 How to use this manual This User Manual is divided into four sections which cover Introduction, Overview, Operation, and Troubleshooting, respectively. Please read this manual carefully before install and operate this machine. Keep this manual handy and refer to it when it is needed. 1.2 Precautions Please read the following precautions carefully before operating the printer. 1.2.1 Safety UP! printer can only be used with the power adapters supplied by Tiertime.
1. Introduction Gloves: When performing a certain maintenance work, machine may be hot and protective gloves are required to avoid being burnt. Safety Glasses: Wear safety glasses to avoid injury to the eyes. 1.2.2 Protection UP! printer must not be exposed to water or rain, otherwise may cause damage. Do not shut down UP! Printer or pull the USB cable during the process of loading a digital model to Printer, otherwise the model data may not be transmitted successfully.
2. Overview 2. Overview UP! mini is designed with ultimate portability and simplicity in mind. The machine and software allow you to print great models with only a few keystrokes, even you are a first time user of 3D printer. UP! mini uses a nozzle to deposit molten plastic, and the printed parts are strong and durable with high accuracy. 2.1 Appearance Init.
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2. Overview Y axis X axis Z axis Figure 2-6 Axis 2.2 Specifications 2.2.1 Physical Specifications Printing Material ABS or PLA Material Color White/Black/Red/Yellow/Blue/Green Layer Thickness 0.2－0.35 mm Print Speed 10－100 cm3/h Print Size 120×120×120 mm Printer Weight 5 KG (11 lb) Printer Size 240 × 350 × 350 mm 2.2.
2. Overview Input Format STL OS compatibility Windows XP/Vista/7/8; Mac 2.2.
3. Operation 3. Operation 3.1 Preparation 3.1.1 Installation Figure 3-1 Print head installation Extrusion Head The extrusion head of an UP! mini is fastened by three magnetic buckles. When assembling extrusion head, make sure the extrusion head is securely contacted with all the three buckles at right position.
3. Operation Figure 3-2 Print Platform Platform Insert the cell board into the platform slot. Moderate force is recommended when inserting the cellboard. Figure 3-3 Roller Shaft Roller shaft Insert the roller shaft into the hole at the back of printer, and press it downward. The roller shaft should fit in the hole nicely.
3. Operation Material Extrusion (top view) Figure 3-4 Material Wiring (1) Connect power adapter to power interface. (2) Put a spool of material on the roller shaft, find the end of the material, insert it into filament tube, pass the material through the tube, and pass the tube through the top of the machine cover. (3) Start UP! Software installed on a computer (If you have not already installed the software, please refer to the software installation procedure in section 3.1.
3. Operation and starts pulling it through the extrusion head. From the nozzle side, a string of melted filament will be extruded. (Windows version) (Mac version) Figure 3-5 Maintenance Dialog 3.1.2 Software Installation The UP! software is available on the website www.pp3dp.com. It is free for everyone who owns UP! 3D printer. After downloading the software installer from the website, start the "setup.exe", and install the program to a specified directory (Default location is c:/Program files/UP).
3. Operation install UP! software, UP! printer drivers, and UP! sample files. Figure 3-6 UP! Software Directory 3.1.3 Driver Installation Connect the printer to a computer with a USB cable. The computer should pop up the “Found New Hardware Wizard” window. Choose “No, not this time” option, and then click “Next”. Choose “Install from a list or specific location (Advanced)”, and click “Next”.
3. Operation Click “Browse”, and choose C:\Program Files\UP\Driver, then “Next”. Figure 3-8 Snap shots of UP! Software installation The following dialogue box pops up. Choose “Continue Anyway”, and the drivers will install automatically. Figure 3-9 Snap shots of UP! Software installation If you have any problems installing the driver, or get a "Winusb.dll not found" error, please refer to the driver section in the troubleshooting section of this manual.
3. Operation 3.2 Using the basic functions 3.2.1 Start the program Click on the up as the following: icon in a computer desktop. The program should open Figure 3-10 UP! Program Startup Screen 3.2.2 Loading a 3D model Click “File / Open” or on the toolbar and select the model you want to load. UP! software supports STL files (the standard input format for 3D printing), and the UP3 format (UP’s proprietary compressed STL format). Move the mouse onto the model, and click the left mouse button.
3. Operation (Windows version) (Mac version) Figure 3-11 UP! Program Model Screen TIP: You can open several models and print them all at the same time. Just repeat the open model procedure for each model you want to add. See the “Placing models on the build platform” section for more information. Unloading a model: click the left mouse button on the model to select it, and then click “Unload” on the toolbar, or click the right mouse button while over the model and a context menu will appear.
3. Operation Figure 3-12 Manu Option of unloading models Saving a model: Choose the model you want to save, then click “Save”. The file is saved in UP3 format and its size is 12%~18% of the original STL file. This is a convenient format for users to archive or transfer models. Note on STL files: To print a model correctly, all the triangles of the model need to have their normal facing outward. The UP! software uses color to indicate whether a model has problems or not.
3. Operation Figure 3-14 Fixing STL problems Merging models: Separate models can be merged into one model by using “Merge” option from the “Edit” menu. Simply open all the models that you want to merge and arrange them the way you want on the platform and click on the “Merge” option. When you then save the file, all the models will be saved as a single STL file. 3.2.3 View Options You can easily observe a loaded model in different views with convenient mouse and keyboard combinations.
3. Operation (Windows version) (Mac version) Figure 3-15 Preset View Options 3.2.4 Model Transformations Model Transformation can be achieved through Edit menu or push buttons on the toolbar: (Windows version) Figure 3-16 Model Transformation options (Mac version) Moving a model: Click the “Move” button and, in the text box, choose, or input, the distance you want to move the model, then choose the axis (direction) along which you want to move the model by clicking the axis button.
3. Operation Procedure: 1. Click on “Move”; 2. Input “-5” in the text box; 3. Click the “Z axis”. Figure 3-17 Move a model Tip: If you hold down the ‘Ctrl’ key, you can simply drag the model to whatever position you want. Rotating a model: Click the “Rotate” button on the toolbar, in the text box, choose or input the value of rotating degree you want to rotate the model, then choose the axis along which the model rotates by clicking the axis button. For example: Rotate the model around Y axis by 30o.
3. Operation Scaling a model: Click “Scale”, choose or input a scaling ratio in the text box, then either scale the model uniformly along all three axes by clicking the scale button again, or choose the axis along which you want to scale the model, if you only want to scale along one axis. Example1: Scale up the model uniformly by 2.0 times. Procedures: 1. Click “Scale”; 2. Input 2.0 in the text box; 3. Click “Scale” again. Example2: Scale up the model by 1.2 times along the Z axis only. Procedures: 1.
3. Operation Auto Place: Clicking the “Auto Place” button on the far right of the toolbar, can automatically place all the loaded models on the platform in an optimized position. When there is more than one model on the platform, using “Auto Place” is always recommended. Manually Place Models: Press "Ctrl" key, and choose the target model by pressing and holding the left mouse button. Move the mouse and drag the model to the desired position.
3. Operation (Windows version) (Mac version) Figure 3-19 Initializing a printer TIP: Under the condition that your printer is not responding properly, the first thing to try is to re-initialize the printer by clicking the ‘Initialize’ option in the ‘3D Print’ menu. 3.3.2 Preparing Platform Before printing, print platform must be prepared, so that the model can adhere to the platform, and does not move during the printing process.
3. Operation mechanical bond with the bottom surface, which prevents the model from lifting. When inserting or extracting a cell board into the platform slot, moderate strength should be well-distributed, without using strong force, and hold the metal guides on both sides to prevent the print platform from moving. Figure 3-19 Installing a cell board 3.3.3 Calibrating Nozzle Height This section is the most important section of the entire manual.
3. Operation Figure 3-20 "Print" Dialog The snapshot of "Print" Dialog in Figure 3-20 shows that the distance of the from platform to nozzle is 135.9mm, after the printer is initialized, and before the printing starts. To figure out the correct nozzle height, please follow the following steps: 1 - Open the “Maintain” dialogue box from the “3D Print” menu. The current nozzle height is indicated as shown in the picture below.
3. Operation (Mac version) Figure 3-21 "Maintain" Dialog 2 - In the text box, type in the height to which you want the platform to move, and click the “To” button. In the above example, the platform moves to 122mm above the platform’s original position Figure 3-22 Gap between platform and nozzle 3 - Check the distance between the nozzle and the platform. If, for example, the platform appears to be far away (say, 7mm) from the nozzle, increase the number in the text box to 130 and click the “To” button.
3. Operation 4 - Once the platform is about 1mm away from the nozzle, start increasing the number in the text box by 0.1mm increment and click the “To” button. Repeat this step, until the platform is within 0.2mm away from the nozzle. 5 - Click the “Set Nozzle Height” in the Maintenance dialogue Figure 3-24 Click the "Set Nozzle Height" NOTE: Once you setup the nozzle height, you do not need to do it again, as it is automatically recorded in the “Setup” Screen.
3. Operation TIP: If you happen to crash the platform into the nozzle while making height adjustment, it is good practice to re-initialize the printer before undertaking any other operations. 3.3.4 Other Maintenance Options Click “Maintain” on the “3D Print” menu, and the following dialog box pops up: (Windows version) (Mac version) Figure 3-25 Maintenance Dialog Extrude: Extrudes material out of print nozzle. Click on this button, and the nozzle is heated.
3. Operation molten filament for a while, and machine beeps again when it finishes extruding. This function is frequently used when changing new material (See section 6), and it can be also used to test whether the nozzle is working properly Withdraw: Withdraws the material from the extrusion head. This function is used when the material runs out, or the nozzle needs to be changed.
3. Operation Pause Print: This button allows you to pause an ongoing print job, and you can resume the print job from where it was stopped. This function is very useful if you, for example, want to change different material color during a printing process. Another popular use for pausing a print job is to allow user to do some intermediate work, for instance, drop some objects into the inside of the model, and then resume the unfinished print job.
3. Operation 3.3.6 Print Setup Options Click menu “3D Print->Setup”. The following dialog box pops up: (Mac version) (Windows version) Figure 3-26 Setup Dialog Print Options Z Resolution: Set the print resolution (layer thickness) of the printer. This can be a choice between 0.2mm to 0.35mm per layer. Base Height: This is the value of raft thickness before the support layer is printed under the part.
3. Operation Part Options Surface: This parameter determines how many layers are needed to form the bottom of a part. For example, if value is set to 3, the machine will print 3 complete layers before going into non-solid mode. This does not, however, affect the side wall thickness on non-solid parts, which are all the same thickness (approximately 1.5mm) regardless of the infill mode. Angle: The part angle determines at what point solid (dense) support material gets used.
3. Operation The part has an outer wall thickness of solid plastic (about 1.5mm), but its interior is filled with a largely spaced support structure. In previous version, this was referred as “Big hole” Figure 3-27 Support structure generated by different infill options Shell Mode: This mode prints model with no infill structure, which helps improve efficiency by printing hollow model. If you simply want to print model for review, you can choose this mode.
3. Operation Please check the following pictures for the differences of the two printing modes.
3. Operation Support Options Dense: For a model printed by UP! 3D printer, the inside of the model is either hollow or use infill structure to support the contour of the model. UP! software is smart enough to figure out which the portion of a model can be hollow, and how the model is generated with the contour and infill. The area that the contour and infill meets is critical for the stability of the model, because if not calculated correctly, the contour could fall into infill.
3. Operation For 3D printing, a lot of discussions are related to support structure, which can affect print quality, time to print, material consumption, easiness of support removal, and etc.. The basic idea is that the less support structure generated, the better, because the material consumed will be less, and printing time will be shorter, however, surface quality is another factor you have to consider.
3. Operation Figure 3-31 Infill Gap Area: The surface area above which support structure gets generated. If the value is set to 5 mm2, for instance, there will be no support structure generated for all the overhanging surface with area less than 5 mm2. Benefit? Material is saved and faster print speed is achieved. Figure 3-32 Support Structure for Small Area Other Options Stable Support: Stable support creates more solid support.
4. Printing 4. Printing TIP: One of the keys to successful printing on UP! mini is platform preparation and preheating, particularly with large parts. Generally, platform is heated, but not evenly. The edges are always a little colder than the center of the platform, which is the primary reason that causes warping. The best practice to prevent warping is to ensure: a) the platform is perfectly level, b) nozzle height is correctly set c) platform is very well preheated.
4. Printing When the "door" is opened, the heat generated from extrusion head is blown away fast by the wind from the fan, and models can be solidified in very short time so that the surfaces in these models can have better quality. Regular models, if printed with "door" open, could have warping or cracking in the printed parts. Click menu “3D Print->Print”, and the Print Dialog box pops up. Choose “Preferences” to set printing parameters. Click “OK” to begin the print job.
4. Printing Print Options: Speed: Fine, Normal or Fast. This option determines the speed UP! printer prints. As a general rule, the slower you print, the better the print quality. For tall parts, printing at Fast speed could be problematic, because printer could vibrate to a certain extent to which could affect print quality.
4. Printing Model info: 30×30×30 mm layer thickness: 0.2 mm Figure 4-3 Different parts with different settings The prices shown in Figure 4-3 are based on the ABS material sold on pp3dp.com at cost of USD35 for a 700g roll. The easiest way to calculate how much material one print is about to consume is to use the “Print Preview” option under the “3D Print” menu.
5. Model Removal 5. Model Removal 1. After a print job finishes, printer gives off beeps, and nozzle and platform are not long heated. 2. Remove the cell board from the print platform with the printed part 3. Gently slide the shovel, an accessory that comes with the machine, under the printed model and slowly wiggle it back and forth to pry loose the model. Remember to wear gloves during the whole time of printing, because the board and the model maybe still hot.
5. Model Removal Figure 5-1 Removing Model after Print CAUTION: It is strongly recommended that gloves should be worn during the whole process of model removal. 4. Removing Support Material Figure 5-2 Support Structure 3D Printed models are composed of two parts. One part is the model itself, and the other one is the support structure used to support any overhanging portion of the model.
5. Model Removal Figure 5-3 Support Structure Removal It takes some practice to get comfortable with removing support structure, but it can become quite enjoyable, and, someone says, therapeutic. We, as the maker of UP! machine, could not agree more. CAUTION: ALWAYS WEAR SAFETY GLASSES WHEN REMOVING SUPPORT STRUCTURE, ESPECIALLY WHEN WORKING WITH PLA MATERIAL. CAUTION: Support structure and tools are sharp. Wear gloves and safety glasses when removing the part from printer.
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6. Maintenance 6. Maintenance 6.1 Changing the Material Withdraw the leftover material from printer. Initialize printer and choose “3D print->Maintain”. Click “Withdraw” . Printer automatically begins heating up nozzle. When temperature of nozzle reaches about 260°C, printer gives off beep, and you can gently pull the filament, and withdraw the material out of print head.
6. Maintenance 6.2 Vertical Calibration The vertical calibration procedure is to ensure that the print platform of UP! printer is level and that printer prints consistently in the X, Y and Z axes. First, UP! Software provides a calibration model located in the directory "Example". Print the calibration model on your printer. Figure 6-1 Calibration Model After the calibration model is printed, measure the X1 and X2 length, as shown in Figure 6-2.
6. Maintenance Figure 6-3 Snapshot of Calibration Dialog IMPORTANT NOTE: Before you enter any new calibration values, always click the “Reset” button, otherwise the new values get added to the old ones. Before you enter any new values, the bar at the very top of the screen should read: XY: 0.00 deg / XZ: 0.00 deg. Next, from the printed calibration part, get the center ‘L’ shaped component on the front, and measure its Z deviation as shown in Figure 6-3. Put the exact value into the Z box.
6. Maintenance 6.3 Cleaning print nozzle Nozzle may be covered with some oxidized ABS after a lot of prints. These oxidized ABS could be melt during a print job, and create burnt marks on the model being printed. To avoid this problem, nozzle needs to be cleaned regularly. Firstly, in order to melt the oxidized ABS, nozzle needs to be heated. Use the “Extrude” button in the “Maintain” dialogue, then lower the platform to the bottom.
6. Maintenance 6.4 Removing / Changing nozzle If your nozzle gets clogged, you need to remove it from print head, and clean it or change a new one. To remove nozzle, use the nozzle wrench provided in the toolkit that comes with your UP! mini Printer. Generally, it is much easier to remove the nozzle when it is hot. If you need more force than the nozzle wrench can provide, use it with a small Allen Key provided in the tool kit. Figure 6-6 Changing Nozzle 6.
7. Tips & Tricks 7. Tips & Tricks How to print a large part? Large parts can sometimes have their corners warping from the print platform, which can cause the part to distort. This is caused by uneven temperature across the surface of the platform. Preheating the platform before printing large parts is essential to minimize the warping. Also, the faster you can print such parts, the less lifting you are likely to get.
8. Troubleshooting 8. Troubleshooting Problem or error message No power Solution Verify power cord is securely plugged in. Extrusion head or platform fails to reach operating temperature 1. Verify printer is initialized. if not, initialize the printer 2. Heating block is damaged, replace it Filament is stuck in the extrusion head. See 3.3.3 Extrusion head is not Maintain (Extrude) extruding The gap between bearing and filament feed rollers is too wide. 1.
8. Troubleshooting Figure 8-1 System Properties Dialog 2. Click “Device Manager” button, and Device Manager Dialog pops up. Find the entry “3DPrinter@FreeMC” in the USB section. Figure 8-2 Device Manager Dialog 3. Click the right mouse button and select the “Uninstall” option. The confirmation dialog box will appear. Click “OK”.
8. Troubleshooting Figure 8-3 Uninstall Old Driver 4. Install the latest UP! Software. 5. Unplug the USB cable, then plug it in again. Windows will find a new device. Manually select driver folder (Default is C:\Program files\UP\Driver or C:\Program files(X86)\UP\Driver if Windows is a 64bit system.); 6.
8. Troubleshooting Option 2: Update the driver manually. 1. Install the latest UP! software. 2. Find the “3DPrint@FreeMC” driver in the “Device Manager” dialog box (it should be located in the USB section). Figure 8-5 Device Manager Dialog 3. Select “Update Driver.” in the right click menu.
8. Troubleshooting 4. Select the UP! driver folder (the default is C:\program files\UP\Driver). Figure 8-7 Select Driver Directory 5. A “Free Motion Card” section should now have been created in Device Manager.
