Hello! You've probably gotten here because you hit the QR tag on the 3D printer.
Students are welcome to use either 3D printer, but we do have to have some procedure so that everybody can access them.
Firstly, the 3D printers are remotely managed through Octoprint. Any direct prints may get canceled if I panic about what's going on.
Access
If you aren't in C104, you should talk to Professor Sexton (cwsexton at iu dot edu) about access and what your projects are. In general, I just want to make sure prints are successful and we don't end up with downtime for repairs.
Filament changes
The older Mk3S printer is fairly straightforward. Use the menu on the printer to unload the current filament and then feed new filament through. Be careful to keep the filament spool from unwinding by putting the end through one of the side holes.
For the newer machine, filament loading/unloading is more complicated due to the MMU. All loads and unloads have to be done through the buffer on the top, and use the filament menu on the printer. Failure to properly load/unload can result in downtime. Discuss with me about how that works, and I'll be happy to demo it.
Filament types
You are welcome to bring your own filament if one of ours is not meeting to the project you have in mind. The multicolor printer is particularly great for this!
We can support most PLA and PETG filaments with some exceptions.
We cannot support ASA/ABS/PC because we do not have fume extraction. These filaments offgas, and are a liability.
We also cannot support filaments with filler material such as wood-filled, carbon fiber, glitter, metal, etc. due to not having a hardened nozzle installed. If you want one of these materials, we can consider a nozzle upgrade (please give me a reason!!!).
2025-02-13 by u/cws