Zone

01: 3D Printing

Owner

Freeside

Permissions

For general use by members. Treat equipment as if it were your own and put away as or better than you found it.

Restrictions

TODO: specify all the restrictions

Use only with members-only terminal connected to The Kraken
Use with 3mm ABS, PLA, and HIPS filament only

About

Freeside member Redbeard designed this custom build RepRap machine. In 2012, Redbeard taught a series of 3D printing classes/meetups and used the proceeds to donate all the material and hardware to Freeside. The printer was assembled and commissioned by Freeside members. In 2014, Freeside members designed and built a new printing platform that can be easily leveled, and built a new extruder assembly, drastically increasing the quality of prints the Kraken is able to produce.

In late 2015, The Kraken was rebuilt into a "Wilson" RepRap design by Michelle. The printer was upgraded with an auto leveling sensor. In February 2016, The Kraken was back in action and printing again. Info about the rebuild can be found here: Kraken Rebuild Details

Basic Instructions

TODO: complete instructions on use

Log in with your credentials to the attached members-only terminal.
~~Check that the print-bed is square and centered on the platform.~~ You should not need to re-level the bed unless your print suffers from noticeable deleveling. The printer has an auto bed tramming feature so the bed does not need to be leveled unless it becomes significantly out of level.
Use a clean paper towel to clean printer's PEI surface with acetone. There should be a small labeled bottle nearby the printer.
The only tweaks you should need to make for your prints are layer thickness and infill style/density related.
Please do not change the bed level or limit switches.

Basic Operational Knowledge

How to home
How to slice and send a job to it
How to abort a failed job
How to properly remove a print once it has completed
How to load and unload filament (optional, but you'll be stuck with the loaded plastic type and color)

Advanced Operational Knowledge

There are some more advanced tasks that not everyone needs to know to print, but needs to know to troubleshoot:

How the auto bed tramming feature works
How to tighten belts, fix misaligned axises, replace worn out parts, etc.

Slic3r Preconfigured Profiles

There are several Print and Filament profiles that have been preconfigured for Slic3r. Use these before creating or modifying your own.

Print Profiles

The preconfigured print profiles will give you a good starting point for adjusting print quality. If you create a new profile, be sure you name it descriptively and include the name of the printer in the profile.

Kraken-Default: Ideal configuration settings for print height, speed, and infill. Supports are disabled by default.
Kraken-Speedtest: Testing configuration for tuning printer speeds. Not guaranteed to work. Use at your own risk.

Filament Profiles

There should be profiles configured for filament colors. Different colors of filament will work best at slightly different temperatures. If you are printing with a new color be sure you save a new profile for the name of the color.

Kraken-PLA-TransGreen: 205C extruder, 60C bed
Kraken-PLA-DarkGreen: 215C extruder, 65C bed

Specifications and Detailed Instructions

This printer is intended to be a dedicated PLA printer

PLA Plastic - Polylactic Acid or polylactide (PLA) is a thermoplastic aliphatic polyester derived from renewable resources, such as corn starch (in the United States), tapioca roots, chips or starch (mostly in Asia), or sugarcane (in the rest of the world).

General Specs:

Approx cost: $700
Printing size: 200mm x 200mm x 200mm
Precision: 0.1mm (position/printing)
Printed Parts: PLA components by Redbeard
Non-Printed Parts: Extruded aluminum frame using components from Misumi.com
Control Card: RAMPS 1.4 with Polulu stepper drivers running Sprinter firmware
Endstops: Mechanical
Motors: 5x Kysan-1124090 Nema 17 Stepper Motor with 1.8°/step
Extruder Nozzle: J-Head Mk V-BV 0.35 for 3mm pla

- nozzle temp 180-220°C

Heated Bed: Prusa PCB Heated Bed

- bed temp 60°C

Kraken BOM Bill Of Materials

Rebuild Specs:

Approx cost: $100
Printing size: 200mm x 200mm x 200mm
Printed parts: ABS components by Michelle and Freeside
Z probe: LJ18A3-8-Z/BX 8mm Approach Sensor Inductive Proximity
Extruder: Budaschnozzle 2.0c, 3mm filament, 0.5mm nozzle
Bed surface: 1/8" aluminum plate, 0.03" PEI surface
Kraken Rebuild Details

Warnings

Keep loose hair and sleeves away from all moving parts.
*****WARNING***** Long/loose hair may become entangled in the z-axis(vertical) threaded rods and all motor pulleys and idlers.
Kraken Print-bed operating temperature is 60°C - 110°C
Kraken Print nozzle/extruder operating temperature range is 180-260°C

Safety

Keep loose hair and sleeves away from all moving parts.
Do not touch the printer nozzle/extruder while hot during print cycle.
PLA Plastic sample MSDS
PLA is not intended for:

(A) in any application which is intended for any internal contact with human body fluids or body tissues

(B) as a critical component in any medical device that supports or sustains human life; and

(C) specifically pregnant women or in any applications designed specifically to promote or interfere with human reproduction.

Gallery

2013-08-17 19.15.54.jpg

The Kraken and his creator Redbeard
Kraken2 loop.gif

Kraken printing a kraken

The Kraken