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Contents

• Getting Started
• Printing
  • Exporting a File
  • Slicing
  • Starting a Print
  • Tips
• Troubleshooting

Getting Started

The printers we have in the lab are two Ender 3, two Ender 5, and a Bambu Carbon X1. Each has their advantages and disadvantages. But they all follow the same steps to print.

• Import a part file into a slicer
• Slice the part (Basically creating the set of instructions to send to the printer)
• Start printing The following sections will go in to detail about how to do each step.

Printing

Exporting a File

The first step in 3D printing is getting your 3D part file into the correct file type. For almost all slicers you will need a .stl file. You can convert your solidworks part file into an .stl by doing the following:

• Open the part in solidworks
• Press the "Save as" button
• Now press the "Save as type" box and a drop down menu will appear
• From this menu select STL (*.stl)
• Name it whatever you would like and press "Save" You now have an .stl file.

Slicing

All slicers do the same thing: they create a set of instructions for how to print the part that you made in CAD. Some have more features then others and some work better with certain printers. On this team we use two slicer programs: UltiMaker Cura and Bambu Studio. Each has their advantages. For this tutorial, we are going to focus on the Bambu Studio slicer because it integrates wirelessly with the Carbon X1.

To begin slicing open the program. You can download Bambu Studio here, and Cura here.

The first time you open the program it will ask you what printer you are using. We have the "Bambu Lab X1 Carbon 0.4 nozzle" You can unselect everything else.

In Bambu Studio you can login in to the team account using the login information found on the printer. This is only necessary if you want to wirelessly send / monitor prints. You can still use the printer by using a microSD card.

Once you have logged in press the "Prepare" Button in top menu bar.

Now, to add you .stl file into the program press the first button in the toolbar centered towards the top of the screen.

Then select the .stl file you saved earlier. The object will then be added to your build plate. You can use the other tools in the toolbar to manipulate the placement of the object, as well as the scale. You can also add multiple objects to the build plate to print them at the same time.

Once you are satisfied with the placement of the object we can change the slicing settings. This is how you can control aspects of how the printer prints the object. There are lots of options and they can be overwhelming, but the best way to learn them is by trying them. The two that you should change are the speed and supports.

Start by turning on the "Advanced" options a the top of the menu on the left hand side of your screen.

Then go to the 3rd menu, "Speed". The most common time for a print to fail is on the first layer. To combat this I turn the the first layer speed to 50 for both the first layer and the first layer infill.

The other problem that can occur is with unsupported material. If you have any parts of your object that come out at an angle shallower than 45 degrees than you should add supports.

To do this, go to the 4th menu, "Support". Press "Enable support". And in the drop down menu for "Type" select, "Tree Auto". Finally, check, "On build plate only". These are the setting I have found to give me the best results. But other settings my be more appropriate depending on the print.

Finally, make sure the correct printer is selected in the top left. It should say, "Bambu Lab X1 Carbon 0.4 nozzle". And right under that it should say "Cool Plate / PLA Plate". You can use a different plate if you are printing with a different material. However, almost all the filament we have is PLA.

Now press the "Slice plate" button in the top right. This will generate the instructions for the printer and bring you to the "Preview" tab. If you are satisfied with the preview generated and the total time then you are ready to print.

You can use the slider on the right and bottom to view the different layers and the path of the tool head.

If you are not satisfied with the preview you should go back to the "prepare" tab and change the settings to fix what is wrong. It is impossible to lay out every setting and configuration that you might encounter. The easiest way for you to learn is to just do it.

Starting a Print

Now that you have sliced the file you have two options to print. You can save it to a microSD card and insert it into the printer. You can then start the print from the printer. The second way is to send the print from your computer.

Saving to a microSD card: You can save the file to a SD card by pressing the drop down arrow next to the "Print plate" button and selecting "Export plate sliced file". Then go to the printer and start the print.

Send from computer: You can send a print to the printer by pressing the "Print plate" button. A window called "Send print job to" will come up. Here you can select the filament to use from the AMS (Automatic Material System). It will automatically switch to the filament you select. You do not need to do anything on the printer itself. Make sure the printer selected is "Astrobotics". You should turn off "bed leveling" and "flow dynamics" as they are not necessary to do every time.

Then press send. It should bring you to the "Device" tab.

Make sure you monitor the first layer to make sure it goes down correctly. It does not work every time.

In order to view the live video, you have to press the green play button in the bottom left of the video.

Changing Filament

Read the wiki page on Bambu Labs website

• Found here

DO NOT load old filament that has been left out. It has a tendency to crack and break in the tubes for the AMS and will cause the AMS to break.

If this happens, you need to remove the AMS unit and clear any of the broken filament out of the extrusion lines.

• Here is the solution if it does happen: How to Clear Broken Filament from the Bambu Lab AMS

Tips

First Layer Defects:

• Turn down the first layer speed.
• Try using the textured PEI plate.
• Add skirt loops to allow the filament to be purged before starting.
• Add a raft if the base geometry is not flat or has a tendency to slide.

Supports:

• Use tree(auto) with "on build plate only" selected

Speed modifiers:

• Do not use a higher speed modifier until the first layer is down.
• Only use "ludicrous" speed when print quality does not matter and the geometry is simple.

Troubleshooting

If you get a message saying gui initialization failed fatal error exception catched: invalid string position when trying to launch Bambu Studio, see this issue. Basically just remove BambuStudio.conf and BambuNetworkEngine.conf.