3D Printers

General Information

The Clean Room is out "catch-all" room, encompassing tools and processes that don't fit well in either the Wood Shop or Metal Shop. Several work tables are available here to set up equipment, gather for classes or workshops, or just hang out!

General Safety Rules of the Clean Room

Do not use any machine you are not trained on and comfortable using. If at any time you are unsure of what you are doing, stop immediately and ask for help on Berea Makerspace slack, or email info@bereamakerspace.org.
Do not use any machine that is not in good working order. Stop, unplug and leave a note on the machine and notify Makerspace leadership.
Never assume a tool is properly adjusted; always check the tool prior to use.
Never modify or hack any equipment. If you think an improvement can be made, discuss it on slack!

How to Use Bamboo Lab 3D Printer

Unload 3D Printer

On the left-hand side of the screen on the printer, you can find a button that looks like two bars with a slider, it's located right underneath the home button. Click it.
After you have clicked that button, at the bottom of that page will be a green button that says unload. Click it.
Wait for the 3D printer to heat up and cut the filament.
After the filament is cut, you should get a pop-up on your screen telling you to start removing the filament.
Place the filament back into the correct spot once it has been removed

Load 3D Printer

Select the filament you want to use.
Cut the end of the filament into a point.
Begin feeding the filament into the 3D printer using the small white tube sticking out the back of the 3D printer until the filament hits the very back.
Click the button on the left-hand side of the screen that looks like two slider bars, under home. Hit load filament on the bottom part of the screen.
You will get a pop-up from the machine asking if you see the filament, that you just put in, through the nozzle of the printer. Look into the 3D printer, if the filament cannot be seen click retry. Click done if you see the filament. Clicking close may force you to begin this process again if you can't see the filament.
The machine will then purge the old filament.
Once the old filament has been purged, the new filament color should be able to be viewed on the 3D printer by clicking the left-hand side of the screen with the two slider bars.

Print using a Bamboo 3D Printer

Go to Bamboo Studio on the computer closest to the 3D printers. Bamboo studio will be located near the bottom left of the main screen among other icons.
Click "New project" in the upper right-hand corner of the site.
Add a piece by clicking the box that says add in the upper middle of the screen.
Scale the piece by clicking scale in the upper middle of the screen (Green Box with Arrows)
Internal solid infill pattern will give strength to the item (We have a model of these fill patterns on the electronics wall) Gyroid being the strongest, lightning being the weakest.
Make sure to put in your filament type so that the 3D printer knows how to best approach the creation of your piece. We have a list of allowed materials by the Bambu 3D printers.
Put auto support on if needed.
Slice the plate (Upper right-hand corner). It should tell you how much time it will take to print.
Select "print plate" in the upper right-hand corner of the screen and select your printer.

(If Necessary) Increase layers by going to strength, and then bottom shell layers and top shell layers.
Make sure to stay with the print, at least for the first few layers to make sure no issues occur.
If any issues occur during the printmaking process, just click the stop or pause button on the 3D printer to make it stop or pause its progress.
Some pop-ups will occur on the printer, if you are unsure what to do, feel free to reach out on Slack to ask. Pop-ups regarding external forces touching the machine can be ignored.

How to Use the Resin 3D Printer

When you start lychee, you should be on the layout page
Find a model you would like to use and download it (One made by yourself, or you can find them from these spots: Thingsverse, printables
Go to the Lychee slicer and add your file/s to the program (Remember, the taller your design, the longer it takes)
Click on model, and if to the right it says repair object, let it attempt to fix the print
Scale your project to the size that you want. (You can do this by hitting scale in the left-hand side, clicking the miniature, and clicking/dragging any box. There is a yellow box in the center that you have to move over to see, but it scales the entire thing down uniformly
If needed, repair the object once again
Lift each model off the ground
Rotate the model forward or backward
Add support to your project
Go to prepare now
If needed, you can hollow your model
Add drainage holes if necessary
Make sure before you export that you have the correct resin type
Export to files
Put your file on a USB drive, turn on the resin printer, and select file. If you’ve cleaned the machine, click start
Stay with it while it is printing the first couple of layers, so you can see and stop anything that goes wrong.

Cleaning

Wear nitrile gloves and breathing protection. Have paper towels ready, and protect the area from resin.
Remove your prints using a palette knife.
Place into the Washing Machine and turn it on (It will go for 3 minutes). Continue cleaning until the water is clear.
Cut off any supports that do not come off with a wire cutter.
When finished turn off the washing machine (Button behind the machine)
If there was a resin failure, it is necessary to use the resin machine to harden some resin and pick it out using something.
Take out the resin vat
Place funnel over resin container, and pour the resin into the container
Clean the vat using Isopropyl alcohol.
Put the vat into the machine. Push inward until the vat is fixed.

Curing

Place the cleaned design in the curing machine.
Turn on the curing machine
Start curing machine (Runs for 3 Minutes)
Check the design for any places where resin hasn’t been cured
If necessary, put it back in the curing machine, and start again.
When finished turn off the curing machine