Transcript
Printing 3D Models to the Genisys Xs 3D Printer By Sotiri Koyonos VMIL Consultant 28 February 2003
Abstract This document outlines the process for manufacturing three dimensional (3D) models on the ITG’s Genisys Xs 3D printer. This document assumes that you have created a stereo lithography file (*.stl) for your model. STL files come in two varieties, ASCII and binary. Binary is the recommended type.
Part 1: Preparing the Model 1. Start the AutoGen application from the QuickFind/Start menu on your computer. 2. Under the File menu, click “Open STL…” and select the desired file. Note that AutoGen may have issues with space characters in pathnames and filenames. 3. The model should now appear in the window. The red, green, and blue borders correspond to the available build volume of the printer. 4. You can zoom in or out or rotate the view of the build volume by adjusting the “thumbwheels”.
A dark, hard-to-see object.
Rendered in wireframe.
Figure 1 – Different Drawing Styles
5. If the model appears dark, or is hard to see, under the View menu, select Draw Style:Wireframe. The model will now be rendered without surface shading. (See Figure 1.) The problem may also be corrected by reversing the orientation of the surface normals on the model prior to loading into AutoGen. 6. Resize your model if necessary using the Scale or Fit settings. The Fit menu allows you to specify a cube size to which the size of the printout should be constrained. 7. As the model is built, it may need to have supports attached to it to keep it from toppling over. Rotate the model to achieve the best orientation so as to minimize the complexity of the support structure. Rotation values must be typed into the three fields labeled Rotation, which represent X-, Y-, and Z-axis rotation angles in degrees. (See Figure 2.).
8. Use the “Fill” menu to determine whether to print a solid model (Normal), or to allow the printer to create a honeycomb support structure (Sparse). The normal model offers increased strength. The sparse model offers faster printing and cost efficiency as it requires less material. Figure 2 – A rotation of 180 degrees about the X-axis results in an orientation requiring no support structure.
Part 2: Preprocessing 1. Under the main menu select File:Print…. When prompted, click the checkbox for “Preprocessing Only”, and then click OK. If preprocessing fails, try rotating the model to a different orientation (even if it means adding supports), changing the fill type, or the part scaling. If this does not remedy the problem, it may be necessary to change some aspect of the model’s design. 2. Once preprocessing is done, the model can be “packed”. This is necessary only if multiple models or multiple copies of a model are to be printed in a single print job. To pack the model select File:Print…, and select “Pack” from the pull-down menu. Click OK and wait for the packing process to complete. Additional models can now be loaded, sized, and preprocessed. 3. Once the model(s) are preprocessed and packed, select File:Print… and select “Print Alone” from the pull-down menu. Click OK to send your job to the Genesis Xs printer.
Part 3: Printing 1. Once the job is sent, the printer will queue it and begin warming up. While warming up, open the glass door and, using the yellow spatula on the shelf next to the printer, scrape any residual plastic from the metal plate. In particular, there will likely be a “test strip” from the last print job on the right hand side. Close the glass door when done. Once the metal plate heats up to a given temperature, the door will be locked until the print job is complete. 2. While the printer is rendering, consult the LCD display to monitor its progress. Use the percent-complete and time-elapsed values to estimate a completion time. 3. If the model has an obvious flaw, or if the printer has screwed up by producing a seriously defective part, cancel the job from the console by following the prompts on the LCD display.
4. After the printing is done, use the menu, enter, escape, and arrow buttons to bring the printer offline and check the materials status. Press the menu button and select “put printer offline”. Press menu again, and using the arrow keys select “status menu”, and then “material status”. Record the values for each of the ten wafer cartridges in the log book sitting on the shelf next to the printer. Note the total difference from the previous entry and record it in the “wafers used” column. 5. Using the spatula, carefully remove the model from the platen, and clean the platen of any scraps of plastic. The platen remains hot, so take care not to touch it. 6. If support structures were added to the model, they can now be snapped off easily with fingers, and any defects lightly sanded out.
