Prusa XL

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======  Prusa XL  ======

{{ equipment:laser:prusaxl.png?400 |}}


<callout title="Induction Required" type="danger" icon="true"> This equipment requires an induction prior to use. For your own safety and to avoid damage to the equipment do not attempt to use it until you have been inducted. </callout>

===== Risks =====

<callout title="Crush / Entanglement / Burn Hazard" type="warning" icon="true"> This equipment is hazardous to the user or those around them, take care during use. </callout>

===== Health and Safety =====

  * Do not touch the nozzle or heatbed when the printer is printing or warming up. The nozzle can reach 300°C and the heatbed can reach over 100°C.
  * Supervise at least the first few layers of the print and notify on the forum in the "long 3D print notifications" chat if you are going to leave the printer unattended for a significant amount of time.
  * Report problems on the forum as soon as they arise. Do not attempt to disassemble the 3D printers unless you have been authorised to do so.
  * Do not try and swap the nozzles without mentioning on the forum and looking up a specific guide on how to do so.
  * ABS, ASA, HIPS, PA filament should not be used without an enclosure and additional advanced filtration system - the bench top ikea filtration is not suitable. Please speak to committee well in advanced if this is something you are looking to use.


===== Induction =====

Inductions for the 3D printers are now available on the member portal (PC near the door in the laser cutter room). Tap your card/keyfob on the reader, select “Manage machine inductions”, and take the 3D printer quiz. You will then have access on the RFID lockout box, you just need to tap your card/fob and it will switch on. If you are signed into the hackspace wifi you can also do it at https://members.bristolhackspace.org/


**Print file format:** bgcode or gcode - bgcode will load and start printing faster

Please use PrusaSlicer for slicing for the Hackspace 3D printers.
 
** Change the print in settings to Prusa XL **
Original Prusa XL - 5T Input Shaper 0.4mm Nozzle

**General usage and safety rules are the same as the other printers.** 

However with regards to filament the loading and unloading is slightly different as there are 5 lines. 

**recommended settings:** 1st colour, 2nd supports. These can be modified in the settings. You can use different types of filament within reason but consider the heat of the bed. 
Always make sure the filament in each line matches that in the printer software.


===== Etiquette =====

Due to high usage of the 3D printers only ONE should be used by a member at any one time. 

===== Manual =====
{{ equipment:laser:prusa3d_manual_xl_104_en.pdf |}}

===== USB Format =====
When loading G-code from a USB stick the Prusa 3d printers are only set up to support FAT32 file systems and the partition table should also be MBR.
If your USB stick works fine on a computer but isn't loaded by the printer, the most common issues are:
  * It's formatted as exFAT rather than FAT32
  * It's using a GUID partition table rather than MBR

For full details on why and recommended formatting tools on different operating systems please see Prusa's article on the subject.

[[https://help.prusa3d.com/article/sd-cards-and-usb-drives_112291|]]

===== Filament =====

All Hackspace 3D printers use 1.75mm filament. Most filaments such as PLA, PETG, FLEX etc are supported. 

Please do not use ABS, ASA, HIPS or PA as we need an enclosure and advanced filtration system for these filaments, please let committee know well in advanced if this is something you will need as a proposal will be needed.

===== Inserting filament =====

If you are starting with the printer, we recommend choosing PLA for the initial print. This material is easy to work with and does not require complex pre-print preparation.

Before you insert the filament, start by placing the filament spool on the side holder. Be careful not to let go of the end of the filament strand - the spool could easily tangle up.

If there is filament already in the lines please remove following the removing filament guidance below.

  - Cut the end of the filament into a sharp point. Insert the filament into the PTFE tube on the side and keep pushing it inside. If the filament sensor is on, the filament will be automatically fed. If the filament sensor is off, proceed to step 2.
  - Select the LCD Menu - Filament - Load Filament and confirm with the button.
  - The Preheat menu will automatically appear. Select the material of the filament you want to insert and confirm the selection with the rotary knob.
  - Wait until the nozzle reaches the desired temperature.
  - Press the rotary knob to start feeding the filament. Push the filament into the PTFE tube lightly until you feel that the extruder gear has grabbed the filament and is pulling it in.
  - The feed wheel in the extruder will then pull the filament further into the extruder. Once it heats up fully, it will push out a bit of material from the nozzle. The printer will ask if the colour of the extruded filament is okay. The message on the screen will say: Yes / Purge More /Retry. Check if there is filament extruded from the nozzle, then select: 
      *   If the filament is extruded and the colour is correct, select **YES** 
      *   If the filament is not extruded or is contaminated with another colour, select: **PURGE MORE** (you can repeat this step) 
      *   If the filament is not extruded and **PURGE MORE** doesn't help, repeat the loading procedure by choosing **RETRY**

{{ equipment:laser:inserting_filament.png?600 |}}
===== Removing filament =====

**After use:** **Please completely remove your filaments** from all of the lines rather than leaving a clipped amount in. Due to the PTFE lines this would be a significant loss of filament and also potential pain of the filament being used by accident by following prints.

  - Select LCD Menu - Filament - Unload Filament
  - The printer will preheat automatically depending on the selected material. As soon as it reaches the right temperature, the filament will be unloaded from the extruder in a few seconds.
  - Once the extruder stops unloading the filament, remove it from the PTFE tube by hand. Please keep in mind that the process of unloading the filament strand from the extruder takes a few seconds. Do not pull hard on the filament when the unloading process is running. Check the printer's screen for information.
  - Make sure to secure the unloaded filament when you wind it up back onto the spool. If the end of the filament slips out, the spool may become tangled.
{{ equipment:laser:unloading_filament.png?400 |}}

===== Accessories =====

Similarly to the MK4 is that it's very easy to print on different steel sheets. We have three:
* smooth (PEI) -- It should only be used for PLA. If you're printing PETG or FLEX, then you *need* to use the satin sheet.
  * textured -- this is the strongest sheet. It has slightly lower bed adhesion than smooth when printing PLA, but only slightly. Remember -- you may also need glue stick when using sticky filaments such as TPU.
  * satin -- good all round sheet and gives a slightly different surface finish.
The beds are stored under Printer A. If you have any doubts about which to use check here: [[https://help.prusa3d.com/filament-material-guide|Filament Material Guide]]

The XL is equipped with 4 High Flow ObXidian nozzles on tools 1-4, with tool 5 having a standard flow ObXidian nozzle. This allows the printing of abrasive materials with any tool.

===== Features =====

  * **Printer design:** Core XY
  * **Build volume:** 360×360×360 mm (14.17’’×14.17’’×14.17’’)
  * **Printer dimensions:** 700 mm (w) × 900 mm (h) × 720 mm (d) (27.5’’×35.5’’×28.5’’) including side spoolholders and the separate top enclosure cover
  * **Filament diameter:** 1.75mm, wide range of thermoplastics supported (including, but not limited to PLA, PETG)
  * **Extruder:** Planetary 1:10 gearbox with no-slip drive gear, Load Cell sensor
  * Tool Changer with up to 5 tool heads
  * **Bed:** Segmented heatbed with 16 individually controlled segments
  * **Print surface:** Removable magnetic steel sheets with different surface finishes
  * **Electronics:** 32-bit custom-made board with an expansion slot, single-cable communication with tool heads, network features, one-click printing
  * **Mesh Bed Levelling:** Load Cell-based fully automatic first layer calibration with no Live Z adjustment
  * **Power panic:** Hardware-based, single G-Code line accuracy
  * **Ethernet connection:** built-in; network connectivity not required for setup or operation
  * **Wi-Fi module:** built-in; network connectivity not required for setup or operation

===== Common Problems =====
==== Tool Offsets ====
The tools can get slightly out of line with each other. This can be particularly noticeable on the z axis -- when multi material printing, you might find that one tool prints slightly higher or lower than the others. If this happens, you can re-run the tool offset calibration wizard: https://help.prusa3d.com/guide/4-first-run_468832#469249

==== Bed adhesion ====
As the printer isn't enclosed, it's prone to getting dust on the bed, and as it's a bigger bed anyway, it takes more cleaning. You might find that it takes noticeably more time to fully clean the bed. If you're having problems with bed adhesion, make sure it's very thoroughly cleaned.