3D Printer - Prusa MK4/Mk3.9

Inductions for the 3D printers are now available on the member portal (right-hand PC by the electronics bench). Tap your card/keyfob on the reader, select “Manage machine inductions”, and take the 3D printer quiz. You will be shown the padlock code on successful completion.

• 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.

Please use PrusaSlicer for slicing for the Hackspace 3D printers.

Print files must be sliced specifically for the Mk3.9/Mk4. If you try to slice for the Mk3S you'll get a big red warning telling you that the file is sliced for the wrong printer. Do not ignore this warning. You will damage the print sheet irreparably.

Please use the Input Shaper version with 0.4mm nozzle.

All Hackspace 3D printers use 1.75mm filament. Most filaments such as PLA, ABS, PETG, FLEX etc are supported. Do not use filaments that require a nozzle temperature above 285°C such as polycarbonate.

1. Place the filament spool into the spool holder
2. Route the filament up through the guide bearing and insert into the top of the extruder
3. The printer should recognise and automatically feed the filament
4. The Preheat menu will automatically appear. Select the material of the filament you want to insert and confirm the selection with the rotary knob.
5. Wait until the nozzle reaches the desired temperature.
6. Press the rotary knob to start feeding the filament. Push the filament into the extruder lightly until you feel that the extruder gear has grabbed the filament and is pulling it in.
7. 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

After use: Please completely remove your filament

1. Select LCD Menu - Filament - Unload Filament
2. 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.
3. Once the extruder stops unloading the filament, remove it 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.
4. 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.

We have three sheets for our printers.

• smooth – It should only be used for PLA. If you're printing ABS, PETG or FLEX, then you *need* to use the textured sheet.
• textured – this is the strongest sheet and is a good choice for general printing in almost any filament. 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 – this is for PLA only and gives a slightly different surface finish.

We recommend you clean the sheets with isopropyl alcohol (IPA) before use as the Hackspace is a dusty place. Alternatively you can take the spring steel sheet to the sink and wash it with soap and water before thoroughly rinsing and drying it.