3D printing

3D printer safety training

MakerSpace

Visit the MakerSpace website here.

General shop safety forms

If you missed an opportunity for general safety training, go here to catch up.

Equipment-specific safety forms

Equipment-specific forms are here:

• Equipment Specific Safety Training |  Please have this ready for your specific training below. We may already have it on file in the MakerSpace if you work with us.

Hello Prusa

Safety training step-by-step

• 1 — 3D Printer SOP  |  Read this standard operating procedure before the live demo.
• 2 — Live Safety Demo | This occurs during studio time. If you miss this demo, you must still receive this step of training outside of studio time. For outside-of-studio training, read here and then reserve a time below.

After training: safety resources

Follow up your training with refresher materials, or expand on your training by diving into the tool documentation.

• 3D Printer at Abington∞MakerSpace  |  Visit this page at the MakerSpace website for troubleshooting, material guide, software guide, and safety videos that parallel our live training.
• Prusa i3 3D Printing Handbook  |  Long form reference. There is a copy of this manual in the red binder found adjacent to the machine.

Production

Reserve the tool

First, reserve tool time. Even if you are printing during class time, reserve the tool. Reservation sign-up sheets are on the website’s main page:

If this is your first time reserving, read the How to Reserve section of this page for policies and general guidelines on figuring out how much time to reserve.

Run the job

This is a general overview. Many of these steps are detailed in the live safety demo and can be reviewed in the safety video referenced above if you need a refresher.

• Bring your fabrication-ready file to the 3D printer computer by downloading it from the cloud or transferring it on a flash drive. NOTE: Copy the file from the flash drive onto the hard drive. Never work a file directly off of a flash drive. Immediately after the transfer, safe-eject the flash drive and remove it. Every time you try to reboot a computer with a flash drive still mounted, Elon Musk beats a baby seal with a baseball bat! Please don’t let that happen!
• Run your file through the Prusa Slicer software to obtain a print file (known as a GCode file).
• Transfer the GCode file to the printer using an SD card, found in the space.
• Select your desired filament and change the roll if necessary.
• Make sure the printer’s spring metal bed is clean and free of grease or debris. Clean with isopropyl alcohol or Windex if needed.
• Run the job. Watch the first layer print completely. Print adhesion of the first layer is where 95% of all print failures happen.
• Once the print is well-established, you may leave and pick up your print when ready.

Post-production

The machine is very slow, but post-production can also be time-consuming! Training for post-production work has already been covered by the live demo and the safety training video mentioned above. Typically, you are removing a brim and support material from the model, with some sanding or smoothing from time to time.

Reserve a time

Most people find it more convenient to use our tools to do these steps. Reserve an Open Workspace (just one of the empty tables) at the MakerSpace. Reserving not only guarantees that you have a space to work, but it also gives us data to prove that MakerSpace is wanted and needed by our community — meaning our hard work is rewarded with more resources to serve you!

Document the results

Show off your finished print on your process journal or blog by taking simple but careful photographs.

• Clean the lens! | When you pull your phone out of your linty pocket with your smudgy fingers, the lens gets dirty. Lens cloth and cleaner are best, and MakerSpace has some. But even wiping with your T-shirt is OK!
• Framing | Use the Grid to help compose your image. (In iOS: Settings>Camera>Grid. In Android: Settings>Apps>Camera>Grid Lines). Choose a frame proportion (like Photo or Square in iOS) and orientation.
• Composition | Your work is the focal point. Provide only enough background for us to understand this is an image of your fabrication in real space, and make sure everything the field of view is there because you want it there.
• Avoid digital zoom | Instead, move closer to your subject.
• NO flash | Always a terrible outcome! Use natural light or position indoor lights deliberately. MakerSpace has a lightbox and phone tripod. Just sign up for an Open Workspace, and use these tools for easy, simple, professional results!
• Steady yourself or use a pocket tripod | Lean against a wall or furniture to help steady your hand. Otherwise, a small tripod is a good choice. MakerSpace has a phone tripod you may use.
• Play with editing and exposure | You can make the color more saturated, crop an image, brighten a dark image, or vice versa. But: avoid filters, please! They are a passé, gimmicky unforced error.