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How to: Use a Makerbot 5th Gen/Replicator+ 3D Printer

How to: Use a Makerbot 5th Gen/Replicator+ 3D Printer

Sept 25, 2019

Part I: Getting Started - Setting up a Makerbot Account and Downloading the Application

 

  1. Making an account You will be prompted to sign in or make an account if you are a new user. You can simply make a free account to use this application.

  2. Makerbot parts (Figure 1.) Before starting a part, familiarize yourself with the parts of the printer. Figure 1 shows a diagram of the different parts of the Replicator. 

  3. Diagram of Replicator and the Screen Settings (Figure 2.)

Part II: Opening Files and Viewing the Application 

select "Add Models" Here I have opened 4 models at once

 

  1. File type: The only files used for 3D printing on a MakerBot are STL files, which you can download from sites such as https://thingiverse.com or in ticket submissions from patrons seeking to get models 3D printed.

  2. Opening the application (Figure 1.) First picture is what the application looks like when first opened. 

  3. Importing the file (Figure 1.) To add files onto the application, just simply drag the STL files directly onto it. Another way to import files onto the application is to select the file icon in the top left corner. Then click "Add Models" and Finder will open up for you to select a file to open up. Files will pop up and the names of the project will be on the left. Whatever file you have selected will be outlined in blue. 

  4. Changing viewpoints for the model In order to look at the model from different angles, you will need to use two fingers (on a macbook) to drag the build plate around. To zoom in, drag two fingers apart and drag two fingers in to zoom out. 



Part III: Orienting Files for Printing 

 

  1. Orienting Files (Figure 1.) Once the files have been opened, go to second to the bottom icon on the right side. For the selected model, you can adjust the axes to make sure the print will be structurally sound while attempting to use the least amount of print material.

  2. Using as little support material as possible A key component to printing is to make sure there will be as little support material used as possible. In Figure 1, the models have not been properly oriented. The highlighted model and the model on the left should look like (Figure 2.) Support material will come up from the bottom of the build plate to 

  3. Preventing warping Warping occurs in prints that are very flat, yet very large. Warping is when the sides of a print curl up and are not printed flat as they should be. For example, in Figure 1, the prints at the top of the build plate are very flat and have a large surface area that may warp. In order to combat this, it was oriented correctly in Figure 2. However, if your object needs to be kept free of support material, as with the object at the bottom of the build plate in Fig 1 & 2, you may have to risk warping.

  4. Keeping the open space of a print facing up The cylinder in the middle of the print in Figure 1 is properly oriented. For cylinders in general, the base, or flat side, should always be on the build plate. Any object with an open top should be placed so that the base/closed area is on the bottom of the build plate. 

  5. Try not to put too many files on one build plate and space parts out Putting too many files super close to each other will create on large raft for all the part. This will make it more likely for the prints to warp as well as will make it difficult to separate the parts from the raft, especially if the prints are for different patrons. 

  6. Scaling Files (Figure 3.) If for some reason the file needs to be scaled to a different size, go to the bottom icon on the right, and you can scale by percentage or desired size in millimeters. By checking uniform scaling, all the dimensions will also be scaled by whatever change you made to one of the axes. 

 

 

Part IV: Print Settings

 

  1. Standard Print Settings Print settings are saved after changing them, so they don't need to be changed after you set them up properly. For most prints, these are the settings we use (Figure 1.) 

  2. Finding where to edit these settings The default settings will not look like this in the sidebar. To choose the kind of settings you want to see, go to custom settings (Figure 2.) 

  3. List of Settings needed to be changed Look through the list of custom settings to find the settings in Figure 1. The print mode should always be balanced, base layer always selected as "Raft", and Support is always checked so that there will be support materials for the prints.

  4. Infill density should be around 10%. For very thin parts, consider 0% infill with 5-10 shells.

 

 

Part V: Sending a Print to the Printer

 

  1. Via USB It is possible to export files by connecting a USB to the computer and pressing the red Export button on the lower right. Once the file is exported, simply connect the USB to the printer, press the knob to select "PRINT" and then select "USB drive" and scroll to select the file name you gave the print to start printing! 

  2. NOTE: Be sure to keep the program open until the print file has completely transferred to the printer.