The Memorial Library maintains two LulzBot TAZ 6 printers and a LulzBot mini. The TAZ 6 3-D printers contain a print surface that is approximately 11 in X 11 in X 9.8 in. The 3-D printing material or filament is placed on a spool next to the right side of the printer. A filament tube is used to feed the material through the print head or extruder. Before printing begins, the print plate and extruder are both heated. The printer also contains firmware which is downloaded from the manufacturer's website during installation.
Where to start?
Ask a staff member to help you if it's your first time using the 3D printer.
Open CURA from the desktop shortcut. CURA is the software program you use to execute 3D prints (slicer). Click the file folder to upload your 3D file. Make sure that your PLA is selected as your filament type.
Maintaining and Troubleshooting the Printers
The LulzBot printers contain a glass plate with an adhesive covering. Usually, 3-D objects are printed on the plate without difficulty using PLA filament. However, certain objects fail to adhere to the plate or move during printing. For example, some objects printed with colorFabb filament tend to move during printing. To avoid this, glue is used on the plate to adhere the object to the printing surface. After printing, the glue is removed using a paper towel and isopropyl alcohol or an alcohol wipe.
To maintain the glass plate, print the 3-D objects on different areas of the work-plane. Within the Cura software, move the object to the left, right or front of the work-plane (plate) before printing. Do not print objects in the middle of the plate each time. This will preserve and protect the glass and not wear out one section of the work-plane.
The LulzBot manufacturer offers printer maintenance and troubleshooting tips on the company website. Additionally, certain 3-D models are not designed properly and fail to print. For more information about handling 3-D models, view the Cura software procedures on the bottom right side of this page.