OSE Lulzbot
Jeff Moe is the founder of Lulzbot.com - an open source 3D printer that he is currently selling at a volume of _ per month. Here he is at work developing enterprise around his company's derivative of the RepRap Mendel open source 3D printer.
http://www.fsf.org/resources/hw/endorsement/respects-your-freedom
He was kind enough to donate a Lulzbot open source 3D printer to OSE, which we are intending for rapid prototyping of GVCS machines as described in our Dashboard. Here is our experience in setting it up on Ubuntu.
Contents
Setup Procedure
Unpack and set up
Audrey, with no formal electronics experience, set up the printer in 1 hour with no hurry. Recommendations from Audrey:
- Manual looks impressive.
- Manual should provide an exploded parts diagram. A first time builder does not readily recognize part names discussed manual.
- Inexperienced user cannot find the USB port, hidden from view on bottom of controller.
- Wires connected, microSD inserted
- Beginner has trouble unmounting red safety clamps protecting the vertical carrage. A tool to pry them open helps.
Connection
- Set to 115V (already default)
- Plug in USB
- Plug in 4 pin power to control board
Result
Software
Slic3r
- Ubuntu 12.04 on HP Pavilion g series 64 bit - downloaded:
- slic3r-linux-x86_64-0-9-9.tar.gz 30-Mar-2013 16:36 13M
- from http://dl.slic3r.org/linux/
- Extracted slic3r from archive
- In bin folder of slic3r folder, click on slic3r executable file. Takes you through setup. Select:
- G-code flavor: RepRap (Marlin/Sprinter)
- Bed size: 200mm x 200mm
- Nozzle diameter .5 mm. I also downloaded point5mm.ini from http://download.lulzbot.com/AO-100/software/2012-Q2/configs/slic3r/
- Filament: 3 mm
- Issue: don't know if my filament is PLA or ABS. Not labeled anywhere. Default temparature set for 200C for PLA
- 60C for bed, PLA
- Then double click on slic3r to run program:
- Downloaded an STL for a much needed tool, a nutcracker, from thingiverse.com:
- Slicer is nice - it lets you add multiple copies of an item:
- From slic3r, export gcode. Gcode is heavy - STL is 174kB, gcode is 3MB for a single copy of cracker.
- One potential hack is to use slic3r to compose multiple STLs into a single STL - by loading up several STL files, rearranging them, and exporting to STL.
For example, this is the resulting 3D view shown in FreeCAD for another file:
Printrun
- This software actually controls the printer. Download from http://github.com/kliment/Printrun
Husam Continues
- Connected heatbed Tue May 14, 2013 -, software works after a long period where it could not connect to Lulzbot.
- Next morning - power supply went up in smoke.
- Now calculating whether replacement power supply can handle the Lulzbot. Power Consumption figures:
- Heatbed - 9.9A at 12V when starting - from [1]
- Max total usage - careful documentation shows it's under 200W - [2]
- Issues: extruder heater stopped working, troubleshooting connections. Forums indicated others had a similar issue.
