Bed Slinger

The bed slinger printers are custom rebuilt 3d printers that run off of Klipper firmware.

They use FFF (Fused Filament Fabrication) technology which extrudes molten plastic layer by layer forming a part.

Any questions or issues that arise should be directed to the BME Lab Director.

Log onto the BME laptop closest to the Makerpi printers using credentials provided at the top of the screen.

Open "PusaSlicer" as the slicer software of choice

PrusaSlicer has great documentation which can be found here.

Upload the ".stl" file(or other compatible file type) by selecting the box icon.

If exporting from Onshape or other CAD software, make sure to select "millimeter" as the unit. If this is not done, the part will not be the correct size.

Verify "Bedslinger" is selected under "Print settings"

Select the correct filament type.

If you are printing in the simulation lab (ACET 236), the only filament type is "PETG Generic".

A tutorial going through commonly used filament types is found here.

Select the printer's name using the drop down menu as shown under "Physical printers".

i.e. "Bedslinger 1" or "Bedslinger 2".

The printers name can be found on the front of the printer.

User interface basics for PrusaSlicer can be found here.

Use the object manipulation tools for positioning, scaling, orientation and so forth as discussed in the Object Manipulation tutorial.

Placing an object perfectly flat on a build plate is necessary to avoid generating support material or printing difficult angles. More information can be found here.

Modify the support material options which can be found below the printer selection as seen in the 2nd image. If in doubt, select "Everywhere".

For further information on support material and why it is needed, refer to the Support Material tutorial

Once you are satisfied with the orientation of the part, select the "Slice now" button on the bottom right of the window.

Verify that the part on the screen is what you wanted.

Layer cross section can be viewed by clicking and dragging the orange slide bars on the right side of the window as shown.

If further changes are needed, select the 3D box icon on the bottom left of the screen.

Once the file looks ready to print, select the "G" button in the bottom right of the window.

If the "G" button does not appear, the printer may have been selected incorrectly.

Rename file to something easily recognizable.

Select "Upload" to transfer the file to the printer automatically.

The following steps can be skipped if printing in the Sim Lab (ACET 236). Otherwise continue with the steps below.

Load the correct filament type into the printer.

Verify that the build plate matches the filament type being used. A tutorial on filament type and its compatible built plate type is found here.

Clear off build plate on the printer from any material from previous prints.

On the printers LCD screen, select "Print".

Navigate to find the uploaded file.

Date and refresh buttons may help.

If the file is not found. It may have been uploaded to the wrong printer. Check to make sure the correct printer has been selected within the slicer software.

Select print.

After verifying the selected file is correct, select print again to start the print.

Wait until the first layer prints correctly before leaving.