Loading Filament

1. Before loading the Filament, you should prepare the tip of the Filament that you’ll be inserting by using a wire cutter to create a sharp point. Hold the wire cutter at an angle and cut off a short length (about ¼ of an inch or so) at the end of the Filament. This sharp point makes it easy to insert into the PTFE tube, and for the Extruder to push the Filament into the Hot End.
2. From the Home screen on the Control Box LCD, use the wheel to highlight and select “Filament”. You will be taken to the Filament screen that displays several options in a list.
3. Use the wheel to highlight and select “Load Filament”.
4. From the list of different types of Filament, highlight and select “PLA”. Once selected, the Hot End and fans assembly will move briefly along the X-Axis, and the LCD will display a message instructing you to insert the Filament through the sensor. Before you insert the Filament, make sure that the Filament wheel is properly sitting on its plastic platform, and that it can rotate freely. Them, go ahead and insert the sharp end of the Filament into the PTFE tube.
5. The next step is to push the Filament that has just been inserted into the tube through the Filament Sensor and into the Extruder. First, gently and slowly, push the end of the Filament past the sensor. Once past the sensor, the screen will instruct you to keep pushing the Filament into the Extruder. There will also appear a “CONTINUE” button at the bottom of the LCD, but don’t select this yet. Continue pushing (gently) the filament towards the Extruder until you feel resistance and it cannot be pushed further. When the Filament cannot be pushed further in, use the wheel to highlight and select the “CONTINUE” button (it will turn orange when highlighted) at the bottom of the LCD.

   This where the process can get a little tricky—sometimes the extruder wheel doesn’t properly grab the Filament you just pushed into it and you have to go through the process of pushing again.

   If the Extruder wheel did successfully pull the Filament through the Extruder, then you’ll notice that the LCD displays a message that includes the word “purging”. Eventually the LCD will display a question asking if the color is correct? It is referring to the color of PLA being pushed out of the Nozzle. If there is not yet any PLA coming out of the Nozzle, or if the color is not correct, highlight and select “MORE” The Extruder will again go through the Purging process, and then ask once again if the color is correct. Repeat the “MORE” highlighting and selecting procedure until you see the expected color being pushed out of the Nozzle. When you finally have the correct color, highlight and select “YES” (when asked if the color is correct). You can then return to the Home Screen. The 3D printer is now ready to be used to print.

   However, if the Filament did not get pulled through properly into the Hot End, the LCD displays the “purging” message and eventually the LCD will display the question asking if the color is correct? Since nothing is coming out of the Nozzle, the color is obviously not correct. So, highlight and select “RETRY” to attempt to engage the Extruder wheel again. You eventually will have to highlight and select CONTINUE. Sometimes it is necessary to continually pull back and push forward the end of the Filament into the Extruder to get it to engage.

   When it finally engages, you’ll notice that the Extruder pulls the filament along automatically and pushes it into the Hot End (you can see the end of the Filament moving through the white PTFE tube). Once it has gotten close to or into the Hot End, the LCD will prompt you with a question asking if the color is correct. It is referring to the color of PLA being pushed out of the Nozzle. If there is not yet any PLA coming out of the Nozzle, or if the color is not correct, highlight and select “MORE” The Extruder will again go through the Purging process, and then ask once again if the color is correct. Repeat the “MORE” highlighting and selecting procedure until you see the expected color being pushed out of the Nozzle. When you finally have the correct color, highlight and select “YES” (when asked if the color is correct). You can then return to the Home Screen. The 3D printer is now ready to be used to print.

Loading Filament

1. From the Home screen, highlight and select “Filament”.
2. Highlight and select “Unload Filament”. Before the Filament can be unloaded, the Hot End has to be raised to the proper temperature. It may take a little while to reach this elevated temperature, but when the Hot End has been heated up, the Extruder will automatically pull the Filament out of the Hot End.
3. After the Extruder has pulled the Filament out of the Hot End, grasp the Filament near the opening of the PTFE tube and gently and slowly pull the Filament past the Sensor and out of the tube. It will probably be helpful to rotate the Filament wheel while you’re pulling out the Filament so that the Filament properly wraps around the wheel.