Loading and Unloading Filament
Once your printer has been homed you will need to heat the nozzle in order to load your filament and start your print.
The temperature of the nozzle will be dependent upon the type of filament you choose to use for your first print, for the included test print we ask that PLA be used. Recommendations vary on the best temperature to use for PLA, but for this test print we ask that you heat the nozzle to 200C.
Using your Duet Web Control Interface you can set your nozzle tool temperature in the tools section by clicking in the Active column in the Tool 0 row.
You can also set the nozzle temperature by using the LCD Menu on your M3D Crane Bowden. Simply use the knob to select the temperature value and turn the knob until you reach the desired setting:
Once your nozzle is up to temperature you may insert your PLA filament. Send flush cut filament through the entrance of the extruder located at left side of the printer. While depressing the leaver on the extruder, feed the filament through the bowden tube and into the hot end.
As the filament hits the hotend, it will heat up and start to liquefy. The filament may start to seep out of the nozzle.
It is recommended to extrude 50 to 100 mm of filament right away to ensure correct loading, heating, and that there are no blockages in the nozzle or bowden tube.
Using the Duet Web Control Interface you can easily control the Extruder. In the Extruder Control section you can extrude (or retract) filament, select the Feed amount and set the Feedrate in mm per second. Once you have set the Feed amount and Feedrate simply click Extrude (or Retract should you need to).
Should you choose to use the LCD Menu on your M3D Crane Bowden when loading your filament, simply use the knob to select Prepare from the Main Menu Screen.
Then select Move Axis:
Next select Move E:
Here you will find options to extrude (+) or retract (-) mm of filament, Selecting +10 will extrude 10mm, simply select +10 multiple times in a row to extrude 50 to 100mm:
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To Unload the Filament simply maintain your nozzle temperature while depressing the leaver on the extruder. (This will disengage the extruder gears so the filament will be free to move) Grab hold of the filament and pull it out with a sweeping, fluid motion. The filament will be slide up and out of the nozzle, out of the bowden tube and out the extruder.
After mastering the art of Loading and Unloading Filament on your M3D Crane Bowden, you'll want to start looking for 3D models to print as well as a slicer to convert them into gcode. Follow the guide to the next section to learn where to find your 3D models as well as the programs to slice them.
