Free Z system
Free Zeta System is the system for recovering a print at a known height.
Measure the value Z of the last printed layer, then:
- Menu > Prepare > Move Axis > 10,1,0.1 > Z axis;
- Get close until last layer is touched and take note of Z value.
Then:
- Menu > Free Zeta System;
- Insert Z value;
- Select .gcode.
Wait for file to load. The operation, depending on the height, can take up to several minutes.
The print doesn’t stick to the bed
Please make sure to have a correct printing bed leveling, following the procedure here >>.
Adhesion to the printing plate
- Apply a layer of hair spray or glue on the printing surface in order to create a sticky layer that improves the adhesion of the molten plastic to it.
Extruder temperature and heated bed
- Verify that the extruder and heated bed temperature are appropriate for the material that you want to print. (Check the data on the filament spool or on the filament manufacturer datasheet).
Missed extrusion of the filament
Check the .gcode file
- Check that the .stl file does not presents 3d modeling issue (manifold edges / open surfaces).
- Check if the parameters of the slicing software are correct Ex: nozzle diameter, filament diameter, % material flow, extrusion temperature, E-step/per mm.
Check if the extruder is working
- Make sure that the RJ45 cable is properly connected to the extruder. If it is not, turn the printer off and then connect the cable.
- Check that the flexible pipes connecting the filament driver and the extruder are connected tightly, and that there are no obstructions or dirt.
- Ensure that the filament has arrived to the melting zone inside the nozzle.
Check the leveling of the printing plate
- If the nozzle is too close to the printing plate the filament will struggle to get out, causing a blockage of the filament driver motor and the filament pushing gear. Next, proceed with manual leveling procedure and clean the toothed gear to remove the any dust from between the teeth.
- Check the printing bed leveling and: menu > prepare > manual leveling > position > 00 > 01 > 02 > 03 > 00. Calibrate a distance of about 0.1mm between the tip of the nozzle and the glass plate.
- Make sure that the power cable is well connected. If not, turn the printer is off and reconnect it.
- Make sure the control is active, then: menu > prepare > movement > 1mm > extruder.
- Check that the black knob on the threaded gear is well-connected to the motor shaft. To check this, hold the lever of the filament driver and try to pull the knob. Then tighten the M3 set screw on the flat surface of the motor shaft, while centering the toothed part with the filament passageway.
- Check if the cooling fan placed under the filament driver motor is working.
- Clean the extruder.
- If it still is not working, contact the Technical Assistence.
The printer is noisy
Extruder Cooling Fan
The cooling fan placed on the extruder may be loud if setted to the maximum speed. It’s possible to set the cooling fan speed from the slicing software according to your need.
Moving axes noises
- Ensure that the noise does not come from the cooling fan placed on the extruder
- Verify that the four sliders placed under every vertical slide can move correctly. Manually push them slowly from the bottom to the top of the printer. If there is friction contact customer service.
- Check if the belt transmission bearings placed at the bottom of the printer have the correct fluidity.
- Check the teeth of the belt. If there are expansions or deformations between the teeth or cuts/damages contact customer service.
Movement motors are losing steps
- Movement motors are overheating
- The pulley is not properly fixed to the movement motor shaft
- Movement motors support is not properly fixed in position.
Extruder impacts
- Check the printing bed leveling: menu > prepare > manual leveling > position > 00 > 01 > 02 > 03 > 00. Calibrate a distance of about 0.1mm between the tip of the nozzle and the glass plate.
- Check the dimension of the object that you’re about to print. If the object’s dimensions exceed the maximum size of the printing area the extruder may hit the walls of the printer. Input the correct parameters into the slicing software for the printer in use. (From firmware F20_rev6, F21_rev3 and F30_rev4 there is a software limitation).
- Check the installed plug-in, disable the pause at Z plug-in or set a movement value that is not greater than the maximum printing area. (From firmware F20_rev6, F21_rev3 and F30_rev4 is present a limitation software).
- Movement motors are losing steps. See previous paragraph.
- Check the material flow during the extrusion. A flow percentage over 100% could lead to an accumulation of material over the printed object, causing the extruder to hit this material and make the transmission belts slide over the motor pulley and cause a loss of steps.
- Check the integrity of the nozzle, if it’s loose it can slightly move down and hit the printed object, making the transmission belts slide over the motor pulley and cause a loss of steps.
The print is dephased
Loss of steps in movement:
- Check gcode speed. Speeds greater than 250mm / s can cause the belt to slip around the pulley and cause loss of steps. (not with the TURBO model).
- Check acceleration of movements. Accelerations greater than 6000 mm / s ”can cause the belt to slip around the pulley and cause loss of steps. (not with TURBO model).
- Check extrusion flow. A percentage of material flow greater than 100% could lead to a build-up of material and cause impacts between the various layers.
- Check extruder nozzle. Check that the nozzle is not unscrewed causing shocks to the molded piece.
The printed surface is “spongy”
Check the .gcode file
- Check that the .stl file do not presents 3d modeling issue (manifold edges / open surfaces )
- Ensure the parameters of the slicing software are correct Ex: nozzle diameter, filament diameter, % material flow, extrusion temperature, E-step. per mm.
Ensure the extruder is working
- Make sure that the RJ45 cable is properly connected to the extruder. If it is not, turn the printer off and then connect the cable.
- Check that the flexible pipes connecting the filament driver and the extruder are connected tightly, and that there are no obstructions or dirt inside them.
- Ensure that the filament has arrived to the melting zone inside the nozzle.
Check the leveling of the printing plate
- If the nozzle is too close to the printing plate the filament will struggle to get out, causing a blockage between the filament driver motor and the filament pushing gear.
- Then, proceed with manual leveling procedure and clean the toothed gear to remove any dust from between the teeth.
Filament driver check
- Make sure that the power cable is connected. If not, turn the printer off and connect it properly.
- Make sure the control is active, then: menu > prepare > movement > 1mm > extruder.
- Check that the black knob on the threaded gear is well-connected to the motor shaft. To check this hold the lever of the filament driver and try to pull the knob. Then tighten the M3 set screw on the flat surface of the motor shaft, while centering the toothed part with the filament passageway.
- Check if the cooling fan placed under the filament driver motor is working. If not, contact the Technical Assistence.
Error MINTEMP / MAXTEMP
Verify the integrity of the RJ45 connector on the extruder and that it is properly plugged in. If not, reconnect it and restart the printer.
If the problems persist contact the Technical Assistence.
The extruder falls down at the end of the print
If at the end of the printing process the three steppers motors get disabled, the extruder may fall down and hit the printed object. This is caused by a command at the end of the Gcode, intended to save energy on Cartesian printers.
Disable the M84 command from the “END GCODE” section in the slicing software ( just add a semicolon before the command. Example: ” ;M84 “ ).
The filament breaks
Caused by the quality of the filament and exposure to humidity and/or sunlight.
Tolerance to exposure varies depending on the material, regardless, it is recomended to store the spool inside the original packaging while it is not in use.
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Load filament
Heat the extruder, through the menu > prepare > preheat PLA / ABS.
Removal: Once it reaches the proper temperature, manually extrude some material and then, pushing the filament driver lever down, pull the filament out from the extruder.
Replacement: With the extruder hot, insert the new filament, and manually rotate the black knob counterclockwise until the material is extruded.
Leveling of the printing bed
- Start by preheating the nozzle and bed at the desired printing temperatures, so: menu > advanced > temperature > nozzle and bed. Wait for the heating.
- Make sure that the printer is placed on a flat and stable surface. Check the leveling, so: menu > prepare > manual leveling > position.
- Follow the next procedure in this order: 01 02 03 01 02 03 00.
Change the distance between nozzle and bed to about 0.1mm by rotating the leveling wheel corresponding to the hotend position (on a Delta WASP 4070 screw/unscrew the outermost Phillips screws on the heated bed). - An higher or lower distance could cause extrusion problems or adhesion ones. A good way to ensure it is calibrated correctly is by attempting to push a sheet of paper between the nozzle and the print bed. The paper should be able to slip under without folding, but just barely.
Driver rotation is skipping backwards
Check the printing bed leveling
- menu > prepare > manual leveling > position > 00 > 01 > 02 > 03 > 00
- Calibrate a distance of about 0.1mm between the tip of the nozzle and the glass plate.
Check the filament driver
- Make sure that the power cable is well connected If not, turn the printer is off and reconnect it.
- Make sure the control is active, then: menu > prepare > movement > 1mm > extruder.
- Check that the black knob on the threaded gear is well connected to the motor shaft. To check this, hold the lever of the filament driver and try to pull the knob. Then tighten the M3 set screw on the flat surface of the motor shaft, while centering the toothed part with the filament passageway.
- Check if the cooling fan placed under the filament driver motor is working.
Clean the extruder
- See extruder cleaning. If not working contact the customer service.
Driver replacement
- Turn off the printer
- Extract the 6mm Nylon tube, by pushing down the metal ring placed on the top of the extruder.
- Unplug the 8 pin connector placed on the filament driver cable.
- Cut the plastic cable tie placed on the cable.
- Remove the 3 green/transparent rubber bands and place the new filament driver.
- Re-plug the 3 green/transparent rubber bands into the 3 pins placed on the top of the new filament driver.
- Insert the 6mm Nylon tube into the pneumatic fitting on the extruder.
- Re-plug the 8 pin connector.
- Use plastic cable ties to make sure that the cables are located as before the operation.
The plastic of my brand new SPITFIRE Extruder looks worn out
The plastic cover in of our Spitfire extruders is the result of years of research on a very strong material that could resist in time at high-temperatures.
Today our extruders are manufactured in a specific technopolymer with very high performances charged with 50% of fiberglass. As a result, a Spitfire extruder can work for a longer time with high temperatures without melting or deforming. Also, this grants the possibility to assemble and disassemble it on the machine easily for its whole life.
These characteristics mean, for reasons due to injection molding, a matte and not-uniform finishing, with some whiter parts. These are the parts where the fiberglass is particularly dense on the surface.
SPITFIRE extruder cleaning
Operation A
Manually set the extruder temperature up 200° through the menu > control > temperature > nozzle > 200°.
Load PLA filament.
Rotate the black knob placed on the filament driver, counterclockwise to extrude, clockwise to retract the filament.
Alternate these movements until you see the extrusion of the filament.
Operation B
Manually set the extruder temperature up to 200° through the menu > control > temperature > nozzle > 200°.
If the filament had difficultly being extruded it’s possible to use a needle (Ø<0.4mm) inside the nozzle in order to remove any internal impurities that are clogging the nozzle.
Operation C
Manually set the extruder temperature up to 200° through the menu > control > temperature > nozzle > 200°.
Extract the 6mm Nylon tube, by pushing down the metal ring placed on the top pf the extruder.
Operation D
Manually set the extruder temperature up to 200° through the menu > control > temperature > nozzle > 200°.
Extract the 6mm Nylon tube, by pushing down the metal ring placed on the top pf the extruder.
Insert a 2mm steel wire inside the extruder, from the top, and push it down in order to remove the material that is clogging the extruder.
SPITFIRE SYSTEM configuration and print
Spitfire set up process:
Operation A
Download, the spitfire system configuration includes PID values and slicing profiles (Cura and Simplify3d) specific for the spitfire.
Operation B
Change the fan type from A to B. From the display menu go to : Advancedsettings/temperature/Fantype-B
If you do not find these options, contact the Support Team to update the firmware.
Operation C
Print the Gcode pid spitfire.gcode inside the Spitfire System Configuration folder preaviously downloaded.
Operation D
Load the print profiles provided in the Spitfire System Configuration folder, sub folder Spitfire Extruder profiles, you’ll find both profiles for Cura and Simplify3d.
Do you need to replace the extruder?
Warning. Do you need to replace the extruder? The following video tutorial shows how to do it correctly.
Change SPITFIRE Extruder
- Turn off the printer
- Unplug the RJ45 connector placed on the top of the extruder
- Push down the ring on the joint placed in the higher part of the extruder and pull the 6mm nylon pipe.
- Unscrew the two screws placed under the aluminum board supporting the extruder and remove the extruder by pulling
- Insert the new extruder
- Tighten the two screws placed under the aluminum board supporting the extruder
- Insert the 6mm nylon pipe back in the joint
- Plug the RJ45 connector placed on the top of the extruder
- Turn on the machine and proceed with the calibration
Change SPITFIRE Extruder Cartridge
Here the video tutorial with the instruction for change the cartridge of spitfire extruder system. The guide to change and insert correctly the HT o LT cartridge.
Before the cartridge change be sure to have the hot end temperature set at 180°C.
Modify height (calibration)
The height (often called Z max) of the printer is the value that defines the distance between the nozzle and the print bed when it is in its zero position (home).
The height is part of the calibration values of the machine and the right value is essential for good operation.
When the machine is turned on, in the monitoring screen it is possible to see among the values shown that of the height saved in the machine (indicated as Z).
As the height value changes, the following scenarios may occur:
To manually change the height value, each printer is equipped with a dedicated command within the PREPARE menu, depending on the version it can be called:
- Modify height;
- Modification Z max (Set Z max).
The procedure for changing the Z max depends on the machine and firmware version.
- Position the print bed and clean the nozzle;
- Send the printer to zero position (autohome);
- Use the command Prepare> Modify height (or Set Z max).
The screen allows you to choose a scale value at the top (between 10 mm, 1 mm, 0.1 mm) and consequently to go down by that value on the Z axis.
- With scale value 10, turn the control knob making the nozzle descend to about 20 mm from the printing surface;
- Click the knob once to select the scale value at 10mm;
- With scale value 1, rotate the control knob making the nozzle descend to about 2 mm from the printing surface;
- Click the knob once to select the scale value at 0.1 mm;
- With a scale value of 0.1, turn the control knob making the nozzle descend to about 1 mm from the printing surface;
- Click the knob twice to activate the "SAVE Z" item;
- Turn the knob to display "OK";
- Click to confirm and save the new Z max;
- The machine will exit the command and will automatically go to the Home position.
If necessary, complete the calibration with the Prepare> Manual leveling command, adjusting the plane with uniform distance in all positions.