MBot Cube Duo
3D Printer
User Manual
Revision 1.1
16 May 2017
Sailfish firmware version 7.5
MPrint® software version 1.3.0.6
MBot Cube Duo 3D Printer User Manual
16 May 2017 Revision 1.1 Page 2 of 23
Manual by Pellissier Technical Writing. Revision 1.1. 16 May 2017.
This manual is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0
International License.
MPrint® is a registered trademark of MagicFirm, LLC.
Pellissier Technical Writing is in no way affiliated with MagicFirm, LLC. The
information contained in this document is for general information purposes only.
The author assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in the contents of
this document and disclaims any liability in connection with the use of this
information.
This manual describes the operation of an assembled MBot Cube Duo 3D Printer.
For assembly instructions consult the 3D Printer Assembly Instructions manual
that is available for download from http://www.mbot3d.com/product-3d-
printer/mbot-cube.
Revision History
Revision
Date
Description
1.0
27 April 2017
First release
1.1
16 May 2017
Updates after review by UA
MBot Cube Duo 3D Printer User Manual
16 May 2017 Revision 1.1 Page 3 of 23
Contents
1. Introduction .................................................................................................................... 5
2. Printer Specifications ................................................................................................... 6
3. Software Installation ...................................................................................................... 7
4. Navigating the Printer Front Panel ........................................................................... 10
5. Filament Loading and Unloading .............................................................................. 12
5.1. Filament Selection ................................................................................................ 12
5.2. Setting Temperature ............................................................................................ 14
5.3. Loading Filament ................................................................................................... 15
5.4. Unloading Filament ............................................................................................... 17
6. Preparing a Model for Printing ................................................................................... 18
6.1. Configuring MPrint® ............................................................................................ 18
6.2. Slicing a Sample Model ........................................................................................ 19
6.3. Slicing Other Models ............................................................................................. 21
7. Printing .......................................................................................................................... 22
8. Glossary ......................................................................................................................... 23
MBot Cube Duo 3D Printer User Manual
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Figures
Figure 1 : Important Components of the MBot Cube Duo 3D Printer ........................ 5
Figure 2 : Welcome to the MPrint Setup Wizard screen ................................................. 7
Figure 3 : Select Destination Location screen ................................................................. 7
Figure 4 : Select Start Menu Folder screen ..................................................................... 8
Figure 5 : Select Additional Tasks screen ........................................................................ 8
Figure 6 : Ready to Install screen ...................................................................................... 9
Figure 7 : Complete the MPrint Setup Wizard screen .................................................... 9
Figure 8 : Front Panel Layout with Main Menu Displayed ........................................... 10
Figure 9 : Screen with Special Button Assignments .................................................... 10
Figure 10 : Spool Dimensions ............................................................................................ 12
Figure 11 : Spool Holder Dimensions ................................................................................ 12
Figure 12 : Preheat Settings Screen ................................................................................ 14
Figure 13 : Spool Orientation ............................................................................................. 15
Figure 14 : Feeding Filament During Loading ................................................................ 16
Figure 15 : The Feeding Tube in its Final Position ......................................................... 16
Figure 16 : Main Features of the MPrint® Software User Interface ......................... 18
Figure 17 : Extruder Selection Dialog Box ....................................................................... 19
Figure 18 : GCode Generator Dialog Box ......................................................................... 19
Figure 19 : Model with Overhanging Areas .................................................................... 20
Figure 20 : Inserting the SD Card .................................................................................... 22
Tables
Table 1 : Printer Specifications ........................................................................................... 6
Table 2 : Button Actions ..................................................................................................... 10
Table 3 : Material Properties .............................................................................................. 13
MBot Cube Duo 3D Printer User Manual Introduction
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1. Introduction
The MBot Cube Duo 3D Printer is a Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) printer
manufactured by MagicFirm, LLC. It builds plastic three dimensional (3D) objects
by depositing successive layers of molten plastic.
It is a Cartesian printer – it moves its print head on the xy-plane. The print bed is
moved up and down along the z-axis.
Figure 1 : Important Components of the MBot Cube Duo 3D Printer
The MBot Cube Duo is a dual head printer. Two materials can be used at the
same time in one print.
This manual describes how to operate the printer from the front panel, and how
to use the MPrint® software. Note that a Secure Digital (SD) card reader is
required to transfer files to the supplied SD card.
An installation of ReplicatorG with printer profiles for MBot printers is also
available for download. The use of ReplicatorG is, however, beyond the scope of
this manual.
MBot Cube Duo 3D Printer User Manual Printer Specifications
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2. Printer Specifications
Table 1 : Printer Specifications1
Operational Parameters
Build Resolution
0.1 mm (0.004”)
Layer Resolution
0.1 - 0.3 mm (0.004 – 0.012”)
Build Speed
50 – 120 mm/s (1.96 – 4.72”/s)
Extruder Temperature
190 – 260 °C (374 – 500 °F)
Data Input
SD card offline operation
Build Volume
220 mm x 220 mm x 180 mm
(8.6” x 8.6” x 7”)
Print Bed
Not heated
Physical Dimensions
Printer Size
405 mm x 405 mm x 410 mm
(15.9” x 15.9” x 16.1”)
Shipping Box Size
520 mm x 520 mm x 580 mm
(20.5” x 20.5” x 22.8”)
Shipping Weight
15 kg (33 lb)
Power Supply
Input
110 – 220 V AC, 50 – 60 Hz
Output
24 V DC, 6 A
5 V DC, 2 A
Filament
Materials
ABS
PLA
Material Thickness
1.75 mm
Software
Printer Software
MPrint®
ReplicatorG
Supported File Types
STL
Supported Operating Systems
Windows 7/XP/Vista
Ubuntu Linux 10.4+
Mac OS X 10.6+
Regulatory Conformance
Markings
CE, CAS
1
From http://www.mbot3d.com/product-3d-printer/mbot-cube#specifications
MBot Cube Duo 3D Printer User Manual Software Installation
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3. Software Installation
Download the MPrint® software installer from the MBot3D website at
http://www.mbot3d.com/software.
The installation steps below are for a 64-bit Windows operating system. The
default install folder will be C:\Program Files\MPrint on a 32-bit operating
system.
To install MPrint® on Microsoft™ Windows™ Vista or later:
1. Run the downloaded file MPrintInstaller1.3.0.6.exe to display the Welcome to
the MPrint Setup Wizard screen.
Figure 2 : Welcome to the MPrint Setup Wizard screen
2. Click Next to display the Select Destination Location screen.
Figure 3 : Select Destination Location screen
3. Click Browse to choose a different install location if desired.
MBot Cube Duo 3D Printer User Manual Software Installation
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4. Click Next to display the Select Start Menu Folder screen.
Figure 4 : Select Start Menu Folder screen
5. Click Browse to select a different Start menu folder if desired.
6. Click Next to display the Select Additional Tasks screen.
Figure 5 : Select Additional Tasks screen
7. Choose whether to install the MBot Foundation Universal Serial Bus (USB)
drivers. Note that these drivers are not compatible with Windows 8 or later.
The USB drivers are not required if printing from a Secure Digital (SD) card.
Tip The MPrint® software installer will install the driver installation
files to the folder C:\Program Files (x86)\MPrint\drivers. Run
dpinst64.exe (dpinst32.exe on a 32-bit operating system) in the
drivers folder to install the drivers at a later time.
8. Choose whether to create a desktop icon.
9. Click Next to display the Ready to Install screen.
MBot Cube Duo 3D Printer User Manual Software Installation
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Figure 6 : Ready to Install screen
10. Confirm that the displayed settings are correct.
11. Click Next.
12. If the Install USB drivers option is selected, a separate installer will be
launched during the installation. Follow the prompts of the driver installer to
choose which drivers to install.
Figure 7 : Complete the MPrint Setup Wizard screen
13. On the Completing the MPrint Setup Wizard screen, choose whether to
launch the MPrint® software when the installation completes.
14. Click Finish.
To launch MPrint®, run it from the Windows Start menu.
MBot Cube Duo 3D Printer User Manual Navigating the Printer Front Panel
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4. Navigating the Printer Front Panel
A liquid-crystal display (LCD) screen and five buttons appear on the front panel
of the printer. The printer displays the main menu shown in Figure 8 when it is
ready to print.
Figure 8 : Front Panel Layout with Main Menu Displayed
This section briefly describes the main concepts that are useful when operating
the user interface. How to access specific features will be described in more
detail in later sections.
The arrow to the left of the Print from SD menu item in Figure 8 marks the
currently selected menu item.
Table 2 : Button Actions
Button(s)
Actions
Up and Down
Select a menu item. Note that some menus have
more than one screen of menu items. Press the
down button when at the bottom of the screen to
show the next page of menu items.
Middle
Activate the selected menu item. Menu items either
perform actions or open deeper levels of menus,
depending on the item.
Left
Return to the previous menu level.
Figure 9 : Screen with Special Button Assignments
MBot Cube Duo 3D Printer User Manual Navigating the Printer Front Panel
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Some screens assign special meanings to the buttons. Figure 9 shows an
example of such a screen - Jog mode. The text on the screen is organised to
represents the functions of the buttons in corresponding positions. The up
button jogs the print head in the positive direction on the y axis. The right
button switches to the z axis control screen. And so on.
MBot Cube Duo 3D Printer User Manual Filament Loading and Unloading
16 May 2017 Revision 1.1 Page 12 of 23
5. Filament Loading and Unloading
5.1. Filament Selection
The MBot Cube Duo uses filament with a thickness of 1.75 mm. Filament spools
are available from various suppliers. While filament thickness is standardised,
spool sizes vary. The dimensions that are typically specified for filament spools
are shown in Figure 10.
Figure 10 : Spool Dimensions
Figure 11 : Spool Holder Dimensions
MBot Cube Duo 3D Printer User Manual Filament Loading and Unloading
16 May 2017 Revision 1.1 Page 13 of 23
The dimensions of the spool holders supplied with the printer determine which
spools are compatible. The inner diameter of the filament spool should be larger
than 30 mm (1.2”). The depth of the spool should ideally be less than 75 mm (3”),
with a maximum depth of 100 mm (4”).
Tip You can print your own spool holders if the dimensions of the
supplied ones are not what you need.
The distance between the center points of the two spool holders is 20 cm (7.9”).
When using both extruders, keep in mind that the two spools need to fit onto the
two spool holders at the same time. This means that radius of spool one plus
radius of spool two must be less than 17 cm (6.7”).
Two material types are officially supported:
• Polylactic acid (PLA), and
• Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS).
These two materials are compared in Table 3 below.
Table 3 : Material Properties
Property
PLA
ABS
Material Type
Bioplastic derived from
plant materials
Synthetic plastic
Extruder
Temperature
180 – 220 °C
(356 - 428 °F)
220 - 235 °C
(428 - 455 °F)
Bed Adhesion
Good adhesion to nonheated bed
Poor adhesion to nonheated bed
Flexibility
More flexible than ABS
More rigid than PLA
Smell While
Printing
Semi-sweet smell
Hot plastic smell
Tip Apply a layer of firm hold hair spray to the print bed when printing
with ABS, to unsure that prints stick to the bed. Allow the hair
spray to dry completely before starting the print.
Warning Hair spray can combust when exposed to high temperatures,
causing serious injury and damage to property. Ensure that the
hair spray is applied in a well-ventilated area. Ensure that the hair
spray has completely dissipated before switching on the printer.
Use other materials that can be printed between 190 °C and 260 °C (374 °F and
500 °F) at your own risk.
MBot Cube Duo 3D Printer User Manual Filament Loading and Unloading
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5.2. Setting Temperature
You can set the temperature for each of the print heads (left and right)
individually. This enables you to use two different types of filament with
different printing temperatures.
Tip When printing with a new spool of filament, start with the printing
temperature that is recommended by the filament manufacturer.
Print a small test print, and adjust the temperature if required.
To set the print temperature from the front panel:
1. Navigate to the main menu.
2. Select the Utilities menu item using the up and down buttons.
3. Press the middle button to enter the Utilities menu.
4. Select the Preheat Settings menu item and press the middle button. The
Preheat Settings screen will be displayed – see Figure 12.
Figure 12 : Preheat Settings Screen
5. Press the up or down buttons to select the print head for which to change
the temperature – right tool or left tool.
6. Press the middle button.
7. Press the up or down buttons until the desired temperature is reached.
8. Press the middle button to accept the temperature.
9. Repeat steps 5 to 8 to change the temperature for the other print head if
desired.
10. Press the left button twice to return to the main menu.
By default, the temperatures that are set on the front panel of the printer
override the temperatures that may be specified in the file that is printed. This
means that you can print the same model in different materials without having
to slice it again. The default value of Override GcTemp = On is recommended.
To change the temperature override setting (if necessary) from the front panel:
1. Navigate to the main menu.
2. Select the Utilities menu item and press middle button.
3. Select the General Settings menu item and press middle button. Note:
This menu item appears on the second page of the menu.
MBot Cube Duo 3D Printer User Manual Filament Loading and Unloading
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4. Select the Override GcTemp menu item and press the middle button.
5. Press the up or down buttons to select the new value.
6. Press middle button to accept the selection.
7. Press the left button twice to return to the main menu.
5.3. Loading Filament
Tip Apply multi-purpose lubricant to the surfaces of the filament
spool that touch the spool holder. This reduces friction, which in
turn reduces the risk of filament getting stuck.
Before starting with the filament loading process, ensure that the preheat
temperature is set to the right value. See section 5.2 for more details.
To load filament:
1. Hang the filament spool on one of the spool holders.
The orientation of the spool is important. See Figure 13 for the most
optimal orientation, when looking at the printer from the back. Note the
direction of rotation of the spools.
Figure 13 : Spool Orientation
2. Feed the filament manually through one of the feeding tubes.
3. Navigate to the main menu from the front panel of the printer.
4. Select the Utilities menu item and press middle button.
5. Select Filament Loading and press middle button.
6. Choose Load left or Load right and press middle button.
7. Wait for the print head to reach the correct temperature. A progress bar
will be displayed on the screen while heating is in progress.
8. When the feeder motor is switched on, gently feed the filament manually
into the top of the print head. See Figure 14.
MBot Cube Duo 3D Printer User Manual Filament Loading and Unloading
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Figure 14 : Feeding Filament During Loading
9. When the filament is pulled by the motor, and filament is extruded, press
the middle button to stop loading.
Tip If a different filament was used before, some of the old colour may
be extruded first. Keep extruding until the new colour is cleanly
extruded.
10. Plug the feeding tube securely into the top of the print head. See Figure 15.
Figure 15 : The Feeding Tube in its Final Position
MBot Cube Duo 3D Printer User Manual Filament Loading and Unloading
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5.4. Unloading Filament
Tip It is recommended that filament should be unloaded before
switching off the printer. If filament was not unloaded, first
perform the load action for a few seconds. This will make the
filament unloading process much easier.
Before starting with the filament unloading process, ensure that the preheat
temperature is set to the right value. See section 5.2 for more details.
To unload filament:
1. Pull the feeding tube out of the top of the print head.
2. Navigate to the main menu from the front panel.
3. Select the Utilities menu item and press middle button.
4. Select Filament Loading and press middle button.
5. Choose Unload left or Unload right and press middle button.
6. Wait for the print head to reach the correct temperature.
7. The printer will switch on the feeder motor, reversing the filament out of
the print head.
8. Gently pull the filament from the print head.
9. Once the filament is removed, press middle button to stop the motor.
10. Trim the end of the filament.
11. Manually pull the filament from the feeding tube.
12. Remove the spool from the spool holder.
13. Store the spool according to manufacturer recommendations.
Tip Wait for the print head cooling fans to switch off before powering
down the printer. This will help to prevent any remaining filament
from clogging the extruder.
MBot Cube Duo 3D Printer User Manual Preparing a Model for Printing
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6. Preparing a Model for Printing
To 3D print something, you need a digital model of the object. The MPrint®
software requires models to be in the STereoLithography (STL) file format. This
is a very common file format that is supported by many Computer-Aided Design
(CAD) applications. Several sample models are included in the MPrint®
installation.
Tip Thingiverse (http://www.thingiverse.com/) is an online repository
of freely downloadable 3D models.
Once you have the model, it needs to be sliced. This means that the model is
converted into the path in space that the print head will follow to print the
object. Slicing is done with MPrint®.
Figure 16 : Main Features of the MPrint® Software User Interface
6.1. Configuring MPrint®
It is important to configure MPrint® to use the correct printer profile. Otherwise
the print may not turn out to be the expected size.
To choose the printer profile:
1. From the menu bar, choose Device > Select Type of Device > Others >
MBot Cube Dual(17).
Note that you will have to perform this configuration again when you update the
MPrint® software to a newer version.
MBot Cube Duo 3D Printer User Manual Preparing a Model for Printing
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6.2. Slicing a Sample Model
To slice the cube model sample:
1. From the File menu, choose Examples.
2. From the Examples menu, choose 20x20x20mm_cube.stl. The cube is
shown as in Figure 16.
3. Click the Object button on the toolbar.
4. Left click on the cube in the workspace.
5. Right click anywhere on the workspace. A popup dialog box is displayed
(see Figure 17).
Figure 17 : Extruder Selection Dialog Box
6. Choose the extruder that you are planning to use – left or right.
7. Left click on the workspace outside of the popup to close the dialog box.
8. Click the Settings button on the toolbar. The GCode Generator dialog box
is displayed (see Figure 18).
Figure 18 : GCode Generator Dialog Box
9. Choose the same extruder for printing the raft as used in step 6.
MBot Cube Duo 3D Printer User Manual Preparing a Model for Printing
16 May 2017 Revision 1.1 Page 20 of 23
Tip The raft is printed first before the model itself. This is done to
ensure that the print sticks to the print bed. Printing the raft with
a different material (using the second print head) can make the
raft easier to remove.
10. For Support, choose None.
Tip Support structures need to be printed if there are overhanging
areas in the model. Figure 19 shows an example of such a model.
The highlighted areas are not supported by anything if supports
are not switched on.
Figure 19 : Model with Overhanging Areas
11. Click Save.
12. Click the Export button on the toolbar.
13. Wait for the generation process to complete. Since the cube is a simple
model, it will not take long.
14. Click the Export button.
15. Choose a location and for the .x3g file and click Save.
16. Transfer the generated file to the SD card that is provided with the printer.
Tip Decide on a file naming convention that indicates which print head
will be used for the print. It will be invaluable if you want to print
the same print again months later.
MBot Cube Duo 3D Printer User Manual Preparing a Model for Printing
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6.3. Slicing Other Models
To slice a model from an STL file:
1. Click the Add button on the toolbar.
2. Browse to the location of the STL file and select it.
3. Click Open.
4. Continue with the steps in section 6.2, starting with step 3.
Note that multiple models can be added. The print head to use for each of the
models can be selected independently. Click on the Move button on the toolbar
to move models into position.
MBot Cube Duo 3D Printer User Manual Printing
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7. Printing
Before continuing with this section, ensure that a sliced model is loaded on the
SD card (see section 6). Load the filament for the print (see section 5.3).
To print from the SD card:
1. Insert the SD card into the SD card reader of the printer. Note the
orientation of the card in Figure 20.
Figure 20 : Inserting the SD Card
2. Navigate to the main menu on the printer front panel.
3. Select Print from SD and press the middle button.
4. Select the generated .x3g file.
5. Press middle button. This action starts the print.
6. When the print is complete, remove it from the print bed.
7. Remove the raft from the bottom of the print.
Tip Sand the surface of the print with sand paper to smooth it if
desired.
MBot Cube Duo 3D Printer User Manual Glossary
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8. Glossary
Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) – A synthetic plastic used in 3D printing.
Cartesian printer – A 3D printer that moves its print head along the x-, y- and z-
axis.
Computer-Aided Design (CAD) – The use of computer software to create
technical drawings.
Extrude – The process of shaping a molten material by forcing it through a hole.
Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) – An additive manufacturing process where
3D objects are created by depositing successive layers of material.
Liquid-crystal display (LCD) – A flat screen display that uses liquid crystals.
Model – An electronic description of a 3D object.
Polylactic acid (PLA) – A bioplastic used in 3D printing.
Raft – A structure that is printed first, to ensure that the print sticks to the print
bed.
Slicing – The process of transforming a model into a toolpath for a 3D printer.
STereoLithography (STL) – A file format for 3D models.
Support – Extra material that is printed to support overhanging areas.
Toolpath – The path through space that the print head follows during printing.
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