Operation¶
Display Screen¶
The color touch screen display on the front of your Robo C2 is the main access point for setting up, controlling, and reviewing all components of your 3d printer. You can navigate through the menus by touch or a stylus.
- Files
- -Here you are able to navigate through your files, whether they are on a USB thumb drive or on the local hard drive internally.
- Printer
- -The print screen is the default screen when printing. This will show you file printing, extruder temperature, a progress indicator, and pause and cancel buttons while in use.
- Utilities
- -The Utilities menu offers a variety of options including: motor control, temperature control, z-offset wizard, network settings, and a way to update your printer
Setting the Z offset¶
Here we will calibrate Robo C2 by setting the Z-Offset and making sure your first layer is applied correctly. We will be covering three ways of zeroing in on your Offset. The first is the Z-Offset Wizard found in Utilities> Wizards; the second is the Fine Tune Wizard - also under Utilities> Wizards; the final is manually adjusting your Offset in the EEPROM manager.
What is “Z-Offset”? Simply, its the distance between your nozzle and your print bed when the print bed is at home (bottom of printer), which is technically known as a Home Offset. This offset can change by not seating your print bed correctly or a shifting hotend.
Z-Offset Wizard¶
From the home screen select “Utilities”
Then select “Wizards”
Next select “Z-Offset Wizard”
Your printer will now home itself and get in position to set your offset
Follow the directions on the screen using your calibration card that came with your printer or a standard piece paper. Press on the ‘Up’ arrow to raise the bed up toward the nozzle of the printer. Slide the calibration card in between the nozzle and bed and continue pressing the ‘Up” button until you feel slight resistance on the calibration card between the Nozzle and the print bed. Note: You still want to be able to slide the calibration card back and forth but with enough resistance that it is touching both the bed and the nozzle.
Select ‘Finished”. Your printer will calculate your Z-Offset and then press ‘Finished’ to complete setting your Z-Offset.
Fine Tune Wizard¶
If you are experiencing the nozzle dragging (too low) or your prints are not sticking (too high), you can fine-tune your Z-Offset. It’s a little more work, but you will tune your offset by actually printing on the bed to get the perfect height. Your Robo R2 will print a series of vertical lines, one at a time. Between each pass you can increase or decrease the Z-Offset value as needed. To use the fine-tune offset wizard, follow these steps below:
Note: It is very important to make sure that the print bed is level by adjusting the thumb screws below the print bed before starting this wizard.
- To start, select ‘Utilities’ from the home screen, then select ‘Fine tune offset’. Select the material currently loaded in the printer. Then the wizard will ask you which corner you’d like to start from. This simply sets where the printer will start printing out the test lines. You can start from whichever corner you prefer.
- Once the printer homes and positions itself to begin testing, you will see a visual reference on the screen to help you know what to look for in order to find an ideal Z-Offset value.
- You will come to the “Adjust Offset” screen, where you can set the adjustment increment, move the bed up or down, and test the offset. We recommend testing the offset first so you can get a visual reference to fine tune the current offset. Move the bed up and down with the provided buttons on screen, and test with the ‘test offset’ button to see if it looks satisfactory.
- When you’ve found a satisfactory Z-Offset value, press the forward arrow in the top right corner and select ‘Save’ to finish the wizard.
Manually setting Offset in EEPROM Manager¶
If you are a printing veteran and are comfortable with manually setting your Offset, you can do so under Utilities> Options> EEPROM> Home Offset. In the “Z” screen you will see the value of your current Offset, as well as two arrows that will increase or decrease this value. The arrows are arranged so that they correspond with raising or lowering the bed. A smaller value brings the bed closer to the nozzle, while a larger value increases the distance away.
If your Offset seems close but prints are still not sticking, you can decrease the value by 0.1mm - 0.2mm and try again. Generally only small changes may be needed.
Loading and Unloading Filament¶
Loading Filament
From the home screen select ‘Utilities’
Next, select ‘Wizards’
Select ‘Filament Loading Wizard’
After you printer heats up, ensure you’ve cut the tip of the filament. Place the filament inside the feed hole, and press ‘Next’.
The feeder gear will push your filament down, through the extruder, and out of the nozzle
Once you see filament coming out of the bottom of the nozzle, select ‘Next’ and ‘Finished’
- Unloading Filament
- From the home screen select ‘Utilities’
- Next, select ‘Wizards’
- Select ‘Filament Change Wizard’
- After you printer heats up, the feeder gear will start to retract the filament from the nozzle
- Once you see filament coming out of the top of the extuder, select ‘Next’ and ‘Finished’
Start a print¶
Starting a print from your internal storage
Select ‘Files’ from the home screen
Select a file you would like to print
Now select ‘Start’ to print - and be sure to wait several second while the Robo C2 prepares to print the file
Note; you can select ‘Pause’ to pause your print, or you can select ‘Cancel’ to cancel your print
Note; you can change the nozzle temperature by pressing on the extruder and adding in your desired temperture
- Starting a print from a USB flash drive
- Insert the USB flash drive into the usb slot on the front of the printer
- Select ‘Files’ from the home screen
- Select which file you would like to print
- Next, you can choose whether or not you would like to download the file directly to the printer or print directly from the usb
- Finally, select ‘Start’ to start the print
Print Status¶
There are three ways to check on the status of your print while your Robo C2 is at work printing away
- Screen
- While your Robo C2 is printing, you can simply check the status by selecting ‘Printer’ on the home screen. This will indicate the name of the file printing, what percentage done your print is, along with the nozzle temperature
- Robo App
- If you have the Robo App, you can check on the status of your print by selecting the printer under the ‘Dashboard’ tab This will indicate the name of the file printing, what percentage done your print is, along with the nozzle temperature
- Web app
- If you have a web browser on your computer or mobile device, you can check on the status of your print by navigating to its IP address in the navigation bar of the browser
- To see the IP address of your printer, select ‘Utilities’ from the home screen
- Next select ‘Network’
- Then select ‘Network Status’ and note the IP address of your Robo C2
- Copy that number into your browser navigation bar, and it will bring you to a web app to see all things with your Robo C2
Using print bed adhesion¶
- The Robo C2 has a print bed adhesion tape already installed with your printer. These will usually last about 10-30 prints depending on the model you print on it.
- In order to make sure you get good adhesion of your print, make sure to wipe the print bed adhesion with isopropyl alcohol before every print.
- If your prints have a hard time sticking to the bed, you can replace the print bed adhesion with the extras that came in your inclusions box or buy directly from www.robo3d.com store
Removing the print¶
- When the Print is completed, remove the print plate with the finished print on it from the C2 by lifting the bed up and away from the magnets.
- Slowly slide the print bed out of the machine and hold with two hands on opposite ends of the print plate.
- Now, flex the print plate back and forth to create a gap in between the print and the print plate. Move to the opposite corners and repeat twisting until the majority of the print has come loose.
- Carefully remove the print from the print plate with your hand.
Note
If the print is not coming loose after flexing the bed, use the provided spatula scraper carefully to skim the border of your print. Slowly work your way underneath the print toward the middle until your print comes loose. Do not try and pull the print from the plate directly up from the middle, as it may cause your print to break.
Setting Up Wifi¶
- To begin connecting to your Wi-Fi network, Select ‘Utilities’ on home screen.
- Select ‘Network’.
- Select ‘Configure WIFI’.
- Then select your Wi-Fi network and use the on-screen keyboard to enter your password.
- Once you’re done, select CONNECT.
Your printer is capable of starting If no Wi-Fi signals are available for connection, you can use Hotspot Mode to emit a Wi-Fi signal from Robo C2 in order to connect to it wirelessly from your smart device. To access Hotspot Mode, do the following:
- Hotspot Mode
- Select “Utilities” on the home screen of the Robo C2 touch screen
- Select “Network” from the list
- Select “Start Hotspot Mode” from the list
- Your Robo C2 is now casting it’s own wireless network
Downloading the Robo App¶
- From your iOS Device
- Open the App Store app
- On the bottom dock, tap on search
- Enter “Robo 3D”
- Tap on the Robo 3D app
- Tap download on the right of the icon, and rate us 5 stars if you like it!
Connecting your iOS device to your Robo C2¶
- Connecting via a local wifi network
Make sure your smart device is connected to the same wifi network as your Robo C2
In the ‘dashboard’ screen of the Robo App, tap ‘+Add a Printer’ in the middle of the screen
Select ‘Scan for Printer Name/IP’
A pop up will appear with all of the printers on the same network as your smart device, go ahead and select which printer you would like to add (your printer has a unique name, example - Curious Tesla, or Brilliant Einstein). (You may look on the back of your printer and find out which name your printer has been given).
Now you will need to scan the QR code on your screen to fully connect the 3d printer to your smart device.
- On the screen of your machine, select ‘Utilities’
- Select ‘network’
- Select ‘QR Code’
Tap on ‘Scan Printer Barcode for Key’
Point your camera at the barcode and wait for the app to recognize the 3d printer
Tap ‘add printer’ at the bottom of the screen
Congratulations, you have now added your Robo C2 to your app
note that you can add multiple machines to the same app, and control each one independently
- Connecting via Hotspot Mode
- Make sure that you are connected to the wifi signal that the machine is emitting
- Follow steps in the previous section to successfully connect your printer to the app
Updating Your Printer¶
Make sure to update your printer to grab the benefits of all the latest Robo has to offer, as well as making sure your Robo C2 performs to the best of its ability.
- Select “Utilities’ from the main screen
- Select ‘Update’
- Check to see if you have the most up-to-date software. If not, go ahead and update to get the best use from your Robo C2