10 Things You Should Know Before Owning a 3D Printer

About nine months ago, we bought our first 3D printer for the Martin Lab—the MakerBot Replicator Dual. Our relationship with said printer as complicated. Some days it’s working perfectly, printing non-stop. Other days, it just sits there, stubbornly refusing to work. And while we’ve had only good experiences with the customer support at MakerBot, some things just require learning by practice.

So that’s why we’re writing this article. Here’s some of the things we wish we would’ve known before owning a 3D printer.

10. ABS Means You Need a Thermal Shelter

This is the printer with the plastic hood and door system we purchased. The acrylic case creates an even temperature inside the printer, improving printing results. We loved it because, for the most part, it keeps our prints from lifting off the build platform.

9. This Is The Correct Way to Put On Kaptone Tape

Though this is not the official way prescribed by MakerBot, it’s perfect for when you are doing it by yourself. Don’t worry about the bubbles under the tape, they'll come out when the build platform heats up.

8. Tighten All Your Screws, Often

Especially the one we pointed out with the red arrow. This little guy, which loosens over time, is what keeps the gear moving with the motor. So, if your filament isn’t moving, check this screw.

7. Check Your Filament Guide and Washers

This photograph demonstrates the leading cause of headaches with our 3D printer. Normally, when our printer refuses to print it’s because the filament isn’t being pulled by the motor. If this happens, disassemble the extruder and see whether you need to subtract or add a washer to the plastic pin that pushes the filament into the teeth of the motor.

6. Check The Belts, Sometimes They Need TLC

Go ahead and check these weekly, pushing them back into place when they become loose. They aren't difficult to put back into place if they snap out, but make sure to keep a constant tension. These little belts are what make your extruders move around the build platforms, i.e. they’re kind of important in the whole process.

5. Speaking of Belts, Check Your Tension Rods

Over time, the screws that tighten the belts to the tension rods of the printer loosen. Though we aren't sure if this is a product wide issue, just make sure to tighten often (similar to IKEA furniture). Also MakerBot recommends that you re-lube the tension rods as part of your normal maintenance, so do that too.

4. Mark Your Motor With A Sharpie

When you first get your printer, make a small line on the back of your motor with a Sharpie, that way you can check to see if the motor is moving when you are changing the filament. This helps in troubleshooting as well as in checking to see if your motor is jamming while extruding filament on a print.

3. Always Level Your Build Platform After Any Maintenance

This one’s a no-brainer, just do it. It’s not fun, but it only takes about 10 minutes and will eliminate a lot of stupid errors when you’re troubleshooting. Run the level script twice; normally, the first leveling will screw up one of the corners and the second go around fixes everything.

2. Get Used To Printing Lots of These


This is a 20mm calibration cube. We’ve probably printed 50+ of them. Every time we perform any type of maintenance, we normally print one of these to see if we fixed the problem. They normally take nine minutes to print and can be made with almost nothing for an infill. Very handy.

And Finally…
1. Have A Sense of Adventure


You’re a pioneer and none of this technology is perfected yet. Here at the lab, we break things all the time. It’s just part of the process. So when you get upset, go outside and walk around, or complete a simple task to get some encouragement. 
Remember, MakerBot Support is your friend. Call them and talk to them. There’s not much they haven’t seen before. So do the maintenance and keep printing awesome stuff.

Note: This maintenance instructions/photos/etc. speak specifically to the MakerBot Replicator Dual, but we believe the teachings are applicable to most 3D printer trouble shooting.