DIY 3D Printing

The MAKEmory Community offers Do-It-Yourself 3D printing at the Computing Center at Cox Hall and the Woodruff Health Sciences Center Library. These instructions offer an explanation on how to access this equipment. Students have up to 100 hours of free printing per month and may print on one 3D printer at a time.

Please see this PDF to learn how to operate the Dremel 3D printers, and this PDF to learn how to operate the Prusa 3D printers.

If you would like more information, TechLab offers workshops and training using this equipment. 

• Create an Account
• Verify Printer Access
• Uploading a File
• Preparing a File
• Preparing a Printer
• Send a File to the Printer
• Remove A Print

Creating a 3DPrinterOS Account

This section covers creating an account with 3DPrinterOS. You will need an account in order to send a print job to any SDL managed 3D printer.

Step 01:

Go to https://www.3dprinteros.com/ and click "Sign In".

Step 02:

Choose the "SSO" tab from the login menu. In this tab, search for "Emory University".

Step 03:

You should receive a standard Emory Login Screen. Login as you would normally.

You have just created your account for 3DPrinterOS.

Verifying Access to the Default Printers

Once you have your account, let's make sure you have the printers you need or want.

Find Your Available Printers

Step 01:

While logged in to 3DPrinterOS, choose the "Printers" tab.

Step 02:

By default, all Emory Users should have the four Computing Center printers available to them. These printers are C-Dremel-1, C-Dremel-2, C-Prusa-1, and C-Prusa-2.

The first part of the name is the location of the printers, in this example, the Computing Center at Cox Hall. This will help you chose a printer in an area that is most accessible to you. The second part of the name is the filament color, as we only offer black or white filament. The number indicates which individual machine it is. Should you have a problem with a specific printer, this will help technicians identify which printer is malfunctioning and needs to be addressed.

Adding New Printers:

Printers are set up using Workgroups to help keep them organized. Workgroups are generally set up by the area they are located in. To add a new Workgroup, follow the steps below.

Step 01:

While logged in to 3DPrinterOS, choose the "Printers" tab.

Step 02:

On the far left of the page, you will find an "Add Printer" button. Next to this button is a menu button with three vertical dots, otherwise known as a "kebab menu button". Click the kebab menu and choose "Add Workgroup Printers".

Step 03:

A window will appear asking you to input the Workgroup Access Code for the printers you are trying to access. The access codes are:

• Computing Center at Cox Hall: TLDIY
• The Hatchery: hatchery
• Woodruff Health Sciences Center Library: WHSCL3D

Input your access code and click "Connect to Workgroup".

You should now have the new Workgroup of printers listed in your Printers tab.

Uploading a File to Print

This section covers creating preparing a file for printing with 3DPrinterOS.

Step 01:

While logged in to 3DPrinterOS, choose the "Files" tab. You will see sub-tabs for "Files" and "Projects". You can work with either of these, however the specific steps might differ slightly.

Step 02:

Click the "Add Files" button located on the far right if you just want to add a file. The kebab menu next to this button has a "Create Project" button if you are following these instructions under the Projects sub-tab.

Step 03:

Using this new window, you can either drag and drop content into the window, or use the "select from computer" button to upload a file.

Once your file has finished uploading, you may prepare the file for printing.

Preparing a File to Print

Step 01:

Find the file you want to work with. One the far right you will find some buttons. Layout, Slice with a dropdown option, and a kebab menu.

Step 02:

Click "Layout" to go into the file editor for 3DPrinterOS. From here, first make sure that the proper printer has been selected. If you layout a file for the wrong printer type, you run the risk of malfunction.

Example of Layout and Slice Button Above

In the Computing Center in Cox Hall, the two printers available are Dremel 3D45 model printers.

Step 03:

Once you have verified your printer, you can use the Move, Rotate, and Scale functions to manipulate your object. For many files, using the Move function to "Center" and "On Bed" is sufficient. If you do not place the object "On Bed", you run the risk of a malfunction.

If you have trouble doing this, make sure the file you want to manipulate is selected in the file editor. If you have added additional files, this is especially important.

Step 04:

When you are done laying out your object and you are content with its placement, on the top right of the window you will see "Slice".

Slicing a File

If you started slicing directly from the Layout step, a Slicer window should automatically pop up. If you are attempting to Slice directly from the Files tab, you will need to use the Cloud Slicer option from the Slice drop-down menu.

Using 3DPrinterOS's "Cloud Slicer" to Slice a File

Step 01:

Verify the Select Printer Type dropdown is set for the printer you want to use. In the Computing Center in Cox Hall, the two printers available are Dremel 3D45 model printers.

Step 02:

We have taken the liberty to prepare 3 Slicing Profiles for people to use if they so choose. These are located in the "Select Slicing Profile" drop-down menu. They are "TL Dremel Best", "TL Dremel Draft", and "TL Dremel Standard". Best will produce the longest print with the finest layer height and thicker walls. Draft will produce the quickest print with a larger layer height and thinner walls. Standard will split the different between the other two options.

These presets are tested by TechLab and we feel they work well for the Dremel 3D45s available.

If you do not want to use a preset, you can feel free to manipulate the sliders or text fields to set the settings you prefer.

You are now ready to send a file to the printer. But first we need to make sure the printer is ready.

Using Cura or Digilab to Slice a File

Users who are familiar with 3D printing may opt to use Cura or Dremel's Digilab to prepare their print. 3DPrinterOS will accept gcode as an upload and be able to send it to the printer. Just make sure you slice for the correct hardware and once you upload you mark the gcode as compatible with the appropriate printer. Otherwise, you will not be able to finalize the upload and send to the printer.

Preparing a Printer

Checking Filament

Step 01:

Filament is stored in the printer on the left side of the machine, inside the printer itself. The filament runs up the back of the print area to the extruder. If you see filament running into the printer, that's great. If not, please seek out a staff member for assistance on replacing filament or fixing broken filament.

Step 02:

If there is filament running into the extruder, you may want to make sure that there is enough filament for your print. Look at the spool of filament on the side and use your best judgement to estimate the amount of material needed. The spool holds 500g of filament when new and unused. So approximately half a spool would be 250g, a quarter would be 125g, etc.

To check the size of your print, use the "Preview" button on your file and choose the "Info" tab. Weight is listed at the bottom in grams.

Prepare Print Surface

Step 01:

The Dremel 3D45 uses a glass print bed. This means we need to use a gluestick to give the filament something to grab onto in order to stay in place while printing. The glue provided is the "Disappearing Purple" variety. Standard white gluestick will clog the printer.

Find the gluestick in the nearby tool bin and uncap the stick.

Step 02:

Applying even pressure to ensure a light coating, place the tip of the gluestick to the surface of the printer and move around the perimeter of the area your print will be. Then, in a back and forth motion cover the internal area of your perimeter. Lastly, perpendicular to the motion you just performed, move side to side and cover the internal area of your perimeter again.

Step 03:

Once you have applied glue, you can close the printer back up. Make sure the magnets in the doors register and close the door. Otherwise, the printer will think the door is open and throw a safety error.

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Send a File to the Printer

You have now prepared a file and a printer and are ready to send a file to the printer.

Sending a File to the Queue

Step 01:

While viewing the Files Tab on 3DPrinterOS, you will see a drop-down menu for "Print" on the far right side. If you click the drop-down arrow, you will be given the option to Queue your print on a specific printer.

Step 02:

Choose the the printer you wish to queue your print on. This will allow you to verify the printer is available and prepared before printing the object.

Releasing a Queued Object on a Printer

After you have queued a file, you can go to a printer to release the print job. Please make sure you have prepared the printer appropriately before releasing the object. Failure to do so will result in a malfunction.

Method 01:

Please only use this method if you are at the printer. This is a courtesy to other users so they know you are about to use the printer and we don't end up with "traffic jams" of folks trying to use the same printer at the same time.

In 3DPrinterOS, under the Printers Tab, you will see a list of printers with any objects in the queue. Other user's objects will be blurred out to protect privacy. Your objects will be clear to read and release.

Find your object and click "Start".

Method 02:

While standing at the printer you want to use, you can view Queued Objects by using the touch interface on the printer.

Choose "Build" then "Queue".

You will be presented with a list of objects ready to print. Find the object you want to print, select it and tap "Build".

If the printer is not responsive to your touch, please seek assistance from staff in the area.

Remove a Print

Once a print is finished, we need to remove the print from the printer.

Step 01:

Open the printer and remove the build plate by pressing on the two latches located at the front of the build plate. Pull the plate up and towards you to unhook the plate from the back hooks.

Step 02:

Locate a spatula from the tools stored near the printer. Place the build plate against the counter or table, angled so that the platform is approximately 45-60 degrees against the table. Hold the platform at the point closest to yourself so as to not put your hand in the path of the spatula.

Step 03:

While being sure push away from yourself, use the spatula to firmly knock the print at the base, where the object meets the build plate. You may need to also use the spatula to work under the print in order to gain leverage to "pop" the object off the plate.

MAKE SURE YOU DO NOT PUT YOUR HAND IN THE PATH OF THE SPATULA. YOU WILL CUT YOURSELF.