Now that you have a better understanding of the theory behind FDM, it is time to start using the equipment here at the Makerspace. Most of all of the FDM printers in the Makerspace are from Ultimaker, a Dutch company, that specializes in the prosumer level. The Ultimaker 3 and the Ultimaker S5 are the two models that we have in the space. The primary difference between the two machines is the larger build volume and a few extra bells and whistles on S5.

Ultimakers - 1.jpg

The first step in successfully using the Ultimakers is to familiarize yourself with the slicing software. Slicing software is what takes an STL file plus the printer parameters (e.g. layer height) to generate tool-path instructions for the machines.

The best way to learn the slicing software, Cura, is to tinker around and discover all of the capabilities. For the Ultimakers, we use the most recent version of their version of Cura, which can be downloaded for free from their website: https://ultimaker.com/en/resources/52833-install-ultimaker-cura

If you are already familiar with the advanced features of Cura, you might be able to skip this but you will need to know your way around to successfully complete the next assignment.

Basics of Cura

Advanced Customization

The plethora of options can be both a blessing and curse because you can highly optimize your print for speed or quality but it can also result in failed print by pushing the printers beyond their limits. When modifying settings, always think about how you are changing what the printer is doing.