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Purpose
How to Operate
The following directions provide a step by step process for the use of a syringe pump attachment. The focus will be set up of the software, loading the pump, loading the syringe with the ink, zeroing the syringe tip, printing, and moving to idle. The printer should never need to be turned off.
Software Setup
Franklin is installed on a Raspberry Pi and connected to the Prusa. The files for Franklin can be found here. How to install Franklin can be found here. Make software is used for this installation and the files needed to download it can be found here.
Printer Setup and Use
Step 1, start up
Initiate the franklin terminal on either the raspberry Pi or on a laptop connected to the Pi. Printer in standby position(home position) with no syringe.
Step 2, Leveling the bed surface
Ensure that the bed is level in the center print area by adjusting the screws at the four corners of the bed. Then ensure that the syringe pump platform is level in the -x to x direction with a leveler(keeping the air bubble in the middle as shown in the image below). If the rods are not parallel with the bed, uneven printing will ensue, see guide below for correcting issue.
Step 3, Loading the Printer
First, Load the syringe into the syringe pump by securing with the syringe pump holders(white printed parts holding the syringe in image)
Insert the syringe top holder to secure the syringe in the pump(blue printed part on top of syringe in image)
Adjust the positioning of the syringe to load ink. (I like to use 25x by 25y by 25z) Add the ink container to the bed underneath the syringe tip. (picture of syringe ready to be lowered)
Lower the syringe tip to to ink to be used and in franklin set a negative number to the extruder(retracting filament for normal printers) to load the syringe. (Picture and screenshot of this process)
- Raise the syringe to remove the ink container vial and stopper it, and load a test slide for zeroing the syringe tip. (Picture of raised syringe tip and glass slide on the bed.
- Lower the syringe with the position z(franklin value) as far ass possible(until it reads 0) without crashing into the bed. Then transfer those values from the position z to the target z(franklin value). Adjust the target z until the syringe is just above the test glass slide(0.4mm is a good value). It may be necessary to physically lower the syringe to accommodate the numerical adjustments made in Franklin. (franklin screenshot and printer lowered picture)
- Ensure that over the surface to be printed that the syringe is of similar height when moved around the print area. This is done by observing if there is a change in the gap distance between the syringe tip and the glass slide surface as the syringe is moved across the printing area.(Pictures of the syringe at -25x and 25x showing gap)
- The syringe is sufficiently zeroed, now warm the heated bed in accordance with the testing parameters. (screenshot of franklin heated bed)
- Assuming the gcode is already added onto franklin and all adjustments to it have been made(in this case an angle of 45 degrees is added to correct for internal geometries) the printer is ready for printing. Press the print selected button. (screenshot of the ready to print status) (Video of printing)
Troubleshooting
uneven rods (picture of lopsided level bubble) Typically this implies that a coupling has come loose (picture of coupling) Tighten and relevel the x direction rods to fix the issue.
Designs
To be added after paper submission