TM

STRATASYS F123
3D PRINTER SERIES
BEST PRACTICES
Feb 15, 2017

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 Important Print Success Factors

• Old design head carriage levers must be tightened with as

much force as possible until the new design assembly is
installed (see Design Change Communication from Feb 14,
2017)
• Use controller software version 5248 or newer if available
• Verify the auto-calibration of the system with manual
calibration if you experience part quality issues
• Always build the purge part, recommended to build with full
height purge part for all builds
• All four leveling feet must be down securely to help stabilize
the printer for best quality prints – the weight of the printer
should rest on the leveling feet, not on the rolling casters
• Read the F123 Series User Guide for detailed operation and
troubleshooting

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 Content

• Build Substrates
• Automatic Calibration
• Manual Calibration
• Material Handling
• Purge Part
• General Build Considerations
• PLA Tips & Tricks

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 Build Substrates (Trays)

Substrates for the F123 Series are similar to

those used with Mojo systems and are made
of the same grade ABS
One substrate used for all model materials
Substrates are sized by system
Recommended to populate trays from front to
back
Be sure to remove all materials before reusing
trays

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 Automatic Tip Calibration

The automatic tip calibration registers the support tip

relative to the model tip.
Tip offset values represent the distance between the
model and support tips in the X, Y and Z directions.
Accurate tip offset values ensure that support
toolpaths are accurately located in reference to
model toolpaths.
Inaccurate tip offset values can cause part quality
issues, such as support material embedded in a part
or improperly supported parts.
Anytime either head is removed or adjusted, make
sure you unplug the head ribbon cable with the
power on. This will ensure that the automatic
calibration is performed.

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 Manual Tip Calibration

This calibration requires you to

analyze a calibration part once it’s
built, and manually supply the printer
with correction values, as needed, in
order to calibrate the printer.
The location of the calibration part is
fixed in controller software version
5248 and above.
When should you manually
calibrate?
• After replacing or reseating the
head
• If you are seeing issues after
using the automatic calibration
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 Material Handling

Each material bay is a low permeability drybox.

(This means that there is no active drying system)
Proper storage of materials is critical.
When removing spools from the system, place the
material spool in the Mylar bag immediately.
For extended non-use periods greater than 72
hours, unload the material from the head and wind
back onto the spool. Store in the material bay.
(Environments with high humidity should unload the
material after 36 hours)
For extended non-use periods greater than 2
weeks, unload the material, store the material in an
air tight bag and power off the system.

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 Purge Part

Every print requires a purge part which enables:

• Faster head swaps
• Better control of purge material (conditions the liquefier) which ensures part
quality.
Best Practice: Place the purge part close to the first part in the pack or next to
the tallest part.
The purge part can be used to verify tip offset calibration and can therefore be
used to eliminate that variable when troubleshooting. (Examples included below)

Calibrated X Out of Adjustment Y Out of Adjustment

Support Road

Model Road
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 F123 Series General Build Considerations

Build Considerations
• Reused build trays can be difficult to lock into place (use two
hands)
• When switching between materials, clean the oven chamber
• The range for acceptable road widths is reduced due to the
use of a T14 equivalent

Known Issues
• PC-ABS built solid may require curl management techniques
• The filament present switch of the material drive controller can
become stuck
• Run a piece of filament in and out to clear it

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 PLA Tips and Tricks for Design & Processing

Part Design:
Discourage thin-wall parts (ones that only get a single contour of toolpath generated).
Open seams, designing parts thick enough to get a double contour to hide the start will turn out better.
Processing Guidelines:
If a part fails mid-way through a print because it popped off the substrate or support, try re-orienting the part in
Insight or GrabCAD Print to maximize the surface area of support on substrate.
Most Maker-parts are designed to be printed without support, don’t be afraid to try the “Base Only” support
option
Linked contours are good as they hide the start of a toolpath, which has the highest chance of being under-
extruded
Try to avoid having support generated for small features. PLA can generally bridge 1 inch fairly well and many
small overhangs tend to be successful without support.
Minimizing support is not always the best option for a successful build. Support removal is actually fairly easy
on large, flat areas and tends to help increase the surface area of part to substrate, increasing adhesion to
substrate.
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 PLA Tips and Tricks for Packing & System Prep

Packing Guidelines:
• Pack many parts into a single build, this increases the time between the layers, likely making support
removal easier
• If a part with lots of small features is failing to build in a pack with other more blocky parts, try printing this
part by itself, or as a pack of multiples.

System Preparation:
• Use new build substrates when a successful build is critical
• Substrates can be reused, especially when there is a lot of surface area between the base and substrate
but part adhesion decreases as substrates become used

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 PLA Tips and Tricks for Tools & Support Removal

Tools Necessary:
• Pliers
• Knife or scrapper
Support Removal:
• Use the knife/scrapper to get between larger areas of part and support for cleaner and easier support
removal
• When removing support, if you are having trouble try a different side as different areas of the same
support/part interface have higher adhesion than others (likely around seams)
Example: removing support from a square block, the base does not remove easily, rotate the block 90
degrees and try to remove it from that side – When printing a cylinder, try turning in 20 degree
increments until you hit an area where the base removes easily
• Don’t try support removal on parts that are freshly (<60 sec) printed as the model could still be warm and is
more likely to deform
• Same is true for parts that triggered Minimum Layer timer or are Solid, give them more time to cool or risk
deforming the parts when you handle them.

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