Loading and unloading filament - BuildBee Support

Loading and unloading filament


Loading and unloading filament to your printer is easy within BuildBee!

When at the 'Select Material' stage, there is a button for both loading and unloading filament.


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Loading

Step 1 - Advance to the 'select material' step

- Choose a model to print from the home screen and confirm your selecting on the next page.
- Select a printer to print on.

Step 2 - Load filament into your printer

- Once you click 'LOAD FILAMENT', your printer will begin to heat up.


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- While your printer is heating up, run through the following steps:

  1. Open the filament, keeping the re-sealable bag and box for storage.
  2. Unravel a small amount of filament and cut the end off at a 45º angle.
  3. Place the filament spool on your 3D printers spool holder. If it doesn't have one, sit the filament spool in a safe place next to your printer, making sure it is out of the way of any moving parts during printing to avoid any complications.
  4. Gently push the filament into your 3D printers extruder until you can feel it grip slightly in the filament gear. 
You may need to consult documentation from your 3D printers manufacturer
It is best to stay near the printer when loading filament to make sure the extruder grabs the filament properly and pulls it through.
- Select the 'BACK' button to return to the 'select material' screen.

Unloading

For bowden line 3D printers, use the unload button first and then remove from the bowden line.

Step 1 - Advance to the 'select material' step

- Choose a model to print from the home screen and confirm your selecting on the next page.
- Select a printer to print on.

Step 2 - Unload filament from your printer

- Once you click 'UNLOAD FILAMENT', your printer will begin to heat up.


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- Once at temperature, the extruder will begin to retract the loaded filament. Wait for it to finish retracting before removing the filament.

- Select the 'BACK' button to return to the 'select material' screen.

Manual controls

You can also use the manual controls in the maintenance console to do this process manually. For more information on how to use the manual controls, refer to the manual controls help article.