Stratasys MATCAB Assembly of RFID reader and antenna boards User Manual user

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User Guide

English

Objet500 - Connex 3

3-D Printer System

DOC-07000 Rev. A

ThisdocumentationcontainsproprietaryinformationofObjetLtd.Thisinformationissuppliedsolely

toassistauthorizedusersofObjet500‐Connex33‐Dprintingsystems.Nopartofthisdocumentmay

beusedforotherpurposes,anditmaynotbedisclosedtootherparties.

Thespecificationsonwhichthisdocumentisbasedaresubjecttochangewithoutnotice.

Nopartofthisbookmaybereproducedinanyformorbyanymeans,norstoredinadatabaseor

retrievalsystem,withoutpriorpermissioninwritingfromObjetLtd.

IfthisdocumentisdistributedasaPDFfile,youmayprintitforinternaluse.

Trademarks

ThefollowingareregisteredtrademarksofObjetLtd.:Objet®,FullCure®.

ThefollowingaretrademarksofObjetLtd.:Eden,Eden500V,Eden350V,Eden350,Eden330,Eden260,

Eden260V,Eden250,Connex,Connex500,Connex350,Objet30,Objet30‐Pro,Objet30‐Scholar,Objet24,

Alaris,Alaris30,PolyJet,PolyJetMatrix,CADMatrix,PolyLog,ObjetStudio,JobManager,SHR,

TangoBlack,TangoBlackPlus,TangoGray,TangoPlus,VeroBlue,VeroGray,VeroWhite,VeroWhitePlus,

VeroBlack,Durus,DurusWhite,RoseClear,Clear,ObjetGreen,DigitalMaterials.

MicrosoftandMicrosoftXParetrademarksofMicrosoftCorporation.

Allnamesofproductsandservicescitedinthisbookaretrademarksorregisteredtrademarksoftheir

respectivecompanies.

FCC Compliance Theequipmentreferredtointhisguidehasbeentestedandfoundtocomplywiththelimitsfora

ClassAdevicepursuanttopart15oftheFCCrules.Theselimitsprovidereasonableprotection

againstharmfulinterferencewhentheequipmentisoperatedinacommercialenvironment.Objet3‐D

printingsystemsgenerate,useandcanradiateradio‐frequencyenergyand,ifnotinstalledandused

inaccordancewiththeinstructionmanual,maycauseharmfulinterferencetoradiocommunications.

Operationofthisequipmentinaresidentialareaislikelytocauseharmfulinterference,inwhichcase

theuserwillberequiredtocorrecttheinterferenceathisownexpense.

The3‐Dprinterreferredtointhisguidecontainsatransmittermodule,FCCIDYH6‐MATCAB.

NOTE

:ObjetisnotresponsibleforradioorTVinterferencecausedbyunauthorizedmodificationto

thisequipment.Suchmodificationcouldvoidtheuser’sauthoritytooperatetheequipment.

Equipment Recycling

IntheEuropeanUnion,thissymbolindicatesthatwhenthelastuserwishestodiscardaproduct,it

mustbesenttoappropriatefacilitiesforrecoveryandrecycling.Forinformationaboutproper

disposal,checkyourpurchasecontract,orcontactthesupplieroftheequipment.





Limitation of Liability

Theproduct,softwareorservicesarebeingprovidedonan“asis”and“asavailable”basis.Exceptas

maybestatedspecificallyinyourcontract,ObjetLtd.expresslydisclaimsallwarrantiesofanykind,

whetherexpressorimplied,including,butnotlimitedto,anyimpliedwarrantiesofmerchantability,

fitnessforaparticularpurposeandnon‐infringement.

YouunderstandandagreethatObjetLtd.shallnotbeliableforanydirect,indirect,incidental,special,

consequentialorexemplarydamages,includingbutnotlimitedto,damagesforlossofprofits,

goodwill,use,dataorotherintangiblelosses(evenifObjethasbeenadvisedofthepossibilityofsuch

damages),resultingfrom:(i)theuseortheinabilitytousetheproductorsoftware;(ii)thecostof

procurementofsubstitutegoodsandservicesresultingfromanyproducts,goods,data,software,

informationorservicespurchased;(iii)unauthorizedaccesstooralterationofyourproducts,software

ordata;(iv)statementsorconductofanythirdparty;(v)anyothermatterrelatingtotheproduct,

software,orservices.

Thetextanddrawingshereinareforillustrationandreferenceonly.Thespecificationsonwhichthey

arebasedaresubjecttochange.ObjetLtd.may,atanytimeandwithoutnotice,makechangestothis

document.ObjetLtd.,foritselfandonbehalfofitssubsidiaries,assumesnoliabilityfortechnicalor

editorialerrorsoromissionsmadeherein,andshallnotbeliableforincidental,consequential,indirect,

orspecialdamages,including,withoutlimitation,lossofuse,lossoralterationofdata,delays,orlost

profitsorsavingsarisingfromtheuseofthisdocument.

Patents ThisproductiscoveredbyoneormoreofthefollowingU.S.patents:

5,386,500

6,259,962

6,569,373

6,658,314

6,850,334

7,183,335

7,209,797

7,225,045

7,364,686

7,369,915

7,479,510

7,500,846

7,604,768

7,628,857

7,658,976

7,725,209

ObjetLtd.

http://www.objet.com

DOC‐07000

RevisionRev.A

October2012

DOC-07000 Rev. A

1AboutThisGuide

UsingThisGuide ............................................................................................................................... 1–2

ForMoreInformation........................................................................................................................ 1–2

TermsUsedinThisGuide................................................................................................................ 1–3

2 Safety

SafetyFeatures ................................................................................................................................... 2–2

SymbolsandWarningLabels .......................................................................................................... 2–3

SafetyGuidelines ............................................................................................................................... 2–4

PrinterInstallation .............................................................................................................................. 2–4

PrinterOperation ................................................................................................................................ 2–4

UVRadiation ....................................................................................................................................... 2–4

PrinterMaintenance ........................................................................................................................... 2–4

ModelandSupportMaterials ........................................................................................................... 2–5

FirstAidforWorkingwithPrintingMaterials.............................................................................. 2–6

ContactwithSkin................................................................................................................................ 2–6

ContactwithEyes ............................................................................................................................... 2–6

Ingestion............................................................................................................................................... 2–6

Inhalation ............................................................................................................................................. 2–6

WasteDisposal ................................................................................................................................... 2–7

3 IntroducingtheObjet 3‐D PrintingSystem

WorkConfigurations......................................................................................................................... 3–2

SourceFiles ......................................................................................................................................... 3–4

STLFiles ............................................................................................................................................... 3–4

SLCFiles............................................................................................................................................... 3–4

PrintingMaterials .............................................................................................................................. 3–4

AvailableMaterials............................................................................................................................. 3–5

Storage .................................................................................................................................................. 3–6

ShelfLife............................................................................................................................................... 3–6

ExposuretoLight................................................................................................................................ 3–6

SafetyConsiderations......................................................................................................................... 3–6

Disposal................................................................................................................................................ 3–6

WorkEnvironment............................................................................................................................ 3–7

WorkstationRequirements............................................................................................................... 3–8

PreparingFilesforUsewithObjet3‐DPrintingSystems............................................................ 3–9

ConvertingCADFilestoSTLFormat.............................................................................................. 3–9

ConvertingFilestoSLCFormat ....................................................................................................... 3–9

ObjetStudioSoftware ..................................................................................................................... 3–10

4 InstallingObjetSoftware

HowtoInstallSoftwarefortheObjet 3‐D Printing System ........................................................ 4–2

Contents

Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

5UsingObjetStudio

ObjetStudioInterface........................................................................................................................ 5–3

RibbonCommands..............................................................................................................................5–5

ObjetStudioCommandsMenu.........................................................................................................5–7

ModelTreePane..................................................................................................................................5–7

PreparingModelsforProduction.................................................................................................... 5–8

OBJDFFiles:Overview.......................................................................................................................5–8

Model Files ...........................................................................................................................................5–8

PlacingObjectsontheBuildTray .....................................................................................................5–8

OpeningObjetTrayFiles..................................................................................................................5–12

Quick‐AccessModelCommands....................................................................................................5–14

CopyingandPastingObjects...........................................................................................................5–15

SelectingObjects ................................................................................................................................5–16

SurfaceFinish.....................................................................................................................................5–16

PositioningObjectsontheBuildTray .......................................................................................... 5–17

AutomaticOrientation......................................................................................................................5–17

AutomaticPlacement........................................................................................................................5–18

ManualPositioning ...........................................................................................................................5–19

ModelOrientation............................................................................................................................ 5–20

ManipulatingObjectsontheBuildTray ...................................................................................... 5–21

PositioningObjectsontheZ‐Axis...................................................................................................5–21

ValidObjectPlacement.....................................................................................................................5–22

UsingaGridtoPositionObjects .....................................................................................................5–23

MeasurementUnits...........................................................................................................................5–24

SettingModelDimensions ...............................................................................................................5–25

RepositioningObjects .......................................................................................................................5–25

ChanginganObject’sOrientation...................................................................................................5–27

FreezingModelOrientation.............................................................................................................5–28

DisplayOptions................................................................................................................................ 5–29

ViewingObjects.................................................................................................................................5–29

ScreenLayout.....................................................................................................................................5–31

TrayPerspective ................................................................................................................................5–32

SettingObjectColors.........................................................................................................................5–33

LoadingLargeFiles...........................................................................................................................5–34

LargeFileManipulation ...................................................................................................................5–34

ZoomOptions ....................................................................................................................................5–36

HandlingCompletedTrays............................................................................................................ 5–37

TrayValidation ..................................................................................................................................5–37

ProductionEstimates ........................................................................................................................ 5–38

E‐mailingObjetDigitalFiles............................................................................................................5–38

PrintingtheTrayFile ........................................................................................................................5–38

ApplyingAdditionalObjetStudioFeatures................................................................................ 5–40

DividingObjects ................................................................................................................................5–40

ChoosingtheSupportStrength .......................................................................................................5–41

“Hollow”—FillingModelswithSupportMaterial......................................................................5–42

DisplayingtheCrossSectionofObjects.........................................................................................5–43

SavingtheScreenDisplayasanImage File ..................................................................................5–44

ExportingandImportingObjetBuildTrays .................................................................................5–45

CustomizingObjetStudio............................................................................................................... 5–46

CreatingaQuickAccessToolbar ....................................................................................................5–46

HidingtheRibbon............................................................................................................................. 5–47

DisplayColors....................................................................................................................................5–48

KeyboardShortcuts...........................................................................................................................5–49

SettingUserPreferences...................................................................................................................5–50

ProfessionalModeFeatures ........................................................................................................... 5–51

DefaultSettings..................................................................................................................................5–52

OpenGLDriverConfiguration .......................................................................................................5–53

User Guide

DOC-07000 Rev. A vii

GettingAdditionalObjetStudioAssistance................................................................................ 5–55

MonitoringandManagingPrintJobs........................................................................................... 5–56

JobManagerScreen .......................................................................................................................... 5–56

SettingthePrinterConnection........................................................................................................ 5–58

Off‐lineMode .................................................................................................................................... 5–59

SettingtheRemotePrinterConnection(ClientMode)................................................................ 5–61

JobManagerCommands ................................................................................................................. 5–61

ConfiguringUserAlerts................................................................................................................... 5–64

PrintingtheTray ............................................................................................................................... 5–65

AdditionalServerFeatures.............................................................................................................. 5–65

6 Operating&MaintainingtheObjet303D Printer

StartingtheObjet30Printer.............................................................................................................. 6–2

LoadingModelandSupportCartridges ........................................................................................ 6–4

ProducingModels.............................................................................................................................. 6–6

PrinterInterfaceColor Key................................................................................................................ 6–8

PrintingIndicators .............................................................................................................................. 6–9

ResumingProductionAfterPrintinghasStopped ..................................................................... 6–10

ChangingtheModelMaterial........................................................................................................ 6–12

KeepingthePrinterinIdleMode.................................................................................................. 6–16

ShuttingDownthePrinter ............................................................................................................. 6–17

ShutdownWizard............................................................................................................................. 6–17

MaterialFlush/FillWizard .............................................................................................................. 6–19

MaintainingthePrinter................................................................................................................... 6–22

RoutineMaintenanceSchedule....................................................................................................... 6–22

CleaningthePrintHeads................................................................................................................. 6–23

PatternTest ........................................................................................................................................ 6–25

ImprovingPrintQuality .................................................................................................................. 6–26

CleaningandReplacingtheWiper ................................................................................................ 6–26

CleaningandReplacingtheRollerWasteCollector.................................................................... 6–30

AligningthePrintHeads................................................................................................................. 6–32

CalibratingtheLoadCells ............................................................................................................... 6–36

ReplacingtheOdorFilter ................................................................................................................ 6–38

ReplacingtheUVLamp................................................................................................................... 6–39

ReplacingtheWasteContainer....................................................................................................... 6–44

CleaningtheExteriorPanels ........................................................................................................... 6–46

Backing‐UpandRestoringPrinterSettings .................................................................................. 6–47

ReInitiateWizard .............................................................................................................................. 6–47

7 HandlingPrintedModels

RemovingModelsAfterPrinting .................................................................................................... 7–2

RemovingtheSupportMaterial ...................................................................................................... 7–2

Post‐PrintingTreatmentforModelsPrintedwithObjetVeroClear .......................................... 7–4

Photo‐BleachingInstructions ............................................................................................................ 7–4

StoringModels ................................................................................................................................... 7–5

Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

viii

DOC-07000 Rev. A 1–1

About This Guide

UsingThisGuide................................................................................. 2

ForMoreInformation ......................................................................... 2

TermsUsedinThisGuide.................................................................. 3

About This Guide

1–2

DOC-07000 Rev. A

Using This Guide

Thisuserguideprovidesinstructionsforinstalling,operatingand

maintainingObjet3‐Dprintingsystems.Itexplainshowtousefeatures,

andprovidespracticalexamplestoguideyouasyouusethesystem.

ThetextandfiguresinthisguidearebasedontheObjet500‐Connex33‐D

printer,printersoftwareversion58.1.0andObjetStudiosoftwareversion

9.2.

Thisguideassumesthat:

•allthehardware,software,andnetworkcomponentsofyourObjet

systemareinstalled,configured,andoperatingcorrectly.

•theoperatorhasaworkingknowledgeoftheWindows®PCplatform.

For More Information

Visithttp://www.objet.com/formoredetailsaboutObjet’stechnology,

productsandconsumables,andforserviceandsupportcontacts.

ForotherdocumentsthatrelatetoObjet500‐Connex33‐Dprinting

systems,andforthisdocumentinotherlanguages,contactyourregional

ObjetCustomerSupportoffice.

Ifyouhaveanyquestionsabouttheinformationpresentedinthis

document,orifyouhaveanycommentsorsuggestionsforfutureeditions,

pleasesendamessagetosupport@objet.com.

DOC-07000 Rev. A 1–3

Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

Terms Used in This Guide

buildtray InObjetStudio:Thesurfacedisplayedonthescreenthat

representstheactualbuildtrayintheprinter.

Intheprinter:Thesurfaceuponwhichmodelsareproduced.

cleaningfluid Cleanserforflushingmodelfeedtubesandtheprinting

block,usedtocompletelyremovemodelmaterialfromthe

systembeforeloadinganothertypeofmaterialintheprinter.

Thecleaningfluidissuppliedinmodel‐materialcartridges.

client/userworkstation TheworkstationonwhichObjetsoftwareisinstalled,used

forpreparingbuildtraysforproductiononObjetprinters.

(Thereisnolimittothenumberofclientworkstationsinthe

localnetwork.)

Objet™printer TheObjet3‐Dprinterreferredtointhisguide.

Printercomputer ThecomputerinsidetheObjetprinterthatoperatesit.(Thisis

sometimesreferredtoasthe“embedded”computer.)

Printerinterface TheGUI(graphicaluserinterface)usedforcontrollingthe

Objetprinter.

Printersoftware SoftwarerunningonthecomputerinsidetheObjetprinter,

thatcontrolsallprinteroperations.

DigitalMaterial™ Combinationsofmodelmaterialsfabricatedintheprinter

fromthetwobasicmodelmaterialsinstalled.

DigitalMaterialMode Theprintermodeusedtoprintajobusingtwodifferent

modelmaterials.(Thismodecanalsobeusedtoeliminatethe

needforperformingtheMaterialReplacementprocedure

whenprintingwithasinglemodelmaterial.)

host/serverworkstation TheworkstationthatinterfacesdirectlywiththeObjetprinter

andistypicallypositionednexttoit.

JobManager™ ThepartofObjetStudiosoftwarethatmanagesproduction

jobsbeforetheyaresenttotheObjetprinter.

mixedpart Modelswhosepartsareprintedusingmorethanonemodel

material.

mixedtray Abuildtraycontainingobjects,eachofwhichisdesignedto

beprintedusingadifferentmodelmaterial.

Modelmaterial Materialusedforbuildingmodels.

ObjetStudio™ Thesoftwarewithwhichuserspreparejobsforproducing

models.

OBJDF(ObjetDigitalFormat) Theextensionofafilethatcontainsinformationaboutthe

geometryofanobjectandthematerialsrequiredtoprintit.

objdffilesarecreatedinObjetStudio.

About This Guide

1–4

DOC-07000 Rev. A

OBJTF(ObjetTrayFormat) Theextensionofafilethatcontainsalloftheinformation

neededforamodel‐printingjobonObjet3‐Dprinters.An

objtffileisusedtosendaprintjobtoanObjet3‐Dprinter.

OBJZF(ObjetZFormat) Theextensionofacompressed“wrapper”filecontainingall

ofthefilesusedinanObjetStudiobuildtray.Usingobjzffiles,

aprintingjobcanbesavedasasinglefile,forconvenient

storageandtransfer.

PolyJetMatrix™ Thetechnologyofprintingmodelsbyjettingmultiple

materialssimultaneouslyfromtheprintheads.This

technologyenablesObjet500‐Connex3printerstoprintin

DigitalMaterialmode.

resin Thebasesubstancefromwhichphotopolymerprinting

materialsaremadeforuseinObjetprinters.InObjetStudio

andprinter‐applicationscreens,“resin”referstocartridgesof

modelandsupportmaterials.

SLC AfiletypeusedwithObjetsoftware.(Thesefilesarebitmaps

ofindividualslicesoftheobject.Formoreinformation,see

page 3‐4.)

STL AfiletypeusedwithObjetsoftware.(Formoreinformation,

seepage 3‐4.)

Supportmaterial Materialusedforsupportingthestructureofmodelsduring

production.

DOC-07000 Rev. A 2–1

Safety

SafetyFeatures..................................................................................... 2

SymbolsandWarningLabels ............................................................ 3

SafetyGuidelines................................................................................. 4

PrinterInstallation ................................................................................ 4

PrinterOperation .................................................................................. 4

UVRadiation ......................................................................................... 4

PrinterMaintenance ............................................................................. 4

ModelandSupportMaterials ............................................................. 5

FirstAidforWorkingwithPrintingMaterials ............................... 6

WasteDisposal..................................................................................... 7

Safety

2–2

DOC-07000 Rev. A

Safety Features

Objet3‐DprintersaredesignedtocomplywithCEandFCCstandards.

Theyareequippedwiththefollowingsafetyfeatures:

Coverinterlock

switch ThepowersuppliedtotheUVlampandthe

motionmotorsisturnedoffwhenthecoveris

opened.

WARNING:Donotdefeat(override)the

interlockswitch.Doingsocouldresultin

seriouspersonalinjury.Iftheinterlockswitch

doesnotfunctioncorrectly,donotusethe

printer,andcontactyourserviceprovider.

Coverlock Thecoverislockedwhiletheprinteris

working.Itisreleasedwhentheprinterreverts

topauseorstopmode.

WARNING:Donotdefeat(override)the

safetylock.Doingsocouldresultinserious

personalinjury.

Ifthesafetylockdoesnotfunctioncorrectly,do

notusetheprinter,andcontactyourservice

provider.

UVscreenThetransparentsectionofthecoverblocks

harmfulUVradiation,allowingtheoperatorto

viewthemodelasitisbeingmade.

Circuitbreaker Thepowertotheprinteristurnedoffincaseof

electricalovercurrent.

Note: The circuit breaker is only accessible to

service personnel.

Groundedchassis Thechassisoftheprinterisgrounded,to

preventelectricalshock.

Note: The power outlet must be properly

grounded, in accordance with the local

electric code, to provide this protection.

UV screen

Cover interlock switch

If the Objet 3-D printing system is not used as specified in this guide, the

safety features may not provide adequate protection.

DOC-07000 Rev. A 2–3

Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

Symbols and Warning Labels

ThisfollowingtableliststhewarninglabelslocatedonorinObjetprinters.

Warning

Symbol Meaning Location Comments

Hazard

(general) Onthenameplate

onthebackofthe

printer.

Readtheinstructions

inthisdocument

beforeoperatingthe

printer.

HotsurfaceOntheprint‐head

block. Riskofburns.Donot

touchthissurface

afterprinting.

HighvoltageNeartheUVlamp

connectors.

Nearthepower‐

supplyenclosures.

Riskofelectricshock.

Ultraviolet

radiation NeartheUVlamps. Riskofinjuryfrom

ultravioletradiation.

Movingparts Onthepanelvisible

whenyouopenthe

frontdoorsofthe

printer.

Riskofinjuryfrom

movingparts.

Safety

2–4

DOC-07000 Rev. A

Safety Guidelines

Thefollowinggeneralguidelines,togetherwiththeinstructionsprovided

throughoutthisuserguide,ensureusersafetywhileoperatingand

maintainingtheObjetsystem.Ifthesystemisnotoperatedasspecified,

theuserʹssafetymaybecompromised!

Printer

Installation ¾Installationandremovaloftheprintershouldonlybedonebyqualified

servicepersonnel.

¾Connecttheprintertotheelectricoutletusingapowercordthatis

safety‐certified.

¾Theelectricoutletshouldbeeasilyaccessible,neartheprinter.

¾Neverconnectthepowerplugtoanoutletthatdoesnothaveaground

(earth)wire,andneverdisconnecttheground.Doingsomightexpose

theoperatortoseriousdangerfromelectricshock.

¾Leaveaminimumofcentimetersbetweenventilationopeningsand

wallsorotherobjects.

Printer

Operation ¾TheprintershouldonlybeoperatedbypersonstrainedbyanObjet

customer‐supportrepresentative.

¾Allpersonneloperatingormaintainingtheprintershouldknowthe

locationoffirstaidandemergencyequipmentandhowtouseit.Never

blockaccesstothisequipment!

¾Keepfingersandotherbodypartsclearoftheprintercoverwhen

closingit.

¾Neverattempttoopenthemaincoveroftheprinterwhileitisworking!

¾Neveroverridetheinterlocksafetyswitch!

¾Iftheinterlocksafetyswitcheverfails,donotusetheprinter.

¾Severalpartsoftheprinterremainextremelyhotevenafterithas

stoppedoperating.AvoidtouchingtheUVlampsandtheprintblock.

UV Radiation TheUVlampsusedintheprinteremitdangerousradiation.

¾IftheUVlampsremainonwhentheprintercoverisopen,donotstare

directlyattheUVlight.ShutdowntheprinterandcallyourObjet

serviceprovider.

Printer

Maintenance ¾Serviceoperationsshouldbeperformedonlybyqualifiedpersonnel

whohavebeeninstructedinrelevantsafetyprecautions.

¾Notifyco‐workersandthosewhohaveaccesstotheObjetsystem

beforebeginningnon‐routineandhazardouswork.

Report any potential dangers and safety-related accidents to your safety

officer or to other appropriate authorities.

DOC-07000 Rev. A 2–5

Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

Model and

Support

Materials

Modelandsupportmaterialsaremadeofchemicalsubstances.Although

precautionsmustbetakenwhenhandlingthesematerialsdirectly,all

modelandsupportmaterialsusedbytheObjetsystemarehandledin

sealedcartridges.Normally,operatorsoftheprintershouldneverbe

directlyexposedtohazardousmaterials.Intheunlikelyeventofaleakor

spill,followtheinstructionsthatareincludedwiththeprinting‐material

cartridgeused.

¾Storecartridgesofmodelandsupportmaterialsindoors,inadryarea

withadequateventilation,between16‐27degreesCelsius(60‐81

degreesFahrenheit).Neverexposethemtoflames,heat,sparks,or

directsunlight.

¾Keepmodelandsupportmaterialsawayfromareaswherefoodand

drinkarestored,preparedandconsumed.

¾Uncuredprintingmaterialisconsideredahazardoussubstance,

requiringcertainprecautionswhendirectlyhandlingit.Topreventskin

irritation,wearneopreneornitrilegloves.Ifthereisanychancethat

modelandsupportmaterialsmightsplashintotheeyes,wearsafety

goggles.Prolongeddirectcontactwithprintingmaterialscancausean

allergicreaction.

¾WhenhandlingUV‐curedmodelsthatmaynotbecompletelycuredon

thesurface,commonlatexglovesareadequate.

¾Topreventrespiratoryirritation,ventilateareaswheremodeland

supportmaterialsareused.Theventilationsystemshouldtotally

replacetheairatleast20timesperhour.

¾Cleanupmodel‐materialandsupport‐materialspillswithdisposable

towelsorotherabsorbent,non‐reusablematerial,suchassawdustor

activatedcharcoal.Rinsethespillareawithdenaturedorisopropyl

alcohol(IPA),followedbysoapandwater.Disposeoftheabsorbent

materialinaccordancewithlocalregulations.

¾Donotwashcontaminatedclothingathome;clothingshouldbe

professionallylaundered.

¾Disposeofcontaminatedshoes,beltsandotherleatheritemsin

accordancewithanyapplicableregulations.Absorbedprinting

materialmayre‐exposetheuserwhentheseitemsareworn.

Safety

2–6

DOC-07000 Rev. A

First Aid for Working with Printing Materials

Ingeneral,trytoavoiddirectcontactwithuncuredprintingmaterial.If

skinoreyescomeintocontactwithit,washtheareaimmediatelyand

thoroughlywithwater,andfollowthesefirst‐aidinstructions.

Contact with

Skin Ifuncuredprintingmaterialcomesincontactwithskin,washtheaffected

areaimmediatelyandthoroughlywithsoapandcoolwater,thenremove

contaminatedclothing.Payparticularattentiontoflushingthehair,ears,

noseandotherpartsofthebodythatarenoteasilycleaned.

¾Usecoolwatertopreventskinporesfromopening,sothattheliquid

materialdoesnoteasilypenetratetheskin.

¾Donotusesolventstocleanskin.

¾Iflargeareasofskinhavebeenexposed,orifprolongedcontactresults

inblisters,seekmedicalattention.Inanycase,ifirritationpersists,seek

medicalattention.

¾Avoidtheaccidentaltransferofprintingmaterialfromthehandsto

otherareasofthebody,especiallytotheeyes.

¾Ifprotectivecreamwasused,donotreapplyituntiltheskinhasbeen

completelycleansed.

Contact with

Eyes Ifuncuredprintingmaterialcomesincontactwiththeeyes,flush

immediatelywithlargeamountsofwaterfor15minutesandseekmedical

attention.

¾Avoidsunlight,fluorescentlight,andothersourcesofultraviolet

radiation.

Thewearingofcontactlenseswhenhandlingliquidprintingmaterialsis

notrecommended.Iftheliquidsplashesintotheeyeswhencontactlenses

areworn,immediatelyremovethelensesandflushtheeyeswithwater.

¾Cleananddisinfectthecontaminatedlenses.

¾Donotwearcontactlensesuntileyeirritationdisappears.

Ingestion Ifprintingmaterialisswallowed,refertotheinstructionsincludedwiththe

cartridge.Seekmedicalattentionimmediately.

Inhalation Vaporsfromprintingmaterialscanbeirritatingtotherespiratorysystem.

Ifrespiratoryirritationoccurs,exposethevictimtofreshairimmediately.

¾Ifthevictimhasstoppedbreathing,performartificialrespirationor

cardiopulmonaryresuscitation.

¾Seekmedicalattentionimmediately.

¾Keepthepatientwarmbutnothot.

¾Neverfeedanythingbymouthtoanunconsciousperson.

¾Oxygenshouldbeadministeredbyauthorizedpersonnelonly.

DOC-07000 Rev. A 2–7

Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

Waste Disposal

Fullycuredprintedmodelscanbedisposedofasordinaryofficetrash.

However,specialcareisrequiredwhenhandlingprinterwaste.

¾WhenremovingthewastecontainerfromtheObjetprinter,wear

neopreneornitrilegloves.

¾Topreventliquidwastefromsplashingintotheeyes,wearsafety

goggles.

¾LiquidwastefromtheObjetprinterisclassifiedashazardousindustrial

waste.Therefore,printing‐materialwastemustbepackagedand

disposedofinamannerthatpreventshumancontactwithitand

contaminationofwatersources.

¾Emptymodel‐materialandsupport‐materialcartridgescontainresidue

oftheircontents.Someleakageofthisresiduemayoccurthroughthe

brokencartridgeseal.Therefore,handleandstoreemptycartridges

withcare.

¾Donotattempttoreuseemptycartridges,anddonotpuncturethem.

¾Disposeofusedcartridgesandwastecontainersinaccordancewith

localregulations.

¾Discardcontaminatedclothing,shoes,emptycontainers,etc.,in

accordancewithanyapplicableregulations.

Safety

2–8

DOC-07000 Rev. A

DOC-07000 Rev. A 3–1

Introducing the

Objet 3-D Printing System

WorkConfigurations .......................................................................... 3

SourceFiles........................................................................................... 4

STLFiles ................................................................................................. 4

SLCFiles ................................................................................................. 4

PrintingMaterials................................................................................ 4

Storage .................................................................................................... 5

ShelfLife................................................................................................. 5

ExposuretoLight.................................................................................. 5

SafetyConsiderations........................................................................... 5

Disposal .................................................................................................. 5

WorkEnvironment.............................................................................. 6

WorkstationRequirements ................................................................ 7

PreparingFilesforUsewithObjet3‐DPrintingSystems ............. 8

ConvertingCADFilestoSTLFormat ................................................ 8

ConvertingFilestoSLCFormat.......................................................... 8

ObjetStudioSoftware ......................................................................... 9

Introducing the Objet 3-D Printing System

3–2 DOC-07000 Rev. A

Welcome to Connex

TheadvancedcapabilitiesoftheObjet3‐Dprintingsystemaremade

possiblebyPolyJetMatrix™technology,speciallydevelopedbyObjetfor

printingmodelssimultaneouslywithdifferentmodelmaterials.Forthe

firsttime,youcanachievethefollowingresultswhenprinting3‐Dmodels:

•Youcanpreparemodelsforprintingwithdesignatedmodelmaterials

andthenprintthem—usingtwoorthreebasicmodelmaterialsloaded

intheprinter,orcombinationsofthesematerials(digitalmaterials).

•Partsofthesamemodelcanbemade—simultaneously—fromdifferent

materials.

•Modelsmadefromdigitalmaterialscanhaveuniquephysical

properties,dependingonthematerialsused.

•Youcanprintobjectsthathavea“coating”madefromadifferent

materialthanthemainpartoftheobject.

Inaddition,becauseObjetprinterscanbeloadedwithtwodifferent

materials,andcanprintsimultaneouslywithcombinationsofthem,you

canstreamlineandeconomizetheprocessofproducingmodels:

•Youcanprintmodelsmadefromdifferent(single)materialsonthe

samebuildtray(“mixedtray”),inthesameprintjob.Thiseliminates

thetime‐consumingneedandexpenseofloadinganothermaterial,

flushingthesystem,andsendingaseparatejobtobeprinted.

•Youcanquicklyalternateprintingjobswithanyofthemodelmaterials

loaded—orwithmaterialcombinations—again,withouttheneedand

expenseofreplacingmaterials.

TheObjetsystemalsoenablesyoutosplitmodelsintocomponentparts

(“shells”)soyoucanisolate,manipulateandprintpartsofamodel.

However,youhaveultimatecontrolwhenseparatingmodelsintoshellsby

preparingstlfileswithyourCADsoftware.Then,withObjetsoftware,you

canassignmodelmaterialsandothercharacteristicstotheshells.

Figure 3-1: The 3-D Printer

DOC-07000 Rev. A 3–3

Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

Work Configurations

The3‐Dprintingsystemcanbesetupasasingle‐stationsystemorasa

multi‐stationsystem.Whenconnectedtoalocalcomputernetwork,the

systemcanservemultipleusers.Insuchconfigurations,eachuser

workstation(client)preparesfileswithObjetStudiosoftwarefor

production.Aserver(host),typicallynexttothe3‐Dprinter,actsasajob

managerthatsendsproductionjobstotheprinterforproduction.

Figure 3‐2showstheprintersetupinamulti‐clientconfiguration.

Figure 3-2: Multi-client network configuration

WheninstallingtheObjetsoftware,youchoosewhethertoinstallitasa

clientstationorasamasterstation(serverorstandalonestation).

TheObjetsoftwarearrangesthejobsitreceivesaccordingtotheirpriorities,

model‐materialtype,andotherfactors.Inmulti‐workstation

configurations,theoperatoroftheserver—typicallytheproduction

administrator—hastotalcontroloverthejobssenttothe3‐Dprinter,and

canprioritizeanddeletejobs,reviewjobhistoryandreprintajob,andso

on.

Objet server

Objet printer

KVM switch

Client

workstations

Printer

workstation

Introducing the Objet 3-D Printing System

3–4 DOC-07000 Rev. A

Source Files

Objet3‐Dprintingsystemsproducethree‐dimensionalmodelsdesigned

withmost3‐DCADtoolsandwithotherjob‐specific3‐Dapplications.

Objetsystemsaccept:

•STLFiles

•SLCFiles

Objetsystemsfeaturethecapabilityofproducingbothtypesofmodelfiles

simultaneously.

STL Files STLisshortforStandardTriangulationLanguage.Thislanguageviewsany

objectasacollectionofsurfaces,anddescribeseachsurfaceoftheobjectas

acollectionoftriangles.

Forexample,asquarecanbedescribedastwotriangles;acube(six

squares)as12triangles.Curvedsurfacesneedmoretrianglestodescribe

them.Thehigherthetolerance(forsmoothsurfaces),themoretrianglesare

needed.Theresultisthathigh‐qualityobjectdescriptionsmeanveryheavy

files.

MostCADsoftwarecanexportSTLfiles.TheObjetsystemutilizesthese

filesforbuildingmodels(rapidprototyping),andalsofordirectlymaking

moldsformass‐producingitems.

STLfilesareASCII(text)files.Thecontentofeachfilebeginswith“solid”

andendswith“end‐solid”(bothlowercase).Betweenthesekeywordsisa

listofthetrianglesthatdescribesthefacesofthesolidmodel.Eachtriangle

definesasinglenormalvectordirectedawayfromthesolid’ssurface,

followedbyitsX‐Y‐Zcoordinates.TheseareexpressedasCartesian

coordinatesandarefloating‐pointvalues.Thecoordinatesofalltriangles

shouldbepositiveandshouldfallwithinthevolumeofthemodel.

SLC Files SLCisshortforStereo‐LithographyContour.SLCfilesdescribetwo‐

dimensionalcontoursofthethree‐dimensionalmodels.Thesecontourlines

arepolylines.

SLCfilesareASCII(text)filesthatsavemodelsasaseriesofslices.This

meansthatmodelsbasedonSLCfilescannotbeorientated;onlytheirscale

(size)andpositiononthebuildtraycanbecontrolled.Forthisreason,the

model’sorientationmustbesuitableforproductionbeforeitissavedasan

SLCfile.BecauseofthenatureofSLCfiles,theappearanceofmodelsin

ObjetStudiomaybedifferentthanthesolid‐objectimagesdisplayedfrom

STLfiles.

Printing Materials

Objetprintersproducemodelsbyjettingthinlayersofprintingmaterials

onthebuildtray,untilthecompletemodelisformed.Twotypesofmaterial

areusedinthisprocess:

•Modelmaterial—whichmakesupthefinishedmodel

•Supportmaterial—whichfillsgapsandspacesinthemodelduring

printing,andisremovedafterprinting

DOC-07000 Rev. A 3–5

Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

Storage MaterialsusedforprintingmodelswithObjetprintersaremadeofresins,

whicharecomposedofreactivemonomersandoligomers.Although

printingmaterialsaresuppliedinsealed,UV‐proofcartridges,caremustbe

takenwhenstoringandhandlingthem.Followtheseguidelinestoprotect

operatorsandtheenvironment,andtoensureoptimumresults.

•Toensureproductstability,donotallowthesematerialstocomeinto

contactwithmetal.Plasticsmadefrommonomer‐solublesubstances

(suchaspolystyreneorpolyvinylchloride)arenotsuitableforstoring

Objetprintingmaterials.

•Whennotinuse,keepmaterialcartridgestightlysealedtoprevent

contamination,theeffectsofexposuretoUVradiation,andaccidental

spillage.

•Storematerialcartridgesindoors,inadryareawithadequate

ventilation,between16–27degreesCelsius(60–81degreesFahrenheit).

Ifexposedtoheatorflames,cartridgesmayburstorignite.

•Signsofprematurepolymerizationinmaterialcartridgesmayinclude

bulging,leaking,theemissionofheat,andunusualodor.Exposureto

heatcancauseresintogelinthecartridge.

•Makesurethatmaterialcartridgesarestoredinaccordancewithall

localregulationsandotherapplicablerequirements.

Shelf Life Materialsusedforproducingmodelshavealimitedshelflife.Theexpiry

dateonthelabelisvalidwhenproperlystoredinanundamaged,

unopenedcartridge.Alwaysrotateyourstock,sothatthecartridgewith

theearliestdateisusedfirst.

Exposure to

Light Ifprintingmaterialsarenotintheirsealedcartridges,makesuretoshield

themfromsunlightandothersourcesofUVradiation,suchasfluorescent

andmercury‐vaporlights.ExposuretoUVradiationcausesanincreasein

viscosityand,eventually,solidification.

Safety

Considerations Beforebeingcured,resinsarehazardousmaterials.Topreventpossible

healthhazards,followtheseprecautionsregardingprintingmaterials:

•Donotexposetoflames,heatorsparks.

•Preventcontactwithskinandeyes.

•Ventilateareaswheretheyarehandled.

•Keepthemseparatefromfoodanddrink.

Curedplasticparts,however,aresafe.Theycanbehandledandstored

withoutprecautions.

Disposal DisposeofcartridgesofObjetmodelandsupportmaterialinaccordance

withallapplicablelawsandregulations.Ifnecessary,thecartridgescanbe

disassembledforrecycling.

You can find more safety information about resins in “Safety Guidelines” on

page 2-4, and “First Aid for Working with Printing Materials” on page 2-6.

Introducing the Objet 3-D Printing System

3–6 DOC-07000 Rev. A

Work Environment

Extremeheatandhumidityconditionscanadverselyaffecttheoperationof

theObjet3‐Dprinter.Therefore,itisrecommendedthatyouuseventilation

orair‐conditioningsystems,ifnecessary,tokeeptheworkareawithinthe

followingranges:

•18°–°C(64°–°F)

•30%–70%relativehumidity

DOC-07000 Rev. A 3–7

Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

Workstation Requirements

Thefollowingtableslisttherequirementsforcomputercomponentsused

withObjet3‐Dprintersoftware.

Requirement

Computer Type Server workstation:

Standard desktop computer (not a portable computer)

Mouse/Keyboard

Connection Server workstation:

USB, PS/2, or RS-232 (wireless components unacceptable)

Processor Intel® Core™ i3 or better

Operating System

Windows® 7 64-bit1

Professional, Ultimate, Enterprise, Starter, Home Basic,

Home Premium editions

Graphics Card2

Open GL® with 1 GB of memory or more

For dental applications:

• ATI™ Radeon™ HD 5970, with 2 GB of memory, or

• NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 285, with 2 GB of memory

RAM 8 GB or more1

CD Drive IDE CD ROM

Hard-Disk Drive 80 GB or larger

Network Card LAN TCP/IP

(2 for server workstation; 1 for client workstation)

Video Card Server workstation: VGA connector3

Monitor Resolution: optimum for screen used

Color quality: 32 bit

Monitor Cable VGA connector3

1. On64‐bitoperatingsystems,ObjetStudiorunsasa32‐bitapplication,butitcan

utilizeupto8GBofmemory.

2. ThefollowinggraphicscardsweretestedinObjetlabs:

•NVIDIA®Quadro®Family—FX570,FX1700

•NVIDIA®GeForce®Family—6200TurboCache™,7300GT

•Intel®ExpressChipset—82915G/82915GV/82910GL,Q965/Q963,Q35,

Q45/Q43,82852/82855

•ATI®displayadapter—Radeon™HD5670,Radeon™E6760

3. TheKVMswitchrequiresVGAvideoconnections.Iftheserverworkstation

hasaDVIvideoconnector,aVGAadapterisneeded.Thecablefromthe

monitormusthaveaVGAconnector.

Note: You control both the built-in printer computer and the server workstation

with same keyboard-monitor-mouse set by using a KVM switchbox.

Introducing the Objet 3-D Printing System

3–8 DOC-07000 Rev. A

Preparing Files for Use with Objet 3-D Printing Systems

BeforeusingfileswithObjet3‐Dprintingsystems,youmustconvertthem

inyourCADprogramtoeitherSTLfilesorSLCfiles.(Foranexplanationof

thesefileformats,see“SourceFiles”onpage 3‐4.)

Afterconvertingthemodelfiles,itisrecommendedthatyoucheckthemfor

defectsinanSTL‐repairapplication(suchasMagics,byMaterialise)before

openingtheminObjetStudioandproducingthemodel.

Converting

CAD Files to

STL Format

Thisproceduremayvaryslightly,dependingontheCADsoftwareused,

butthefollowinginstructionsgenerallyapply.

To convert a file to STL format (in a CAD program):

1. FromtheFilemenu,selectSave As.

2. IntheSaveAsdialogbox,opentheSaveAsTypepull‐downmenuand

select*.STL.

3. ClickOptionsandsetthefollowingparameters:

•TotalQuality—approximately0.1mm(deviationtolerance/linear‐

dimensiontolerance)

•DetailQuality—approximately4°(angletolerance)

Note: Lowering these values produces more accurate models, but

results in larger files and longer loading and processing times. For this

reason, it is generally not recommended that you use lower values.

4. Inthefileformatoption,choosebinaryorASCII.(Bothbinaryand

ASCIIformatscanbeusedinObjetStudio.However,binaryfilesare

smaller,sothisoptionisrecommended.)

5. ClickOKorSave.

Converting

Files to SLC

Format

WhenconvertingfilestoSLCformat,itisrecommendedthatyousetalayer

thicknessof15microns(0.015mm).SinceSLCfilescannotbeorientatedin

ObjetStudio,itisimportantthatmodelsareproperlyorientatedbefore

beingsavedasSLCfiles.Considerationsforsuitablemodelorientationare

explainedin“ModelOrientation”onpage 5‐32.

DOC-07000 Rev. A 3–9

Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

Objet Studio Software

ObjetStudiosoftwarefortheObjet3‐Dprintingsystemconsistsoftwo

mainscreens:

•TraySettings/ModelSettings

•JobManager

Tray Settings / Model Settings

IntheTraySettingsandModelSettingsscreens,youpreparesourcefilesfor

productioninObjet3‐Dprinters.ObjetStudiooffersyouawidevarietyof

file‐preparationoptions,butalwaysconsistsofthefollowingbasic

procedure:

1. Insertingoneormoreobjectsonthebuildtray

2. Positioningtheobject(s)onthetray

3. Configuringobjectandtrayparameters

4. Savingthetrayconfigurationasanobjtf(ObjetTrayFormat)file

5. SendingtheobjtffiletotheObjet3‐Dprinterforproduction

UsingObjetStudiotoperformthesetasksisdescribedindetailinchapter 5,

“UsingObjetStudio.”

Job Manager

TheJobManagerscreenisdifferentforclientworkstationsandforthe

computerconnecteddirectlytotheObjet3‐Dprinter.

•InObjetStudioinstalledonthedirectly‐connectedcomputer(server),

theJobManagerscreendisplaysthequeueandstatusforalljobssentto

the3‐Dprinterbytheserveritselfandbyallclientcomputersonthe

network.Alljobsdisplayedcanbeeditedandmanipulated.

•InObjetStudioinstalledonclientcomputers,theJobManagerscreen

displaysthequeueandstatusonlyforjobssenttoa3‐Dprinterserver

fromthatcomputer.Onlythesejobscanbeeditedandmanipulated

fromtheclientcomputer.

Client computers can be connected, via the local network, to different Objet

3-D printers, but only to one at a time. The Job Manager screen displays

the status of the 3-D printer to which the client is currently connected.

Introducing the Objet 3-D Printing System

3–10 DOC-07000 Rev. A

DOC-07000 Rev. A 4–1

Installing Objet Software

HowtoInstallSoftwarefortheObjet 3‐D Printing System.......... 2

Installing Objet Software

4–2

DOC-07000 Rev. A

How to Install Software for the Objet 3-D Printing System

TheObjetStudiosetupwizardguidesyouwheninstallingtheObjet

software.Duringinstallation,youmustchoosetoinstalleithertheserver

(“host”)applicationortheclientapplication.

To install Objet software:

1. InserttheObjetStudioCDintothediskdrive.

2. Right‐clicktheStartbuttonandselectExplore(oruseanyothermethod

fordisplayingfilesonthecomputer).

3. OpentheCD‐drivefolderandselectSetup.

4. IfyouareinstallinganObjetStudioupgrade,makesurethatyour

printeriscompatiblewithitbycheckingthelistdisplayed.

Figure 4-3: Objet Studio compatibility check

5. ToinstallObjetStudio,youmustagreetothelicenseagreement.After

readingitsterms,clickYestocontinue,orNotoclosethewizard.

IfyouclickYes,thefollowingscreenshouldappear.

Figure 4-1:Objet Studio installation wizard—Welcome screen

6. ClickNexttobegininstallation.

DOC-07000 Rev. A 4–3

Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

7. IntheSelectFeaturesscreen,selecttherequiredinstallationoption.

SelectObjet Studio for a server computer...

•ifyouareinstallingObjetStudioonaserver(“host”)computer—

thecomputerdirectlyconnectedtoanObjetprinter.

•ifyouareinstallingObjetStudioonastandalone(off‐line)

computer.

SelectObjet Studio for client workstations ifyouareinstallingObjet

Studioona“client”workstation—aremotecomputerthatprepares

printjobsandthensendsthemtoaservercomputer.

Figure 4-2: Objet Studio configuration selection

8. IntheSelectInstallationFolderscreen,verifythedestinationfolderand

clickNext.

It is recommended that you do not change the default destination folder.

Click Disk Space to check the space in the destination folder.

Installing Objet Software

4–4

DOC-07000 Rev. A

Figure 4-3: Objet Studio installation-folder selection

9. IntheConfirmInstallationscreen,clickNext tobegininstallation.

Installationbeginsandaprogressbarappears,showingtheprogressof

theinstallationprocess.

Figure 4-4: Installation progress bar

DOC-07000 Rev. A 4–5

Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

WhentheObjetprograminstallationiscomplete,thefinalInstallShield

Wizardscreenappears.

Figure 4-5: Final installation screen

Sometimes,youmustrestartthecomputertocompletethesoftware

installation.Youcandosonoworatanothertime.

Note: Make sure to remove the CD from the disk drive before restarting the

computer.

Theinstallationprocessendswhentheappropriateicon(s)appearonthe

computerdesktop:

•ObjetStudio

•StopJobManager(forserversandstandalonestations)

Installing Objet Software

4–6

DOC-07000 Rev. A

DOC-07000 Rev. A 5–1

Using Objet Studio

ObjetStudioInterface ......................................................................... 3

PreparingModelsforProduction ..................................................... 7

PlacingObjectsontheBuildTray....................................................... 8

OpeningObjetTrayFiles ................................................................... 12

SplittingObjectsintoComponents................................................... 19

Model‐MaterialSettings..................................................................... 21

ChangingtheModelMaterial ........................................................... 22

DigitalMaterials.................................................................................. 23

AssigningaModelMaterialtoObjects............................................ 25

SurfaceFinish....................................................................................... 25

CoatingObjects.................................................................................... 27

AssigningPropertiestoHiddenObjects ......................................... 28

PositioningObjectsontheBuildTray ............................................ 28

ModelOrientation............................................................................. 32

ManipulatingObjectsontheBuildTray........................................ 33

GroupingandUngroupingObjects.................................................. 41

DisplayOptions................................................................................. 43

HandlingCompletedTrays ............................................................. 51

PrintingModes .................................................................................... 53

ApplyingAdditionalObjetStudioFeatures ................................. 58

DividingObjects.................................................................................. 58

ChoosingtheSupportStrength......................................................... 59

“Hollow”—FillingModelswithSupportMaterial ....................... 60

DisplayingtheCrossSectionofObjects .......................................... 61

SavingtheScreenDisplayasanImage File .................................... 62

ExportingandImportingObjetBuildTrays ................................... 63

CustomizingObjetStudio................................................................ 64

CreatingaQuickAccessToolbar ...................................................... 64

KeyboardShortcuts ............................................................................ 67

SettingUserPreferences..................................................................... 68

ProfessionalModeFeatures............................................................. 69

DefaultSettings ................................................................................... 70

OpenGLDriverConfiguration......................................................... 71

MonitoringandManagingPrintJobs ............................................ 76

JobManagerScreen ............................................................................ 76

JobManagerCommands ................................................................... 82

ConfiguringUserAlerts..................................................................... 85

PrintingtheTray.................................................................................. 86

5–2

DOC-07000 Rev. A

TheObjetStudiointerfaceconsistsoftwo

mainscreens:

•TraySettings—forarrangingmodels

andpreparingthemforprinting.

Thisscreenisdescribedbelow.

•JobManager—formonitoringand

managingprintjobs.

Thisscreenisdescribedin“Monitoring

andManagingPrintJobs”onpage 76.

Eachiscontrolledbymenusandiconson

itsownribbon.Anadditionalribbon,

ModelSettings,displayscontrolsfor

configuringandmanipulatingselected

models.

ObjetStudioanticipatesyourworkflowby

displayingandenablingtheoptions

relevanttoyourcurrenttask.Forexample,

whenyoufirstopenObjetStudio,the

ModelSettingsribbonisdisableduntilyou

placeamodelonthebuildtray.Similarly,

menuoptionsavailablefromtheStandard

Toolbarmenusareenabledordisabledto

matchthecurrentworkflow.

Objet Studio

Commands

Quick Access

toolbar

Model Tree

pane

Help

Standard

toolbar

Active

ribbon

Job

Manager

tab

DOC-07000 Rev. A 5–3

Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

Theribbon,colorsused,andseveralotherinterfacefeaturescanbe

customized.Howtochangetheappearanceoftheinterfaceisexplainedin

“CustomizingObjetStudio”onpage 64.

Using Objet Studio

5–4

DOC-07000 Rev. A

Arrange

Tray

Ribbon

Commands

ThefollowingtableliststheTraySettingsandModelSettingsribbon

commandgroups,andshowswhentheyareenabled,andwherethey

appear.

Group Purpose When

enabled Tray

Settings

Ribbon

Model

Settings

Ribbon

Settingdisplay

colors. Always.

Selecting

perspectiveand

zoomlevel.

Modelsareon

thebuildtray.

Choosetoselect

aplane. Modelsareon

thebuildtray.

Changethe

perspectiveof

theactivepane.

Modelsareon

thebuildtray.

Assigningmodel

material. •Buildtray

isempty.

•Modelsare

not

selected.

Undoingor

redoingactions. Afteran

actionor

object

selection.

Openingand

savingfiles. Modelsare

notselected.

Placingmodel

filesonthebuild

tray.

Always.

Pre‐build/build

commands. Modelsareon

thebuildtray.

Settingmodel

dimensions. Amodelis

selected.

DOC-07000 Rev. A 5–5

Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

Cutting,

copying,pasting

anddeleting

models.

Amodelis

selected.

Moving,rotating

andresizing

models.

Amodelis

selected.

•Assigninga

materialtoa

modelor

shell.

•Separatinga

modelinto

shells.

Amodelis

selected.

Assigningmodel

finishand

settingsupport

strength/

“hollow.”

Amodelis

selected.

Settingamodel’s

unitofmeasure

(millimetersor

inches).

Amodelis

selected.

Group Purpose When

enabled Tray

Settings

Ribbon

Model

Settings

Ribbon

To quickly identify an icon, move the cursor over the icon to display its

tooltip. The “Undo” and “Redo” tooltips change to reflect your last Objet

Studio action.

Using Objet Studio

5–6

DOC-07000 Rev. A

Objet Studio

Commands

ClickingtheObjeticon(intheupper‐leftcorner)openstheObjetStudio

Commandsmenu.Thismenudisplaysbasicapplicationcommandsand

options.

TheOptions buttonopensadialogboxforcustomizingObjetStudio.

TheModelTreepaneliststheobjectsplacedonthebuildtrayinaparent‐

childhierarchy.Bydefault,thepane“floats”—thatis,youcanmoveitto

anotherpositiononthescreenandresizeit.Alternatively,youcanfixits

positionattheleftoftheapplicationwindow,andevenhideit.

DOC-07000 Rev. A 5–7

Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

Preparing Models for Production

Modelpreparationinvolvesthefollowingbasicsteps:

1. Placeobjectsorassembliesonthebuildtray.

2. Ifnecessary,manipulatetheobject’sorientationandposition.

3. Selectthematerialsandmodelfinish.

JustasObjetprinterscanproducedifferentmodelsonthebuildtrayusing

differentmaterials,youcanproducecomponentsofamodelwithdifferent

materials.Todothis,eachpartofthemodelmustbeaseparatestlfile.Ifthe

model’scomponentpartswerenotsavedintheCADsoftwareasseparate

stlfiles,youcanuseObjetStudiotoseparatethemodelintocomponent

parts.(Thisisdescribedin“SplittingObjectsintoComponents”onpage 16

andin“DividingObjects”onpage 58.)

OBJDF Files:

Overview Anobjdffiledescribesboththegeometryofasingleobjectandthe

materials,andfinishrequiredtoprintit.Theobjdffilecanrepresentan

objectthatisasinglestlfile,oranobjectassembledfromcomponentstl

files.

ObjetStudioenablesyoutosplitanstlfilerepresentingacomplexobject

intoanassemblyofcomponentstlfiles,andsavetheassemblyasanobjdf

file.Eachpart(stlfile)describedbytheobjdffilecanhaveitsownmodel‐

materialcharacteristic,sothattheObjetprinterproducesthecomponent

partsfromspecificmaterials.

Anotheruseforobjdffilesisforsavingagroupofseparateobjectsonthe

buildtrayasoneunit,togetherwiththeirrelativepositionsandmaterials.

Thisisespeciallyusefulforproducingmodelsinthefuturewiththesame

materials.Infact,whenyousaveobjdffiles,youspecifymaterialsfor

printingmodelswithoutregardtothematerialcartridgesloadedinthe

printer.Thesameobjectcanlaterbeplacedonbuildtraysforprinting.Each

timeyousendabuildtraytotheprinter,youdecidewhethertoallow

printingwithsubstitutematerialsoronlywiththematerialsspecified.

TheConnexversionofObjetStudioenablesyoutodisplay,manipulateand

printcomponentpartsofamodelassemblythatwassavedasanobjdffile,

sinceeachcomponentisaseparatestlfile.Thiscanbeusefulforprinting

onlyspecificpartsofamodel.

Model Files Toproducemodels,youopenoneormoremodelfilesinObjetStudioand

positionobjectsonthebuildtray.Youcanplaceobjectsonthebuildtrayin

severalways:

•byinsertingindividual stl or slc files(oranassemblyofstlfiles).

•byinserting anobjdffile(anassembly).

•bypastingobjectsthatyoucopiedtotheWindowsclipboard.

Using Objet Studio

5–8

DOC-07000 Rev. A

Placing

Objects on the

Build Tray

To place an object on the build tray using stl, slc or files:

1. OpentheInsertdialogbox—

•FromtheObjectmenu,selectInsert.

or—

•OntheArrangeTrayribbon,click.

or—

•Right‐clickonthebuildtray,andselectInsert fromthecontext

menu.

TheInsertdialogboxappears.

2. IntheLookinfield,displaytheappropriatefolder.

3. IntheFilesoftypefield,selectthefiletypestodisplay(stl,slc,).

4. Selectthedesiredfile,andmakesurethatitappearsintheFilename

field.

IfthePreviewcheckboxisselected,theobjectisdisplayedinthedialog

box.

Note: You can open several stl files at once, to place several models on the

build tray. If you select multiple stl files that make up an assembly,

you can select all or some of the parts. To print the entire model,

select all of an assembly’s component stl files, and select the

Assembly check box.This positions the parts as a complete,

integrated model instead of as independent parts. The effects of

selecting the Assembly check box—in both the model tree and the

build tray display—are shown in the following figures.

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Figure 5-7: Assembly check box selected—stl files are placed as an assembly

Figure 5-8: Assembly check box not selected—stl files are placed as parts

TheModelSettingsribbonisdisplayedwhenobjectsareplacedonthe

buildtray.

5. Selectanyofthefollowingoptions,asrequired:

•Units—Millimetersorinchesfortheobject’sunitsofmeasure.

The3‐Dfilecontainstheobjectʹsproportions,butnotitsunitsof

measure.Therefore,makesuretocorrectlyselecteithermillimeters

orincheswheninsertinganobject.Otherwise,thesizeoftheobject

onthebuildtraywillbeeithermuchtoolargeormuchtoosmall.To

changethemeasurementunitsofobjectsalreadyplacedonthetray,

see“MeasurementUnits”onpage 36.

•Number of copies—Howmanycopiesofthisobjecttoplaceonthe

buildtray.

•Orient Automatically—Automaticallyorientobjectsonthebuild

trayforefficientmodelbuilding.

•Assembly—Markthischeckboxifyouselectedmultiplestlfiles

thatarepartofanassembly.

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Note: The Extents values displayed in the Insert dialog box’s Coordinates

field, represent the maximum dimensions of the object on each axis.

These dimensions correspond to the virtual “bounding box”

surrounding the object see figure 5-49 on page 36).

6. ClickInsert.

ObjetStudioplacestheobjectonthebuildtray,andinthemodeltree.

TheModelSettingsribbonisdisplayedwhenobjectsareplacedonthe

buildtray.

Iftheobjectisoveracertainsize,theLoadingPlacedElementsdialogbox

mayappear.



Model

Toolbar

Model

Tree

pane

You can speed up the opening of large files by changing the Large Files

settings—see “Loading Large Files” on page 48).

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Opening files Beforeplacingfilesonthebuildtray,ObjetStudiomustextractthe

componentstlfilestogetherwithinformationabouttheirorientationand

materials.Todothis,ObjetStudiocreatesafolderwiththesamenameas

thefile,inthesamelocation.

Figure 5-9: Insert dialog box ( file)

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DOC-07000 Rev. A

Opening Objet

Tray Files Youcanopentraysthatweresavedasobjtffiles,forexample,atrayyou

savedwhilepreparingitforprinting,andnowyouwanttocontinue

preparingit.

To place an object saved as an Objet Tray File (objtf) file on the build

tray:

1. FromtheFilegroup,click.

or—

FromtheObjetStudioCommands,selectOpen.

TheOpendialogboxisdisplayed.

2. Selectthedesiredfile,andmakesurethatitappearsintheFilename

field.

IfthePreviewcheckboxisselected,theobjectisdisplayed.

3. ClickOpen.

ObjetStudioopensthetrayfile.

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Stl file loading

preference Ifthereareidenticallynamedstlfilesinmorethanonelocation,youneed

toensurethatthecorrectcomponentstlfilesarelinkedtotheobjtffile.For

example,ifthereareidenticallynamedstlfilesononedriveandonaflash

drive(thiscanoccurifyoucopytheoriginalfilestoaworkingfolder),you

cansetthedefaultlocationfromwhichfilesareloaded.

To set the Load Order:

1. FromtheToolsmenu,selectOptions.

or—

IntheObjetStudioCommandsMenu,clickOptions.

2. IntheOptionsdialogbox,displaytheSettingstab.

Figure 5-10: Options dialog box, Settings tab

3. UnderLoadSearchOrder,selectanoption:

•Local—toloadfilesfromthelocationwheretheywerelastsaved.

•Original—toloadfilesintheiroriginallocation.

4. ClickOK.

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Quick-Access

Model

Commands

Youcanaccesscommoncommandsforworkingwithobjectsonthebuild

traywiththeconvenientModelToolbarandcontextmenus.

Model Toolbar SelectanobjectinthetraytodisplaytheModelToolbarthatcontainsicons

toperformcommontasks.

ThetablebelowdescribestheModelToolbaricons.

Right-click model

menu Ifyouright‐clickonanobject,apop‐upcontextmenuisdisplayedfrom

whichyoucanalsoselectthemodelfinish,changeitspositionandscale,

andsettheGridStyleandHollowoptions.

Icon Description

Appliesamattefinishtothemodel.

Appliesaglossyfinishtothemodel.

OpenstheAdvancedPropertiesdialogboxforsettingthe

GridStyleandtheHollowoption.

Enablesdragginganobject.

OpenstheTransformdialogboxforchangingthe

object’spositionandscale.

TogglestheLockModelOrientationsetting.

Allowsyoutochoosetheprintingmaterials.

Enablesyoutoapplyacoatingtothemodel,orchange

thecoatingpreviouslyapplied.

You can also create a Quick Access toolbar with your most commonly used

icons grouped together. See “Building a Quick Access Toolbar” on page 89.

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Copying and

Pasting

Objects

Ifyouneedtoduplicateobjectsonthebuildtray,youcan,ofcourse,insert

thesameobjectfromitsfilemorethanonce.Aneasierway,however,isto

copyandpastetheobject.Youcancopyobjectsfromthebuildtrayorthe

modeltree—individualormultiplepartsorassemblies.Theobjectscopied

remainintheWindowsclipboarduntilyoupastethemontothebuildtray.

Youcanalsocopyobjectsfromonetrayandpastethemontoanother,inthe

samewayasyoucopytextfromonedocumentandpasteitintoanother

one.However,ObjetStudioallowsonlyonetraytobeopenatatime.For

eachbuildtrayyouneedtoworkwith(atthesametime),youmustopena

separateObjetStudiowindow,byrunningtheapplicationagain(fromthe

WindowsStartmenu).

YouperformtheCopyandPastecommandsasinotherWindows

applications:

•fromtheright‐clickcontextmenu.

•byusingkeyboardshortcuts(Ctrl+CandCtrl+V,respectively).

ThePasteSpecialcommand(fromtheobject’sright‐clickcontextmenu)

enablesyoutoplaceduplicateobjectsevenmoreefficiently:

•Youcanspecifythenumberofduplicatestoplaceonthebuildtrayat

once.

•Youcansetthedistance,oneachaxis,betweentheduplicateobjects.

•Youcanmanipulatemirrorimagesoftheoriginalobject,andflipthem

onselectedaxes.

Figure 5-11: Paste Special dialog box

Having multiple Objet Studio windows open can be convenient when you

need to manipulate or configure objects before inserting them in your

production build tray. For example, if you need to change the model material

of an object (saved as an objdf file) to match the model material already

used in the production build tray, you must do so before inserting the

object—on another tray. Copying and pasting also allows you to utilize

objects already configured on previously-used build trays for newer

projects.

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Selecting

Objects Tomanipulateanobjectonthebuildtrayorassigncharacteristicstoit

(modelmaterial,buildingstyleetc.),youmustfirstselecttheobject.You

selectanobjectbyclickingit,eitheronthetrayorinthemodeltree.Its

imageonthebuildtraychangescolor(tolightblue,bydefault)andits

nameishighlightedinthemodeltree.Youcanselectmultipleobjectsby

drawingaboxaroundthemwiththemousecursor,orbypressingtheCtrl

orShiftkeyswhileclickingadditionalobjects.

Alternatively,selectorde‐selectobjectsusingthefollowingEditmenu

commands:

•Select All

•Invert Selection

•Undo Select object

Sometimes,youneedtoselectindividualelementsofanassembly.Other

times,youneedtoselecttheentireassembly.TheSelectionicondisplayed

ontheribbondetermineswhatwillbeselectedwhenyouclickonthe

model:

or

To change the selection action:

1. OntheArrangeTrayorModelSettingsribbon—

a. ClicktheSelectionicon:or.

b. Ontheflyouttoolbar,clicktheappropriateicon:

Figure 5-12: Selection flyout toolbar

Splitting

Objects into

Components

Youcanconvertacomplexobjecttoanassemblyofcomponentparts.Todo

so,yousplitthestlfilethatrepresentstheobjectintoagroupofseparatestl

files,eachonerepresentingacomponent.(ThisisreferredtointheObjet

Studiointerfaceasseparatingtheobjectintoshells.)Youcanthenassigna

modelmaterialtoeachstlfile,andyoucansavethenewly‐created

assemblyasanobjdffile.

Select Group

Select Element

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To split an object into an assembly of component parts:

1. Iftheobjectisnotdisplayed,placeitonthebuildtraybyinsertingitsstl

file(see“PlacingObjectsontheBuildTray”onpage 8).

Theobjectappears—onthebuildtrayandinthemodeltreepane—asa

singlepart.Itisassigned,bydefault,the“primary”modelmaterial.(If

ObjetStudioisconfiguredwithasecondarymaterial,youcanassign

it—oradigitalmaterial—totheentireobject.Thisisexplainedin

“Model‐MaterialSettings”onpage 18.)

Figure 5-13: Object placed on the build tray from a single stl file

Note: There is no need to resize or arrange the object on the build tray at

this time.

2. Withtheobjectselected:

•FromtheObjectmenu,selectSeparate into Shells.

or—

•Ontheribbon,click.

Adialogboxopensinwhichyoucanspecifywheretosavethe

componentstlfiles.(Bydefault,ObjetStudioofferstosavethenewfiles

inafolderinthesamelocationastheoriginalstlfile.)

Figure 5-14: Folder selection for saving stl files after splitting into shells

3. ClickOK.

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ObjetStudiosplitstheobjectintoanassemblyofcomponentparts,each

aseparatestlfile(“shell”).

Theobjectappears—onthebuildtrayandinthemodeltree—asan

assemblyofparts(“shells”).Youcanassigneachpartadifferentmodel

material(Thisisexplainedin“Model‐MaterialSettings”onpage 18).

Figure 5-15: Object after being converted to an assembly of component parts

Model-Material

Settings BeforeplacingobjectsonthebuildtrayinObjetStudio,youshouldpay

attentiontothematerialselectionsettingsontheArrangeTrayribbon.

Figure 5-16: Material selection settings

•Bydefault,thematerialselectionsettingsontheribboncorrespondto

thethreemodelcartridgesloadedintheprinter.

•Thematerialsdisplayedarebasicmodelmaterials.Thesematerialscan

laterbecombinedtocreatedigitalmaterials(see“DigitalMaterials”on

page 20).

•Thematerialdisplayedonthetop(VeroWhite,inthefigureabove)is

consideredtheprimarymodelmaterial(“Model‐1”).Itisassignedto

objectsthatdonothaveamaterialassignmentwhenyouplacethemon

thebuildtray.Forexample,sincestlfilesdonotcontaininformation

aboutthemodelmaterial,ObjetStudioassignstheprimarymodel

materialtothem.Also,ifyoutrytoinsertobjdffileswhoseassigned

materialsarenotrecognizedbyyourversionofObjetStudio,youcan

insertthefilebysubstitutingtheprimarymodelmaterialforthe

missingmaterials.

•SelectSingle Materialifyouwanttoprintusingonlyonematerial—all

ofthematerialdrop‐downmenuscontainthesamematerial.Ifyou

decidetoprintwithmultiplematerials,thematerialinthetopdrop‐

downmenuremainsassignedtotheobjectuntilyouselectanother

material.

•Ifyouinsertanobjdffileintoanemptybuildtray,andthemodel‐

materialassignmentdoesnotmatchthesettingsontheArrangeTray

ribbon,thesesettingsarechangedautomatically.However,ifthereisan

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objectalreadyonthebuildtraywhosematerialsdonotmatchthe

materialassignmentintheobjdffile,youcannotplacethenewobjecton

thetray.Toprintthisobject,youhavethefollowingoptions:

Insteadofprintingitonthesamebuildtray,printthenewobjectasa

separatejob.

Changethematerialsassignedtoobjectsonthebuildtraytomatch

thoseassignedtothenewobject(see“ChangingtheModel

Material”and“AssigningaModelMaterialtoObjects,”below).

Changethematerialsassignedtothenewobjectbeforeinsertingit,

sothereisnoconflictwiththesettingsontheTraySettingsribbon.

To change the materials assigned to an object before inserting it:

1. OpenanotherObjetStudiowindow,byrunningtheapplicationfrom

theWindowsStartmenu.

2. Insertthenewobject(objdffile)intotheemptybuildtray.

3. ChangethematerialselectionsettingsontheTraySettingsribbonto

thoseusedontheotherbuildtray.

4. Assignmaterialstotheobject(see“AssigningaModelMaterialto

Objects”onpage 23).

5. Selecttheobjectandcopyit.

6. DisplaytheotherObjetStudiowindow,andpastetheobjectontothe

buildtray.

Note: You can save the object with the new materials either as a new objdf

file, or by saving the original file with the changes.

Figure 5-17: Whenthreedifferentmodelmaterialsappearontheribbon,

youcanproduceobjectsfromanyofthemorfromacombinationof

them—digitalmaterials.

three three

Using Objet Studio

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DOC-07000 Rev. A

Color selection

pallete Youcandisplaythematerialcoloroptionsasacolorpallete.Fromthe

Toolsmenu,selectColormaterialselectionandthenSelectfromcolor

pallete.



Figure 5-18: Color selection pallete for assigning materials to objects



Figure 5-19: Color selection pallete from Model Toolbar

Note: The color selection pallete will only be displayed if one of the

following combinations of primary materials are selected:

•VeroCyanandVeroMagentaandVeroWhite

•VeroCyanandVeroMagentaandVeroYellow

•VeroCyanandVeroWhiteandVeroYellow

•VeroMgntandVeroWhiteandVeroYellow

DOC-07000 Rev. A 5–21

Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

Surface Finish Modelscanbeprintedwithamatteorglossysurfacefinish.Tocreatea

mattefinish,theprintersurroundsmodelswithathinlayerofsupport

material.

To set the model finish:

1. Selectthemodel.

2. SelectMatteorGlossy inoneofthefollowingplaces:

•ModelSettingsribbon,Optionsgroup

•ModelToolbar

•right‐clickcontextmenu(whenselectingthemodel)

YoucanconfigureObjetStudiotodistinguishbetweenobjects’surface

finishonthebuildtraybycolor.ToconfigurehowObjetStudiodisplays

objects,see“SettingObjectColors”onpage 48.

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DOC-07000 Rev. A

Positioning Objects on the Build Tray

Toproducemodelsefficientlyandwiththerequiredfinish,itisimportant

tocarefullypositionobjectsonthebuildtray.ObjetStudiosupportsthe

automaticpositioningofobjects.However,youshouldchecktomakesure

thattheobjectsareorientatedlogicallyforyourneeds,accordingtothe

considerationsexplainedin“ModelOrientation”onpage 5‐32.

Twothingsthataffectthepositioningofobjectsonthebuildtrayare

orientationandplacement.YoucanletObjetStudiodeterminetheoptimum

orientationandposition,oryoucancontrolthem.

Automatic

Orientation Bydefault,ObjetStudioautomaticallyorientsobjects,whenplacedonthe

buildtray,fortheshortestprintingtime.(Youcanlaterchangethe

orientationmanually.)However,youcancancelautomaticorientation

whenplacinganobjectonthebuildtray.

To place an object on the build tray without automatic orientation:

¾IntheInsertdialogbox,makesureOrientAutomaticallyisnotselected.

DOC-07000 Rev. A 5–23

Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

You can change the default setting, so that automatic orientation is not

applied unless you select the Orient Automatically check box each time you

place an object on the build tray. To do this, see “Default Settings” on

page 70.

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DOC-07000 Rev. A

Automatic

Placement Afterplacingseveralobjectsonthebuildtray,youcanletObjetStudio

arrangethemonthetrayforprinting.Thisensuresthattheobjectsare

positionedproperly,andthattheywillbeprintedintheshortesttimeand

withaminimumofmaterial.

To automatically arrange objects on the build tray:

¾OntheTraySettingsribbon,click.

or—

FromtheToolsmenu,select Automatic Placement.

Theeffectsofautomaticpositioningareshowninthefiguresbelow.

Figure 5-20: Tray before

objects are properly arranged

Figure 5-21: Tray

arrangement when applying automatic placement

•For best results arrange the tray with Automatic Placement, on the Tray

Settings ribbon, even if you inserted the objects with the Orient

Automatically option.

•The physical characteristics of each type of model material you use can

affect the positioning of objects on the build tray. Therefore, select the

material before running Automatic Placement.

DOC-07000 Rev. A 5–25

Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

Model Orientation

Theorientationofmodelsonthebuildtrayaffectshowquicklyand

efficientlytheywillbeproducedbythe3‐Dprinter,whereandhowmuch

supportmaterialisused,andwhetherornotmodelpartswillhaveaglossy

finish.Therefore,youshouldconsideravarietyoffactorswhendeciding

howtoplacemodelsonthetray,usingthefollowingpositioningrules.

X-Y-Z Rule

Thisruleconsidersamodelʹsouterdimensions.

¾SincetheprintheadsmovebackandforthalongtheX‐axis,theprinting

timealongthisaxisisrelativelyshort,comparedtoprintingtimealong

theY‐axisandZ‐axis.Fromthispointofview,itisadvisabletoplacethe

objectʹslargestdimensionalongtheX‐axis.

¾Anysurfacesthatcomeintocontactwithsupportmaterialsbecome

matte.

¾Sincemodelsarebuiltup,ontheZ‐axis,in30‐micronlayers,itisvery

time‐consumingtoprintatallobject.Fromthispointofview,itis

advisabletoplacetheobjectʹssmallestdimensionalongtheZ‐axis.

¾Sincetheprintheadsmeasureabout2inches(5centimeters)ontheY‐

axis,modelsmeasuringlessthanthis(ontheY‐axis)areprintedinone

pass.Fromthispointofview,itisadvisabletoplacetheobjectʹs

intermediatedimensionalongtheY‐axis.

Tall-Left Rule

Thisruleconsidersmodelswhere,afterbeingorientatedonthebuildtray

accordingtootherconsiderations,onesideistallerthantheother.

¾SincetheprintheadsmovealongtheX‐axisfromlefttoright,taller

sectionsontherightrequiretheprintheadstoscanunnecessarilyfrom

theleftuntilreachingthem.If,ontheotherhand,thetallersectionsare

positionedontheleftofthetray,theprintheadsonlyhavetoscanthe

modeluntilprintingthesesections—oncethelowerpartshavebeen

completed.Therefore,youshouldpositionthetallersideofthemodel,

whenpossible,ontheleft.

Recess-Up Rule

Thisruleconsidersmodelscontainingsurfacerecesses.

¾Recessesinthesurface(likehollows,drillholes,etc.)should,when

possible,bepositionedface‐up.

Fine-Surface Rule

Thisruleconsidersmodelsthathaveonesideonwhichtherearefine

details(likethekeypadsideofatelephone).

¾Thesideofthemodelcontainingfinedetailsshould,whenpossible,be

positionedface‐up.Thisresultsinasmoothfinish.

Avoid Support-Material Rule

Thisruleconsidersmodelsthathavelargeholesorhollows,openonat

leastoneside(likeapipeoracontainer).

¾Itmaybeadvantageoustoprintamodelstandingup,sosupport

materialdoesnotfillthehollow,eventhoughprintingthemodellying

downwouldbemuchfaster.

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DOC-07000 Rev. A

Manipulating Objects on the Build Tray

Positioning

Objects on the

Z-Axis

Whenyouusetheautomaticpositioningoptiontoarrangeobjectsonthe

buildtray,theobjectsarepositioneddirectlyonthetray.Ifyoudonot

insertobjectswithautomaticpositioning,theyoftenappeareitheraboveor

belowthetray.

To position objects directly on the tray:

1. Selecttheobject.

2. FromtheObjectmenu,selectLay On.

To ensure that objects are always positioned directly on the tray:

1. FromtheToolsmenu,selectOptions,anddisplaytheSettingstab.

2. IntheAutomaticLayOn(Gravity)section,selectAlways.

Other Z-axis options (in the Automatic Lay On section):

•When under the tray—Thedisplayofobjectsthatarebelowthebuild

trayisautomaticallychangedsothattheobjectisattraylevel.

•Never—Thedisplayofobjectsthatareaboveorbelowthebuildtrayis

notchanged.

Valid Object

Placement Youcanensurethatmodelsdonotoverlapwhenyoupositionthemonthe

buildtray,andthattheydonotextendbeyondthetray.

To ensure valid object placement:

1. FromtheToolsmenu,selectConstraints Settings.

In practice, the Objet system prints all models on the build tray on a one-

millimeter bed of support material. The importance of positioning objects

directly on the build tray with Objet Studio is to correctly display the objects

on the screen.

DOC-07000 Rev. A 5–27

Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

2. SelectDynamic checktoidentify:

•invalidobjectplacementwhileplacingobjects—OnDropselected.

•invalidobjectplacementaftermovingobjects—WhileDragselected.

•objectsplacedbeyondthetray’sboundaries—OutsideTrayselected.

•objectsthatoverlap—ObjectCollisionselected.

Note: Remember that Objet Studio calculates the space occupied by an

object including the “bounding box” surrounding it (see figure 5-40

on page 44).

Even if you do not use Dynamic Check when placing objects on the build

tray, Objet Studio automatically checks if there is a problem with the

positioning of objects on the tray before sending it to the printer. You can

also manually check for problems after positioning objects.

Using Objet Studio

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DOC-07000 Rev. A

Using a Grid to

Position

Objects

Displayingagridontheimageofthebuildtraycanbeusefulwhen

positioningobjects.Youcanmakeuseofthisfeaturebyselectingthe

followingmenuoptions.

Youcanreviewandconfiguregridsettings—andapplythem—fromthe

Optionsdialogbox.

To view and change grid settings:

1. FromtheToolsmenu,selectOptions,anddisplaytheGridtab.

Thecurrentgridsettingsaredisplayed.

Figure 5-22: Options dialog box, Grid tab

2. Asrequired,changethesettings,andselectorclearthecheckboxes.

3. ClickApplyorOK.

Menu Option Result

Tools>Grid Displaysagridonthebuildtray.

Tools>Snaptogrid Whenmovingtheobject,italignswiththenearest

gridline.

Tools>Options>

Grid Enablesyoutochangethegridorigin

(X‐andY‐axismeetingpoint)andappearance.

DOC-07000 Rev. A 5–29

Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

Measurement

Units

3‐Dfilescontainanobjectʹsproportions,butnotitsunitsofmeasure.

Therefore,makesuretocorrectlyselecteithermillimetersorincheswhen

insertinganobject.Otherwise,thesizeoftheobjectonthebuildtraywillbe

eithermuchtoolargeormuchtoosmall.

Tosetthemeasurementunitswheninsertinganobject:

¾IntheInsertdialogbox,Unitsfield,selectMillimeterorInch:

TochangeunitsofmeasurementontheModelSettingsribbon:

1. OpentheUnitsflyouttoolbar.

Figure 5-23: Units flyout toolbar

2. Selectthemeasurementunitsdesired.

To change units of measurement with the Standard Toolbar:

1. FromtheObjectmenu,selectChange Units.

Figure 5-24: Model Units dialog box

2. IntheModelUnitsdialogbox,changethesettingandclickOK.

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DOC-07000 Rev. A

Setting Model

Dimensions Youcanchangetheobject’sdimensionsbychangingthecoordinatesinthe

DimensionsgroupontheModelSettingsribbon.

Figure 5-25: Dimensions on the Model Settings ribbon

Note: You can change the height of the objects on the build tray only if this

is allowed by the Objet Studio settings.

Repositioning

Objects Youcanmanuallymoveandrotateanobjectonthebuildtraywiththe

arrowkeys,orbydraggingitwiththemouse.

To manually manipulate an object:

1. Selectanobjectbyclickingitonthebuildtray,orinthemodeltree

pane.

2. ClickontheModelToolbar,orontheModelSettingsribbon.

Aframeappearsaroundtheobject,andthecursorchangestoindicate

thattheobjectcanbemoved.

Figure 5-26: Manually moving an object

DOC-07000 Rev. A 5–31

Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

3. Ifyouclickonacorneroftheframe,thecursorchangestoindicatethat

theobjectcanberotated.

Figure 5-27: Manually rotating an object

4. Manipulatetheobjectwiththearrowkeysorwiththemouse.

Using the Transform

Dialog Box

Youcanmakeprecisechangestoanobjectbychangingthepropertiesinthe

Transformdialogbox.

To access the Transform dialog box (when an object is selected):

•ClickontheModelToolbarorontheModelSettingsribbon.

•Fromtheright‐clickcontextmenu,selectTransform.

•FromtheObjectmenu,selectTransform.

Figure 5-28: Transform dialog box

To change an object with the Transform dialog box:

¾Changeanyofthevalues,thenclickApplytoseehowtheobject

changesonthebuildtray.

Note: The changed values remain in the dialog box after clicking Apply.

Therefore, you can make small changes to values in the dialog box to see

how the object changes on screen each time you click Apply.

To reset all of the values in the dialog box:

¾ClickReset.

Note: The objet does not change. Any changes previously applied remain.

To undo all changes made with the Transform dialog box:

¾ClickCancel Actions.

After closing the Transform dialog box, clicking Undo (on the Model Settings

ribbon or from the Edit menu) cancels all changes made with the dialog box.

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DOC-07000 Rev. A

Changing an

Object’s

Orientation

Thereareseveralmethodsforchangingtheorientationofobjectsonthe

buildtray.

To rotate an object:

¾SelecttheobjectandusetheObjectmenuoptions.

To re-align an object’s plane:

or—

FromtheToolsmenu,selectPlane Alignment > Select Plane.

5. Clickonpartofanobjectonthebuildtray.

Theselectedplaneisdisplayed.

Figure 5-29: Aligning by plane

6. OntheAlignmenttoolbar,clickanappropriateicontochangethe

alignment.

or—

FromtheToolsmenu,selectPlane Alignment,andselectanalignment

option.

Figure 5-30: Tools menu, Plane Alignment options

To cancel plane selection after re-aligning objects on the build tray:

or—

FromtheToolsmenu,selectPlane Alignment > Select Plane.

To flip an object 180 degrees on any axis:

1. Selecttheobject.

2. FromtheObjectmenu,selectFlip > Flip X / Flip Y / Flip Z.

To make precise changes to the object’s orientation on any axis:

1. Selecttheobject.

2. DisplaytheTransformdialogbox.

3. ChangetheRotateparametersforeachaxis.

Freezing Model

Orientation

Ifyoumanipulateanobjectonthebuildtray,youcanfreezeitsorientation

sothatitdoesnotchangewhenyoupositionitautomatically().

To freeze an object:

1. Selectanobjectonthebuildtray.

2. OntheModelSettingsribbon,intheManipulategroup,orontheModel

Toolbar,click.

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To unfreeze an object:

¾Selecttheobjectandclick(tode‐selectit).

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Display Options

Viewing

Objects FromtheViewmenu,youcanchangethewayobjectsaredisplayed.The

defaultmethodfordisplayingmodelsonthebuildtrayisassolid

(“shaded”)objects.

TheotherdisplayoptionsareWireFrameandPoints.

To display the build tray in WireFrame view:

¾FromtheViewmenu,selectWireFrame.

To revert to the shaded view:

¾FromtheViewmenu,select Shaded.

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Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

To display objects as boxes, showing their maximum dimensions

instead of their shape:

¾FromtheViewmenu,select Display Bounding Box.

Figure 5-31: Model displayed with bounding box

To display the area around objects needed for support material (to

produce a matte finish):

¾FromtheViewmenu,select Display Thickening Box.

Figure 5-32: Model displayed with thickening box

To display the maximum build height:

¾FromtheViewmenu,selectDisplay Tray 3D Box.

Figure 5-33: Tray 3-D

Box

To display objects without the build tray:

¾FromtheViewmenu,clear(de‐select)theDisplayTrayoption.

Screen Layout ObjetStudioautomaticallyadjuststhedefaultscreenlayouttodisplaythe

optimumviewsofthebuildtrayandthemodeltree.Youcanviewmodels

fromdifferentperspectivesbychangingthescreenlayout.

To change the screen layout:

¾OntheViewflyouttoolbar,selectSingle View,or4 Views.

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Figure 5-34: Screen layout icons

Single View isthedefaultscreenlayout.

4 Viewsdisplaysperspective,top,frontandrightviews.

Tray

Perspective

Thedefaultperspectiveofthebuildtrayis“isometric.”Youcanchangethe

perspectiveoftheactivewindowwithoneoftenoptions.

To change the perspective of the build tray in the active window:

1. OntheTraySettingsribbon,openthePerspectiveflyouttoolbar.

Figure 5-35: Perspective flyout toolbar

2. Clicktheiconthatrepresentsthedesiredperspective.

Tray Positioning Toviewthetrayandmodelsfromdifferentdirections,youcanmovethe

trayaroundthescreenandchangeitsdisplayangle.

To move the tray in the Objet Studio screen:

¾Pressthemousewheelwhilemovingthemouse.

To manually rotate the tray:

¾PressAltandpressthemousewheelwhilemovingthemouse.

Setting Object

Colors Thecolorofobjectsonthebuildtraycanindicatehowtheyareprinted.

ObjetStudioenablesyoutochoosethecolordisplaysothatyoucaneasily

seethematerial,surfaceofobjects.

To choose how colors are applied on the display:

¾OntheModelSettingsribbon,intheColorsgroup,selectoneofthe

optionsfromtheflyouttoolbar.

Figure 5-36:

Colors display options

Color Indicates Model material

Color indicates Model surface

Color indicates if coating is used

Before sending a build tray to the printer, or when you perform tray

validation, Objet Studio checks if there is a problem with the stl files or the

positioning of objects on the tray. If so, the affected objects are displayed

with special colors (see “Tray Validation” on page 5-51).

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Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

Loading Large

Files Verylargestlfilescanbeslowtoloadandmaybedifficulttomanipulate

easilyonthebuildtray.Ifthisisthecase,youcandisplayjustanimageof

theobjectonthebuildtraywithoutloadingtheentirefile.Thestlfileitself

isnotchanged,andthecompletefileissenttotheprinter.

To display an image of stl files when you place objects on the build tray:

1. FromtheToolsmenu,selectOptions,anddisplaytheSettingstab.

Figure 5-37: Options dialog box, Settings tab

2. IntheLargeFilessection,selectLoad Partial (reduced).

Large File

Manipulation Ifyouneedtoworkwithadetailedmodelthatiscomposedofalarge

numberofpolygons,youcanspeedupitsdisplayandmanipulationin

ObjetStudiobyreducingthenumberofpolygonsonthescreen.Although

thismayreducetheresolutiononthescreen,ithasnoaffectontheprinted

models.

Figure 5-38: Object displayed without polygon reduction

Figure 5-39: Object displayed with only five percent of its polygons showing

To use polygon reduction:

1. FromtheToolsmenu,selectOptions.

or—

IntheObjetStudioCommandsMenu,clickOptions.

2. IntheOptionsdialogbox,displaytheDisplaytab.

3. SelectEnable Polygon Reduction.

4. SelectPolygon Reduction (Percent).

5. Enterthepercentageoftotalpolygonstodisplay.

WhenyouclickApply,thedisplaychanges.

Note: The setting affects the static display (when the object is not being

moved).

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6. Setdisplayoptionswhentheobjectisbeingmoved(Displaywhile

changingview):

•BoundingBox—Aboxrepresentingtheobject’smaximum

dimensionsisdisplayed.

•AdaptivePolygonReduction—Varyingdegreesofpolygonreduction

areapplied,asnecessary.

•EntireObject—Nopolygonreductionisapplied.

7. Tosavethesesettings,sothattheywillbeappliedeverytimeyouplace

thisobjectonthebuildtray,clickSave Polygon Reduction Data.

8. ClickApplytoseetheresultsofthesettingswithoutclosingthedialog

box.

Object display

options Thedisplayformataffectshowquicklyobjectsdisplay.Forexample,ifyou

selectBounding Box,objectsdisplayfasterthantheydowhenyouselect

Entire Object.Youcanchoosedisplayformatsforobjectswhentheyare

stationary(staticview)andforwhenyouaredraggingthem(changingview).

To select the object display preference while changing view, and in static

view:

1. Selecttodisplayobjects:

•WithaBoundingBox(seefigure 5‐40onpage 44)

•WithAdaptivePolygonReduction(changingviewonly)

•WithPolygonReduction(staticviewonly)

•EntireObject

2. ClickOKwhendone.

Zoom Options Whilemanipulatingobjects,youoftenneedtoviewthematdifferentzoom

levels.

To change the zoom level:

¾Ontheribbon,opentheZoomflyouttoolbarandselectanoption:

Figure 5-40: Zoom flyout toolbar

ZoomObjectfocusesontheselectedobject.

ZoomTraydisplaysthewholetray.

ZoombyRectangleallowsyoutodisplayasectionofthetrayby

selectingitwiththemouse.

Youcanalsozoominandzoomoutwiththemousewheel.

Selecting the Entire Object options cancels polygon reduction.

You can configure Objet Studio to automatically zoom in on the objects

placed on the build tray.

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Handling Completed Trays

Afteryouhaveproperlyplacedallobjectsonthebuildtray,yousavethe

trayasanobjtffile,whichissenttothe3‐Dprinterforproduction.But

beforesavingthetray,youcancheckthattherewouldbenoproblem

producingit.Youcanalsocalculatehowmuchmaterialwouldbe

consumedduringproductionandhowmuchtimethiswouldtake.

Tray Validation Beforesendingajobtotheprinterforproduction,youshouldcheckthat

thetrayis“valid”andcanbeprinted.

To validate that the tray can be printed:

¾OntheTraySettingsribbon,intheBuildProcessgroup,click.

or—

FromtheToolsmenu,selectPlacement Validation.

Ifthetrayisnotvalid,thecoloroftheproblematicmodelsonthetray

changesaccordingtoapre‐setcode.

Thevalidationstatusappearsonthebaratthebottomofthescreen.

Figure 5-41: Validation details in status bar

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DOC-07000 Rev. A

Production

Estimates ObjetStudioenablesyoutocalculatethetimeandmaterialresources

neededforproducingtraysbeforesendingthemtotheprinter.Thetimeit

takesObjetStudiotomakethiscalculationdependsonthenumberof

objectsonthetrayandtheircomplexity.Calculatingtheproduction

estimateforafulltraycouldtakeupto15minutes,dependingonyour

computer’sspecifications.

To calculate the time and materials needed for producing the current

tray:

¾OntheTraySettingsribbon,intheBuildProcessgroup,click.

Whiletheestimateisbeingcalculated,aprogressbarisdisplayed—on

therightsideofthestatusbar(atthebottomofthescreen).

WhenObjetStudiofinishescalculatingtheproductionresources,the

resultsaredisplayed.

Figure 5-42: Production resource calculation

Youcane‐mailobjtffilesusingMicrosoft®OfficeOutlook®.

To e-mail a file:

1. FromtheToolsmenu,selectEmail Objet Digital File.

OutlookopenswiththefileattachedandSubjectdetailsaddedtothee‐

mailform.

2. Enterthee‐mailaddressandsendthefile.

Printing the

Tray File Whenatrayisreadytobeprinted,itisplacedintheJobsQueue.Whenthe

jobreachestheheadofthequeue,ObjetStudiopre‐processesthetrayfileto

createslices,andfeedsthemtothe3‐Dprinter.

To send the tray to the print queue:

1. OntheTraySettingsribbon,BuildProcessgroup,click.

Ifprintingthetrayrequiresmorethanonemodelmaterial(Digital

Materialmode),theJobSummarydialogboxopens.

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Ifthebuildtrayfilehasnot

beensaved,theSaveAsdialogboxopensforyoutosaveitnow.

ObjetStudiochecksifthereisaproblemwiththepositioningofobjects

onthetray.Ifso,theaffectedobjectsaredisplayedwithspecialcolors

(see“TrayValidation”onpage 51),andthefollowingwarningmessage

appears.

TocanceltheBuildcommandsoyoucancorrecttheproblem,click

No.Toprintthemodelsastheyarepositionedonthetray,clickYes.The

JobManagerscreenopens,soyoucanmonitortheprogressofyour

trays—before,during,andafterprinting.See“Monitoringand

ManagingPrintJobs”onpage 76.

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Applying Additional Objet Studio Features

Dividing

Objects YoucanusetheSplitObjectfeaturetoproduceobjectslargerthanthetray

areabydividingthemodelintoseparateparts.Withthisfeature,you

produceonlyaspecificsectionofamodel.

To split an object:

1. Selecttheobject.

2. FromtheObjectmenu,selectSplit.

3. IntheSplitObjectdialogbox,enterthevaluestodeterminehowObjet

Studiowilldividetheobject.Youcandivideanobjectalonganyofits

axes,byenteringeitherexactmeasurementsorthenumberofparts.

Figure 5-43: Split Object dialog box

4. InSavetoFolder,enterthefoldername.

5. ClickOK.

Thecompositepartsaresavedasnewstlfileswith“Part1,”“Part2,”

etc.,addedtotheoriginalfilename.

Note: Before printing the newly created stl files, it is recommended that you

check them for defects in an STL-repair application, such as Magics,

by Materialise.

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Choosing the

Support

Strength

Whenproducingmodels,supportmaterialfillssomehollowandempty

sections(see“ModelOrientation”onpage 5‐32).ObjetStudioallowsyouto

adjustthestrengthofthestructureformedwiththesupportmaterial.This

adjustmentisusefulwhenproducingeitherlarge/massivemodelsorsmall/

delicatemodels.Formostpurposes,thedefaultsettingprovidesadequate

supportstrength.

To change the strength of the support structure used when printing a

model:

1. Selectamodelonthetray.

2. OntheModelSettingsribbon,intheOptionsgroup,click.

or—

•OntheModelToolbar,click.

or—

•Fromtheright‐clickcontextmenu,selectAdvanced Properties.

TheAdvancedPropertiesdialogboxopens.

3. IntheGridStylesection,choosethesupportstrengthsuitableforthe

selectedmodel.Youcanselectadifferentsupportstrengthforeach

modelonthetray.

•Standard—formodelsneedingaveragesupport(mostmodels).

•Heavy—forlargemodelsneedingmuchsupport.

•Lite—fordelicatemodelsneedinglittlesupport.

4. ClickApply.

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“Hollow”—

Filling Models

with Support

Material

Manyobjectsplacedonthetrayfromstlfilesare“solid.”Thismeansthat,

whenprinted,themodelwillbecompletelyfilledwithmodelmaterial.

Often,especiallywithlargeobjects,thisisunnecessary.Instead,themodel

canbefilledwithsupportmaterial,whichislesscostly.Itisalsoadvisable

tofillmodelswithsupportmaterialwhenpreparingthemforinvestment

casting,sincethismaterialburnsoffmorequicklyduringtheprocessof

makingthecast.

ObjetStudioenablesyoutoprintobjectsonthetraywithanoutershellof

modelmaterialandacenterfilledwithsupportmaterial.Thisfeatureof

ObjetStudioiscalled“Hollow.”Youcansetthethicknessoftheshell—

between0.015and3.825millimeters.

To use the Hollow feature:

1. Selectamodelonthetray.

or—

•OntheModelToolbar,click.

or—

•Fromtheright‐clickcontextmenu,selectAdvanced Properties.

TheAdvancedPropertiesdialogboxopens.

2. SelectHollow.

3. Settheshellthickness,inmillimeters.

4. ClickApply.

Note: There is no change in the display of objects in Objet Studio when

Hollow is selected.

To inspect, change or cancel the Hollow setting:

1. Selectamodelonthetray.

2. AccesstheAdvancedPropertiesdialogbox,asabove.

3. IfyouchangeorcanceltheHollowsetting,clickApply.

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Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

Displaying the

Cross Section

of Objects

TheSectionfeatureenablesyoutoviewtheinteriorofanobjectby“slicing”

itonanyaxis.Youcanthenmanipulatetheobjecttoinspecttheinterior

fromdifferentangles.Thismaybeimportantfordecidingonthetypeof

supportnecessarywhenproducingthemodel(see“ChoosingtheSupport

Strength”onpage 5‐59).Displayinganobject’scrosssectiononlyaffects

howthetrayisdisplayedonthescreen;itdoesnotchangetheobjectitself.

To display a cross section of the tray:

1. FromtheToolsmenu,selectSection.

TheSectiondialogboxopens.

Figure 5-44: Section dialog box

2. SelectEnable Clipping.

3. UsetheslidercontrolsfortheX‐,Y‐,andZ‐axestocutthetraysothat

youseethecrosssectionyouwant.

Figure 5-45: Whole view Figure 5-46: Cross-section view, after

using the Z-slider

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DOC-07000 Rev. A

Saving the

Screen Display

as an

Image File

Youcansavetheimagedisplayedintheactiveviewingscreenasagraphic

file.

To save the screen display as an image:

1. PressCtrl+B.

or—

FromtheObjetStudioCommandsMenumenu,selectSave Bitmap.

TheSaveBitmapdialogboxopens.

2. Atthetopofthedialogbox,selecttheappropriatefolder.

3. Atthebottomofthedialogbox,enterafilename.

4. OpentheSaveastypepull‐downmenu,andselectthefileformat.

5. ClickSave.

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Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

Exporting and

Importing

Objet Build

Trays

WhenyousavebuildtraysinObjetStudio,theyaresavedasobjtffiles.

ThesefilescontaininstructionstoObjetStudioandtoObjetprintersfor

displayingandproducingthestlfilesusedonthetray.Toconveniently

saveallofthefilesthatcomprisethebuildtray,forstoringthejob,orfor

transferringittoanotherlocation,ObjetStudiocompressesthemintoone

objzffile.Tolaterusetheobjzffile,thefilemustfirstbeexpandedinObjet

Studioanditscomponentfilessaved.

Note: If you export an objzf file containing a stl file originally saved as read-

only, you cannot open (import) this objzf file to the folder where the

read-only stl file is saved.

To create an objzf file:

1. FromtheObjetStudioCommandsMenumenu,selectExport Packed

Job.

TheSaveAsdialogboxopens.

2. Selecttheappropriatefolderandchangethefilename(ifnecessary).

3. ClickSave.

To open an objzf file:

1. FromtheObjetStudioCommandsMenumenu,selectImport Packed

Job.

2. IntheOpendialogbox,displaytheappropriatefolderandselectthe

file.

3. IntheBrowseforFolderdialogbox,displaythefolderinwhichyou

wantObjetStudiotoexpandthecompressedfile,andclickOK.

Theobjtffileandassociatedstlfilesareexpandedandplacedinthe

selectedfolder,andthetrayisdisplayedinObjetStudio.

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DOC-07000 Rev. A

Customizing

Objet Studio

YoucancustomizeObjetStudiotosuityourparticularworkingneedsand

preferences.Featuresthatyoucancustomizeinclude:

•Creatingaquick‐accesstoolbarforfrequentlyusedcommands.

•ChangingthepositionoftheQuickAccesstoolbar.

•Minimizingtheribbon.

•ChangingtheObjetStudiocolortheme.

•Configuringdefaultsettingsforobjectsplacedonthebuildtray.

Creating a

Quick Access

Toolbar

AsyouworkwithObjetStudio,youmayusecertaincommandsfrequently.

Youcancreateaquick‐accesstoolbartomakeyourworkeasier.

To create a quick-access toolbar:

1. Abovetheribbontabs,click.

TheCustomizeQuickAccessToolbarmenuopens.

2. Selectacommandyouwanttoaddtothetoolbar.

Aniconfortheselectedcommandisaddedtothetoolbar.

Toaddanothercommand,repeattheaboveprocedure.

3. Tochoosefromawiderrangeofcommands:

•FromtheCustomizeQuickAccessToolbarmenu,selectMore

Commands.

or—

•Right‐clickontheObjetStudioCommandsicon,orelsewhereonthe

ribbon,andselectCustomize Quick Access Toobar.

Figure 5-47: Right-click ribbon menu

TheOptionsdialogboxopens.

Figure 5-48: Quick Access Toobar Options dialog box

4. Openthedrop‐downlistandselecteitherPopular Commandsor

Commands not on the Ribbon.

5. SelectacommandandclickAdd.

6. ClickOK.

Hiding the

Ribbon Tomakemoreroomfordisplayingthebuildtray,youcanhidetheObjet

Studioribbons.

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Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

To hide the ribbons:

1. Right‐clickanywhereontheribbonoronthemenubar,orintheObjet

StudioCommandsMenu.

2. SelectMinimize the Ribbon.

Theribbonsdisappear,butyoucantemporarilydisplaytheribbon

iconsbyclickingTray Settings orJob Manageronthemenubar.When

younextclickoutsideoftheribbon,itdisappearsagain.

To return the permanent ribbon display:

¾RepeatthestepsabovetocancelMinimizetheRibbon.

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Display Colors YoucancustomizesomeofthecolorsusedfordisplayingObjetStudio

screensandfordisplayingobjectsonthebuildtray.

To change the colors used in Objet Studio screens:

1. FromtheToolsmenu,selectDefine Colors.

TheDefineColorsdialogboxappears.

2. IntheDefineColorsdialogbox,clickthecolorpatchyouwantto

change:

•TrayColor.

•BackgroundColors.

•SelectionColor.

3. IntheColordialogbox,selectoneoftheBasiccolors.

or—

ClickDefine Custom Colorstoexpandthedialogboxandallowyouto

defineacustomizedcolor.

4. ClickOK whendone.

Thepatchcolorinthedialogboxchangesaccordingtoyourselection.

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Changing Color

Themes ObjetStudiooffersachoiceoffourbackgroundcolorthemes—blue,black,

silverandaqua.

Figure 5-49: Background color themes

To change the color theme:

•FromtheStylemenu,selectoneoftheoptions.

Keyboard

Shortcuts Youcandefineshortcutkeysforfrequentlyusedcommands.

To define shortcut keys:

1. Abovetheribbontabs,click.

TheCustomizeQuickAccessToolbarmenuopens.

2. SelectMore Commands.

TheOptionsdialogboxopens(seefigure 5‐59onpage 64).

3. ClickCustomize.

TheCustomizeKeyboarddialogboxappears.

4. SelectcommandCategoriestodisplayallthecommandsinthat

category,forexample,alltheModelSettingscommands.

Currentshortcutkeysaredisplayed.

5. Entertheshortcutkeyinthe Pressnewshortcutkeyfield,andclick

Assign.

6. Ifyouwanttoredefineallshortcutkeys,clickReset All.

Setting User

Preferences YoucanchangeseveralObjetStudiosettingsthataffectobjectsplacedon

thebuildtray.

To change default settings:

¾FromtheObjetStudioCommandsMenu,selectUser Preferences.

•BuildingStyle—see“SurfaceFinish”onpage 25.

•GridStyle—see“UsingaGridtoPositionObjects”onpage 35.

•ApplicationSettings—see“ChoosingtheSupportStrength”onpage 59,

and“FreezingModelOrientation”onpage 42.

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Professional Mode Features

SomeadvancedfeaturesofObjetStudioareonlyaccessibleinProfessional

Mode.

To see the current Objet Studio setting:

¾OpentheToolsmenu.

IfProfessionalModeischecked,advancedfeaturesaredisplayed.

To change the Professional Mode setting:

1. FromtheToolsmenu,selectProfessional Mode.

Thefollowingmessageisdisplayed,remindingyouthatthechange

willonlytakeeffectthenexttimeyouopenObjetStudio—eventhough

thecheckmarknexttotheProfessionalModeoptionappears

immediately.

Figure 5-50: Configuration-change message

2. Closeandre‐openObjetStudiotousetheProfessionalModefeatures.

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Default

Settings YoucancontrolthedefaultsettingsofseveralObjetStudiofeaturesfrom

theAdvancedtaboftheOptionsdialogbox.

To display the Options dialog box

¾FromtheToolsmenu,selectOptions.

or—

IntheObjetStudioCommandsMenu,clickOptions.

Bydefault,whenObjetStudioplacesobjectsonthebuildtray,itorients

themoptimally,fortheshortestprintingtime.Ifnecessary,youcanchoose

tocancelautomaticorientationeachtimeyouplaceanobjectonthebuild

tray(see“AutomaticOrientation”onpage 28).Inanycase,whenobjects

areonthebuildtray,youcanchangetheirorientationmanually,if

necessary—see“ModelOrientation”onpage 32.)

To change the default setting so that Automatic Orientation is disabled:

¾IntheAdvancedsectionoftheOptionsdialogbox,clearthecheckbox.

WhenAutoZoomisselectedintheAdvancedsectionoftheOptionsdialog

box,thedisplayzoomstodisplaytheobjectsplacedonthebuildtray.This

allowsyoutocarefullyinspectandmanipulatetheobjects.

Bydefault,thisfeatureisnotenabled.Inanycase,youcanchangethe

zoomlevel,asnecessary(see“ZoomOptions”onpage 50).

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Open GL

Driver

Configuration

TheOpenGLdriverdisplays3‐Dgraphicsonyourscreen.Thereis

normallynoreasontoadjustitssettings.Ifyoususpectaproblemwiththe

wayObjetStudiodisplaysobjects,youcanusetheOpenGLDriver

Configurationtooltocheckandconfigurethedriversettings.

To access the OpenGL Driver Configuration dialog box:

1. FromtheToolsmenu,selectOptions.

or—

IntheObjetStudioCommandsMenu,clickOptions.

2. IntheOptionsdialogbox,displaytheTroubleshootingtab.

3. ClickOpenGL Driver Configuration.

ThedialogboxthatopensdisplaysdetailsofthepixelformatID(index)

forthewindowandthememory.

Figure 5-51: OpenGL Driver Configuration dialog box

Ifyouwanttodisplaythevaluesandchangethem,click.Alternately,

youcanselectChoose Formatandchangethevaluesinthisdialogbox.

The Troubleshooting tab is only accessible when Professional Mode is

active (see Professional Mode Features).

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To perform a test of the driver configuration and enter the suggested

pixel format ID:

1. SelectChoose Format.

2. ClickTest.

ObjetStudioreturnstherecommendedpixelformatID.

Figure 5-52: Recommended pixel format ID

3. ClickOK.

4. IntheOpenGLDriverConfigurationdialogbox,selectPixel Format ID

andenterthisnumber.

5. ClickApply.

6. Displaytheotherpixelformattab,andrepeatthisprocedure.

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Getting Additional Objet Studio Assistance

ObjetStudioHelpprovideson‐screeninformation,asyouwork.

To view Objet Studio Help:

•PressF1.

or—

Onthestandardtoolbar,clickandthenclickObjet Studio Help.

Figure 5-53: Help options

Youcanalsoviewinformationonthefollowingsubjects:

•Troubleshootingopensalistoferrormessagesandtheir

explanations.

•DirectPrintingPlug‐inopensinformationonadditionalsoftware

programsthatextendthecapabilitiesofObjetStudio.

•CheckforUpdateschecksifyouareusingthelatestObjetStudio

version.

About Objet Studio

AboutObjetStudioprovidesdetailsofyourinstalledversion,material

modulesandyourObjetStudiolicenseinformation.

To view About Objet Studio:

•PressF1.

or—

Onthestandardtoolbar,clickandthenclickAbout....

Figure 5-54: About...

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About Objet

Studio TheAboutObjetStudiotabshowsyourObjetStudioversionnumber,

Objet’ssupportemailaddressandbasicinformationaboutyourcomputer.

Figure 5-55: About Objet Studio

Materials

Module TheMaterialsModuletabshows:

1. Moduleversion—thelatestpatchinstalled.Iftherearenopatches

installed,themoduleversionisthesameastheObjetStudioversion

number.

2. Moduledate—thedateofthelatestpatchwascreated.Ifthereareno

patchesinstalled,themoduledateisthedateofthecurrentObjet

Studioversion.

3. Moduleproperties—adescriptionofthepatch.Iftherearenopatches

installed,themodulepropertiesvalueis“Default”.

Figure 5-56: Materials Module

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DOC-07000 Rev. A

Feature

License TheFeatureLicensetabshowstheObjetStudiofeaturesforwhichyouare

licensed.

Clicktoexpandthelicensedetailsforeachfeature.

Figure 5-57: Feature License

Modes

ModesshowstheprintingmodesforwhichyourversionofObjetStudiois

licensed,suchasHighSpeed,HighQualityandDigitalMaterial.

Materials

Materialsshowsthenamesofallparentmaterialsforwhichyourversionof

ObjetStudioislicensed.Forexample,FullCure720,VeroBlackand

VeroGrey.

DigitalMaterials

DigitalMaterialsshowsthenamesofalldigitalmaterialsforwhichyour

versionofObjetStudioislicensed.

MixedTray

MixedTrayshowswhetheryourlicenseallowsforprintingamixedtray.A

mixedtrayisabuildtraycontainingobjects,eachofwhichisdesignedto

beprintedusingadifferentmodelmaterial.

Available modes may vary, depending on your printer model.

Available materials may vary, depending on your printer model.

Available digital materials may vary, depending on your printer model.

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Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

Monitoring and Managing Print Jobs

IntheJobManagerscreenofObjetStudio,youmonitorandmanagejobs

senttotheprinter.ThereareafewdifferencesbetweenObjetStudioon

clientworkstationsandonthecomputerconnecteddirectlytothe3‐D

printer—theserverworkstation.

•ObjetStudioinstalledonaclientcomputeronlydisplaysthequeueand

statusforjobssenttothe3‐Dprinterserverfromthatcomputer,andit

allowstheusertoeditonlythesejobs.

Note: If there are several Objet printers on the local network, client

computers can connect to any of them, but only one at a time.

•ObjetStudioinstalledonthecomputerdirectlyconnectedtoaspecific

3‐Dprinter(server),displaysthequeueandstatusforalljobssentto

that3‐Dprinterbytheserverandbyallclientcomputersonthe

network.Italsoallowseditingandmanipulationofalljobs,andenables

re‐sendingpreviously‐printedjobstotheprinter.

Job Manager

Screen TheJobManagerscreenontheclientandserverworkstationslooks

identical.Theonlydifferenceisthatoptionsonlyrelevanttotheserver

workstationaredisabledforclientinstallations.

Figure 5-58: Job Manager screen

TheJobManagerscreenisdividedintopanels:

•JobsQueue

•PrintTime

•History

•AvailableResources

•MaterialConsumption

•TrayPreview

•Waste

If Objet Studio is not connected to a printer (or printer server), you can

prepare tray files for any Objet printer. Later, these files can be used by

Objet Studio on the appropriate printer server.

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Jobs Queue Ontheserver,theJobsQueueliststhelast15jobssentfromclient

computers.Onclientworkstations,theJobsQueuelistsjobssentfromthat

computertotheprinterserver.

Informationforeachofthequeuedjobsisdisplayed,includingthejob

status.

Inaddition,thefollowinginformationisdisplayed:

•Owner—thecomputerthatsentthejob.

•BuildTime—theestimatedbuildingtimeforthejob.

•ModelConsumption—theamountofmodelmaterialrequiredto

completethejob,andtheamountactuallyusedtillnow.

•SupportConsumption—theamountofsupportmaterialrequiredto

completethejob,andtheamountactuallyusedtillnow.

Print Time TheTimepanelshowsprintingtimesandthenumberofslicessenttothe

printer.

History TheHistorypanelshowsinformationforthelast50jobsandtheirfinal

status.YoucandragajobfromHistorytoJobsQueuetoprintthetrayagain.

Available

Resources TheAvailableResourcespanelcontainsgraphicindicatorsthatshowthe

amountofavailableprintingmaterialremaining.

Material

Consumption •Actual—theamountofmaterialusedtillnow

•Required—theamountofmaterialstillneededtofinishthejob

Tray Preview TheTrayPreviewpaneldisplaysthebuildtrayviewofthejobselectedinthe

JobQueueortheHistorylist.

Onaserver,youcanopenanenlargedpreviewwindowbyclickingonthe

TrayPreviewdisplay(see“ExtendedTrayPreview”onpage 87).

Waste IfyoumovethemouseovertheWastedisplay,theamountofwasteinthe

containerisdisplayed.

Status Meaning

Waiting Printingofthisjobhasnotstarted.

Building Printingofthisjobisinprogress.

Stopped Printingofthisjobwasinterrupted.Printingcanlaterbe

continued(Resume)orbegunagain(Restart).

Error Errorsoccurredduringtheprintingofthisjob,anditwas

placedintheJobsQueueagain.

Editing ThisjobisnowbeingeditedinObjetStudio.

Spooling Thejobfileisbeingspooledintheprinter.

Preprocessing The3‐Dprinterisreadyingitselfforprinting:thecover

locks,printheadswarmupandareputinstarting

position,UVlampturnedon,andthebuildtraylevelis

adjusted.

OnSchedule Thejobisscheduledtobeprintedataspecifiedtime.

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Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

Setting the

Printer

Connection

WhenanObjet3‐Dprinterisinstalled,theservercomputerisconnectedto

thatprinter.Normally,thereshouldbenoreasontochangethisconnection.

Occasionally,however,youmayneedtoresettheconnection,toconnect

theservertoanotherprinter,ortouseObjetStudioinoff‐linemode

(withoutaprinterconnection).

To set (or change) the printer connection:

1. OntheJobManagerribbon,inthe3DPrintergroup,click.

2. IntheSetPrinterdialogbox,clickConnect.

3. EnterthecomputernameoritsIPaddress,orclickBrowsetofindand

selectit.

4. ClickOK.

Whentheconnectionisestablished,ObjetStudioisconfiguredto

prepareprintjobsforthatprinter.

Objet Studio is connected to the printer if you can see the material levels in

the Job Manager screen.

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Off-line Mode YoucanuseObjetStudiotopreparetraysforprintinginoff‐linemode,on

aremotecomputerorwhentheprinterconnectionisnotavailable.Youalso

useoff‐linemodetopreparetraysforprintingwithotherprinters.Inthis

case,ifObjetStudioiscurrentlyconnectedtoaprinter,youmustchangeto

off‐linemodebyremovingthisconnection.

To disconnect Objet Studio from the printer:

1. OntheJobManagerribbon,inthe3DPrintergroup,click.

2. IntheSetPrinterdialogbox,clickConnect.

Figure 5-59: Disconnecting Objet Studio from a printer (A)

3. PrinterConnectiondialogbox,deletethecomputername/IPaddress.

Figure 5-60: Disconnecting Objet Studio from a printer (B)

4. ClickOK.

“Unknown”appearsintheprinter‐namefield.

5. ClickOK.

6. Inthepop‐upmessage,confirmthatyouwanttoworkinoff‐linemode

byclickingNo.

WhenObjetStudioisinoff‐linemode,youcanconfigureitforpreparing

printjobsfordifferentprinters.

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Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

To change the Objet Studio off-line configuration:

1. IntheSetPrinterdialogbox,selectaprintertype.

2. ClickOK.

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DOC-07000 Rev. A

Setting the

Remote Printer

Connection

(Client Mode)

WhenyouopenObjetStudioforthefirsttimeinaclientinstallation,you

arepromptedtoconnecttoanObjetservercomputerthatsendsjobstoa3D

printer.Todothis,theservercomputermustbeoperatingandconnectedto

thelocalnetwork.

To set (or change) the connection to the server-computer:

1. OntheJobManagerribbon,inthe3DPrintergroup,click.

2. EnterthenameoftheservercomputeroritsIPaddress,orclick

Browsetofindandselectit.

3. ClickOK.

Figure 5-61: Printer Server Connection dialog box

Job Manager

Commands TheJobManagerribbonhasthreeicongroups:

•3DPrinter

•Queue

•Job

Figure 5-62: Job Manager ribbon commands

Iconsareenabledordisabledaccordingtotheirrelevancy.Forexample,

youcannotstopprintingajobthatisnotbeingprinted,sotheStop

commandisdisabled.

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Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

ThefollowingoperationsareavailableontheJobManagerribbon:

Inadditiontousingribboncommandicons,youcanusecommandson

context(pop‐up)toolbarsandfromtheJobmenuonthestandardtoolbar.

Figure 5-63: Icons on pop-up toolbar (server)

Group Icon Purpose

3D

Printer

Client:Setstheserverconnection.See“SettingtheRemote

PrinterConnection(ClientMode)”onpage 82.

Server:Setstheprinterconnection.See“SettingthePrinter

Connection”onpage 78.

Configuresoptionsforprinteralerts.See“ConfiguringUser

Alerts”onpage 85.

Queue Server:MovesajobtotheheadoftheJobsQueue.

Client:Disabled.

See“JobsQueue”onpage 77.

Server:MovesajobtoahigherpositionintheJobsQueue.

Client:Disabled.

See“JobsQueue”onpage 77.

Server:MovesajobtothebottomoftheJobsQueue.

Client:Disabled.

See“JobsQueue”onpage 77.

Server:MovesajobtoalowerpositionintheJobsQueue.

Client:Disabled.

See“JobsQueue”onpage 77.

Job Server:

•ForajobintheJobsQueue—Printsitagain(fromthe

beginning).

•ForajobintheHistorylist—MovesittotheJobsQueue

forprinting.

Client:Disabled.

See“RestartingJobs”onpage 88.

Server:Stopsajobinprogress.

Client:Disabled.

Server:Continuesprintingthecurrentjobfromthepoint

whereprintingstopped.

Client:Disabled.

See“ResumingJobs”onpage 88.

Removestheselectedjobfromthequeue.

RefreshestheimageoftheselectedjobintheTrayPreview

display.

OpenstheTraySettingsscreenanddisplaysthetray.For

deletedjobs,thisenablesyoutomakechangesbefore

printing.

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Figure 5-64: Icons on pop-up toolbar (client workstation)

Figure 5-65: Job menu options (server)

When you position the cursor over an item, a tooltip displays the name of

the command.

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Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

Configuring

User Alerts ObjetStudiocanalertyou(andothers)tothestatusofjobssenttotheserver

forprinting.Thisisespeciallyusefulduringlongprintingjobs,whenthe

operatorisawayfromtheprinter.Thefollowingeventscanbereported:

•Thelevelofmodelorsupportmaterialislow.

•Thejobwasinterrupted.

•Thejobwascompletedsuccessfully.

Tosende‐mailandSMSalerts,makesurethate‐mailsoftwaresupporting

MAPIisinstalledontheservercomputer.TosendSMSalerts,thecellular

phoneservicemustsupportthetransmissionofe‐mailmessagesbySMS.

Onlythesubjectlineofthee‐mailmessageistransmittedbySMS.

To configure Objet Studio to send notifications and alerts:

1. OntheJobManagerribbon,inthe3DPrintergroup,click.

Figure 5-66: Notifications dialog box (server)

Figure 5-67: Notifications dialog box (client workstation)

2. Setthedesiredreportingoptions.

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3. ClickDetails.

Figure 5-68: Event selection for alerts

4. IntheReportsEventsdialogbox,selectthealerteventsandclickOK.

5. IntheNotificationsdialogbox,clickOK.

Printing the

Tray IfthereisajobintheJobsQueue,itissentautomaticallytotheObjet

printer—aslongasitison,thereisaconnectiontotheprinter,andthe

printerisonline.

Additional

Server

Features

ObjectStudioontheprinterserversincludesthefollowingadditional

features:

•ExtendedTrayPreview

•EditingJobs

•RestartingJobs

•ResumingJobs

•SchedulingJobs

•ExportingJobs(objzf)

•ModifyingtheJobManagerScreen

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ExtendedTrayPreview

Inthiswindow,youcanviewthetrayfromdifferentanglesand

magnificationswithoutleavingtheJobManagerscreen.Inadditionto

displayingtheselectedjobintheTrayPreviewpane,youcanopenan

enlargedbuildtraywindow.

To display the build tray window:

1. SelectajobintheJobsQueueortheHistorylist.

2. ClicktheTrayPreviewpane.

Figure 5-69:

Job Preview

•Tochangethetraymagnification,turnthemousewheel.

•Toviewthetrayfromadifferentperspective,clicktherelevanticon.

•Toresizethewindow,dragitsedgeorcorners.

Ifthereareseveralobjectsonthebuildtray,youcanexcludeoneormore

frombeingprinted,withoutactuallydeletingtheobjectfromthetrayfile.

To prevent the printing of an object on the build tray:

1. Double‐clickontheobjectyoudon’twanttoprint.

2. DisplaytheBuildtab.

3. SelectExclude from Build.

Figure 5-70: Excluding a model from the build

4. ClickYestoconfirm.

Onservercomputers,youcanuseTrayPreviewtodynamicallydisplay

objectsastheyareprinted,layerbylayer.Thisenablesyoutovisually

monitorprintingprogressonthecomputerscreen.

To display printing progress in the Tray Preview pane:

¾FromtheJobmenu,selectShow 3dProgress.

EditingJobs

YoucanopenjobsintheJobsQueueforediting.

To edit a job:

1. Selectthejob.

2. ClicktheEditicon.

TheTraySettingsscreenopens,displayingthebuildtray.Thestatusof

thejobintheJobManagerscreenchangesto“Editing.”

3. Editthejob.

4. OntheTraySettingsribbon,click.

ThestatusofthejobintheJobManagerscreenchangesbackto

“Waiting.”

This option uses additional system resources.

Using Objet Studio

5–70

DOC-07000 Rev. A

RestartingJobs

YoucanrestartjobsfromtheJobsQueueandtheHistorylist.

To restart a job:

1. Selectthejob.

2. ClicktheRestarticon.

Thejobstatuschangesto“Waiting”(intheJobsQueue).

ResumingJobs

Iftheprintingprocessisstoppedorinterrupted,youmaybeableto

continueprintingthejobfromthepointwhereprintingstopped.

To resume a job:

1. Selectthejob.

2. ClicktheResumeicon.

SchedulingJobs

Youcanschedulejobstobeprintedatafuturetime.Forexample,youcan

configureObjetStudiotostartlongprintingjobsinthelateeveningand

earlymorninghours.

To schedule a job:

1. SelectajobintheJobsQueue,andclickonthepop‐uptoolbar.

2. IntheSchedulerdialogbox,settheStartDateandStartTimeforthejob.

ClickontheStartDatearrowtoopenacalendar.

Figure 5-71: Scheduler with calendar displayed

3. ClickOK.

ExportingJobs(objzf)

Youcansaveprintjobsascompressedfiles.

Toexportaprintjob:

1. Selectajob.

2. Onthepop‐uptoolbar,click.

3. IntheSaveAsdialogbox,selectafolder.

For an explanation of objzf files, see “Exporting and Importing Objet Build

Trays” on page 63.

DOC-07000 Rev. A 5–71

Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

4. ClickSave.

ModifyingtheJobManagerScreen

YoucanchangethesizeofthesectionsoftheJobManagerscreen,by

draggingthepaneledges.Thisappliesto:

•theJobsQueuepanel

•theTimepanel

•theHistorypanel

Similarly,youcanchangethewaythescreenareaisdividedbetweenthe

mainsection(JobsQueue/Time/History)andthepanelsontherightsideof

thescreen.

Youcancollapse(hide)therightpanels(AvailableResources/Material

Consumption/TrayView)byclickingthetopofthepanel.

•Clickagaintodisplaythepanel.

Using Objet Studio

5–72

DOC-07000 Rev. A

DOC-07000 Rev. A 6–1

Operating & Maintaining the

Objet500 - Connex 3

Printer

StartingthePrinter.............................................................................. 2

LoadingModelandSupportCartridges.......................................... 4

ProducingModels ............................................................................... 5

PrinterInterfaceColor Key.................................................................. 7

PrintingIndicators ................................................................................ 8

ResumingProductionAfterPrintinghasStopped......................... 9

ChangingtheModelMaterial ......................................................... 11

KeepingthePrinterinIdleMode ................................................... 14

ShuttingDownthePrinter............................................................... 15

MaintainingthePrinter .................................................................... 17

RoutineMaintenanceSchedule......................................................... 17

CleaningthePrintHeads................................................................... 18

PatternTest........................................................................................... 20

ImprovingPrintQuality .................................................................... 21

(see“ReplacingPrint Heads”onpage 6‐139)Cleaningand

ReplacingtheWiper ........................................................................... 22

CleaningtheRollerWasteCollectorandInspectingtheRoller

Scraper .................................................................................................. 24

ReplacingtheRollerScraper ............................................................. 27

AligningthePrintHeads ................................................................... 29

CalibratingPrintHeads ..................................................................... 33

ReplacingPrint Heads...................................................................... 139

TestingandCalibratingtheUVLamps ......................................... 190

CalibratingtheLoadCells ................................................................. 36

ReplacingtheOdorFilter................................................................... 35

ReplacingtheUVLamp ..................................................................... 35

Built‐inTests....................................................................................... 223

ReplacingtheWasteContainer ......................................................... 36

CleaningtheExteriorPanels ............................................................. 37

Operating & Maintaining the Objet500 - Connex 3 3D Printer

6–2

DOC-07000 Rev. A

Figure 6-1: The Objet500 - Connex 3 3-D Printer

Starting the Printer

1. Turnonthemainpowerswitch,locatedatthebackoftheprinter.

Figure 6-2: Main power cable and switch

ThemainpowerswitchturnsontheObjetprinter,whichincludesthe

built‐incomputer.

Printer cover

Storage

compartment

Materials

cabinet

CAUTION!

•Do not attempt to operate the Objet printer before being trained by an

Objet customer-support representative.

•Observe all safety warnings and follow the safety guidelines described

in chapter 2.

DOC-07000 Rev. A 6–3

Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

2. Afterthecomputerboots,logintoWindowsandlaunchtheprinter‐

controlapplication:

•Onthecomputerdesktop,double‐clicktheObjetprintericon.

or—

•FromtheStartmenu,selectObjet > Objet500.

TheObjetprinterinterfacescreenopens(seefigure 6‐2).Allmonitoring

andcontrollingoftheprinterisdonefromthisinterface.

Figure 6-3: Objet500 - Connex 3 interface

Printer mode

Current activity

Display

toggle button

Pause button

Stop button

Online/offline

button

Model material

cartridges

Support material

cartridges

Objet installations utilize one monitor for displaying both the computer

running Objet Studio and the computer installed inside the printer. Make

sure that the KVM (keyboard-video-mouse) switch is in the correct position

so that the printer interface is displayed.

Operating & Maintaining the Objet500 - Connex 3 3D Printer

6–4

DOC-07000 Rev. A

Loading Model and Support Cartridges

Objet500‐Connex3printersusesixcartridgesofmodelmaterialandtwo

cartridgesofsupportmaterial,eachweighing3.6kilogramswhenfull.A

graphicalrepresentationofthecartridgesloadedandtheircurrentweight

appearsintheprinter interface(seefigure 6‐3).

Important: Ifyouneedtoreplacethemodelmaterialcurrently

installedwithanothertype,see“ChangingtheModelMaterial”

onpage 6‐11.Otherwise,makesuretoreplacethemodel

cartridgewithonecontainingthesametypeofmaterial.

To load model and support cartridges:

1. Openthedoorofthematerialscabinet.

2. Ifyouarereplacingacartridge,graspitshandleandpullthecartridge

out,takingcarenottotwistorturnit.

3. Loadmodelandsupportcartridgesintotheirrespective

compartments.

Youshouldfeelsomeresistance,asaneedlepiercesthecartridge.

4. Checktheprinterinterfacetomakesurethatthenewcartridgeis

detectedandthatitsweightisdisplayed(seefigure 6‐3).

5. Closethematerialscabinet.

The materials cabinet uses RFID technology to automatically identify

cartridges of printing material. For this purpose, an RFID module is built into

the cabinet. Tampering with this module will render the printer inoperable

and may void Objet warranties and service contracts.

Tips about replacing cartridges:

•You can replace material cartridges either before or during printing.

•If printing stops for an extended time before you replace a material

cartridge, the printer may go into Standby or Idle mode. If this happens,

see “Resuming Production After Printing has Stopped” on page 9.

•You can replace partially used cartridges to avoid the need for replacing

them during printing.

•You can load partially used cartridges, as long as they contain more

than 100 grams of material.

DOC-07000 Rev. A 6–5

Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

Producing Models

TheObjet500‐Connex3printerproducesmodelsbyprintingtrayfiles

preparedintheObjetStudioapplicationandsenttotheprinterfromthere.

Forinformationaboutpreparingmodelfilesforprinting,see“UsingObjet

Studio”orObjetStudioHelp.

To prepare the printer for producing models:

1. Makesurethatthebuildtrayintheprinterisemptyandclean.Ifnot,

removeoldmaterialwiththescraper,andcleanthetraythoroughly

withcleaningfluid.

2. Makesurethatthereissufficientmodelandsupportmaterialloaded,

asindicatedintheprinterinterface(seefigure 6‐2).Youmaywantto

replacethecartridgesofmodelandsupportmaterialcurrentlyloaded

intheprintertoavoidtheneedforreplacingthemduringprinting.

3. Atthebottomoftheprinterinterface,clicktheredbuttontoswitchthe

printertoonlinemode.

Thecolorofthebuttonchangesfromredtogreen(seefigure 6‐3).If

thereisajobintheJobManagerqueue,itissenttotheprinter.

Intheprinterinterface,theprintermodechangesfromIdletoPre‐print,as

theprinter’scomponentspreparethemselvesforproduction:

•Theprintblockisheated.

•TheUVlampsarepoweredandtheywarmup.

Whenprintingbegins,ObjetStudiosendssevenslicestotheprinter.Thisis

thestandardbufferbetweenObjetStudioandtheprinter.Aseachsliceis

printed,anothersliceissenttotheprinter.

Dependingonthesizeofthemodel(s)tobeproduced,printingcantake

betweenseveralhourstoseveraldays.Aslongasthereisenoughmodel

andsupportmaterialinthesupplycartridges,printingproceeds

automaticallyuntilthejobisfinished.

Before beginning to produce models, it is recommended that you check the

current printing quality of the print heads by performing a pattern test (see

“Pattern Test” on page 20).

CAUTION: Use protective gloves when cleaning the build tray, and be

careful of the sharp edges of the scraper blade.

Forinstallingmaterialcartridgesandreplacingemptyones,see

“LoadingModelandSupportCartridges”onpage 6‐4.

Forchangingthetypeofmodelmaterialcurrentlyloaded,see

“ChangingtheModelMaterial”onpage 11.

During printing, the server computer must remain on and it must

communicate with the Objet printer. Do not log-off Windows until printing is

finished.

Operating & Maintaining the Objet500 - Connex 3 3D Printer

6–6

DOC-07000 Rev. A

TheObjet500‐Connex3printerusesoneormoremodel‐material

cartridgesandonesupport‐materialcartridgetoproducemodels.If

additionalcartridgesareinstalledandtheyarenotneededforthecurrent

printjob,theprinterinterfaceindicateswhicharebeingused:

•Bluecartridge—usedfortheprintjob

•Graycartridge—notusedfortheprintjob

Youcanmonitorprinterstatusindicatorsbyswitchingtheprinterinterface

display.Todothis,clickthedisplaytogglebuttonintheprinterinterface

screen.

Figure 6-4: Printer indicators

Temperature.

in front of

print block

Temperature

behind

print block

Waste weight

Display

toggle button

Printer set to

online mode

(green)

Temp. of each

support head

Chamber temp.

Left UV lamp

Right UV lamp

Temp. of each

model head

Support/Model

material in print-

block reservoir

System

vacuum level

Temp. of material

pre-heaters

DOC-07000 Rev. A 6–7

Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

Printer

Interface

Color Key

Thebackgroundcolorsintheprinterindicatorfieldstellyouataglance

whetherornotthevalueoritemissuitableorreadyforprinting.

•Green—suitable/readyforprinting

Forexample,infigure 6‐3:

Heads(°C)—Theheadshavereachedthetemperaturerequiredfor

printingmodels.

Ambient—Theambienttemperatureoftheprintingchamberis

withintheacceptablerange.

HeadsLiquid—Thelevelofmodelandsupportmaterialintheprint‐

blockreservoirisOK.

Vacuum—Thevacuumlevelinthesystemiswithintheacceptable

range.

•Red—notsuitableforprinting(orindicatesawarning)

Forexample,infigure 6‐3:

Waste—Theweightofthewastecontaineris9000grams,morethan

allowedwhenbeginningaprintjob.(See“ReplacingtheWaste

Container”onpage 6‐36.)

•Blue—notready

Forexample,infigure 6‐3:

UVlamp—TheUVlampsarenoton.

Thecolorofthematerialcartridgesdisplayedintheprinterinterface

indicateswhichcartridgesareactiveforthecurrent(ornext)printjob.

•Blue—activecartridges

•Gray—reservecartridges

Operating & Maintaining the Objet500 - Connex 3 3D Printer

6–8

DOC-07000 Rev. A

Printing

Indicators TheprinterinterfacescreenchangeswhenyousendaprintjobfromObjet

Studiototheprinter,andtheprinterisonline(seefigure 6‐4):

•ThemodechangesfromPre‐printtoPrinting.

•Thespecificactivitybeingperformedisshowninthe“currentactivity”

field.

•Currentjob‐printinginformationisdisplayed.

•Theprintingprogressbarisdisplayed.

•TheStopandPausebuttonsareenabled.

Whentheweightofacartridgedropsbelow100grams,thedisplayofthe

materiallevelintheprinterinterfaceisred.

Figure 6-5: Printer interface during printing

Progress bar

Pause button

Stop button

Printer mode

Job information

Current Activity

DOC-07000 Rev. A 6–9

Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

Resuming Production After Printing has Stopped

Iftheprintingprocessisinterrupted,ObjetStudiostopssendingslicesto

theprinter.Thiscanhappen,forexample,iftheprintingmaterialrunsout

inthemiddleofaprintjob,andyoudon’treplacetheemptycartridge

immediately.AftertheprinterchangestoStandbyorIdlemode,youneedto

resumeprintingfromtheJobManagerscreenofObjetStudio.

To continue printing the model:

1. Iftheprinterisinofflinemode,switchittoonlinemodebyclickingthe

redbuttonatthebottomoftheprinterinterface(seefigure 6‐2on

page 6‐3).

Thebuttonchangesfromredtogreen(seefigure 6‐3onpage 6‐6).

2. Ifyoudon’tknowwhyprintinghasstopped,makesurethatthe

connectionbetweentheprinterandtheservercomputerisactive.

3. IntheJobManagerscreenofObjetStudio,clicktheResumeicon.

4. IntheContinuefromSlicedialogboxthatappears,confirmtheslice

number,aftercheckingtheprinterinterface.

Figure 6-6: Printer interface after interrupted printing

Figure 6-7: Continue from Slice confirmation in Objet Studio (Job Manager

screen)

5. If,foranyreason,thecorrectnumberdoesnotappearinthedialog

box,enterthenumberandclickOK.

Youcannotcontinueprintingthemodelif:

•Thenumberofthelastsliceprinteddoesnotappearintheprinter

interface,eveniftheservercomputerdisplaystheContinuefromSlice

confirmationdialogbox.

•Therewasarelativelylonginterruptioninprinting,evenifthe“last

slice”and“continuefromslice”indicatorsarecorrect.Thepartofthe

modelalreadyprintedmaydeformorshrink,andtheremightbea

visibledifferencebetweenitandthenewlyprintedpart.Theeffectsofa

After printing stops, the printer goes into Standby mode, when heating of

print heads is reduced. About 10 hours later, the printer goes into Idle mode,

when heating of print heads is stopped.

Printer mode

Last slice printed

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DOC-07000 Rev. A

printingstoppageonamodeldependonthemodelsizeandstructure,

modelmaterialused,ambienttemperatureandthelengthofthe

stoppage.

If you cannot continue printing:

1. CanceltheprintjobintheJobManagerscreen.

2. Removethepartiallyprintedmodelfromthebuildtray.

3. Sendthejobtotheprinteragain.

You can stop and later resume printing from either the printer interface or

from the Job Manager screen of Objet Studio, since both applications are

updated when you use these commands. However, after clicking the Pause

button in the printer interface, you can only resume printing from the printer

interface.

DOC-07000 Rev. A 6–11

Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

Changing the Model Material

Beforeproducingmodelsusingadifferenttypeofmodelmaterialthanis

currentlyinstalled,runtheMaterialReplacementWizardtoflushtheprint

blockandfeedtubes.

To replace the model material:

1. StarttheMaterialReplacementWizardfromtheOptionsmenu.

Figure 6-8: Starting the Material Replacement Wizard from the Options menu

2. Intheopeningscreen,clickNext

You should carefully plan printing models with different model materials to

avoid unnecessary waste of material currently loaded. The amount of

material flushed depends on the flushing cycle chosen and if you are

replacing one or more materials.

The Material Replacement Wizard suggests the best slot locations for

placing different material cartridges, based on materials in the system. This

ensures minimum flushing of materials currently loaded.

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DOC-07000 Rev. A

3. Iftheprintercoverisnotclosed,ascreenappearsinstructingyouto

closethecover.ConfirmthatitisclosedandclickNext.

Figure 6-9: Material Replacement Options

IntheMaterialReplacementOptionsscreen,youselectthesettingsthat

determinehowthewizardreplacesmaterialcurrentlyinthesystem

withnewlyloadedmaterial.

4. ChoosewhetheryouwanttoproducemodelsinSingleMaterialmode

orinDigitalMaterial(“multiple‐materials”)mode.

5. IntheRequiredmaterialssectionofthewizardscreen,selectoneormore

replacementmaterials.

6. SelectBoth cartridgesifyouneedtoloadtworeplacementcartridges.

Loadingonereplacementcartridge(ifsufficient)ismoreeconomical

becauseitpotentiallyrequireslessflushingofmaterialcurrentlyinthe

system.

•Single Material mode

Fourprintheadsareusedtoprint,usingonemodelmaterial.

ThismodeisrequiredtoproducebuildtrayswiththeHighQuality

setting,andtoproducetrayswiththeHighSpeedsettingusingonly

onemodelmaterial.

•Digital Material mode

Eachofthemodelmaterialsloadedisusedintwooftheprintheads.

Ifonlyoneofthemodelmaterialsisrequiredforprinting,models

areproducedusingtwoprintheads.Thismakesitunnecessaryto

replacetheothermodelmaterial.

Ifmodel‐materialsubstitutionisallowed,theprinterproducestrays

withtheHighSpeedsettingusingamixtureofmodelmaterials(see

“ModelMaterialSubstitution”onpage 5‐112).

DOC-07000 Rev. A 6–13

Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

7. IntheFlushingcyclesectionofthewizardscreen,choosehow

thoroughlyyouwanttoflushoutmaterialcurrentlyinthesystem.

•Economy.Thiscyclecanbeusedwhenreplacingalight‐colored

modelmaterialwithadarkermaterial(suchasTangoBlack™or

VeroBlack™),oriftheexactcoloroftheprintedmodelsis

unimportant.

Thewizardflushesthesystemwiththeminimumamountof

materialneededtoensurethatmodelshavethemechanical

propertiesofthenewmaterial.

•Full.Usethiscyclewhentheprintedmodelsmusthavetheexact

colorofthenewmaterial.

Thewizardthoroughlyflushesthefeedtubesandprintheads

neededforprinting,basedonyourselectionsintheprevious

screens.

Figure 6-10: Advanced Replacement settings

Figure 6-11: Cartridge insertion

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DOC-07000 Rev. A

8. Whenthefinalwizardscreenappears,makesurethatthescreen

displaysthenewly‐loadedmaterial(s).ClickDonetoclosethewizard.

Figure 6-12: Results of material replacement

Theprinter‐controlinterfaceisautomaticallyupdated,andshould

displaythenewmaterial(s).TheObjetStudiointerface(ontheprinter‐

serverworkstation)isalsoupdated.

CAUTION: Dispose of all material cartridges in accordance with all

applicable laws and regulations. If necessary, the cartridges can be

disassembled for recycling. If this is done, protect the person handling

the cartridges from direct exposure to uncured resins.

DOC-07000 Rev. A 6–15

Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

Keeping the Printer in Idle Mode

Betweenprintingjobs,theObjet500‐Connex3printercanbekeptonforup

tooneweek.Iftheprinterwillnotbeusedformorethanaweek,usethe

ShutdownWizardtoautomaticallyperformtheproceduresthatmustbe

donebeforeturningofftheprinter(see“ShuttingDownthePrinter,”

below).

Whentheprinterstopsproducingmodels,theprintersoftware

automaticallyreducesthetemperatureoftheprintheadsasfollows:

Note: The printer mode is indicated in the green field on the left of the

interface (see figures 6-2, 6-3 and 6-4 on pages 3, 6 and 8).

If,afterprintingajob,youknowthattheprinterwillnotbeusedfor10

hoursormore,youcanimmediatelyturnofftheheatingoftheprintheads

byputtingtheprinterintoIdlemode.

To put the printer into Idle mode:

¾FromtheFilemenu(intheprinterinterface)clickExit.

Note: The printer remains in Idle mode until you open the Objet printer

application and begin printing again.

Time after printing Mode Change in heating of print heads

first15minutes Standby1none

next10hours Standby2heatingreduced(toroomtemp.)

after10hours Idle heatingstopped

When the printer is in Idle mode, do not turn it off. It can remain in this

mode—with the cover closed—for up to a week. For longer periods, shut

down the printer by running the Shutdown Wizard (see below).

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DOC-07000 Rev. A

Shutting Down the Printer

YouonlyneedtoshutdowntheObjetprinterifitwillnotbeusedfora

weekormore.Otherwise,theprintercanremainon,inIdlemode.To

properlyshutdown,theprinterneedstoperformseveralprocesses.These

arecontrolledbytheShutdownWizard.Donotattempttoshutdownthe

printerbysimplyclosingthecomputerinterface(theprinter‐control

application),andneverdisconnectpowertotheprinterbefore

completingthiswizard.

Dependingonthelengthoftimetheprinterwillnotbeused,youcan

choosebetweenashortshutdownprocedure,andamorethorough

procedure.

•Upto10days:Thewizardemptiestheprintblockofmodeland

supportmaterial,topreventleaks.Thistakesabout10minutes.

•Morethan10days:Thewizardemptiestheprintblock,thenflushes

thesystemwithcleaningfluid.Thistakesupto35minutes,andyou

mustbepresenttoloadcleaning‐fluidcartridgeswheninstructed.

To run the Shutdown Wizard:

1. SelectShutdown fromtheOptionsmenu,orpressF8.

Figure 6-13: Shutdown Wizard, opening dialog box

2. Intheopeningwizardscreen,clickNext.

3. Choosetheappropriateoptionforthelengthoftimethattheprinter

willnotbeused—lessormorethantendays.

Note: Before selecting More than 10 days, make sure that cleaning-fluid

cartridges are available.

4. Inthenextscreen,verifythatthetrayisemptyandclickNext.

DOC-07000 Rev. A 6–17

Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

Theshutdownprocedurebegins.

Figure 6-14: Shutdown progress screen

5. Whenthefinalwizardscreenappears,closetheprinter‐control

applicationandshutdownthebuilt‐incomputer.

Figure 6-15: Final Shutdown Wizard screen

6. Aftertheprintercomputershutsdown,turnoffthemainpowerswitch

atthebackoftheprinter(seefigure 6‐2onpage 6‐2).

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DOC-07000 Rev. A

Maintaining the Printer

Theperformanceofroutinemaintenancetasksisessentialforgetting

satisfactoryresultsfromObjet3‐Dprinters.Performthetasksatspecified

intervalsforoptimumperformance.

Routine

Maintenance

Schedule



Frequency Task For More Information

Daily,beforeprinting Cleantheprintheads. See“CleaningthePrint

Heads”onpage 6‐18.

WeeklyCleanthebuildtrayand

thesurroundingarea.

Weekly PerformthePatterntest. See“PatternTest”on

page 6‐20.

Weekly Cleanandinspectthe

wiper. See“(see“Replacing

Print Heads”on

page 6‐139)Cleaning

andReplacingthe

Wiper”onpage 6‐22.

Weekly Restarttheprinter

computerandthe

server computer.

Weekly Cleantherollerwaste

collector. See“CleaningtheRoller

WasteCollectorand

InspectingtheRoller

Scraper”onpage 6‐24.

Every300hoursof

printing(Areminder

messageappears.)

TesttheUVlamps. See“Testingand

CalibratingtheUV

Lamps”onpage 190.

Monthly,andafter

replacingprintheads Checkthealignmentof

theprintheads. See“AligningthePrint

Heads”onpage 6‐29.

MonthlyCalibratetheloadcells. See“Calibratingthe

LoadCells”on

page 6‐36.

Monthly Inspecttheexhaust

system(duct,fan,

connections).

Every2000hoursof

printing,oronceayear

Preventivemaintenance

visitbyauthorized

serviceengineer.

ContactyourObjet

supportcenter.

DOC-07000 Rev. A 6–19

Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

Cleaning the

Print Heads Periodicinspectionandcleaningoftheorificeplatesonthebottomofthe

printblockensuresthattheprintnozzlesarenotclogged.Awizardguides

youthroughtheprocedure,andadjustscomponentsoftheprinterto

enableyoutoperformit.Thisproceduretakesabout20minutes,and

shouldbedoneatthebeginningoftheworkdayorbeforeabigprinting

job.

To clean the print heads:

1. Prepare—

•isopropanol(IPA—isopropylalcohol)orethanol(ethylalcohol)

•disposablecleaninggloves

•anObjet‐suppliedcleaningclothorequivalent

•amirror

2. StarttheHeadCleaningWizardfromtheOptionsmenuoftheprinter

interface(seefigure 6‐22onpage 6‐22).

3. Followtheinstructionsonthewizardscreens,andselectthecheck

boxestoconfirmthat:

•youhavecheckedthatthetrayisempty.

•youhaveclosedthecover.

Figure 6-16: Head cleaning procedure—wizard screen

4. ClickNext.

Theprinterpreparesforyoutocleantheprintheads.

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DOC-07000 Rev. A

5. Whenthefollowingscreenappears,openthecover.

Figure 6-17: Head cleaning wizard—steps 5–10

6. Placethemirroronthebuildtray.

7. Putonthegloves.

8. Soakthecleaningclothwiththecleaningfluid.

9. Cleantheorificeplates,withaback‐and‐forthmotion(seefigure 6‐17).

Usethemirrortomakesurethatyouhaveremovedalloftheresidue

material.

Figure 6-18: Cleaning the heads

10. Whenyouhavefinishedcleaning,selecttheconfirmationcheckboxin

thewizardscreen(seefigure 6‐16)andclickNext.

WARNING: The print head orifice plates (bottom surface) may be hot.

Do not touch them with your bare hands, and proceed with caution.

It is recommended that you use this opportunity to also clean the roller and

the UV lamps.

DOC-07000 Rev. A 6–21

Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

11. Removethecleaningmaterialsfromtheprinterandclosethecover.

12. Selecttheconfirmationcheckboxesinthewizardscreenandclick

Next.

Thehead‐purgecyclebegins.Whenthisiscomplete,thefinalwizard

screenappears.

Figure 6-19: Head-cleaning wizard—final screen

13. ClickDonetoclosethewizard.

Pattern Test Thepatterntestisthebasicverificationoftheprinter’sabilitytoproduce

qualitymodels,sinceitdemonstratestheconditionofthenozzlesinthe

printheads.Makesure,therefore,thatyouperformthistestweekly,and

wheneveryoususpectaprintingproblem.

To perform the pattern test:

1. Makesurethatthebuildtrayisempty.

2. Prepareasheetofpinkpaper—A‐4orLettersize.

3. Intheprinter,tapethepinkpapertothesurfaceleftofthebuildtray.

4. PressF3,oropentheOptionsmenuandselectPattern Test.

Figure 6-20: Pattern Test confirmation

5. Ifthebuildtrayisnotclear,clickNointhefollowingdialogbox.

Thislowersthebuildtray,sothatmodelsonthetrayarenotdamaged.

Figure 6-21: Build tray (Z) level adjustment

Theprinterprintsaseriesoflinesonthetestpaper(seenextfigure).

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Figure 6-22: Sample Pattern Test

6. Carefullyinspectthetestpapertoseeiftherearemissinglines.

Toomanymissinglines,especiallyiftheyareinthesamearea,

indicatesthatthequalityofprintingwhenproducingmodelswillbe

poor.Ifthisisthecase,see“ImprovingPrintQuality,”below.

Note: Acceptable model quality is subjective, and depends on the type

and scale (size) of the models produced. As a rule, however, more than 10

missing lines in one area of a column is considered unacceptable.

Improving

Print Quality Ifyoususpectthatprintqualityispoor,performthepatterntest(see

“PatternTest”onpage 6‐20).Iftheresultsarepoor,usethefollowing

proceduretoimproveprintquality.

If the results of the last pattern test are poor:

1. FromtheOptionsmenu,selectExecute Purge Sequence,orpressF4.

2. Intheconfirmationdialogbox,clickYes.

Theprintheadsarepurgedofmodelandsupportmaterial,andthe

wiperremovesexcessmaterialfromthem.

3. Repeatthepurgesequence.

4. Performthepatterntest.

If the results of the pattern test are still poor:

1. Manuallycleantheprintheads(see“CleaningthePrintHeads”on

page 6‐18).

2. Performthepurgesequence.

3. Performthepatterntest.

If the results of the pattern test are still poor:

1. Carefullycleantheprintheadsagain,makingsurethereisnoresidue

leftonthem.

2. Performthepurgesequence.

3. Performthepatterntest.

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Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

If the results of the pattern test are still poor:

¾Optimizetheprintheadsandreplacefaultyprintheads,ifnecessary

(see“CalibratingPrintHeads”onpage 6‐33).

Cleaning and

Replacing the

Wiper

Arubberwiperremovesexcessmaterialfromtheprintheadsafterthe

purgesequence.Thisisdoneautomaticallybeforeeachprintjob,and

performedmanuallyduringmaintenancetasks.Youshouldcleanthe

wiperandsurroundingareaatleastonceaweek.Ifthewiperisdamaged

orworn,replaceit.

To inspect and clean the wiper:

1. Prepare—

•isopropanol(IPA—isopropylalcohol)orethanol(ethylalcohol)

•disposablecleaninggloves

•anObjet‐suppliedcleaningclothorequivalent

•asparewiper

2. StarttheWiperCleaningWizardfromtheOptionsmenu.

Figure 6-23: Starting the Wiper Cleaning Wizard

3. Closetheprintercover,andclickNextinthewizardscreen.

4. Makesurethatthebuildtrayisempty,andclosetheprintercover.

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DOC-07000 Rev. A

Confirmthisinthewizardscreen.

Figure 6-24: Wiper Cleaning procedure—step 4

5. ClickNext.

6. Whenthefollowingscreenappears,openthecover.

Figure 6-25: Wiper Cleaning Wizard during steps 7–10

7. Putonthecleaninggloves.

8. Usingagenerousamountofcleaningfluidandthecleaningcloth,

removeanymaterialremainingonthewiperandthesurrounding

area.

9. Inspectthewiper.

Ifthewiperisscratched,tornorworn,orifyoucannotcleanit

completely,replaceit.

a. Graspitandpullitupandoutofitsbracket.

b. Insertthenewwiperblade,makingsurethatitisstraightandsecured

wellonbothsides.

10. Inthewizardscreen(seefigure 6‐24),confirmthatthewiperbladeis

clean,andclickNext.

11. Makesurethatyouhaveremovedalltoolsandcleaningmaterials

fromtheprinter,andclosethecover.

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Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

12. Confirmthatthetrayisclearandthatthecoverisclose,andclickNext.

13. ClickDonetoclosethewizard.

Cleaning the

Roller Waste

Collector and

Inspecting the

Roller Scraper

Therollerwastecollectorremoveswastematerialscrapedfromtheroller.

Suctionremovesthiswastetotheprinter’swastecontainer.

Thisassemblyshouldbecleanedweeklytopreventablockageinthetubes

leadingtothewastecontainer,sothatwastematerialdoesnotoverflow

intotheprinter.

To clean the roller waste collector:

1. Prepare—

•M2.5andM2Allenkeys

•disposablecleaninggloves

•isopropanol(IPA—isopropylalcohol)orethanol(ethylalcohol)

•cleaningcloth

•cottonswabs(Q‐tips®orsimilar)

2. Putonthegloves.

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3. RemovetherightUV‐lampassembly:

a. DisconnecttheUVpowercableandthefanpowercable.

Figure 6-26: Disconnecting the right UV assembly

b. RemovethescrewattachingtherightUVlamptotheprintblock,

andthenpullandliftuptheUVlamp.

4. Loosenthetwoscrewssecuringthesuctiontubeontheprintblock.

Figure 6-27: Lifting the suction tube

5. Liftthesuctiontubetosecureitinaraisedposition.

Fan power

connector

Power connector

Screw

Suction tube screws

DOC-07000 Rev. A 6–27

Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

6. Removethetwoscrewssecuringthecoveringoftherollerwaste

collectorandremoveit.

Figure 6-28: Removing the roller waste collector covering

7. Removethecoveringbypullingitout,andthenlowerit.

8. Cleantherollerwastecollectorandthescraperbladesurfaceusing

cottonswabs.Makesuretoremoveanyremainingprintingmaterials.

Figure 6-29: Cleaning the roller waste collector

To check the effectiveness of the roller scraper:

1. Putonthecleaninggloves.

2. Wetaclothwithisopropanol.

3. Usetheclothtowetthebottomoftheroller.

4. Turntherollerslowlywithyourhand.Asthebladescrapestheroller,

makesuretheisopropanolisspreadevenlyovertheentirelengthof

theblade.

5. Inspecttheroller.Ifitisnotdry,replacetheblade.(See“Replacingthe

RollerScraper”onpage 6‐27.)

Be very careful to save the covering screws. These are special screws; if

they are lost you need to order replacements.

Roller waste

collector screws

Before replacing the covering you can check the effectiveness of the roller

scraper—see below.

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6. Beforereturningtherollerwastecollectortotheprintblock,makesure

thatthepinsareclean.

Figure 6-30: Roller waste collector pins

7. Returntherollerwastecollectortotheprintblockandscrewonthe

covering(seefigure 6‐27onpage 6‐26).

8. Loosenthescrewssecuringthesuctiontube.

Figure 6-31: Suction tube correctly positioned

9. Loweritsothattheholeinthepanelbehindthesuctiontubeisvisible,

andtightenthescrewstosecurethetube.

10. Attachtheright‐UV‐lampassemblytotheprintblockandreconnect

theUVpowerandfancables.

Replacing the

Roller Scraper Youshouldreplacetherollerscraperblade:

•after1,000hoursofprinting.

•ifitdoesnoteffectivelykeeptherollerclean.

To replace the roller scraper:

1. Prepare—

•anewrollerscraper(knife)(KIT‐01026‐S)

•aPhillips1x75mmscrewdriver

•M2.5andM2Allenkeys

2. RemovetherightUVlampandtherollerwastecollectorcovering(see

steps3to6onpage 6‐25.)

Roller waste

collector pins

Securing screws

You should periodically test the effectiveness of the roller scraper when you

clean the roller waste collector. See “Cleaning the Roller Waste Collector

and Inspecting the Roller Scraper” on page 24..

DOC-07000 Rev. A 6–29

Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

3. Loosenthetwoscrewssecuringtherollerwastecollectorandpullit

out.

Figure 6-32: Removing the roller waste collector

4. Removethescrewsthatsecuretherollerscraperassembly.

Figure 6-33: Removing the roller scraper screws

Figure 6-34: Removing the old roller scraper blade

5. Removethescraperbladeanddiscardit.

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DOC-07000 Rev. A

6. Placethenewscraperbladeontothepinsintheholder,asshown.

Figure 6-35: Inserting the new roller scraper blade

7. Insertandtightentherollerscraperbladescrews.

Figure 6-36: Tightening the roller scraper screws

8. Aftertighteningthescrews,inspectthebladeandmakesurethatitis

straight.Ifnecessary,loosenthescrewsandtightenthemagain,evenly.

9. ReturntherollerwastecollectorassemblyandtherightUVlampto

theprintblock.Seesteps6to10,frompage 6‐27.

Aligning the

Print Heads Youshouldcheckthealignmentoftheprintheads—

•onceamonth

•afterreplacingoneormoreheads

•ifmodelqualityisnotacceptableevenaftercleaningtheorificeplateon

thebottomoftheprintblock(see“CleaningthePrintHeads”on

page 6‐18)

Thehead‐alignmentproceduretakesabout20minutes.

Important:

•Tighten the screws in the order shown in figure 6-35.

•Use the new screws supplied in the replacement kit.

DOC-07000 Rev. A 6–31

Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

To check the alignment of the print heads:

1. Prepare—

•atransparencysheet—A‐4orLettersize

•anytypeofstickytape,tofastenthetransparencysheettothebuild

tray

2. StarttheHeadAlignmentWizardfromtheOptionsmenu(see

figure 6‐22onpage 6‐22).

3. ClickNexttobegin,andclosethecover.

4. Inthewizardscreen,selectthecheckboxtoconfirmthatthecoveris

closed,andclickNext.

5. Wheninstructedtodoso,placethetransparencyonthebuildtray—

nexttotheleftandrearedgesofthetray,asshowninthefollowing

figure.

Figure 6-37: Positioning the transparency on the build tray

6. Makesurethatthetransparencysheetislyingflat,andtapeittothe

tray.

7. Inthewizardscreen,selectthecheckboxtoconfirmthatthe

transparencysheetisonthebuildtray,andclickNext.

Theprinterprintstheheadalignmenttestonthetransparency.

8. Whenthefollowingscreenappears,removethetransparency.

Figure 6-38: Head Alignment Wizard—steps 8–10

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Thetransparencysheetisprintedwithsetsofverticallinesinseven

columns,eachshowingtheresultsfromadifferentprinthead.

Figure 6-39: Sample head-alignment test

•Thethreecolumnsontherightwereprintedbytheheadsusedfor

applyingmodelmaterialwhenproducingmodels.Fromrightto

left,thecolumnsrepresentheadsM1,M2,M3,respectively.(There

isnocolumnforheadM0becauseitsalignmentisusedasa

referenceforaligningallotherheads.)

•Thefourcolumnsoflinesontheleftwereprintedbytheheadsused

forapplyingsupportmaterial.ThecolumnsrepresentheadsS3,S2,

S1andS0,respectively.

9. Foreachcolumnoflines,useamagnifyingglassorloupetoinspect

pairsofconsecutiverowsprintedonthetransparencytoseewherethe

verticallinesalign.

Figure 6-40: Comparing rows of alignment lines

Note: It does not matter which pair of lines you inspect, since they were all

printed by the same head. Choose a pair of clearly printed lines for the

inspection. (Since some nozzles may not print clearly, you may have to

inspect several pairs of lines to properly view the alignment.)

Optimumheadalignmentisshownwhenthefourthlinesintheupper

andlowerrowsarealigned,asinfigure 6‐39.Intheexampleshown,no

changetotheheadalignmentisnecessary.Ifotherlinesinthesetare

aligned,youneedtochangethealignmentofthathead—inthenext

wizardscreens.

10. Inthewizard screenshowninfigure 6‐37,selecttheTransparency

removedcheckbox,andclickNext.

Alignment-line

numbering, left-to-right

Row pairs

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Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

Thefirstinaseriesofalignmentscreensappears.

Figure 6-41: Head alignment screen

11. Inthehead‐alignmentscreen,selectthenumberthatindicateswhich

linesalignintheupperandlowerrowsofapaironthetransparency

(countingfromtheleft)forthisprinthead.

Note: Because the alignment of the fourth lines is optimum, the number “4”

is selected, by default, in the wizard screen. This does not change the head

alignment. If you select other numbers, the wizard adjusts the head

alignment, accordingly.

12. ClickNexttodisplaythenextheadalignmentscreen,andagainselect

thenumberrepresentingthemostcloselyalignedverticallinesonthe

transparencyforthatprinthead.

Whenyouhavefinishedaligningalloftheheads,thefollowingscreen

isdisplayed.

Figure 6-42: Update confirmation screen

13. Continueasfollows:

•Tomakethealignmentchangesintheprinter,makesurethatYesis

selected,andclickNext.

•Torecheckthealignmenttestresultsbeforemakingthealignment

changesintheprinter,clickPrevious.

•Ifyoudonotwanttomakealignmentchangesintheprinteratthis

time,selectNoandclickNext.

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14. Inthefinalwizardscreen,choosetoeitherrepeattheheadalignment

procedureorclosethewizard.

•Ifthemostcloselyalignedverticallinesforaprintheadwereat

eitherextreme—thefirstorseventhlines—chooseYestorunthe

HeadAlignmentWizardagain,thenclickNext.

Thetransparencytestwillshowiftheheadsarenowproperly

aligned,and—ifnot—thewizardwillallowyouto“finetune”the

alignment.

•Iftheverticallinesfortheprintheadswerenotalignedateither

extreme,chooseNotoclosethewizard,thenclickNext.

Figure 6-43: Final Head Alignment Wizard screen

Calibrating

Print Heads Theconditionoftheprintheadsdirectlyaffectsthequalityofprinted

models.Tomaintainoptimumprinting,youshouldroutinelytesttheprint

heads,andcalibratethemtothebestworkingconfigurationpossible.You

dothisbyrunningtheHeadOptimizationWizard.

If,duringtheoptimizationprocess,thewizarddeterminesthataprinthead

isfaulty—orthatitisnegativelyaffectinglayeruniformitywiththecurrent

headconfiguration—thewizardinstructsyoutoreplaceit.Ifthishappens,

youcancontinuethewizard(toreplacetheprinthead)orabortthewizard

(toreplacetheheadatanothertime).

Note: Allow at least three hours for performing this procedure (not

including time required for replacing faulty print heads).

Toaccuratelytestandcalibrateprintheads,theymustbeclean.If

necessary,runtheHeadCleaningWizardbeforebeginningthisprocedure.

To test and calibrate the print heads:

1. Prepare—

•disposablecleaninggloves

•thescalesuppliedbyObjetforuseintheWeightTest

Run the Head Optimization Wizard whenever the condition of print heads is

negatively affecting the quality of printed models, or if you suspect that there

is a problem with one or more of the print heads.

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2. StarttheHeadOptimizationWizardfromtheOptionsmenuofthe

printerinterface.

Figure 6-44: Starting the Head Optimization Wizard

3. Intheopeningwizardscreen,clickNexttobegin.

TheWizardConditionsscreenappears.

4. Readtheconditions,selectIAgreeandclickNext.

5. Inthefollowingscreen,makesureOptimizeallprintheadsisselected,

andclickNext.

Figure 6-45: Procedure selection screen

Replacing the

Odor Filter Iftheprinterexhaustisnotconnectedtoanexternalventilationsystem,a

built‐inactivated‐carbonfilterremovesodorsfromprintingmaterials.This

filtershouldbereplacedregularly(aboutonceayear,asnecessary)tokeep

yourworkingenvironmentpleasant.Thisisnormallydoneduringthe

yearlypreventive‐maintenanceservicevisit.

Replacing the

UV Lamps TheUVlampsusedforcuringmodelshavealong,butlimited,working

life.TheObjetserviceengineertestseffectivenessduringregular

maintenancechecks,andreplacesthem,ifnecessary.Youcantestand

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adjusttheireffectivepowerwiththeUVCalibrationWizard(see“Testing

andCalibratingtheUVLamps”onpage 190.IfyouneedtoreplaceaUV

lamp,followtheseinstructions:

1. Makesuretheprinterisinofflinemode.

Figure 6-46: Offline mode indicator (red)

Theonline/offlinebuttonatthebottomoftheprinterinterfaceshouldbe

red.Ifnot,clickittoswitchtheprintertoofflinemode.

2. StarttheUVLampReplacementWizard.

•FromtheOptionsmenuoftheprinterinterface(seefigure 6‐33on

page 6‐27),selectWizards > UV Lamp Replacement.

3. Makesurethatthebuildtrayisempty,andconfirmthisinthewizard

screen.Then,closetheprintercoverandclickNext.

Figure 6-47: “Empty tray” confirmation screen

Theaxesmovetothe“home”position.

4. SelecttheUVlamp(s)tobereplacedandclickNext.

Figure 6-48: UV lamp selection screen

WARNING: Before continuing, make sure that the safety interlock in the

printer cover is not defeated, and that the lamp is not hot.

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5. DisconnectthepowerconnectiontotheUVlamp.

Figure 6-49: Disconnecting the UV lamp

Note: Do not disconnect the power connection to the cooling fans.

6. LoosenthescrewsecuringtheUVlampcover(A),andpullthecover

up(B),thenout(C).

Figure 6-50: Removing the UV lamp cover

7. Pullthelampreflectoroutoftheprintblock.

Figure 6-51: Removing the UV lamp reflector

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8. Inspectthenewlampreflector,andmakesurethatablackstripis

attachedtotheinsideofit.Ifnot,installone—onthesideofthe

reflectoropposite(notnextto)theprintblock.

Note: Extra black strips are included in the printer Start-up Kit. If

necessary, you can remove the black strip from the old reflector and install

it in the new reflector (as long as the black paint has not faded).

9. Discardtheoldreflectorandlamp.

10. InsertthenewUVlamp/reflectorunitintothehousingnexttotheprint

block.

Figure 6-52: Print block and UV lamp assembly, showing correct placement of

black strip

11. Replacethelampcoverbyinsertingitintotheslotonthebottomofthe

housing,andtightenthesecuringscrewontop.

Figure 6-53: Replacing the lamp cover

Dispose of the used UV lamp in accordance with environmental and safety

requirements.

Black strip

UV lamp

assembly

Black strip

UV lamp

assembly

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Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

12. ReconnectthepowerconnectiontotheUVlamp.

Figure 6-54: Connecting power to the UV lamp

13. Inthewizardscreen,confirmthatyouhavereplacedthelamp(s)and

thattheblackstripisattached,thenclickNext.

Figure 6-55: UV-installation confirmation screen

Thewizardoperatesthelampsandchecksiftheirpoweriswithinthe

acceptablerangeforeachprintingmode.(Themodecurrentlybeing

checkedappearsinthelower‐leftcorneroftheprinterinterface.)

Figure 6-56: Status screen during UV lamp check

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14. AfterreplacingaUVlamp,itisrecommendedthatyoucalibrateits

powerforthevariousprintingmodes.Thefinalscreenallowsyouto

continuetotheUVCalibrationWizard(see“TestingandCalibrating

theUVLamps”onpage 6‐190).

Figure 6-57: Final wizard screen

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Built-in Tests Thesoftwarethatrunstheprintercontainsasuiteoftestsforregularly

checkingthehardwareandsoftware,andfortroubleshooting.Youcan

configurebasiccommunicationsandenvironmentteststorun

automatically,whentheObjetsoftwareopens.Inaddition,youcanruna

morecomprehensivesetoftestsbeforeprocessingaprintjob,asasystem

check,toensureoptimumprintingresults.

Becauserunningthetestseffectstheoperationoftheprinter,youcanonly

opentheBuilt‐inTestsinterfacewhenthesystemisnotprinting.

Thetestsuitefeatures:

•Theorganizationofprinting‐relatedtasksincategories:

Communications

Datacards

Temperatures

Voltages

Encoderrepeatability

Print‐headheating

Print‐headfilling

•Acleardisplayoftestresultsandthesourceofanyfailures,enabling

youtodetermineifprintingispossibleorworthwhile.

•Theabilitytomonitortestresultsforspecificcomponents.

•Troubleshootingtips.

Runningthesetestscanhelpidentifyproblemsintheprinterhardwareand

software.Alargenumberofhardwaredefects(ornear‐defects)warnsyou

ofpossibleprintingproblems,eitherforcurrentorfuturejobs.

Objet recommends running the built-in tests in the following cases:

•as a routine test, once every two weeks

•as a system check, before major (long) jobs

•as needed, for troubleshooting

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Accessing

Built-in Tests To open the Built-in Tests screen, do one of the following:

•FromtheOptionsmenu,selectBuilt-In Tests.

•PressCtrl+Alt+B.

Figure 6-58: Selecting Built-In Tests from the Options menu

Test Interface TheBuiltInTestsscreenlistspre‐configuredtests,groupedbycomponent

categories.Inthisscreen,youselectandruntests,andtheresultsare

displayed.

Figure 6-59:Built In Tests screen

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Test List TestName

Thiscolumnlistsallofthetests,togetherwithselectioncheckboxes.

Clickthecheckboxestoselectthetestsyouwanttorun.Toremovea

selection,clickthecheckboxagain.Toquicklyselectallofthetestsina

componentcategory,usetheGrouppull‐downmenuatthebottomofthe

screen.

Group

Thiscolumnshowsthecomponentcategoriesforeachtest.

ThistellsyouwhichtestsarerunwhenselectingacategoryfromtheGroup

pull‐downmenuatthebottomofthescreen.

Status

Thiscolumnshowsthestatusofeachtestafteryourunit:

Test Selection Area IntheTestSelectionarea,atthebottomofthescreen,youcanquicklyselect

orde‐selecttestsbytheircharacteristics:

Running Tests To run the selected tests:

¾Click.

Test Results To save and view a report of all of the tests:

¾UsetheSaveandViewcommandbuttons(seebelow).

Testsuccessfullycompleted.

Testfailed.

Unknownresults.(Thetesthasnotbeenrunyet.)

All Clicktoselectallofthetestsinthelist.

None Clicktode‐selectallofthetestsinthelist.

Unknown Clicktoselectalltestthathavenotbeenrunyet(Status = ?).

Group Usethismenutoselecttestsbycomponentcategory.

Selection

Set

Usethismenutoselectapre‐configuredsetofteststorunat

specifiedtimes(computerstartup,beforeprinting,etc.).

After you run a test, the Save and View command buttons are added to the

Built In Tests screen (see below).

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Command Buttons Youclickthecommandbuttons,ontherightsideofthescreen,toperform

thefollowingoperations:

Run

Clicktoruntheselectedtests.

Reset

Clicktoclearpreviouslyruntests.Thisreturnsthestatusofeachtestto

Unknown(?).

Save

Clicktosaveareportthatsummarizesthetestsrun.Thereportissavedas

anHTMLfile.Youcansaveanynumberofreportsforthetestsyourun;the

nameofthefilesavedisBITReport [date][time].htm.Bydefault,thesefiles

aresavedintheObjetinstallationfolder,butyoucansaveitinanyother

folder.

View

Clicktodisplaythelatesttestreportthatyousaved.(Youcanviewother

testreportsbyopeningtherelevantfilesinyourWebbrowser.Todoso,

openWindowsExplorer,anddoubleclicktheBITReportfile.)

ClicktoclosetheBuilt‐inTestsscreen.

Summary Ontherightsideofthescreen,asymbolrepresentsthecombinedresultsof

allthetestsrun,usingthesymbolsfromtheStatuscolumn.

Alltestssuccessfullycompleted.

Atleastonetestfailed.

Notalltestsperformed.

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Test Descriptions

and

Troubleshooting

ThefollowingtableliststhenameofeachtestintheBuilt‐inTestssuite,

togetherwithitsdescriptionandapossiblereasonforitsfailure.Ifyou

needassistance,contactyourObjetserviceprovider.

Test Name Description Possible Reason for Failure

Sub‐System

Communication Testscommunicationsbetween

Edencomponents. Disconnectedcommunicationscable.

Faultycable.

FIFONon‐Interrupt/

FIFOInterrupt

TeststhedataqueueintheDATA

PCIcard. FaultyDATA_PCIcard.

Encoder Teststheencoderʹsreliabilityby

comparingreadingsfrommultiple

runsalongtheX‐axis.

Faultyencoder.

SystemInfo Comparesthefollowingparameter

valueswiththeminimum

requirements.

•Physicalmemory

•Availablememory

•Freespaceondisk

•Monitorresolution

FailureofRAMmemoryallocationin

theEdencomputer.

BlockFilling Analyzesthethermistorreadings

whentheblockisfullandwhenitis

empty.

Faultythermistor.

Interlock Teststheinterlockintheprinter

cover. Failureofinterlockmechanism.

Faultylatch.

Disconnectedcables.

CabinTemperature Teststhetemperaturelevelinthe

build‐trayarea. Faultytemperaturesensor(OHDB).

HeadEEPROM Teststheread/writecapabilitiesof

theprint‐headdrivercards. Faultyprint‐headdrivercard.

HeadVoltage Checksthecontrolofvoltages

suppliedtotheprintheads. Faultyprint‐headdrivercard.

TrayHeater Notusedforthisprinter —

Head/BlockHeaters Teststheheatersintheprintheads

andintheprint‐blockbody. Faultyheatersorthermistors.

AxesLimit Teststhehardwareandsoftware

limitsofallaxes. Faultyhardwaresensors.

WrongMaxPositionparameter.

ParameterSanity

Check Comparesthevaluesofallprinter

parameters(incfgfiles)tothe

requiredvalues.

Oneormoreoftheprinterparameters

isnotwithintherequiredrange.You

canviewdetailsintheBITreport.

Vacuum Teststhevacuumlevelintheprint

block. Faultyvacuumsensor.

Vacuumleakage.

Wrongparameters.

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Replacing the

Waste

Container

Thewastecontainercontainspartiallycuredpolymericmaterialproduced

duringnormaloperationandmaintenanceoftheprinter.Forsafetyand

environmentalreasons,thismaterialiskeptinaspecialleak‐proof,

disposablecontainer.

Thecontainerhasacapacityof10kilogramsofwastematerial—usually

enoughforseveralmonthsofprinteruse.Theprintersoftwaredisplaysa

warningmessagewhenthereis9kilogramsofmaterialinthecontainer,

andstopstheprintingwhenthenetweightreaches9.5kilograms.Above9

kilograms,thesoftwaredoesnotallowyoutostartaprintjob(oraprinting

activity)untilyoureplacethewastecontainer.Youcanmonitortheweight

ofthewastecontainerintheMaintenancescreenoftheprinterinterface.You

canalsovisuallyinspectthelevelofwasteinthecontainer.(Toaccessit,see

page 6‐237.)

To monitor the waste weight (and other indicators) in the printer:

¾Inthemainprinterinterfacescreen,clickthedisplaytoggletoviewthe

printerindicators.

Figure 6-60: Printer interface, showing waste weight (red background indicates

operator alert)

Thewastecontainerconsistsofaplasticcontainerinsideacardboardbox.

Youtypicallydisposeoftheentirewastecontainer—includingthebox.

Therefore,youmustassembleanewboxandinsertanewplasticcontainer

beforeyoucaninstallitintheprinter.

Waste weight

Display

toggle button

Replacement boxes, plastic containers, and sealing caps are supplied in the

Objet printer start-up kit and in the preventive-maintenance kit.

DOC-07000 Rev. A 6–47

Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

To prepare a new waste container:

1. Assemblethecardboardbox,makingsuretopunchouttheperforated

sections.

2. Placeanewplasticcontainerintothebox.

Note: Do not close the box until you connect the waste drain tube from the

printer (see below).

To replace the waste container:

Locatethedooronthelower‐leftsideoftheprinter.Pushintheupper‐

rightcornerofthedoortoreleasethelatchandopenthe

door.

Figure 6-61: Accessing the waste container

3. Carefullyslideoutthewastecontainertoremoveitfromtheprinter.

Figure 6-62: Removing the waste container

4. Placethenewwastecontainernexttothefullcontainer.

5. Unscrewthecapsecuringthewastedraintubeandconnectittothe

newcontainer.

6. Closethefullcontainerwithasealingcap.

7. Closethenewwaste‐containerbox,usingtapetoholditclosed.

8. Positionthewastecontainerundertheprinter,ontheloadcells.

•Thecontainershouldbeontheextremerightsideofthe

compartment.

•Makesurethatthewastedraintubeisnotcrimpedandthatitisnot

pinchedbythecontainer.

Operating & Maintaining the Objet500 - Connex 3 3D Printer

6–48

DOC-07000 Rev. A

9. Closethewastecompartmentdoor.

Cleaning the

Exterior Panels ThepaintedexteriorplasticpanelsofObjet3‐Dprintershaveadurable

finish,offeringexcellentchemicalresistancetocommoncleaningagents.

However,followtherecommendationsbelowwhencleaningtheseareasof

theprinter.

AcceptableCleaningAgents

•mildsoapsolution

•commonhouseholdcleanersandwindowcleaners

•commoncommercialandindustrialdetergents,5%solutioninwater

•alcohol(ethanol,isopropanol),10%to40%solutioninwater

Wipetheexterioroftheprinter,usingasoftclothmoistenedwiththe

cleaningsolution.

UnacceptableMaterials

•industrialsolvents

•cleaningagentscontaininghydrocarbons,ketones,estersandlacquer

thinners

•spraydisinfectants

•abrasivesandagentswhichcouldwearawaythepanelfinish

Dispose of the full waste container in accordance with environmental and

safety requirements.

DOC-07000 Rev. A 7–1

Handling Printed Models

RemovingModelsAfterPrinting.............................................................. 2

RemovingtheSupportMaterial................................................................ 2

StoringModels............................................................................................. 5

Handling Printed Models

7–2

DOC-07000 Rev. A

Removing Models After Printing

Afterprintingmodels,youshouldallowthemtocoolasmuchaspossible

beforehandlingthem.Ifadditionalmodelsdonothavetobeproducedon

theprinter,itisbesttolettheprintedmodelscoolintheprinter,withthe

coverclosed,aslongaspossible.

If the printer must be used to produce additional models as soon as

possible:

1. Lettheprintedmodelscoolonthebuildtrayforatleast10minutes.

2. Verycarefully,removethemodelsfromthetraywithascraperor

spatula(suppliedinthetoolkit),takingcarenottopryorbendthe

model.

3. Placethemodelsonaflatsurface,andcoverthemwithacardboard

boxorpaperhood.

Thisallowsthemodelstocoolslowlyandevenly.

4. Letthemodelscoolforseveralhours.

Removing the Support Material

Afterprintedmodelshavecooled,thesupportmaterialmustberemoved.

Thiscanbedonebydifferentmethods,dependingonthesizeofthemodel,

howdelicateitis,theamountandlocationofthesupportmaterial,and

otherfactors.Usethefollowingmethodsasaguide,andadaptthem(ora

combinationofthem)forfinishingthemodelsyouarehandling.

Removing Excess Support Material by Hand

Whilewearingprotectivegloves,breakawayexcesssupportmaterialon

theoutsideofthemodel.Fordelicatemodels,useatoothpick,pinorsmall

brushafterdippingthemodelinwater.

Removing Support Material with Water Pressure

Formostmodels,themostefficientwaytoremovesupportmaterialisby

usingahigh‐pressurewaterjet.OnesuitablesystemistheBalcoWaterJet

cleaningunit,showninfigure 7‐1onpage 7‐3.Thisdeviceismarketedby

Objet.

WARNING: Wear protective gloves when handling printed models

before they are washed.

DOC-07000 Rev. A 7–3

Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

Figure 7-1: Balco WaterJet Cleaning Unit

Tocleanamodelusingthisdevice,youplaceitinthechamber,andyou

manipulateitandthejetusingthebuilt‐in,waterproofsleeves.Apump

turnsordinarytapwaterintoahigh‐pressurejet,andawiperkeepsthe

windowclear.

Removing Support Material with Caustic Soda

Soakmodelsina2‐percentsolutionofcausticsoda(sodiumhydroxide)to

removesupportmaterialfromdifficult‐to‐reachareasandtogivethe

modelasmooth,cleanfinish.Theamountoftimeyousoakthemodelinthe

solutiondependsonhowdelicateitisandhowmuchsupportmaterial

needstoberemoved,butitistypicallybetweenhalf‐an‐hourandseveral

hours.Inanycase,youshouldremoveasmuchsupportmaterialas

possiblebeforethecausticsodatreatment,andrinsethemodelthoroughly

(withawaterjet)afterwards.

Use caution when cleaning delicate models with high-pressure water

systems.

WARNING: Caustic soda may cause chemical burns, scarring and

blindness. Mixing it with water generates heat that could ignite other

materials.Take adequate safety precautions; always use nitrile gloves

when handling caustic soda and models soaked in it.

Handling Printed Models

7–4

DOC-07000 Rev. A

Post-Printing Treatment for Models Printed with Objet VeroClear

ModelsmadewithObjetVeroClearhaveaslightyellowtintwhenremoved

fromtheprinter.Thisisespeciallytrueformodelsprintedwithaglossy

finish.Theyellowtintfadesnaturallyovertime,butyoucangreatly

acceleratethisprocessbyusingasuitablephotobleachingtreatment.

Asarule,bestclarityisachievedwhenpartsareprintedwithamatte

finish,andtreatedasexplainedbelow.

Photobleachingmodelsinvolvesexposingthemtolight.Toachievehighly

controlledandpredictableresults,aprofessionalilluminationchamberis

recommended.However,adequateresultsmaybeobtainedusingordinary

desklampsfittedwithsuitablefluorescentelements.

Photo-

Bleaching

Instructions Followtheseinstructionsforphotobleachingprintedmodels.

•Thefluorescentlampsshouldberated45W,6500K.

•Whenusingdesklamps,placethemodelsinacontainercoveredwith

aluminumfoil.Useatleasttwolamps,morewhentreatingmodelsina

largecontainer.

•Arrangethemodelswithenoughspacebetweenthemtoallowlightto

reachallsidesofeachmodel.

•Verifythattheambienttemperaturearoundthemodelsis

approximately40ºC(104ºF).Highertemperaturesmaycausemodel

distortion;lowertemperaturesmaynotproducesatisfactoryresults.

Whenusingdesklamps,youcanachievetherequiredtemperatureby

positioningthelampsapproximately10cm(4in.)abovethemodels.

•Inspectthemodelsaftersixhoursoftreatment.

Forpartswithamattefinish,thisshouldbeenough.Polishand

lacquertheparts.

Forpartswithaglossyfinish,continuethephotobleaching

treatmentforupto18hoursmore.

InObjetlaboratories,therewasatintreductionofapproximately70%

withinsixhours.After24hours,tintwasreducedbyapproximately

90%.

Figure 7-2: Figure 7-3:

For more information about this treatment, see the application note

“Objet VeroClear for Desktop Pro Printers” (DOC-24131).

DOC-07000 Rev. A 7–5

Objet500 - Connex 3 User Guide

Storing Models

Modelsarecuredastheyareprinted,makingthemsafeandstablefora

longtime.However,properstorageconditionsarenecessarytoprevent

deforming.

•Keepprintedmodelsatroomtemperatureandinalow‐humidity

environment.

•Donotexposemodelstodirectsunlightandotherheatsources.

Handling Printed Models

7–6

DOC-07000 Rev. A

Stratasys MATCAB Assembly of RFID reader and antenna boards User Manual user

Stratasys Ltd Assembly of RFID reader and antenna boards user

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