MakerBot METHOD X 3D Printer - Manual (Page 17)

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If you are using material you had previously printed with, it is important that you remove any material that may have already
been routed from the drawer to the extruder.
If the material feels brittle or breaks easily do not load this into the printer. Remove at least 2 feet of the material and continue
with loading.
As the filament travels from the bay up to the extruders it must pass through a Y splitter at the top left of the gantry.
Occasionally the material can get caught on the lip of the guide tube leading to the extruder.
You can reseat the guide tube by removing the panel on the top left outside of the printer, pinching the small metal clasp to
release the tube, and reseat into the splitter making sure it is firmly in place.
To determine if your Material has become brittle, you’ll want to bend a piece of it back onto itself a few times. If you can bend it
at least 3 times before breaking it is not brittle.
PVA SUPPORT MATERIAL BEST PRACTICES
Once the PVA Support Material is loaded, you’ll want to leave the material in the drawer for as long as possible unless the
printer is not going to be used for an extended amount of time. When not in use always store the support material in the sealed
metalized polyester bag to avoid moisture uptake and environmental damage
If you notice excessive stringiness during a print this is often caused by moisture uptake of the material. At this point, we
recommend using a new unopened spool. You can always salvage your PVA spool by putting it in a bag with 20 grams of
desiccant and sealing it up to absorb moisture.
TEST PRINT
Once you have loaded material into both of your Performance Extruders, it is time to run a test print to ensure your MakerBot
Method. The purpose of the test print is to ensure that your MakerBot Method is setup to provide the best dimensional
accuracy.
Note: If you have already performed the guided setup and would like to print the calibration test again, you can access it from
MakerBot Print. Simply navigate to File > Insert Example Print > Method > Calibration Check Print
START TEST PRINT
You will need both the model and support material for the test print. Once you have ensured they are both loaded, click “Start
Test Print” to start the print. The extruders will then begin heating up for the test print.
Once the Performance Extruders have heated, the test print will begin. It is recommended that you watch at least the first few
layers to ensure the print is adhering to the build surface.
The test print will take around 30 minutes. The display screen will show a progress bar.
WHAT IS THE PURGE TOWER?
The MakerBot Method utilizes a “Purge Tower” to periodically remove material residue from the nozzles of each extruder and to
make sure the quality of the material is uniform across each layer line.
When first setting up your MakerBot Method, you may notice that the “Calibration Test Print” has a second small model next to
it. What you are seeing is a small version of a Purge Tower.
During the course of a print, you will notice the extruders will move back and forth from your model to the Purge Tower, in order
to purge material. When the print is complete, you can remove the purge tower along with your model.
The purge tower is necessary for ideal print quality, and removing it may reduce print quality or cause print failures. We
recommend printing with the purge tower to achieve optimal print quality.
See Chapter 5 to learn how to interact with the
purge tower in MakerBot Print.