Material Changeover

1. Premix the material cartridge for the material you are switching to, according to the section Premix Material Cartridge Before Installation. 

2. On the Controller Status screen, expand the Printer on which you wish to change the material. On the Material Card, tap the  button. This will disable the unit so that it will not receive any print jobs.

3. You will see the following screens on the Controller (a) and Printer (b):
   
   1.  Tap the X or Close button to clear this message and free up the Controller for other Modular users.
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4. Open the lower-print-chamber door and pull the MDM toward you. There are hard stops built into the slides to keep the MDM from coming completely out.
5. Fully tighten the cap on the top of the cartridge.

6. Press the Eject button to eject the cartridge. Remove the material cartridge and place the red Valve Cap over the cartridge valve (a, below). Store the cartridge (see Step 16). Please see the section Material Handling and Safety for cartridge-storage guidelines. If you are not storing the cartridge for later use, dispose of the cartridge according to all government regulations. Once you have ejected the cartridge, notice that the local display on the Printer changes to the one below (b).
   
   1. 
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7. You must untension the resin tray you are switching out before opening the upper chamber door. To untension the resin tray, open the lower-chamber door and push the tension toggle button.
   

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8. Wearing 100% Nitrile gloves, open the upper-chamber door, remove the resin tray, and determine if you will be able to use the same resin tray for the new material you are switching to, according to the section Resin Tray Material Cross-Usage. If you will be using the same resin tray for the new material, be sure to follow the instructions in the section Clean Resin Trays. Alternatively, you could use a brand-new resin tray for your new material. If you are using a new resin tray, use your own stick-on label to mark the old tray with the material name and store the tray in its garage.

9. Use a T20 screwdriver to remove the bottom two M4 screws (in red, below) on the MDM front panel. Loosen the top two M4 screws (in green, below) a full turn. The panel should now slide up and off.

10. Place paper towels on the floor in front of the printer, just under the pulled-out MDM Drawer. The drip trays in the MDM and printer floor will catch material drips that might occur inside the machine.

11. In the upper build chamber, place provided cap on fill nozzle (1, below) and disconnect the tube from its holder (2, below). This will help to avoid material spills and to preserve the tube for future use. From the front of the machine, reach under the chassis and pull the material tube down into the lower build chamber.
    

    NOTE: You should place the red cap on the tubing anytime you remove it from its holder.

12. In the MDM, pull the ring out and to the right to release the MCO Door. Open the MCO Door.

13. Remove cartridge coupler from MDM. Wipe out inside of coupler with a dry, lint-free paper towel.

14.  Lift up on the pump cover and remove the narrow tubing section.

15. In the bottom-left of the MDM, unclamp the material-delivery tube, and carefully pull the tube out through the hole. Pull the rest of the tubing completely out of the MDM.

16. Roll the tubing into a coil and place it in the provided UV-protective plastic bag. Label the bag with the material type, date of MCO, and material lot number (seen on cartridge). Place the tubing, along with its matching material cartridge, in storage (see Step 6). If you will not reuse this material tubing in the future, discard it according to all government regulations.

NOTE: The used MCO tubing is only good for three months after removal from a printer. After this, you must use a new MCO kit for that material. Please refer to CIB 00185 for long-term storage MCO tube recovery steps.

17. Obtain the new tubing from your Material Changeover Kit, depending on which components your printer has. Place your new cartridge's tubing label on the tube about 20 cm (8 in) from the Material Delivery Tube spout (see below), where it will not interfere with the tube fitting into any machine fixture.

NOTE: If you are installing a used MCO kit, ensure that it is of the same material type that you are changing to in this procedure.

18. In the bottom-left corner of the MDM, feed the Material-Delivery Tube through the hole. Once the tube is mostly through, open the clamp, and then secure the tube by pushing in on the clip until you hear a click.

19. With the upper-build-chamber door open, feed the Material-Delivery Tube from the lower chamber up through the hole to the left of the elevator. With your other hand, grab the tube so that it does not fall back through the hole. Ensure that the red cap stays on the tubing throughout this process.

20. Place the Material-Delivery Tube's cap in the fixture as shown at the right. Feed the tube through the delivery fixture, ensuring that the tube does not pinch anywhere (as seen in the picture below).

CAUTION: Failure to remove the red cap will result in the cap being forced off when material pumps into the resin tray. The cap will fall into the tray and, if not noticed, will cause resin-tray breakage and build failure.

21. Insert the narrow MCO tubing section in the material pump and close the pump cover, as shown. Ensure that you place the correct section of the tube inside the pump. Ensure that the tube is centered in the pumphead and follows the natural bend of the tube, without any twists.

22. Install Cartridge Coupler with the gray button facing toward the back of the machine. Ensure that the material tubing below the coupler is firmly within the clamps shown below. These clamps are part of a sensor that detects material presence in the tubing to assist the machine in certain functions.

23. Close the MCO Door and secure in place by pulling the ring out and to the left.

CAUTION: Failure to perform this step before installing a material cartridge could damage the cartridge-chip reader.

24. Your cartridge must be premixed before being installed in a Printer. Ensure you have done so, as per the section Premix Material Before Cartridge Installation. Remove the red, rubber cap from the cartridge valve. Carrying the cartridge by its handle, slide the cartridge down the chute in the orientation shown at the right. The Cartridge Key should be on the left (see below). Ensure the cartridge is fully seated by pushing down on it until you hear it click into place.

CAUTION: Ensure that you are installing a cartridge with material inside. The printer will show an error if an empty cartridge is installed. The minimum requirement for an MCO is >5% of the material remaining in the cartridge.

25. Remove the cap from the top of the cartridge and take the following steps to ventilate the cartridge:

    1. Grab the foil seal by the pull-tab on top.

    2. Pull on the tab from the edge of the seal, as seen at the right. Peel the seal off slowly, going down the same axis as the pull tab. Pulling straight up on the tab (below, left), or pulling along the axis perpendicular to the pull tab, can make this task more difficult and can even break the tab.

3. Recap the cartridge and tighten the cap finger-tight. Then loosen the cap by a quarter turn to allow for ventilation.

CAUTION: DO NOT FORGET TO DO THIS STEP. THE SUCTION OF THE RESIN PUMP WILL CAUSE THE CARTRIDGE TO COLLAPSE IF IT IS NOT VENTILATED, WHICH CAN SPILL RESIN INSIDE THE MACHINE AND CAUSE MACHINE ERRORS. THIS SITUATION WOULD REQUIRE YOU TO CEASE PRINTING AND follow troubleshooting item hw14. if THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT LEAK IN THE MACHINE, you may HAVE to have A 3D SYSTEMS SERVICE CALL TO COMPLETELY CLEAN THE MACHINE.

26. Push the MDM back until it hits its rear limit.

27. Reinstall the MDM front plate, sliding the plate over the top two screws to guide it into place. Use a T20 screwdriver to tighten the top two screws (in green, below) and reinstall the bottom two screws (in red, below). If you did not do so in Step 20, ensure that the red cap has been removed from the material-delivery tube above the resin tray, and close the upper-build-chamber door.

28. Carefully lower your new or cleaned resin tray into place, concave side up, as seen at the right. It should fit snugly in the holder on the chassis.

NOTE: If you did not do so in Step 20, ensure that the red cap has been removed from the material-delivery tube above the resin tray.

29. Close the upper-build chamber door and re-tension the resin tray by pressing the tension toggle button.

30. On the Printer touch screen, press and hold the  button to tell the unit you have finished performing the material-changeover procedure. This will re-enable the Printer.

31. The printer can now fill the resin tray according to the section Fill Resin Tray From Empty.

You have successfully switched materials on a Printer! If you experience any issues with your new material, please contact 3D Systems Service.