Start Printing

Prepare Build File in 3D Sprint

Before printing can begin, you must prepare a 3D model in 3D Sprint, slice the file, and export the sliced file to the printer. When in the 3D Sprint Software, you can click the help icon new.png icon, or press F1, for full software instructions. If you do not wish the print job over your network, please follow the steps in the section Submit Build File via USB.

Printing for the First Time

If you are building for the first time on the printer, the Quick-Start Guide will walk you through running a verification build to ensure the printer is functioning normally. It is highly recommended to print this part before attempting any other builds on the printer. This build is not meant to test the printed parts for accuracy. To test accuracy, please follow the instructions in the section Accuracy Wizard.

CAUTION: Do not run this test print without resin in the resin tray. It is necessary to print the part and observe part quality to ensure that the test print was a success.

Print Process

Once you have sent a build file to the printer from 3D Sprint, the printer's Status screen will look like the screen at the right. Tap the Start Job button.

NOTE: If the pending print job requires a resin that is different than the one loaded on the printer, you will be prompted to take steps to change the loaded print material, as seen in the section Change Material Before Printing.

The QR-code scanner below the touch screen will be activated and the printer will ask you to scan a bottle of the print material sent over in the build file from 3D Sprint. You will see a screen similar to the one at the right. Ensure you are scanning the correct material bottle and hold the bottle's QR code in the path of the scanner such that the center dot is in the middle of the QR code.

If the scan is successful, you will see a screen similar to the one at the right. If the scan is not successful, this could be due to a few different reasons, which are outlined in the section Printer Error Messages.

The printer will remind you to perform three tasks before proceeding with the print job. Tap each check box as you perform each task.
1. Empty and clean print platform, as in the section Clean Print Platform.
2. Mix the material, as in the section Mixing, Stirring, and Curing Chart. This refers both to stirring the material that is currently present in the resin tray and mixing the material that is in the bottle.
3. Fill the resin tray from the material bottle you just scanned, as in the section Fill Resin Tray With Material.

Tap Start Job button.

You will see a screen like the one at the right, with the progress bar showing the "percent complete" of the print job. You will also see a print preview of what is currently printing. You may abort the print job at any time by tapping the Abort button. Please see the section Abort a Print Job for more information.

Once the job has completed, you will see a screen like the one at the right. Please proceed to the section Post Processing.

Submit Build File via USB

If you do not want to submit your build file over a network, you may save the build file to a USB drive and upload it to the printer. This section assumes you have prepared the build file in 3D Sprint and transferred the file to a USB device.

NOTE: The printer only accepts USB drives formatted in FAT32 or NTFS. If you experience issues with the printer reading your USB device, you can troubleshoot by turning the power switch on the back of the printer off, and then on again. If you continue to experience issues, contact your reseller.

At any time, even during printing, you may insert a USB device with .f4x or .pxl files on it. The printer will automatically look for these files and show the screen at the right if it finds them. Tap Dismiss if you do not wish to transfer USB files at this time. Tap Select Jobs to bring up a list of the build files on the USB device.

NOTE: If the printer finds a firmware-update file on your USB device, it will prompt you to update the firmware with that file before it shows any of the print jobs on the device. Tap "Cancel" and the printer will then show the "print jobs" screen at the right.

NOTE: The PXL format slices the file in 3D Sprint, which makes the job-submission process faster than submitting with the F4X format. However, the file will be optimized for the printer that Sprint was connected to at the time the file was created, while F4X can be used effectively on any of your NextDent 5100 printers. See the section Submit Build File via Network for more information on F4X.

Tap the checkbox next to each print job you wish to add to the printer queue. When you have selected all the files you wish to add to the queue, tap Add to Queue.

NOTE: The printer can store up to 32 queued jobs at a time.

You will see a screen like the one at the right to confirm that your jobs have been added to the print queue. Tap Continue to go back to the screen the printer was on before this process.

Submit Build File via Network

One way to submit your build file to the printer is over your network via 3D Sprint. This section summarizes the process. For full 3D Sprint instructions, see the 3D Sprint Help Menu.

In 3D Sprint, click Add to Queue. This will automatically send the build file as a .f4x file.

The print job will appear as pending in the queue for up to five minutes before being able to print.

NOTE: The F4X file format will slice the file on the printer itself, as opposed to the PXL file format, which slices the file in 3D Sprint before outputting it. See the section Submit Build File via USB for more information on the PXL format.

Change Material Before Printing

If the print job sent over from 3D Sprint uses a different print material than that loaded on the printer, one of two screens will pop up, prompting you to take certain actions:

Pending Job Requires a Different Material - Materials Compatible

When you see this screen, it means that the material currently loaded on the printer is not the same material that was sent over in the build file AND that the new material and the old material ARE compatible with the same resin tray, according to the section Resin Tray Material Cross-Usage.You must now:

Either replace the resin tray or clean it as seen in the section Clean Resin Tray. Install the new or cleaned resin tray. Once you have done this, tap Continue.
You will see a screen similar to the one below:
Scan your material bottle, as in Step 2 of the section Start Printing. Continue with Step 3 of the printing steps in that section.

Pending Job Requires a Different Material - Materials NOT Compatible

When you see this screen, it means that the material currently loaded on the printer is not the same material that was sent over in the build file AND that the new material and the old material are NOT compatible with the same resin tray, according to the section Resin Tray Material Cross-Usage.You must now:

Replace the resin tray. Once you have done this, tap Continue.
You will see a screen similar to the one below:
Scan your material bottle, as in Step 2 of the section Start Printing. Continue with Step 3 of the printing steps in that section.

QR Code Override

When you scan a bottle's QR code, there could be an error in reading the code itself. You should contact 3D Systems Customer Service to let them know you have a faulty QR code on your bottle. However, it is possible to continue printing for a limited number of builds by overriding the QR code requirement. This section describes how to access QR code override.

The first time you experience a scanning error, you will see a screen similar to the one at the right. This can happen if the printer determines it cannot read the code, or if the printer has not read the code within 30 seconds of the scanner being activated.
The second time you experience a scanning error, you will see a screen like the one at the right. Tap Try Again to scan the bottle again. Tap Select Bottle to go to the QR Code Override screen.
If you tapped Select Bottle in Step 2, you will see the screen at the right. This screen shows a list of the last 20 unique bottles scanned to the printer that have not been marked as "empty." Tap the bottle that matches the resin you are using. If you do not see your resin listed, contact 3D Systems Customer Service.
Once you have selected a bottle, you will see a confirmation screen like the one at the right. Tap Select to confirm the bottle. The printer will then pick up with Step 4 from the section Start Printing.
If you have exceeded the amount of overrides the system allows, you will see a screen like the one at the right and will not be allowed to override the QR code requirement anymore. Tap Try Again to scan your bottle again or scan a new bottle. Contact 3D Systems Customer Service for more information.

Abort a Print Job

There are two ways that you may abort the print job:

Trip a printer sensor during a print.
Tap the Abort button on the touch screen:

Safety Sensor is Tripped

The printer has three safety sensors that, when tripped, will abort the current print job without warning. In any of these cases, you will see the screen at the right and the elevator will move to the offload position.

Lid - Because the resin cures with UV light, exposure of the printed part during printing to any other light besides that of the projector can cause a failed build and can cure the resin in the resin tray. For this reason, if you open the printer lid or lower-chamber door during printing, the print job will be aborted.
Front Door - To avoid operator exposure to optical radiation, the printer will also abort the current job if the front door of the printer is opened during printing.
Catch Tray - In the unlikely event that the catch-tray sensor malfunctions during a build, or if the catch tray becomes loose during a build, the print job will abort to protect the bottom of the print engine.

CAUTION: Take care not to place the printer in a place where it might be run into or shaken, causing any of the above actions to happen accidentally.

One of the three sensors might also trip just after you press the Start Job button in Step 5 of the section Start Printing. This will abort the pending job and you will see the screen below:

Tap "Abort" Button

Tapping the Abort button during a print will not immediately abort the print. You will see the popup at the right. Tapping the Abort button on this screen will abort the job. There is no further warning.
You will see the screen at the right and the elevator will stop.
Once the build is aborted in either case, the printer's Status screen will appear like the one at the right. You can take the following actions: Tap the Reprint button to restart the build. This will begin the printing process again from Step 1 in the section Start Printing. Tap the Next Job button to prepare the printer for accepting a new build.