Markforged Metal X Printer
Metal X 3D Printer Maintenance
Markforged Metal X Maintenance; Cleaning and re-greasing the rails and bearings as well as your Metal X printer’s motion system can maintain and improve the Gantry performance. The cleaning procedure outlined in this video should be carried out preventatively about every 500 print hours. To determine whether corrective rail maintenance procedures are required between scheduled cleanings, we can use the concentric shells test print found by navigating to the Menu > Utilities > Test Prints > Concentric Cells Test Print.
We will need the following equipment to complete the motion system maintenance for our Metal X printer.
- The Motion system maintenance kit
- Blunt grease with the injection syringe
- Kim wipes or other lint-free wipes
- Nitrile gloves
Metal X Test Print
The test print will help you determine whether the rail maintenance procedure must be performed ahead of schedule. Once the diagnostic print is complete, look for gaps between the concentric shells layers. Compare the print to the following examples to determine whether cleaning and re-greasing is necessary. If we see no gaps in the shells like the image shown, then no immediate cleaning or greasing is necessary. If we see small gaps in the shells like the image shown, then some light cleaning action is recommended. However, if we see large gaps in the shells like this image shown, then performing the motion system maintenance is highly recommended.
Motion System Maintenance
To begin the Markforged Metal X Maintenance process First, we will want to move the print head by hand to the back left corner over the wiping station. Next, wipe down the Y rail and the front and rear X rails using a lint-free wipe. You should see some plaque debris coming off the rails onto the wipe. It is not necessary to thoroughly scrub the rails, one or two passes should suffice. Now we will use a syringe to inject grease into the grease fitting on the X bearing. Inject until grease begins to seep out on the underside of the bearing, and repeat the step for the forward X-rail bearing. Next, we will inject a thin continuous line of grease into the v-groove on both sides of the Y-rail. Now using your hand, gently move the printhead around its X and Y extremes in order to complete the work in the grease. Once that is completed we can repeat the diagnostic test print and examine the gaps between shells. If gaps between shells are still present on the second test print, repeat the maintenance procedure until there are no gaps present in the test print. We will now discuss greasing the Z-screw.
If you notice the z-screw producing a squeaking sound during normal operation it is recommended that you grease the Z-screw according to the following procedure.
Note: it may be necessary to repeat this procedure if the noise continues.
Then, we will want to lower the print bed. Navigate to the Menu > Manual Control > Lower Bed. Next, we will wipe the z-screw clean with a lint-free wipe. As with the rails you should see some black debris coming off the Z screw onto the wipe. Again, it is not necessary to thoroughly scrub the z-screw, one or two passes should suffice. Now we will use the syringe to apply a thin layer of grease along the side of the z-screw. Apply the grease sparingly, as over-greasing the screw will attract debris. Using a gloved hand, gently work the grease into the threads of the screw once. Once we work the grease with our hand, we’re going to raise the print bed using the manual controls on the printer’s UI to distribute the grease over the surface of the z-screw. If the z-screw continues to make noise during normal operation, repeat this procedure, taking care not to over-grease the screw.
Technical Support
If you have any questions about the Markforged Metal X Printer or any additive questions or are experiencing unexpected behavior, feel free to reach out to MLC CAD Systems technical support