Introduction
After your HP print has completed and sat 24+ hours, you are now ready to retrieve your parts, post-process them, and perform routine maintenance to keep the machine clean.
-
-
You MUST wait at least 24 hours after the printing has ended because the machine gets very hot in operation
-
Bang on the top and sides of the printer with your open hand to loosen the powder off of the interior
-
Wear gloves while harvesting the parts as the powder gets messy. It is not harmful but you may not want to get it all over your hands.
-
Begin digging for your parts in the print bed. Once you pick up a part, hold it over a trash can and bang off its excess powder. Follow up with suction from the vacuum with its brush attachment to take a bit more powder off. Place it in the "HP Parts" clear bin.
-
-
-
Repeat the last step for all parts. You can look back at your build plate file to count how many parts you expect to dig out. The machine also randomly prints out two card-shaped parts and two pillar shaped parts every print. You can throw those away.
-
Be mindful if any small pieces were printed. The machine runs a reclamation process to sift out remaining powder, so you don't need to look too hard for them. Just be careful not to accidentally dispose/vacuum the small parts.
-
-
-
After you dug out all your parts, the printer will ask if you would like to run an additional reclamation process. Press Yes. This should take 20-60 min. In the meantime, proceed to Step 4 for Post-Processing.
-
Not only does this sift out for small unfound parts, but the machine also reuses the powder for future prints!
-
-
-
Head on down to the IFL with your harvested parts.
-
Walk over to the sandblaster and prepare it for use. First, open the air valve above the sandblaster. Then, pull down on the pressure gauge knob and begin to twist it until it reaches 80 psi.
-
Check the white buckets under the sandblaster to see if the "Clean" bucket is empty and "Dirty" (has metal particulates) bucket is full. If the case appears vice versa, you will need to perform a change of sands.
-
To change the sands, place the empty bucket underneath the sandblaster chute. Carefully release the latch and allow the sand to flow out. Bang on the sides of the chute to help it a bit.
-
Once the "Dirty" sand is out, close the latch, leave the bucket underneath the chute (just in case the latch releases), and open the top of the sandblaster. Pour the clean sand through the top of the sandblaster and shut it after completion. You may now swap the empty bucket under the chute.
-
-
-
Once the sandblaster is ready, open the side latch and place your part in the work-area. Close the latch, turn on the switch at the top of the machine. This should turn on the light and vacuum in unison.
-
Begin sandblasting your part, maintaining an 8-12" distance between the nozzle of the gun and the surface of your part. The excess white powder should come off easily. If there are some hard to reach spots, you may try to sandblast closer to the part with caution.
-
Do not sandblast any area of the part continuously for a long time. This could wear down the part. Keep the part and nozzle of the gun constantly moving to avoid this issue.
-
For hard to reach areas, there is a wire brush you can use to gently try to get the excess powder off. Doing this too hard can result in wear or discoloration of the part.
-
Repeat this step for all parts
-
-
-
Once all your parts are finished sandblasting, ensure the space is clean in the IFL. If you need to vacuum, pull the hose off of the sandblaster and use it to vacuum the floor. Remember to put it back on the sandblaster when you are done.
-
Shut off the air valve above the sandblaster.
-
Bring the parts back up to the AFL, bag and label them, and mark them ready for pickup on PaperCut.
-
This is the end of the harvesting and post-processing guide. Please complete all the provided Maintenance Guides to clean the machine. DO NOT FORGET TO DO THIS STEP
-
