Faqs
Frequently Asked Questions
What do the printers come with?
As of Feb 2016, all of our currently offered products come with the same:
- Electronics, including Windows TabletPC
- Motion Control components - motors, linear bearings, ball screws, etc.
- Skype/TeamViewer training - STRONGLY ENCOURAGED
- Tramming Kit - Digital Tramming Tool, metric hex drivers, razor blades, spatula, plastic cutters, glass build plate, blue painter's tape, ST-Link programming adapter, tweezers, wire brush, 1 gallon ziplock bag.
How long will it take to get my printer?
Orders should be shipping 2-4 weeks ARO. Here is the process:
- We'll send you a Quotation.
- We'll do the first skype/teamviewer9 training session (hardware/software overview, leveling the bed, setting the Z height, and printing in plasticine).
- We'll send a new Quotation if needed.
- If everything is as you want it, we'll send an invoice.
- Upon receipt of payment or a PO, we'll send a Sales Order and customize a unit to your order.
- We'll do the second skype/teamviewer9 training session (creating a CAD model, exporting an STL, healing the STL, slicing the STL (creating gcode), loading the head, and printing in plastic).
- We'll ship your unit and send you tracking information.
- We're available to skype with you to help you get set up and answer any questions you have.
- We're here to help you out with anything you need, as best we can.
What Operating Systems do your hardware and software run on?
The software which drives the printers works with Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10. Our software is not open source. We Program in C#.net, and it is possible to add your own module to our software. We use G-Code to operate our printers. We have over 50 custom codes to allow for the extra features of our printers. The software to run the printers is included with every printer.
Why do you value the software upgrades at $500?
3D printing is in its infancy. We envision the software becoming the most valuable component in the future. As consumers, we get very frustrated with continual software upgrade fees. So we have included five years of updates with this system special. All products we are currently shipping come with the same courtesy five year software coverage at no extra cost, a $500 value. Some time next year we expect to start charging a software maintenance fee for new customers.
What is your warranty policy?
- All core Electronics are covered for 1 (one) year. Installing/flashing any third party firmware onto any of electronics and/or tampering with any of the core electronics immediately voids any and all warranty.
- All Mechanical parts are under warranty for 90 (ninety) days. Operating any HYREL 3D Printer in a very dirty environment will void any and all warranty (for example: a saw mill or sand blasting area).
- Heaters, hot ends and hot beds are covered for 90 (ninety) days, but if there is an obvious manufacturing error, we will not charge for repair.
- Our policy for all parts (not just electronics) is depot repair; you (the customer) only pay shipping on warranty repairs.
What is the print resolution?
The resolution game is played by many manufacturers in the 3D market.
Our Actual position resolution is better than than 5 microns in the x and Y, and 0.5 microns in the Z. The repeatability is about 25 microns in the x and y, and about 10 microns in the Z axis.
The real metric that is not properly asked it the Feature size: can you print an artifact that is say 50 microns reliably? This industry needs new standards, until we have them, we deal with this by actually arranging a skype call with a possible customer, where we make a part and let you inspect it, this way you know the whole story, what it takes to make a part, and what kind of quality you can expect from our printer.
We are NOT interested in selling printers that do not satisfy the needs of our customers, there are plenty of people that like what we have, we want you to find the right technology to meet your needs.
Feel free to arrange for a skype session, and one of us will be happy to walk you through the process.
What is the thickness of the layers?
We support layer heights as small as 25 microns, but only certain materials are working at that thickness; and while it yields a very fine finish, it takes A VERY LONG TIME (can be 12+ hours for small prints).
25 microns is the practical lower limit for ABS, with 250-400 microns being the preferred thickness. 250 microns is the practical lower limit for extrudables (Silicone type materials), with 500 microns being the preferred thickness.
What about large builds?
Many people request large build volumes. Regardless of the brand of printer, this is something that must be approached with open eyes.
1. Dimension Tolerance
FDM technology uses melted plastic at 200+ degrees Celsius, and as the build takes place the plastic will shrink as it cools; stiffer plastics often have trouble holding dimension due to this.
2. Build time
Many people do not realize that making a part that is 200mm cubed would take DAYS, not hours. This fits the needs of many potential users; however it is something that should be considered.
Our printers have travel in excess of all stated dimensions; this is necessary to insure that it is actually practical to make parts the advertised size. Adding extra heads reduces the build volume, however 2 head prints will be very close to the 200x200x200mm stated capacity.
What about materials?
We do not offer proprietary materials; - we do recommend vendors, but you may acquire your ABS, HIPS, PET, PLA, PVA, Nylon (Taulman 618), Ninjaflex, Plastink Rubber, T-Glase, Laywood, Laybrick, Clays, including Precious Metal Clays (PMC), Porcelain, Plasticine, Plah-Doh, Sugru (Rubber), and RTV Silicone and any other materials from any vendor you wish. Please note that the prices will vary greatly based on variables like quality, quantity, and shipping costs. We find ABS and PLA for between $20 and $100 per kg. We are happy to share our recommended suppliers with you.
We must stress that there is a vast difference in the quality of materials available online. Using low quality material will result in a bad printing experience.
We presently have two print heads in production:
The MK-1 (Mark One) prints with 1.75mm filament at up to 260°C; this includes ABS, HIPS, PET, PLA, PVA, Nylon (Taulman 618), Ninjaflex, Plastink Rubber, T-Glase, LayWoo-d3, LayBrick, BendLay. The MK-1 comes with a 0.5mm nozzle. Other sizes are in development; contact us if you have special needs.
The EMO-25 (EMO) prints with emulsifiable extrudables at room temperature; this includes Clays, including Precious Metal Clays (PMC), Porcelain, Plasticine, Plah-Doh, Sugru (Rubber), and RTV Silicone. The EMO-25 comes with 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 nozzles. Other sizes are in development; contact us if you have special needs.
The VOL-25 (Volcano), still in development, prints with emulsifiable extrudables at heated temperatures up to 100°C, including wax and chocolate.
How reliable is your printer?
The machine was designed with a 5000 hour MTBF goal, and so far we have no reason to believe that this has not been met. Our parent company has had four axis motion control devices in the field for over 15 years with 100% customer satisfaction. We have been printing on our printers for several months; most of our builds run two to four hours. If the printer is used properly, we recommend a general head cleaning once every 200 hours of printing, (this takes about 5 minutes).
Why is there mandatory training?
Here at Hyrel, we believe that no training equals a bad printing experience. We are NOT in business to work hard and then have our customers have a bad experience. We include up to five hours of online training (via Skype and TeamViewer) to ensure that you can get reasonable, reliable results out of your printer. All of our models are compatible with this training.
It is our policy to only sell a printer after we have talked to the customer about their application; the reason for this is that 3d printing is still quite new to the world, and many people have inaccurate ideas of what a printer can do and what it takes to make a good part. We have no interest in selling a printer to a person, only to have them find out it will not work for them. Our mission is to create and sell print systems to people that will use them and find great satisfaction in being our customers.
We have two training sessions that we do one-on-one, and during that session we use teamviewer 9 and Skype, and we allow you to go through the entire design to print process; you actually control the printer from your computer during this session (via TeamViewer) and see the results (via Skype).
If you have a strong interest, then please contact us to set up a session.
How do you do the training?
1. You need to have downloaded and installed skype ( http://skype.com ) and registered a free account. You don’t need a camera, but you do need a microphone.
2. You need to have downloaded and installed teamviewer 9 ( https://www.teamviewer.com/en/download/dyngate.aspx ), the free client for non-commercial use.
3. You need to be online with skype and teamviewer 9 running, and be logged in to your skype account.
This works best for you if you have two displays (or two computers), with the teamviewer 9 window on one and the skype window on the other, although it does work with one screen (just not as well). To start, you can skype me (hy.rel, johns creek) or give me your account ID and I’ll skype you. Then I’ll give you my teamviewer 9 number and password, and you will control my computer.
I want multiple printers; how does that training work?
To ensure that our customers have a great printing experience, the price of each printer includes at least two hours of pre-sales training and five hours of post-sales training (either in person or via TeamViewer/Skype). If you do not need duplicate training on the multiple units, we can discount $150 from additional units.
Why do you put a full computer in every printer?
We decided to include the embedded PC in our printers because it enables us to:
1. Provide online support in real time; and
2. Expand the printer’s capability in the future.
There is NO question that this is valuable. Every time we walk a customer through a new procedure, or help diagnose what is going on with their printer via Team Viewer, we are absolutely sure that having the embedded PC was one of the best ideas we have had.
Some people see our printer and really like the hardware, but of course the price is not cheap, because the components are world class quality. These people may find it hard to afford to purchase a printer with an embedded PC, but the PC and touchscreen add a mere $350 to the actual cost of the printer (we make NO profit from the PC; we offer it because it makes the printer that much better, and easier to grow with).
For them we offer a Printer without a PC; however, we strongly suggest that this ONLY be done by people that are VERY computer literate. We factored in 5 hours of personal training on each printer, because this is a new technology and we found that everyone really benefited from this training. We did NOT factor in any time to help people that were trying to get modern software running on an old PC from the garage and save $350 on their printer, because our time is valuable and an old PC is a complete unknown.
The embedded PC comes configured and tested. This is by far the best way to get a great 3D printing experience.
We have always tried to operate with the mindset of: we treat the customer the way we want to be treated. We would much rather spend our time helping someone learn how to print than spend it trying to debug some unique and unknown computer installation.
How do I create or import the files for the part I want to print?
You can create your stl file with most of the popular cad packages, such as SolidWorks, AutoCad, Alibre, FreeCad, Google SketchUp, ProE, TurboCad, etc.
We bring the .stl file into MeshLab to heal the file (remove reference lines, resolve duplicate vertices, etc.).
Then we bring the healed .stl file into Slic3r to slice it (convert it into the G-code that drives the printer). We will provide typical Slic3r recipes (temperature, flow rate, movement speed, layer thickness, etc.) for filaments and extrudables.
Then we use our very customized version of Repitier Host, which drives the printer to create your part using the G-code from Slic3r.
Tech Specs:
Nozzle Sizes: EMO-25, VOL-25: 1, 1.5, 2 mm undrilled upon request
MK-1: .5 mm undrilled upon request
Temperature: The MK-1 can be heated to 260°C (limited life); we recommend sustained use at 250°C or below.
PLA, PET, ABS and Nylon work well at 225-230°C
The VOL-25 can be heated to 100°C
Resolution: Our positional resolution is better than five microns in the X and Y (.0002”, or 2/10 of a mil or .2 mils),
and better than half a micron in the Z (.0002”, or 2/100 of a mil or .02 mils)
Accuracy: Our positional accuracy is +/- 50 microns in the X and Y over an 8” travel area
And +/- 20 microns in the Z over an 8” travel area
Repeatability: Our positional repeatability is about 25 microns in the X and Y (.001”, or 1 mil)
And about 10 microns in the Z (.0004”, or 4/10 of a mil or .4 mils)
Layer Height: We have successfully printed in ABS with a 25µm (.025mm) layer height, but this is very time consuming.
We often use a 300µm (.3mm) layer height with the .5mm nozzle on the MK-1 for 1.75mm filaments.
We often use a 600 µm (.6mm) layer height with the 1mm nozzle on the EMO-25 for pasty extrudables.
Print Speed: The best print speed manageable (without sacrificing quality) is variable, and depends not only on the
material being used and layer height, but also on how much mass is being moved in the X and Y.
We normally print at 1.5m/min, or 25mm/sec with both the MK-1 and the EMO-25
Build Volume: Engines have a build volume of 200 x 200 x 200 mm.
Systems have a build volume of 225 x 200 x 200 mm (225 in the X).
Form Factor: Engines are 13” wide x 15” deep (plus 7” of rear space for spool rods), and are 21” tall
plus heads, which can add another 10” to the height
Systems are 15” deep x 33” wide (plus 8” on the left to open the material area), and are 32” tall
Adjustments: Speed of travel (at slicing or in g-code editor)
Layer thickness (at slicing)
Volume of flow per unit distance (at slicing or in g-code editor)
Extruder temperature (at slicing, in g-code editor, or manually during build) (MK-1, VOL-25)
Cooling Fan speed (at slicing, in g-code editor, or manually during build (MK-1, QS-1)
HotBed Temperature (manually, prior to or during build)
Unit Conversion: 1 mil = 25.4 microns 1 micron = .03937 mils
1 inch = 25.4 millimeters 1 millimeter = .03937 inches
