MATERIA 101 - FAQ

Settings for the Materia 101
These settings go in different folder depending on the operating system you are running:

On Windows 7/8
The profiles are stored in folders under c:\Users[username]\AppData\Roaming\Slic3r
AppData is a hidden folder; you will need to change the View settings to see System folders, so you can find it.

On Windows XP
The profiles may be stored in the same folder as above, or in C:\Documents and Settings[username]\Application\Data\Slic3r

On Ubuntu and other Linux distributions
the profiles are stored in an hidden folder, in /home/[User]/.Slic3r

On Mac OS X
the profiles are stored in /Users/[username]/Library/Application Support/Slic3r

If you don't feel like messing about with these folders you can also just import this config-bundle.

You import them in the file menu in Slic3r under "Load config bundle"


About layer height and extrusion width

Q: What are the minimum & maximum values I can choose for layer height?
A: Maximum layer height: It shouldn't be more than 80% of the nozzle size. So for a 0.35 mm nozzle, 0.28 mm layers is the maximum.

What is the correlation between layer height & nozzle diameter?
Thicker layers = more plastic needs to be extruded. If you are making something with thick layer fast, you need to compensate with raising the temperature of the hot-end.

Extrusion width
The default PLA settings for the Materia 101 uses an extrusion width of 0.4mm for a 0.35 mm nozzle. What are the minimum/maximum extrusion width values ?
Extrusion width should between 110% -120% of nozzle size.

Q: What effect does a wider extrusion width than the nozzle have?
A:Basically it means that the area around the nozzle will flatten out the extruded material.

Should the extrusion width not just be nozzle diameter?
You could have the extrusion width at the same value as the nozzle size when printing slowly and with thick layers. Slic3r has inbuilt automatic settings for this.


Q:The extruder won’t move, what shall I do?
A: The first thing I want you to try (and I apologize if you already have tried this):
Try the option to "change filament" in the prepare menu. If you can change the filament, there is nothing wrong.

  • Go to the prepare menu
  • Choose Preheat PLA
  • Wait until the printer has heated up
  • Go to the prepare menu
  • Choose: Move Axis --> 1mm --> Z axis.
  • Try and extrude filament by turning the knob next to the screen.

If you have a multimeter: Check the cable going from the motherboard to the stepper motor on the extruder. There is 4 thin cables going to the motor and you need to check if they are conductive or broken. It should say "E" for extruder where the cable is connected.


Q: My extruder has stopped extruding, what do I do?
A: Filament could be clogged in the extruder, we need to clean it out.
This could be because of a aborted print that led to the stepper motors being left on and consequently melting the filament that is still in the extruder. If this happens you have to remove the idler that pushes the filament strand in place and check if there is molten filament blocking the passage down to the Hot-end.


Q:How do I change filament?
A: You use the change filament command in the Prepare menu.

  1. Enter main menu
  2. Scroll down to the prepare menu and enter it.
  3. Scroll down to the "Change filament" option and choose it.
  4. The printer will start to heat up and will heat up to a temperature of 230 degrees celcius.
  5. When it is done heating it will start to retract the filament (reverse the filament).
  6. Then it will start beeping loudly and do so until you insert the new filament and press the rotary encoder.
  7. Then it will start to extrude filament and you can stop it once you get a steady stream of molten plastic coming out of the nozzle.

Q: My circles are not round and my boxes are not sqaure, what is wrong?
A: This could be because of two things (or both):

1.The X and Y axis are not Square with each other.

This is how you fix it:
Squaring off axes X and Y (hardware calibration)
If your circles are ovals, groups of boxes are not square or if the infill of the boxes are not connecting with the outer shell, maybe you need to realign the X and Y axes. To verify that the X and Y axes are perpendicular, you can use the file “zCalibration.zip”, downloadable from our website, which contains a print of two boxes. After you are done printing the test, measure the two perpendicular sides of one of the printed boxes: if they are still incorrect (not the same length or not perpendicular) you will have to recalibrate the X and Y axes. This procedure requires a certain dexterity and experience on the machine: If you are not sure about it, avoid it.
Go to the Prepare menu, select “Auto Home”; Now unscrew the bolt that tightensthe strap on the left shoulder of the machine. Then slide a single tooth of the belt over the tensioning bolt on the shoulder, forwards or backwards, to correct for un-squareness of the axis; tighten the belt and repeat the test print.
See Chapter 7, image 17 of the Assembly Manual for the squaring procedure.

  1. The steps per mm on the x and y axis needs to be calibrated.
    This is most likely not the situation since this would mean that all the materias have this problem and they don't. But Do try and update the firmware just to be sure.

Q: Can i use the circuit on the RAMPS 1.4 board to run a heat bed?
A: Yes, but there are some things you should know about the board and running heated beds.
I've used the circuit quite a few times. If it is a quality built Ramps board; which I believe yours is, there should be no problems hooking up a heated bed to it. Be aware that the mosfet dedicated to the heatbed does get hot and the board is not overly cooled in the materia101 design.
If you want to add an extra fan to cool the stepper driver and the mosfets there should be and extra 12 volt output just below the fuses on the board.
One problem I've had running a heatbed from this board have been the connector coming from the PSU. Mine was just rated for 10 amps. The heatbed in my case was using 12-13 amps and the connector melded. Luckily smaller heated beds demand less amps. S you might be good.
You have the option of two different inputs. One 12 volt for the hotend and one 24 volt for the bed. I myself am running a prusa i3 with a 200x200mm heatbed on a 30amp actively cooled PSU and another i3 on two 12 volt psu's in parallel.
Here is a good review of the RAMPS shield


Q: Does the kit include all the necessary pieces to complete the printer or it is necessary to buy something else?
A: It includes everything to complete the printer.


Q: If some part of the printer breaks, it is possible to buy spare parts?
A: We are not selling individual parts right now, although we are planning to sell them in the near future. We can address you to the right components sold individually on other on-line stores if you would like.


Q: Does the kit have any warranty?
A: The warranty is 2 years for private users, 1 year for companies.


Q: Does the Assembled machine have any warranty?
A: The warranty is 2 years for private users, 1 year for companies.


Q: What is the correct way of inserting the shield in the Arduino Mega?
A: Correct:
Incorrect: