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Note: For best results, close the door to the UI to avoid any cross-wind affecting your filament output - i.e.
if a cross-wind cools the filament at the nozzle too quickly, the puller wheel won’t be able to draw-down
the filament to its desired final diameter.
15. And there we have it! You are now off to the races and creating your very own filament!
5.0 Intro to the ProtoCycler Purge Procedure (PPP)
When purging your ProtoCycler’s extrusion system there are two types of purging depending on what you wish to
achieve. They are:
1. Short Purge: Required when transitioning between wet and dry plastic or colour changes. Please see
Section 2.1 for instructions on how to conduct a Short Purge.
2. Disco Purge: Required when conducting a materials change. Please refer to Section 2.2 for instructions on
how to Disco Purge.
Please be sure to abide by all safety precautions outlined in the main user manual.
For further details on different purge conditions and temperature settings please refer to the Appendix in Section
7.0, Table 1 of this document.
5.1 Purging
The following steps will guide you through purging from a cold-powered-down-hopper empty ProtoCycler state.
Be sure to have a set of pliers or tweezers and nozzle wrench (if needed) ready.
All temperature settings for purging are found in the Appendix, Section 7.0 of this document.
5.1.1 Short Purge
1. Power on your ProtoCycler and connect to the PCC software. Pour the new plastic you wish to extrude into
your Extruder Hopper. While connected to the PCC begin manual extrusion.
2. Enter the command pl000000 in the command line and click “Enter Command”. This will assure the lower
auger speed limit has been disabled.
3. Manually set the temperature using the PCC slider to the preheat temperature (in accordance with Table
1).
4. Set the auger speed to 50 using the PCC slider.
5. When the preheat temperature is achieved, wait 100 seconds for the melt section to reach a uniform
temperature and viscosity.
6. Once Step 5 is complete, increase temperature slider to the appropriate Purge Temperature.
7. When Purge Temperature is achieved increase auger speed to 75 on the slider. Purge for ~10-15 minutes
at the designated purge temperature and auger speed until fully transitioned to new plastic. Purge time
may take longer depending on the material.
8. Material will start flowing and dump into the Garbage Shoot. Remove the side door to clear the material
inside. Careful, the melted plastic is quite hot if it does not have time to cool. Take proper precaution with
PPE and pliers when removing the plastic from the Garbage Shoot to avoid injury.
9. From here you may proceed into regular manual extrusion operation or choose to shutdown following
manual mode shutdown procedure as outlined in the Operations Manual.
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