Protected: Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)
- All users must review the complete device manual and understand all safety information and options available prior to operation.
- Remain outside of the robot’s workstation when the robot is operating.
- Know where the emergency buttons are located, and ensure they are within reach always.
- Review the complete SOP https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vHSI2mvNRVbJtkKxwBGX7aQcop3XVHT4GbBfvBKpyHQ/edit?usp=sharing.
- Never stick you fingers in the rotor blades. If you must do to, make sure that all sources of power are unplugged, and you are not alone.
- When lifting in and out of water, lift with two people when ever possible.
- Fixture the part you are modifying. NEVER hold/fixture any part with you hand, or have it sitting loose on a table.
- Fix hair and loose clothing back and wear PPE (e.g. eye goggles and/or face shield/mask)
- Never operate the device when you are alone in lab.
- Only use the tool for indented operations.
- If you have not been previously trained to use a tool through formal shop training, then reach out to the current lab safety officer to get trained.
- Never work around these alone. If you slip in, you may drown if no one if there to help.
- Use appropriate ladders to access inside the tank. Do not use chairs or other equipment that you are not supposed to stand on.
- Do not lift heavy objects alone.
- Make sure that work is performed directly underneath the canopy hood, so that generated contaminants are as close to the ventilation source as possible
- Minimize cross drafts and/or air turbulence. For instance, make sure that no fans are located near the canopy and that doors are kept shut when in operation/use.
- The operator should never be between the contaminant source and the canopy hood.
For your safety, be aware of the heating components on the machine and avoid burns. If you are unaware of where these elements are located, speak with the lab safety officer. When removing printed parts from the bed, point all sharp tool and edges away from your body and hands. As for a demonstration from a prior operator before attempting it yourself.
- Upload STL files to the EDG drive from my laptop
- Open up the laptop by the printer and make sure it’s connected to the EDG network
- Turn on the printer (switch on the power supply behind the printer)
- Go to the bookmarked webpage which should automatically connect to the printer
- Download the STL file from the EDG drive to the printer laptop
- Upload the STL using the web page instructions
- Rearrange parts on the print bed appropriately
- Pick settings for the slicer (defaults handle most things, I really only change infill density and print profile if I need support but you can change shell thickness or layer height if you need more local strength somewhere or want to cut down print time)
- Hit the slice button which will give you an estimate of print time
- Hit the print button to start the job
- The print heads and bed will start to heat up which you can track on the temperature tab
- Once at temperature, the bed will home in X, Y, and Z
- There is usually a strand of PLA dripping from the print head which I pull off with tweezers
- Watch the first few layers to make sure it adheres to the bed (never had a problem though)
- Periodically check as job is proceeding
- When the print is done, wait for the bed to cool to close to room temperature before trying to remove, parts will pop off easier due to the contractions from cooling
- Once cooled, first try to take parts off by hand. If they are still stuck, VERY carefully use a spatula or chisel to try to get under a corner to pry up. Be sure to always be pressing the tool either parallel to the surface or upwards, NEVER into the kapton tape surface on the bed (you’ll see plenty of scratches and rips from this)
- In the upper right of the webpage there is a power button that you can use to turn off the printer
- Flip the switch on the printer power supply to shut off
3D printer queue doc: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10_Ebys6EpzueZ7uFcOpPQKDOKS1HBZBA-m3YKNwcbPU/edit?usp=sharing
Always start by reviewing the SDS for the chemical you are using. If you have any questions or concerns about safe procedure, talk to the safety officer of Prof. Stuart prior to using the chemical.
All casting should be performed under the ventilation hood (see Use of Canopy SOP above). Never sniff the chemicals. ALWAYS wear appropriate PPE (gloves, goggles with side shields, and lab coat — as necessary).
Preparation is key: setup your negative mold with a quick/small spray of MoldRelease agent (~2 seconds total), then place it in a location so that you can can pour in liquid urethane at a later step. Place a small disposable cup on a digital scale. Rubber materials usually comes in two parts (A and B). Calculate how much material you will need to both A and B by weight, so you do not need to figure it out on the fly.
Mixing process: Open “Part A” of the 2-part mixture. Weigh the appropriate amount of the liquid (usually viscous) by pouring it into the cup. A stick (like a popsicle stick) is used to stop the flow of the liquid, then discarded along with any paper towels used in the process. Note, any trash (popsicle sticks or tissue) with only part A or B on it should likely be disposed of as hazardous waste (double contained); whenever possible use a squeeze bottle to avoid the need for these sorts of cleanup operations. At any point, if your gloves get contaminated, dispose of them and get a new pair. Close the part A bottle, then opens the part B bottle. Pour in the second part of the mixture to the same cup. Dispose of new appropriate waste carefully and cap the part B bottle. Use a popsicle stick to stir the mixture for 10 seconds up to 1 minute, depending on the viscosity and cure time of the mixture.
Pouring process: At this point, there are a variety of molding processes. Most often, you will want to start by de-gassing the mixture (removing bubbles). Place the cup into the vacuum chamber and turn on the pump. Watch to make sure the liquid does not bubble out of the cup (assume 2x volume expansion). Once the bubbles collapse, open the chamber valves to equalize the pressure. Pour the liquid into your mold. Sometimes you can just tap the mold with their fingers to remove bubbles, instead of doing the ge-gas process. Sometimes, you may want to de-gas after pouring into the mold, especially with fine/complex geometry and a viscous liquid. The entire casting task should take a student less than 15 minutes total, though a beginner may take longer.
Curing: Put the mold (filled with liquid rubber) in a safe place to cure under the ventilation hood (this can take <1 hour or up to 24+ hours before the part can be removed from the mold). The urethane rubber is safe (non-toxic) after it cures.
We have leaded solder in lab. This can be dangerous to your health if ingested. WASH YOUR HANDS after handling any of the equipment or materials associated with lead solder. Perform your soldering under the ventilation hood. Wear eye goggles with splatter shields — a small piece of hot solder could seriously damage you eyes!
Only turn the soldering iron on when you are ready to use it. It should not be left on unsupervised at any time. Not only would this be very dangerous for our lab space, but also damages the iron itself. Whenever you are done using the iron turn it off, and make sure that it cools completely before you leave the lab space.
We have an HP LaserJet M203dw in EDG that can be used for research purposes (Black and White only). It is setup to do “Wi-Fi direct.” Which means that you don’t need to be logged into the EDG network in order to print. First, download all the drivers for the printer at 123.hp.com/laserjet (Easy start guide) or hp.com/support/ljM203 (manual driver downloads). It is recommended that you use the printer by plugging it into your own USB port, however there are Network and WifiDirect options once they get setup. If a password is required, it is the usual lab password.