How to Use Emberprinter.com

The emberprinter.com website enables you to load your 3D models, define their print settings, slice them, and send them to your connected Ember printer.

First, you'll need log in. If you've already set up an Autodesk account, you can login using these credentials. If you don’t have an Autodesk account, you can either create one, or login with credentials from Google, Facebook, etc.

Once you've logged in, you'll have access to all the features of Ember's web portal.

Printing most models on Ember requires that they have supports added to them (which you will remove in the post-production process). Currently, you need to generate supports in another application, such as Meshmixer. For instructions on how to do this, click here.

Once you have a supported model that's ready to print, choose one of the three options on the home page of emberprinter.com, under "Load your print file from..." and upload your model.

Once your model has uploaded, it will display in the 3D viewer. Confirm that you have uploaded the correct model, and that it looks ready for printing. Then click "Next" in the upper right-hand corner of the page to proceed to the Print Settings page.

On the Print Settings page, you specify the values that determine how your 3D model will be sliced and printed.

In the Print Name area, you can change the name of your print job (which automatically inherits the name of your uploaded .STL).

In the Material pulldown, you can select different resin presets. The default PR48 material refers to Autodesk's Standard Clear Prototyping resin, which shipped with your Ember printer. [Additional material presets will be added in time.]

The Layer Thickness setting enables you to change the resolution in the Z-axis. Note that if you select a value other than the 25 microns, you'll need to change the exposure settings, in the Advanced Settings section.

Unless you're an advanced user, it's recommended that you leave the Layer Thickness and Advanced Settings at their defaults.

Click the Next button to slice your model, using the settings that have been specified on this page.

Once your model has been sliced, the slices of your model will appear in a window with controls on the right that enable you to scrub through the layers. This feature exists for advanced users who want to confirm that their model was sliced as expected, before starting the print.

Note that in the example shown, there are 2,453 slices, and layer 857 is being shown (which is shown as 857/2453 above the vertical slider on the right).

Click Next to send the prepared print data to your connected Ember printer (or to download it).

If your Ember printer is connected to the internet, and you've paired it with your Autodesk account, then it's very easy to send the print data to your Ember.

Under "Choose a Printer," find the printer to which you'd like to print. Note that in this example, seven printers are paired with this account, and two of them are online and ready to print. Click the blue "Print" button to the right of the online printer of your choice to send the print data to that printer.

If your Ember printer is not connected to the internet, or if you prefer to load the file manually, you'll find instructions for loading your print data via USB here.

Now you're just about ready to print! There's one last step to do before your print will start...

Once you've sent the print data to your printer, look at Ember's control panel. While the data is loading, it will display "Loading file..." When it has loaded, it will display the name of the print job, and will ask you to confirm that Ember is ready to print.

It's essential to confirm that the printer is ready, before each print job runs. Failing to do so can damage your machine. This is why prints can't be started from emberprinter.com.

Pre-print checklist:

• Is the build head securely attached and calibrated?
• Is the build plate clear of any previous prints or cured debris?
• Is the resin tray securely fastened in place on the rotation plate?
• Is the resin level between the Max and Min marks on the resin tray?
• Is the resin clean, and free of any cured debris and floating particles?

Once the answer to all the above questions is Yes, press right button on Ember marked "Start" to start your print.

The LED ring surrounding the control panel is a circular progress bar that shows the print's percentage complete (each of the 21 lit LEDs represents about 4% completion).

POWER USER TIP: Load emberprinter.com on your mobile device for easy print monitoring. You can also pause and resume your print remotely.