ZCorp Z310+

What is it?

The ZCorp Z310+ is a powder bed printer, designed to run a plaster powder and a water based binder through HP10 printheads.

Materials

Sake + ZP-150

Currently, I am running Sake (uncolored) and ZP-150 plaster powder.

Maintenance

Low Binder Flow

Low binder flow can be caused by many problems - follow this checklist to resolve them:

• If you can push binder via the binder flush kit, but pulling binder is difficult:
  • Check/replace the quick-fit connector on the back of the fast axis.
  • Check/replace the quick-fit connector to the binder tank
  • Check/replace the filter unit behind the binder tank
• If pushing/pulling binder is equally difficult:
  • Remove the printhead
  • Use the purge kit to flush the binder lines with a 5% household bleach to 95% distilled water solution.
  • Leave the solution in for at least 12 hours
  • Use the purge kit to flush the binder lines with 200ml of distilled water
  • Use the purge kit to load the binder lines with clean binder

Printhead Commissioning Procedure

I have noticed on dead printheads that the mesh filter in front of the inkjets were clogged with black ink particles. They appear to have precipitated from the black ink when my sake binder mixed with old ink still in the cartridges.

I have developed the following procedure to flush a 'new' printhead with a dye based ink, to clear out the black pigment, before using my sake binder. This eliminates the flocking issue.

1. Press 'N' on the console to begin the procedure
2. Remove the old printhead
3. Empty the binder tank into a spare clean container, and reinstall
4. Load the binder flushing kit syringe with 30ml of yellow dye based HP10 bulk ink
5. Install the binder flushing kit into the septum.
6. Push the 25ml of dye into the septum
7. Remove the binder flushing kit
8. Empty any ink in the binder tank, rinse with distilled water, fill with binder, and reinstall
9. Install a new HP10 printhead
10. Press the 'online' button
11. Print a 100mm cube to flush the printhead with the dye-based ink, and transition to sake binder

Infiltration/Finishing Techniques

Wax Infiltration

Wax infiltration uses paraffin or beeswax to fully infiltrate the part, adding strength and moisture resistance.

Advantages

• Part is waterpoof
• Preserves fine details

Drawbacks

• Low finished part strength (but higher than 'green' strength)
• Part must be painted before wax is applied

Procedure

• Cure green part at 90C for 4 hours.
• Paint part with watercolors.
• Cure painted part at 90C for 2 hours.
• Put part on a wax paper covered plate, next to a small block of paraffin or beeswax
• Put part in 90C oven for 2 hours, or until wax is wicked into part
  • If the part is not fully infiltrated, add more wax and continue to heat at 90C.
• Remove part while still warm, and place on mesh grid to allow any remaining wax to drip off.

Hydraulic Curing

This technique leads to a very high part strength, and the resulting part is waterproof and paintable.