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Ideal place for Lisa is a lab\workshop or production area because, although it is small, still is the machine. If you used to have an FDM or SLA printer and you didn’t have problems operating it within the office environment, the same will be with Lisa. It could surely work in the office area.

How to operate the machine?

It is quite simple. The main action you need to perform is to put the powder in and out of the printer. Lisa is a kind of a plug&play machine so it is very easy to operate. As well as the slicer and the software. You will be lead step by step through the whole printing process. To learn more, watch movies.

The Lisa Print Bed is small – I am not sure if it is enough for me

If the parts you are planning to print are bigger than the print bed, and the model is movable, you can try to arrange it in the way it will fill available space. If it is still impossible, you can divide it and reconnect after print. For a smaller object or fast delivery of single print, this is the most economical way of proceeding. Be aware that you are operating in three-dimensional space. While the printer will fully use the space described by X and Y coordinates covering it with the powder, the height (Z coordinate) is adjustable. If you are looking for cost advantages, position your model in a way in which its height is the smallest. This is one of the most important advantages of the “small” printing bed. The second is time. It is faster to heat it up and cool down after the printing than in bigger machines.

The advantages of small bed is:

short heat up time and cool down time,
better quality of small elements,
it is more economical. Powder recovery system allows printing with up to 100% recycled powder if we are using Flexa Black. PA12 is suitable for printing after refreshing 30% of Fresh Powder,
powder refreshing rate: PA12 – 0 – 30 %,
the more stable process, more flexibility of applications,
the small size of the whole printer requires small space, cost of maintenance and it is possible to move the printer around or even place it on your desktop.

How expensive is it to buy a printer versus ordering prints from a service provider?

It is up to 3 times cheaper to print on Sinterit Lisa → e.g. 100 pieces of small part battery lever printed in Sinterit Lisa costs 0,91 euro vs. 3,42 euro with an external service provider.

It is up to 3 times faster to print in-house than to order and wait for transport → e.g. Sinterit Lisa print time of one piece of breloc is 4h vs. up to 7 days of waiting time for service providers print.

You are fully independent
You do not need to deal with paperwork (contract, NDAs etc.)
You can keep confidentiality, your project is 100% secure
You can see the result instantaneously and you can correct the design straight away (while at service provider you have to wait to see the effect and start the process again)

How easy it is to post-process with powder. Do you have a cleaning station?

We have Powder Sieve and Sandblaster included in the set. It is a simple and reliable solution and can be used everywhere without any special environment. We are proud of our post-purchase support department and instructable materials (e.g. videos of the SLS printing process).

What does it mean that you have an industrial quality of prints?

The quality of our prints is the same as in big SLS machines. For small parts, it is even better. We have comparable parameters to big SLS, much better than other technologies.

FAQ Printing

Why is one edge of the printout bulge?

This occurs due to material shrinkage and is difficult to eliminate in this technology if one edge is parallel to the base of the workspace. Especially if the flat surface is quite big. In order to avoid this, turn the model at least 20 degrees in the X-axis. The laser will print only a small part of the surface at one. If the problem persists, also rotate the model in the Y-axis.

The powder behaves like it was dumped.

Do not get discouraged. The printout will most definitely come out fine, as any dampness that may be contained in the powder because of its hygroscopicity will be immediately vaporized during the warm-up and printing of the machine. Spreading of the first layer will simply be slightly more onerous and take more time.

Why is the surface of the powder in the printing bed slightly wavy?

The recoater roller has probably stopped rotating. In order to fix this, apply two drops of oil to each of the recoater bearings (at both sides). Another reason that may have caused this is that the recoater’s transmission rope (responsible for its rotation) may have broken. You can notice that with an ease. Just check if one of the strands located by the recoater is broken. If so, replace it with the new one.

My model isn’t moving

The gaps between the pins and the rotating elements are probably too narrow. Increase the gaps in the model. We recommend to keep at least 0.2 – 0.5 mm. Position the model parallel or perpendicular to the printing chamber.

I am unable to clean the printout – it is submerged

The pyrometer sight glasses have probably not been cleaned properly. Use a cloth saturated with spirit to wipe them thoroughly. This should resolve the problem. If you clean the pyrometer glasses properly (and it still doesn’t help), you can try to decrease the temperature offset.

How to position the model?

If the model is dense and the cross-section has a large area, please rotate the model so that the cross-section decreases.
If the model has some details, please orient the detailed surface upward. The detailed surface will be sharp, while the bottom surface will be smooth.
If the model has round holes and features, the shape will be most accurate if the surface is positioned flat.
If the model contains movable parts, please position it perpendicular/parallel to the printing chamber.

The model’s surface is rough

Be sure to put the model within the green area/increase the temperature (cold zone)/ increase the laser power if the layers are visible.

Material

Is the powder recyclable?

Yes. It is one of the most important future. You can reuse the old powder by sifting it and mixing with the fresh powder. The software calculates the amount of Fresh Powder you need to add and mix with the used powder – it is about 30 % of Fresh Powder and 70 % of used powder

Do you have any Health and Safety concerns, it is safe to work with powder?

Our powder has CE certificate. We also provide Safety Data Sheets for all materials. There are no special legal obligations protecting from powder handling. The powder is not toxic. It is similar to dust.

What’s more: The most harmful particles are UFP (ultrafine particles) – which are emitted by FDM printers. Their harmfulness is similar to cigarette smoking. Our particles are much larger than 40 microns, so it is difficult to lift them to air. Besides – the printing process is closed inside of the machine. We recommend small masks during refilling and cleaning process

What is the difference between Print Ready Powder and Fresh Powder?

Print Ready Powder – the unsintered PA12 Smooth powder that remains after the printing and print’s cleaning process. Suitable for printing after refreshing by 30 % of Fresh Powder.

Fresh Powder – PA12 virgin powder, used for refreshing, needs to be mixed with the Print Ready Powder in correct proportions.

Powder refreshing rate for PA12 is 30 %

For Flexa Black – 0% – unsintered Flexa Black powder that remains after the printing and print’s cleaning process is suitable for next printing without refreshing

Can we sterilize printed products?

The powder is itself non-toxic. After sintering, we get (PA12 Smooth) 100% safe material for health. With extremely low porosity. We can sterilize printed models under 100 [ o C] temperature

You have only 2 materials?

The main material used in SLS printing is Polyamide (Nylon) PA12. Melting temperature of PA12 (or Nylon 12) is 171 Celsius degrees. It’s also highly resistant to chemical substances, like acetone, petrol, glycerine, methanol, etc. PA12 is resistant to UV irradiation as well. To compare, materials used to print with FDM has rather a poor chemical resistance, as well as materials, used in SLA printing.
We have also FLEXA Black – rubber-like, elastic material

The models are weak, very brittle and porous

The powder has not been refreshed properly and has aged. Use new powder or add at least 50% of the so-called ‘Fresh Powder

Is the material harmful?

The powder does not cause any risks. However, it is recommended to wear protective glasses and mask while working with the powder

Can I print from white powder?

No, any kind of a white powder needs a laser with a wavelength dedicated to sinter a white powder. Lisa has a laser that provides black powder sintering.

Black color enables to use a laser of the different wavelength.

How to store the powder?

Due to its hygroscopicity, the powder absorbs the moisture easily, which has a bad impact on the mechanical properties of the material. Thus, the powder should be not exposed to the environmental conditions for a long time. Keep it closed tightly in the provided containers

Maintenance

What kind of maintenance should I provide?

Providing regular maintenance will make the performance better. Clean the laser protective glass, pyrometer glasses, wipe the recoater rods and lubricate the recoater bearing before every printing process.

The recoater wire is broken. What should I do?

Due to overloads and high temperatures the recoater wire may wear out after many prints. It is a consumable part and the replacement is very easy – please see the tutorial below.

Software

Do I need any external software to run the print?

No, the dedicated Sinterit Studio enables you to design the printing process and run the machine. The Netfabb software also collaborates with the machine as well.

There are any computer requirements to install the software?

64-bit processor
Windows 10 or higher,
Minimum 1 GB of disk space,
Minimum 2 GB of RAM,
Graphics adapter compatible with OpenGL 3.0 or higher.
File type STL, OBJ, 3DS, FBX, DAE, 3MF

How to set the printing parameters?

Please take a look at the guide section “how to set the parameters”

How to position the model?

If the model is dense and the cross-section has a large area, please rotate the model so that the cross-section decreases.
If the model has some details, please orient the detailed surface upward. The detailed surface will be sharp, while the bottom surface will be smooth.
If the model has round holes and features, the shape will be most accurate if the surface is positioned flat.
If the model contains movable parts, please position it perpendicular/parallel to the printing chamber.

Troubleshooting

The recoater arm vibrates when moving

Sometimes you can see that the recoater arm is vibrating when moving (eg. during levelling procedure). This might be caused by insufficient oiling of the recoater guide shaft. To make sure that the recoater linear bearing is moving smoothly:

turn the printer on
go to the Advanced mode and then to the Mechanics tab,
move the feed bed down, (approx. 2cm below the printing chamber level)
start the levelling procedure
apply the silicone oil on the recoater guide shaft generously.
repeat applying through a few recoater passes

Cleaning the recoater arm and replacing the recoater cord might also help minimize recoater arm vibrations. (see “How can I replace a worn-out recoater cord?” and “How can I clean the recoater arm?” in the Maintenance section)