Before we venture into uncharted territory, let’s make sure to cover safety basics of the FABtotum Personal Fabricator.
As a general rule, please operate according to the instructions provided by authorized sources only.

Follow the safety instructions below and use common safety practices. Always contact support for advice before modifying or employing the machine in a way that could cause hazards.

FIRST SETUP AND PLACEMENT

Follow the first setup manual or the complete manual, available at fabtotum.com/support
Place the unit on stable, clean surfaces, away from any obstacles within 30cm / 12″ from the unit.
The unit is intended for indoor use only. Do not use or place outside.
The unit only operates with room temperatures between 15°C and 28°C.
Place unit far from sources of heat, humidity or cold air.
Keep clean dust and clear of any liquid.

IMPORTANT SAFETY NOTES:

Caution: main health risks come from the machine’s moving parts and the components that can heat up, such as the plane and the modules.

These parts have warning stickers and status LEDs on them to inform of the dangers related to the use of the FABtotum.

Do not touch the nozzle, the heated bed or any moving part of the unit.

DO NOT touch, move the product or leave it unattended when it’s operating or turned on.
DO NOT modify, disassemble or alter the unit and/or its components in any way.
DO NOT touch or bend the flexible connection cable, the connectors and all cables.
DO NOT touch contacts or the metal rods, as hands can ruin contacts and damage the metal protection layer.
DO NOT turn the product off without following the proper shutdown procedure.
DO NOT improperly dispose of the unit.

TECHNICAL SUPPORT

Our support team is always happy to assist you. Many information and solutions can be found at http://www.fabtotum.com/knowledgebase

3D PRINTERS AND MANUFACTURING: HEALTH MEASURES

Inhalation
Heat may cause the release of irritating vapors. Milling can create and spread dust and other particles.
In case the user inhales them, they should be immediately taken to an aerated place and kept calm.
Always refer to the material datasheet.

For safety reasons some materials can’t be used for 3D printing, Milling or Laser engraving.
Check the material proprieties or consult support if unsure. Some materials, when exposed to high temperatures can release dangerous fumes and volatile chemical elements.

Skin
Health risks related to the skin are very uncommon.
If material residue ends up on your epidermis wash the area with plenty of soap and rinse with water.
If skin rashes occur please seek medical attention.

Eyes
Health risks related to the eyes are mainly linked to the use of the laser head and are otherwise uncommon.
For some people dust may be irritating. If that happens rinse your eyes thoroughly with water. In case you are wearing contacts, remove them and start rinsing as described above.
Use proper eye glasses for protection when operating the machine, especially when using the laser head.
Do not look directly inside the unit.

Most common symptoms and effects
Molten material may cause burns and scalds. Cutting tools may cause wounds and injuries.

Disclaimer: Manufacturer gives no warranty of merchantability or of fitness for a particular purpose. Any product purchased is sold on the assumption the purchaser will make his own tests to determine the quality and suitability of the product. Manufacturer expressly disclaims any and all liability for incidental and/or consequential property damage arising out of the use of this product. No information provided shall be deemed to be a recommendation to use any product in conflict with any existing applicable law. Read the Data Sheet before handling product.

WARRANTY

Warranty will be void if the product is modified or altered in any way as well as it is opened in parts that should be kept closed (i.e. head, rear panel, left side panel, etc …).
Operating the unit outside its specifications or purposes will also void the warranty.
Using unofficial filaments, accessories, consumables or any third party products as well as following unauthorized maintenance procedures is done at the owner’s discretion and risk and may also cause damage to the unit, for which the manufacturer will not be held liable.
The product and its accessories must be kept in reasonable conditions. Do not dispose of the shipping box and packaging material.

The warranty does not cover damages caused by misuse, incorrect use or commands, mishandling or damages elicited by the use of third party accessories.

The warranty does not cover consumables such as: head thermistor, head heating cartridges, milling chuck, SD card, fans, nozzle, 4th axis feeder gear,  hot-plate’s pogo pins and all removable connectors and PCBs.

Legally applicable warranty period(s)
2 years for natural persons and businesses in the European Union
6 months for natural persons and enterprises in the rest of the World

The Warranty period starts from product’s delivery date for online sales or from purchase date for all other acquisitions. Warranty rights must be exercised before the end of the warranty period and only within 14 days of discovering a factory fault.
Repairs or replacement of the product and its components do not extend warranty period nor renew warranty on the replaced parts.

Software license and warranty
FABUI is an Open Source and all-inclusive software, except where otherwise stated and it is supplied under Creative Commons BY-SA-NC rules (read more here: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/legalcode).
All relevant documentation is released under the following Creative Commons license:
(CC) Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0).
You may find a copy here: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED “AS IS”, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS WITH THE SOFTWARE.

CAM toolbox – Enable Subscription

Ok, so you have already calibrated your FABtotum and you are ready to 3D print your first test object.
If you haven’t already: go to Maintenance → First Setup for a comprehensive calibration wizard, this is very important!
Learn more about this in calibration.

To start 3D printing you usually need filament. The FABtotum comes with some sample filament, but you may want to load more filament.
If you have already some filament inside the head, hit the Maintenance → Spool Management → Unload Spool procedure first.
Learn more about this in load/unload a spool.

First you’ll need a file to print. We have already uploaded some 3D printing samples for you in your printer, you can find them in Project Manager – Samples.
You can also upload and print other files, following this procedure, but if you are new to the FABtotum just stick to the samples.
Under the Project Manager, select the object you want to print, then press the “Print” button.

(Please note that you can print something from the Create menu as well!)

Now you are in the folder with the samples, choose your favourite file, for example Marvin key-chain, then Next
Be sure the working plane and the nozzle are clean, close the front cover, then press Continue as instructed.

Choose Simple homing or Auto bed leveling
If your printer is well calibrated, select Simple homing: the print will start quickly.
If you aren’t sure about calibration, select Auto bed leveling: the probe will start to measure the bed orientation, then the print will start (it will require few seconds to heat-up).

Wait for the printer to be ready: the carriage will be in the left corner, the Z axis will be homed and bed and nozzle heated (this usually requires around 2 minutes).
Check the printer as soon as it starts printing (you can hear beep) to make sure the bed calibration is ok and that the nozzle is leaving a good amount of material on the plane so that the first layer (including the skirt/brim) is solid.

• Don’t let any leftover filament get dragged in the print area, cut it if necessary.
• When your FABtotum is printing, you can check all the printing parameters in the Live feed section (nozzle temperature, bed temperature, Z height, etc.)
• While printing you can edit all those parameters in the Controls section.
• Wait for the printer to finish. You can track the progress from the FABUI.

Once the print is completed, the bed will slide and cool down.
Wait for the bed to reach a safe temperature. The bed LEDs will turn off when the temperature is below 50°C.

Congratulations! You just finished your first print!
Wait for the bed temperature to go back to safe (the red LEDs will turn off when below 50°C)
When safe, proceed to remove the print by gently pulling it out or twisting the part from the cold glass surface. A steel spatula may help with this task.

Issues?
Please refer to the troubleshooting section if you had problems during printing or your 3D printed object doesn’t satisfy your expectations.

Source: https://github.com/FABtotum/FAB_Configs/archive/master.zip

If you are using a FABtotum filament you should not worry about the material too much, as extensive testing has been done to ensure good performances.
However you may also use third party filaments. In both cases always make sure to keep in mind the following:

• If you are using a Slicing Software profile be aware that it’s not meant as a fool-proof solution, and might be tweaked a little to fit each 3D printed object.
  Sometimes a profile will work great regardless, but with the right tuning you might get better results in less time.
• Always store the filament spool in a suitable place, far away from sources of heat, sunlight and humidity.
• Make sure that, if you are using a third party filament, the diameter of the filament is consistent within the tolerance of +/- 0.1mm. Make a few spaced measurement.
• Different filaments use different temperatures. When changing one spool to another which uses a different filament make sure to clean the nozzle at the previous material temperature first, then adjust the temperature, this helps cleaning the melting chamber (hot end) and nozzle.
• Always load and check if the filament is extruding manually (from the JOG menu).
• Make sure the spool is locked in place with the locking lever and it’s free to rotate. Have the Feeding tube pass below the back spool roller (under the spool itself) in order to avoid it becoming stuck in the spool once most of the filament has been extruded.

If the filament doesn’t stick during printing, check the following:

• The bed temperature is sufficient for adhesion. Temperatures vary greatly depending on the material and the area covered by the first layer. Don’t turn temperatures too high or the filament, especially PLA, will clog the nozzle.
• There is no debris and the bed is clean of any fingerprint. Skin grease as well as cleaning products can compromise adhesion. Always use denatured alcohol and a clean cloth or paper towel.
• The temperature nozzle is not too hot or too cold.
• The nozzle is sufficiently close to the bed (the first layer should be slightly squished to perfectly stick).
•  If everything else fails, try using a surface adhesion product like blue duct tape or regular hair spray.
• Lower the speed to give it more time to stick and cool.
• add raft or brim to expand the contact surface

You may read more about these topics here:
Improving 3D Printed Object Adhesion, Tips & Tricks
3D Printing Filaments Guide 

This is a common problem that can have several causes.

Be sure that:

1. Room temperature is between 15°C and 30°C. Too high temperatures will make printing hard, especially if the object presents many retractions.
2. Keep the nozzle and the bed temperature as low as possible. Reduce retraction length as much as possibly while slicing according to the object’s needs.
3. You’re a strictly using top quality 1.75 mm filaments (we recommend to use ours, as the machine is tested with them).
4. Make sure that the the filament can be pushed by the feeding mechanism, to do so:
   • go to Jog;
   • heat up the head to extrusion temperature (PLA 190°C, ABS 230°C, Nylon 250°C);
   • when temperature is reached extract the feeding tube from the printing module by pushing down the push-fit and pulling up the bowden;
   • click on the E+ button and the FABtotum will extrude 10mm, if the filament is not moving, pull it while the motor is running: the filament has been grinded and requires some help to restart extruding;
   • now push the filament and tube back inside the Printing Head and make sure that you can extrude by pressing the E+ button.
5. The nozzle is clean. You can verify this by manually pushing some filament down the printing module when at printing temperature. If extrusion is difficult and you need a fair amount of force, then refer to the maintenance section to unclog a clogged nozzle.
6. Nozzle is too close to the printing surface. In this case the filament won’t be able to get out if too close (you can tell it’s too close by the fact that the layer is very thin and has a faint tint, almost translucent).

Before you operate the machine with the head you just installed, check if the thermistor is correctly working. In the jog menu (or in the top right corner) you will see the current temperature.
If the nozzle is cold and no temperature has been perceived, you should check current room temperature, as the nozzle should be roughly at the same temperature.
Rising the temperature to 50°C (head) or 35°C (bed) should result in the temperature rising.
If this is not the case please check the following:

1. The unit has not entered its safe mode. Safe mode might trigger when an error occurs (unit ambient color is red or solid yellow).
   To get back from safe mode hit the “Alert” button in the top right corner of the FABUI.
2. Check that the head and the bed are correctly inserted and are making proper contact with their connectors.
3. Check that the temperature is at least 180°C. Note that below 175°C the unit will not extrude, triggering a “Cold extrusion prevented” error, this is done to avoid damaging the filament.
4. Check that the flexible flat cable coming from the carriage (flex, in short) is not damaged in any visible part or has bubbles on its surface. This could be caused by a short circuit and requires technical support.
5. As a last check, use a multimeter to check the thermistor and the continuity of the resistor on both the printing head and the hybrid bed. Contact support for detailed instructions.

In this guide we are going to take a step-by step approach on how to use the FABtotum for CNC milling, by engraving a sample sign.
We will engrave the “Make More” signon a foam stock block. We’ll use foam because we can avoid damages to the milling bit if something fails.

Files required:

You can download the SVG from which the gcode was created here: Makemore.svg
Download the .nc file (is the numerical control file): Makemore.nc

1. Turn upside down the Hybrid Bed so that it shows the milling side.
   Do not mill on glass as it’s dangerous.
2. Place a piece of material that you will mill and fasten it to the bed (Using M4 Bolts and nuts or in this case two-sided duct tape as the material is very light). For this example, the dimensions have to be at least 135x55x20mm (about 5x2x1 inch).
3. Remove the Hybrid Head or the Milling Head and using the provided tools to install the milling bit of your choice.
4. Install the Head on the carriage and on FABUI.
5. Upload the .nc file in “Project Manager”
6. Now go to the Make Menu and start the job for the file you just uploaded to the FABUI.
7. Mark the “Origin Point” with a pen on the stock material. The point mustn’t be exactly on the edge, but 3-4 mm centered. For future reference, the origin point is exactly the same point where the X,Y and Z axis values are 0 in the CAD model.
8. By using the small Jog widget, move the x,y and z axis (move this axis slowly, by reducing the “feedrate” and the “Z step” to not damage the tip of the milling bit).
   The tip has to be few microns from the stock material, to make a fine calibration you can use a piece of paper: position it over the stock material and start to raise the z axis slowly, start to move the paper until it is blocked between the tip and the stock material.
   NOTICE: If the endtops get pressed click on the warning message “OK” and move the head by hand (If they remain pressed, the controls won’t work).
   When the tip is in the correct position, set “Zero” by clicking on the central button, then press “Start” this will “Zero” the position of the tool so it will start according the CAD drawing and more precisely aligned to the stock as the CAM instructions (gcode) expects.
9. When you are done, press start and follow the on-screen instructions. Once the Job has started, the milling motor will power up and the milling process will begin in seconds.
   Take your time to go around in the Control tabs and see the current speed and RPMs.
   You can play around a bit if you are using Foam. Other materials will be way less permissive.
10. Wait for the milling process to end (less than 10 minutes). The milling bit will stop and you will be later be able to retrieve the piece.

You’ll be able to generate a gcode file (*.nc, *.gc, *.gcode)  with the set of instructions needed to CNC Mill or Engrave your very own CAD design .

In the meantime, check some of the community guides and tutorials on the topic.

Endbits remove the material by “biting” it away with their flutes while spinning. Each endbit can have a different amount of cutting flutes depending on the diameter and the purpose. The Number of flutes refers to the number of cutting edges that are cut into the body of the tool. More flutes increases the strength of the tool, but reduces space for chip flow. You can cut fast with a single flute tool, but the finish of a three or four flute cutter will be smoother.

Since the number of flutes increases the friction on the tool, which causes the tool to heat up. Some materials, like acrylic or PMMA, require the use of tools with fewer flutes in order to reduce the heat and avoid melting the material. Ideally the tool should never create waste material (chips) that are hotter than room temperature, but that can change very dramatically from material to material.

The speed at which a bit is spun is described in RPM (revolutions per minute).
Every bit has an ideal range of speed or RPMs it needs to operate within.
The ability to change the routers’ RPM is essential to good bit life and a good finish.

Vibrations should also be kept at bay. The fewer the flutes, the larger the vibration on the tool, as the load is always
localized instead of being distributed among more flutes.

If the chip load is too high noise and vibrations will increase and this usually leads to damages to the endbit.

This leads to the concept of cutting depth. Since you can determine the cutting depth at which the tool operates, a deeper cut will increase the chip load, while a more shallow cut will reduce the chip load. But a shallow cut will stress the tip of the tool more, reducing its capability to plunge effectively in to the material in its lifecycle.

A finishing pass does require more passes to get a smoother surface. flat endmills are usually used only in roughing operations while ball nose cutters are used for finishing contours so you get less of a jagged appearance as shown in the diagram above.