3 Calibration

The heaters on your Nautilus have been calibrated in the factory for typical usage environments of about 25°C (77°F). However, if you are printing in a very hot or very cold environment you may notice larger than normal fluctuations in the Nautilus’ ability to hold temperature. You may want to consider running automatic temperature tuning, sometimes called PID tuning, if you are getting consistent fluctuations beyond +/-3°C. Typically the Nautilus can maintain +/- 2°C, but up to +/-3°C should not cause any major printing problems.

• Open the macros menu located in the Control tab and choose Printer Calibration→Temperature Tuning. You can then choose which heater you would like to calibrate.
• The hotend calibration typically takes 6-10 minutes, while the heat bed calibration takes roughly 15-20 minutes.
• A pop up will appear when the calibration is complete. If the message times out while you are away, you can view the results in the Console Tab or in the G-code Console in Duet Web Control.
• If you wish to save the results press the Save Results button in the Temperature Calibration menu. You will need to restart your Nautilus for the new calibration to take effect.

Z-offset calibration for the X 400 Tool is done at the factory. If you purchase additional Tool Cartridges it is recommended to calibrate the Z-offset for each one. Proper Z-offset calibration is crucial for getting a good first layer which is essential for a successful print.

1. Load PLA on the Nautilus.
2. Open the Print Jobs menu on the Control Tab.
3. At the top, you should find a Calibration folder.
4. Select the Calibration Job for the Tool Cartridge you wish to set up. If you have a Tool Cartridge that was released after you bought your Nautilus, you may need to download the appropriate Calibration Job from the link above.
5. Use babystepping located in the Print Tab to adjust the z-offset for the first layer until you achieve a good first layer.
6. Write down your babystepping value.
7. Open Duet Web Control and navigate to the System Menu located in the sidebar on the left side.
8. Find the Z-offset file for the Tool Cartridge you just ran calibration for and open the file.
9. Subtract your babystepping value from the Z value in the following line.
   • G10 P0 Z-1-(your babystepping value)
   • ⓘ The system files CANNOT do math. For example, if your initial Z value was -1 and you subtract a babystepping value of -0.250, you should have the following: G10 P0 Z-0.750 (Be very careful with your math: subtracting a negative value of -0.250 is equivalent to adding a positive value of 0.250. Use a calculator just to be safe, we do!)
10. Once complete click the save button in the top right corner.

Your Z-offset is now set for this tool. The Nautilus will look up this value at the beginning of every print using this Tool Cartridge. You should not have to repeat the process for this Tool Cartridge. That said, you may find you need to adjust it slightly from time to time.

Automatic bed leveling is initiated by the printer at the beginning of each job. You should not need to manually initiate bed leveling, if you do, you can activate automatic bed leveling by pressing the bed leveling button located in the Control tab on the center-right side of the screen, or in the Bed Level Calibration menu located in the Macros→Printer Calibration menu.

Automatic bed leveling uses a mechanical probe to measure points on the bed and uses the resulting plane to raise and lower the bed during the print to maintain a uniform distance between the nozzle and the bed.

The Level Z function located in the Printer Calibration folder in your Macros menu will correct the height of your Z carriages that support the build plate if they have become out of alignment. The carriages can become misaligned for several reasons. If you have manually twisted the leadscrews on the Z-axis or if the build plate catches on something like the Purge Bucket. It is also possible that over time the Z-carriages will not be at the same height, this can happen because the stepper motors will snap to the closed full step every time the Nautilus is turned OFF and they might not go in the same direction. It will take a while for this last issue to happen enough to build up any kind of noticeable difference in the height of the Z-carriages.

• Remove the Print Surface and make sure the Purge Buck is properly installed.
• Navigate to Macros→Printer Calibration→Level Z
• You will hear a grinding noise when the Z-carriages reach the top. This is intentional.
• You will receive a confirmation message when the process is complete and you can go back to using your printer as normal.

Filament runout detection provides the opportunity to continue a job in the event that you finish your spool mid-print. If the filament runs out mid-print, the Nautilus will pause your print and display a message indicating that the filament sensor was triggered.

To continue printing:

• Run the Unload Filament Macro either from the main screen or the Macros menu.
• When the filament is unloaded, if there was enough filament in the PTFE tube, the end will appear at the filament insertion point. If so, remove the piece of filament. If the filament does not appear after unloading, go through the troubleshooting section below, then come back.
• Place another spool of filament on your Nautilus and load material normally.
• On the Print tab, press Resume. Your Nautilus should resume printing.
  • ⓘ It is strongly recommended to watch the print for a minute to ensure that it resumes successfully and the first few new layers go down without a hitch

• Move the Tool Head to an accessible region of the printer using the Move button.
• Find the PTFE coupler on the top of the Tool Head, press downward on the black collar, and remove the PTFE tube from the Tool Head.
• Remove the piece of filament left behind in the PTFE tube and firmly reinsert the tube into the coupler until firm resistance is met.

How to remove the PTFE tube from the Tool Head.

Power loss recovery provides the opportunity to resume a job in the event of a power loss to your Nautilus. This feature is not guaranteed to salvage the job every time, but in many cases, you will be able to resume printing.

If the Nautilus detects a drop in voltage, it will attempt to use the remaining power stored in its capacitors to record its last position and lower the build plate so the nozzle does not melt the part. This part of the process usually works, but in some rare cases, there may not be enough power reserved in the capacitors to complete this step.

If the Nautilus experiences power loss, it will turn back on once power is restored as long as the power switch is still in the “ON” position. If you wish to salvage the print, make sure that the part is still securely attached to the Print Surface. This is particularly a concern with materials that tend to warp a lot when cooling, like ABS. If the printer has been without power for a long time, the part may have shrunk as it cooled and loosened its bond with the Print Surface. It is also worth noting that for parts that shrink a lot as they cool, the part may have shrunk enough that when printing is resumed the space between the part and the nozzle is too large causing poor layer adhesion.

• Select the Power Loss Recovery Button located in your Macros menu
• Acknowledge the on-screen prompts and the Nautilus will heat back up, re-home, and resume printing where it left off.
• It is strongly recommended to stay close by for this process to ensure that it resumes successfully and the first few new layers go down without a hitch.