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Filling a powder cartridge with the Fuse Sift

Filling a powder cartridge with the Fuse Sift

The Fuse Sift stores used powder from previous prints as well as fresh powder. Used powder captured by the Fuse Sift can be reused with new powder for future prints. Use the Fuse Sift to refill cartridges for the Fuse 1’s hopper.

Inserting a powder cartridge into the Fuse Sift

The Fuse Sift dispenses powder out of the bottom of the machine. Insert an empty powder cartridge into the drawer below the Fuse Sift before dispensing powder.

To insert a powder cartridge into the Fuse Sift:

  1. Pull the handle at the bottom-right of the Fuse Sift to slide the cartridge drawer open.
The Fuse Sift's cartridge drawer is open
  1. Insert an empty cartridge into the cartridge drawer with the cartridge valve facing upward and the cartridge knife handle pointed away from the Fuse Sift.
  2. Pull the cartridge knife handle and fully open the cartridge valve.
The Fuse Sift's opened cartridge drawer with an empty powder cartridge

Note:

Ensure that the cartridge knife handle is not resting on the cartridge drawer frame. Resting the knife handle on the drawer frame will prevent the Fuse Sift from accurately weighing the cartridge and dispensing powder properly.

  1. Slide the cartridge drawer into the Fuse Sift.

Filling the powder cartridge

Once you have inserted an empty cartridge into the Fuse Sift, fill it with a mix of fresh and used powder.

To fill the power cartridge:

  1. On the touchscreen, check that the Refresh Rate is set to the desired refresh rate.
    • To change the refresh rate, tap Refresh Rate. The Refresh Rate screen appears. Use the touchscreen to adjust the ratio of fresh to used powder.

To fill the power cartridge:

  1. On the touchscreen, check that the Refresh Rate is set to the desired refresh rate.
    • To change the refresh rate, tap Refresh Rate. The Refresh Rate screen appears. Use the touchscreen to adjust the ratio of fresh to used powder.
The Fuse Sift's home screen

Notice:

Be sure to select the correct powder refresh rate for your material and print environment. Decreasing the amount of new powder too far may result in print quality defects and increase the likelihood of print failures.

  1. Tap Fill. The Fuse Sift dispenses powder into the inserted cartridge. The vacuum also turns on to capture any loose powder in the workspace.
  2. After approximately one minute, the cartridge is filled and the vacuum turns off.
  3. Open the cartridge drawer.
  4. Close the cartridge valve and remove the cartridge from the cartridge drawer.

Note:

To partially fill a powder cartridge, tap Fill again to stop dispensing powder.

Mixing the powder in the powder cartridge

After dispensing powder into the cartridge, mix the powder to ensure that it is homogeneous.

To mix the powder in the powder cartridge:

  1. With the cartridge valve facing the Fuse Sift, slide the cartridge onto the mixer on the right side of Fuse Sift until the locking tabs click into place around the cartridge.
A powder cartridge is inserted into the Fuse Sift's mixer
  1. On the touchscreen, tap Mix Time. The Mix Time screen appears. Use the touchscreen to adjust the amount of time that the Fuse Sift will mix the powder.

Note:

Formlabs recommends mixing for at least ten minutes to ensure that the powder mixture is homogeneous.

  1. Tap Mix to begin mixing. A clock appears on the touchscreen and begins counting down the time remaining.
  2. Once mixing is complete, eject the cartridge. Pry the two blue tabs outward with your thumbs and lift the cartridge up with the handles.
A powder cartridge is removed from the Fuse Sift's mixer