How to assemble a 3D printer kit

• Allen keys (supplied)
• Small spanner
• Side cutters
• Engineer's square or a set square
• Sheet of paper for bed levelling

Before you start, lay everything out on a soft surface (the flattened box works) and check it against the parts list in your manual.

• Base with bed and electronics
• Gantry frame (Z uprights and top bar)
• Print head (hotend and extruder)
• Screen, spool holder and filament
• Cables, belts and bolts

1. 1

   Step 1: Set the power supply's voltage switch, if it has one, to match your mains supply before anything else.

2. 2

   Step 2: Stand the gantry uprights in the base slots and bolt them in from underneath, checking with a square that they are at right angles to the base.

3. 3

   Step 3: Fit the top bar and tighten all gantry bolts, then check the X axis moves freely along the uprights.

4. 4

   Step 4: Mount the print head on the X carriage and attach the X belt, tensioning it until it is firm and does not sag.

5. 5

   Step 5: Connect each motor, endstop and heater cable to the matching labelled plug; check every label against the manual.

6. 6

   Step 6: Fit the screen and spool holder, then power on and home all axes, ready to switch off at once if anything moves the wrong way.

7. 7

   Step 7: Heat the bed and nozzle, then level the bed at each corner with a sheet of paper under the nozzle until it just drags.

8. 8

   Step 8: Load filament and print the supplied test model, watching the first layer closely.

• Wrong mains voltage setting on the power supply.
• Swapping two motor or endstop cables so an axis crashes when homing.
• Gantry out of square, so prints lean.