We recommend doing this change only if you have a specific need where the entire 270x270x256mm³ printing volume is mandatory. Otherwise, we recommend keeping the machine stock.
¶ Why is the build volume smaller than the advertised 270x270x256mm³?
This is as far as the printer's tool head can go on the XYZ three axes. In QIDI Studio, we limited the movement of the tool head for the Q2 printer by preventing it from moving to certain areas to achieve certain functions such as cutter cutting and Z hop.
Lifting the Z-axis during retraction is important for printing to avoid nozzle drag and collision with the print model. Z-axis lift (heat bed drop) is allowed when the retraction is enabled, so that a small print volume buffer is reserved, which can prevent the heat bed from colliding with residual filament debris that may exist at the bottom of the chamber.
In addition, the QIDI Q2 printers are equipped with a cutter that is used when you need to unload the filament using QIDI BOX. To ensure the normal operation of the cutter, there is a foldable stopper on the left front of the Q2 printer where the cutter lever mechanically presses on it to perform the filament-cutting operation.
When the tool head moves into the front-left corner with a right-to-left motion, the lever of the cutter is pressed against the stopper, so we also added a visual representation of the area in QIDI Studio to know about this limitation and avoid issues during printing. The lost print volume is 11x16mm² for the front left corner.
¶ How to print using the full build volume?
We have a solution to the issue described above, but the following points need to be understood before doing this modification:
- The full print volume is only accessible when the QIDI BOX is NOT used. The filament cutter cannot be used when unloading filament, while this method is used.
- The bottom of the heated chamber needs to be clean and free from any debris.
- Ensure that the height of the Z hop when retracting during the printing process does not exceed the maximum printable Z height limit, which is 256mm.
- We recommend doing this change only if you have a specific need where the entire 270x270x256mm³ printing volume is mandatory. Otherwise, we recommend keeping the machine stock.
¶ Remove the filament cutter and clean the bottom of the printer chamber
Remove the filament cutter by removing the two screws marked in the figure below.
Then clean up foreign objects such as filament debris at the bottom of the printer chamber to avoid hitting foreign objects when the heat bed falls to the lowest place.
¶ QIDI Studio changes for using the full print volume
Besides the hardware modification, we also need to update the following settings in QIDI Studio:
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Update QIDI Studio to the latest version available.
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Clear the "Excluded bed area" in Printer settings. This step is to disable filament cutter protection.
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In the Printer settings ->Extruder ->Retraction, ensure that the "Z hop while retraction" + "Z hop upper boundary" ≤ 256mm. In this way, the height of the tool head raised during the retraction will not exceed the height limit of the printing volume.
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In the Filament settings →Setting Overrides, if you have modified the retraction parameter for a certain filament, please also ensure that the "Z hop while retraction" + "Z hop upper boundary" ≤ 256mm.
