User manual

PRINTING WITH YOUR MAKERBOT REPLICATOR 2X
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individual models in relation to each other.
The Thing format works only with MakerBot
Desktop, so you should not save as Thing
if you are saving a file for use with another
program. If you have a Thing file and
need to edit an individual STL file within
it, change the file extension to .zip. Then
unzip the file and extract the STL you need.
GCODE
GCode is a computer language for
controlling CNC machines, including
many 3D printers. When your slicing
software turns your 3D model into a
set of instructions for your MakerBot
Replicator 2X, those instructions are
written in GCode. The instructions
consist of commands that tell the
extruders how hot to get, where to
move and when to start extruding
plastic, commands that control the build
platform and commands for peripheral
components, including the LEDs inside
your MakerBot Replicator 2X. Before
being sent to your MakerBot Replicator
2X, MakerBot Desktop converts the
human-readable GCode to the more
compact, computer readable X3G.
X3G
X3G is the compact format in which
MakerBot Desktop sends instructions to
your MakerBot Replicator 2X. An earlier
version of this format was called S3G.
PRINTING A MODEL CONTINUED