The school where I work has a lulzbot mini that has been dormant since the Covid quarantine of 2020. I am new to 3D printing and would love to get our mini up and running again. I am unsure if I can use the 6 rolls of 1.75 filament that the school has in stock. Do we need a new nozzle or do we simply have the wrong filament? I suppose it is possible that I just need a little patience? I have successfully printed the rocktopus using 3mm filament, sort of. His fingertips were missing, although, I am pretty certain that the computer entered sleep mode just before the print finished (I have changed that setting). I then switched to 1.75 filament and tried a little cat print but the filament jammed in the printer before the first layer was completed. Do I need to make changes to any of the settings or is there something else I need to check out or change before using the smaller diameter filament?
I have a V1 mini. The one I have uses only the 2.85 mm (3mm) filament. Suggest you start with something easy like PLA +. I have had good luck with the eSun pla.
Upgrade your cura and the firmware.
Smaller diameter filament requires a different toolhead configuration. Simply changing the nozzle will not work. There are ways to modify some toolheads to use 1.75mm, but it’s not reliable enough to be considered for use.
Is it a mini 1 (typically has no screen, always has lead-screws to lift the toolhead), or Mini2 (has a screen and belts to lift the Z?
What toolhead is installed? Photo will help here, since interchangeable toolheads are a feature of Lulzbot machines.
Honest opinion though, if you have students trying to use the machine, I would not invest in 2.85mm filament, a 1.75mm toolhead, or working on the Mini in general. A single (or even better, multiple) $200 Bambu A1 mini(s) would be faster, easier for students to use, and for most people, easier to maintain by buying spares directly from the manufacturer rather than sourcing upgrades/repairs like hobbyists do with the Lulzbot machines.
For long-term stability of parts and assuming you have a knowledgeable operator, Lulzbot machines can last indefinitely, since all parts are off-the-shelf, easily replaced, and with some knowledge of configuring Marlin firmware, upgradeable to whatever new parts come out.
Thank you for your reply, I just realized that I didn’t mention that the filament the school has is PLA. I have downloaded Cura LE 4.13.10 and was able to update the firmware through Cura.
The schools machine is a LulzBot mini 1( no screen). I have no idea what toolhead is installed. I passed your suggestion of the Bambu A1 mini on to the schools resource manager, thank you for your input.