Frequently Asked Questions

EDGE, like its predecessors, uses a switchable power supply. We ship our 3D printers with a standard, 3-pronged desktop PC power cable. You may have to provision your own cable for your locale.

For locations using 110V, you’ll have a maximum draw of 6A.

For locations using 230V, you’ll have a maximum draw of 3A.

Depending on your setup, you may need to put EDGE on its own circuit away from other high draw machinery. Should another high draw machine start up during printing, it could cause your EDGE 3D printer to ‘starve’ and cause a reboot or shutdown, which would end your print.

With the Fusion3 EDGE, instead of changing nozzles, you swap out our proprietary print tube.

The design of the ANVIL print head system, along with our bed leveling process, ensures any possible chance of misalignment.

The Fusion3 EDGE has a default print tube nozzle diameter of 0.4mm.

If you have special needs that may require a different nozzle diameter, we do offer an additional 0.6mm and 0.8mm print tubes for purchase.

The smaller the nozzle on the print head, the greater the detail, resolution, surface finish, and quality of the finished print.

However, using the larger nozzles will significantly help cut down on print time.

Customers will find that part quality from print to print will be very consistent with the EDGE 3D printer due to a number of factors:

• The design of our F-Series motion control system provides for a rigid, calibrated, and precise deposition of material.
• Fusion3 employs strict manufacturing tolerances and quality assurance testing before shipping your printer.

Yes, the Fusion3 EDGE is a great 3D printer for prototyping. With the Fusion3 EDGE commercial 3D printer, your engineers can prototype and repeatedly test parts in much less time than using outside vendors, at great print quality, tight tolerances and high strength.

The Fusion3 EDGE uses our proprietary, patent-pending ANVIL print head.

Fusion3’s patent-pending ANVIL print head system combines precision-milled print head components with an inexpensive surgical steel print tube in place of the traditional screw-in 3D printer nozzle.

The single tube design is more reliable, eliminating the chance of leakage found in a traditional screw-in nozzle print head, and inexpensive and easy to replace, translating to lower operating costs.

Fusion3 published detailed specifications for the EDGE 3D printer in both our PDF brochure and on the EDGE Price & Specifications page on our website.

The Fusion3 EDGE 3D printer ships standard with a glass print surface which secures to a heated 1/4″ aluminum tool plate.

Fusion3 also offers an optional 1/4″ magnetic heated aluminum tool plate, which allows for the use of glass along with a variety of different optional surfaces, including:

• Polypropylene
• Kapton
• PEI
• Garolite
• Build-Tak

We’ve tested every print surface imaginable and found that glass is the best surface for the wide variety of materials we support (nearly universal). Glass is very flat, transmits heat quickly, low cost, and is easily cleaned. And while it’s not completely impervious to damage, it is easily replaced if it does become damaged.

Yes, Fusion3 offers our Heavy Duty Rolling Cart as the perfect complement to your Fusion3 EDGE 3D printer.

This cart provides a stable, mobile platform and freeing up valuable desk space. The cart is truly heavy-duty, featuring steel construction and durable industrial casters, and a large storage area. Note, that the interior of the cart is not air-tight, as it allows for cables to pass through.

The cost is $800 plus LTL frieght or International air shipping.

Yes, you can control your EDGE 3D printer remotely with a properly configured network connection.

The connection is password-protected and using a standard web browser, you have full control of the 3D printer as you would through the 3D printer’s front control panel. This includes managing files (upload, download, deleting), start/pause/stop prints, monitoring print progress and a host of other features.

The Fusion3 EDGE features a mesh bed leveling system that uses both a conductive system to set the ‘Z-Offset’, an inductive, ultra lightweight touch probe to map the bed, to ensure the correct first layer height for every print. The process takes one to two minutes for each print.

The Fusion3 EDGE is one of the most reliable 3D printers on the market today.

The reliability of EDGE starts with its design and construction, using Fusion3’s F-Series platform that has been in use for almost ten years and upgraded with precision linear rails and Gates GT belts.

In addition, we have between 30 and 60 Fusion3 printers utilizing our F-Series platform in testing and printing items used to build new printers in our factory. These 3D printers run between 16 and 24 hours per day, 5+ days per week. Two of these printers have been in service for over 20,000 hours of run time with only routine maintenance and some upgrades to the current configuration.

This is equivalent to printing 10 hours per day, 5 days per week for 7 years.

Fusion3 has many customers who operate in secure environments and require a 3D printer that protects this sensitive nature of their files.

However, our base customers seem more consumer styled features which are often at odds with the needs of those security-conscious customers.

In response, Fusion3 offers two versions of EDGE, Standard and Secure versions of our 3D printer.

The Standard version offers:

• Ethernet & Wifi Networking
• Open USB Port (for transferring files)
• Upcoming features, which may include outbound communication by the EDGE 3D printer to users
• REACTOR, Online activation edition (uses internet to activate and update software)

The secure version offers:

• Ethernet Networking only
• Locked USB port (requires key to unlock)
• No outbound communication by EDGE 3D printer
• REACTOR, Offline activation edition (never internet to activate and update software, uses keys only)

The Fusion3 EDGE has a built-in assembly that can hold both a HEPA & Carbon Filter, which together can reduce smells and potentially hazardous emissions from many materials. A pack of 6 Carbon / 6 HEPA filters is $49.

Note: Fusion3 does not guarantee the effectiveness of the filters.

You are advised to:

1. Review the material safety sheet of the filament printed. For instance some materials such as Acetal will offgas formaldehyde and Fire Retardant materials have additives that are extremely noxious.
2. Ensure your space has adequate fresh air replacement as the filters cannot be sure to capture all emissions.

Fusion3’s 3D printers are able to print most flexible materials very well, including those made from TPU, TPE, Nylon and PCTPE.

Certain materials are very soft, such as NinjaTek’s Ninja-FlexTM, which struggles to print on most 3D printers, and won’t print on our 3D printers.

We have certified materials very similar to Ninja-flex that you can use as a substitute.

Please contact our support team if you require assistance in identifying a flexible material for your particular application.

The Fusion3 EDGE 3D Printer is designed for long life and easy maintenance.

There are a few items that require maintenance, and users will receive notifications to perform scheduled tasks for most items via the control panel.

Those include (with intervals and cost)

1. Replacement of the HEPA & Carbon Air filters (monthly, if used) ($8.33 each)
2. Replacement of the Bowden tube (every 50-70 hours) ($3.00 each)
3. Lubrication of linear rails (every 175 hrs) ($38.00)
4. Cleaning of the extruder feed gears (each print) (no cost)
5. Checking the tension & adjustment of the Extruder Idler bar (every 2-3 prints) (no cost)
6. Replacement of the ANVIL print head temperature sensor and heater cartridge (approx 9-12 mos.) ($20.00 & $8.00 respectively)

The Fusion3 EDGE 3D printer has an automatic bed leveling process to ensure that on a day-to-day, keeps the bed level and ensures a great first layer, which is integral to the printer’s performance.

About once a month, you may to run through our step-by-step bed level wizard to adjust the beds plane in relationship to the leadscrews. This process is very easy and is done by adjusting the bed via screws on each of the two front leadscrews.

No, other than regular maintenance, the EDGE 3D printer does not require any regular calibration.

Your EDGE 3D Printer is assembled and rigorously calibrated and tested at our Greensboro, NC, USA factory, prior to delivery, which ensures the highest level of performance.

The Fusion3 EDGE 3D printer uses our proprietary ANVIL print head, which uses a revolutionary print tube, instead of a screw in nozzle.

Our customers have two choices for changing nozzle sizes between prints:

1. Change the print tube from one of the three sizes (.4MM, .6MM, or .8MM). To do so, using the supplied hex wrench, quickly and easily remove the print fan from the print head (4 hex nuts) and the loosen the 6 hex nuts in the ANVIL print head, which allow you to push the print tube up and out of the print head assembly. To install a new print tube, reverse the process. This takes just 2-3 minutes.
2. Change the entire print head (if back-up print head purchased), by removing the print head from the gantry (2 hex screws) and disconnecting 3 electrical, wiring connecting clips. To install the new print head with the print tube already installed, reverse the process. This also takes 2-3 minutes to complete.

Full instructions for both steps are available in the Fusion3 Support section of our Website under Manuals & Downloads.

Yes, the F200 uses a HEPA + Carbon recirculating filter that does not exhaust air outside of the printer, so it passed thru the filter multiple times for high filtration effectiveness.

Since the F200 doesn’t exhaust air out of the printer, it cannot be connected to an external filtration or extraction system.

The electrical input is 110V, 6A peak. The electrical out is 230V, 3A peak.

The F200 will weigh roughly 45-50 lbs.

The F200 is approximately 15″ wide, 18.5″ deep, and 20.25″ tall.  Depending on if you mount the spool holder on the rear or right side, or if you’re using the optional multi-material system, you will need more space behind or beside the printer.

No, we do not.

Yes, the F200 automatically levels the bed and calibrates the first layer height before every print.

Yes, the F200 is equipped with babystepping.

Yes, via adjusting the 2 front leadscrew nuts.

The F200 utilizes a Magnetic Wham Bam™ print surface base for maximum flexibility. PEI coated and rated for continuous operation at 140+C.

If the surface is not abused it will last indefinitely.

ANVIL with 0.4, 0.6, or 0.8mm nozzles.

A direct drive extruder based on the orbiter 2.

Stainless steel.

The F200 will offer three different sizes, 0.4mm (standard), 0.6mm, and 0.8mm.

Yes, they are.

10-300mm/s

200mm/s

You may see some increase in artifacts or ghosting on the perimeters and some slightly loosening of print tolerances.

If the user’s workflow is consistent the parts should be identical within the output tolerances.

Yes, we do.

Yes, you can.

Yes, it does.

Yes, it can.

You can install F3Slic3r on up to as many PC’s as you prefer. There is no licenses of cost associated with F3Slic3r

No, there is no cost to use F3Slic3r and can be downloaded at anytime from Fusion3’s website.

Yes, F3Slic3r is open source. 

Windows and Mac.

Stl, obj, and stp.

No, there is not an offline version of F3Slic3r.

Yes, Fusion3 will provide a recommended profile with a number of quality presets for each material certified for use on Fusion3 3D printers.

Yes, F3Slic3r generates support structures based of overhangs during the slice. F3Slic3r also allows the user to paint their own customer support structures on the model.

F3Slic3r allows the user to paint their own customer support structures on the model.

Yes, with some limitations.  It’s not a CAD program.

Yes, F3Slic3r will provide a time, material usage, and material cost estimation.

Yes, you can print as many parts that will fit on the build surface at one time.

No, you can’t control the printer using F3Slic3r on a desktop/laptop.

The F400, F410, EDGE, and F200.

Fusion3 offers an open materials philosophy that allows currently over 144 different materials on the open market to be printed with Fusion3’s 3D printers. Many other 3D printer manufacturers require customers to purchase proprietary, expensive filament, limiting your material options and increasing your operating cost.We believe our customers should be able to choose from the widest variety of quality materials and have competition from multiple suppliers to ensure the best price and service.

Certified materials that are tested to print with our 3D printers can be found on our materials page.

Fusion3’s material testing division either takes requests or seeks out and tests materials from different manufacturers known for quality, innovative, formulations and competitive pricing. For those materials that ‘pass’ our QA certifications, we create and publish ‘profiles’ (configuration files for the F3Slic3r slicing software) which are distributed to our customers. This ensures that any customer can print any certified material right ‘out of the box’.

Our materials page lists all the certified materials for our 3D printers. In most cases, the manufacturer sells their filament directly from their website. In many cases, the manufacturers’ filament is also sold by other companies. We have found that Amazon.com or Google Shopping are great places to find multiple sellers of the certified filaments, ensuring price competition and product availability. Fusion3 will also sell some of the certified materials on its online store.

Yes, Fusion3 extensively tests materials from across the industry to certify and publish profile settings for optimum results for our 3D printers. These profiles can be found directly in the software. We are constantly adding new material profiles, so if you have a particular material that you are interested in, check with us and we’ll help you find something that will work.

Fusion3’s printers can accommodate most any thermoplastic filament as long as the material doesn’t require heating beyond our extruder temperature of 320*C or requires a build plate temp over140*C. This includes many Carbon Fiber, Glass Fiber, Metal Infused, and Kevlar Reinforced materials. It seems each week a new material is released onto the market and Fusion3 tries to test and approve any material that is in demand by the customers.

It is extremely important to keep your filament dry! When you are not printing, store the material in a heated  lab oven or seal it in an airtight plastic bag with desiccant (moisture absorbent). Filament that has absorbed moisture is much more likely to print poorly and/or jam your hotend. Fusion3’s filament bay dehumidifier lowers but does not eliminate humidity and is not suitable for long term storage.

Fusion3 3D printers can reach 320*C on its print head, 140*C on the build plate, and can actively maintain 70*C in its print chamber. However, Peek and Ultem require an enclosed space that is heated over 100*C. In order to heat that space, the printer would have to be insulated, the motion control system would need to be actively cooled, along with other safety modifications. As of right now Polycarbonate is the high temperature material Fusion3 printers can print with.

Fusion3 reserves the right to void your warranty if your printer is damaged from using a material that has not been certified. There is a lot of poorly made filament on the market and the quality of the filament really does make a difference. Most cheap filaments are cheap for a reason.

Should you wish to print a material that has not yet been certified, please contact our support team. If the material has not been certified, we will provide you the details why it did not pass our certification process. If we have not yet tested the material, we will contact the manufacturer to acquire a roll to test and will enter your request in our material testing queue.

Fusion3 also offers the option to purchase instantly from its online store or to purchase a printer from Fusion3, a customer can fill out our online quote request form (or provide this information to our sales representatives through our website chat or over the phone). Fusion3 responds with a customized quote that includes all the options specified by the customer, exact shipping costs to your location and the expected ‘lead time’ to ship the order. To place an order, the customer only needs to sign and return the quote form, specifying the method of payment. Fusion3 will send you a confirmation of your order and enter your order into our production & fulfillment system and will contact you to handle the payment details.

In order to keep both cost and price down, Fusion3 only builds so many printers ahead of our forecasted sales. Usually, our printers are in stock and ready to ship when payment is received from the customer. Occasionally, when demand for our printers is greater than forecasted, we will have a small backlog of orders and will provide you an estimate (‘lead time’) of when we can ship your printer.

The ‘lead time’ is the time from placing and order and when the printer is boxed and ready to ship from our facility in Greensboro, NC. Our goal is to maintain our lead times at 1 week or less. The lead time may occasionally be longer based on seasonality and other factors.

Yes Fusion3 welcomes the opportunity to demonstrate that our printers have superior print speed AND quality than our competitors. We can print a part based on your own designs with a supplied ‘.STL’ file. If the file is small and does not use any exotic materials, we are pleased to do this at no charge. If the part is large or uses some exotic material, there may be a small charge which you can agree to in advance.

Yes, Fusion3 sells to customers around the world. We have satisfied customers on all continents. For customers, outside of the US and Canada, we ship our printers via International Air Freight.

We accept credit cards, personal / company checks, electronic bank transfers (domestic & international) and purchase orders (for companies with proven credit). If your company is interested in financing or leasing our 3D printers, we have partners who are able to provide approved US businesses with terms.

Yes, Fusion3 has an educational discount program for schools, universities, community colleges and other educational groups. Fusion3 also offers a student discount that requires valid proof of enrollment. Contact us for more detail.

Yes, Fusion3 has a military/veteran discount that is offered to those who are currently or have served in the US armed forces.

No, Fusion3 will ship all its printer fully assembled ready to print out of the box.

EDGE will ship LTL freight, fully assembled. It will be packaged up and strapped to a pallet with a shock sensor and “do not stack cone”.

The F200 will be shipped UPS fully assembled.

The time to receive a printer once shipped depends on your location and will vary. It usually takes 2-7 business days to locations in the United States. There are many factors that contribute to the shipping time, including:distance, location of the destination to the carrier’s shipping hub(s), residential location (requires an extra day to schedule delivery), seasonality / weather, holidays

The time to receive a printer once shipped depends on your location and will vary. The F200 will have the option to ship UPS ground, 2nd day, and next day air if desired.

Customers do have the option of using their own carrier. However, we do ask the following: Due to the difficulty of using different shipping systems & processes, we ask that the customer schedules the shipment (with our assistance). We suggest that you fully insure your shipment. While our 3D printers are well packaged, there is always the chance of accidental damage, seen or unseen. Fusion3 is not responsible for any damage incurred during shipment.

Yes, you can pick up an order from our factory in Greensboro, NC, once your order is placed and at a pre-schedule date and time.

Yes, Fusion3 ships internationally, via Air Freight.

We provide two options, we can ship it to your door or to save cost, we can ship the printer to your nearest airport where you can pick it up.

The customer will be responsible at pickup for any duties or taxes due.

Fusion3 provides the best warranty in the 3D printing industry.

Our warranty covers workmanship and materials for 2 years from shipment (compared to 6 to 12 months by our competitors).

After working with Fusion3 support to diagnose your issue, Fusion3 will dispatch replacement parts to you, along with instructions for installation.

Depending on the part, we will also provide you with a return shipping label, that requires you to ship back the original part to Fusion3, for inspection (as part of our quality processes) and recovery (often we are able to get credit back from our suppliers).

Note: failure to return a part may require you to pay for the part that was not returned.

Yes, Fusion3 maintains a supply of replacement parts and operates an online store where customers may purchase parts at any time.

Please note that some esoteric parts are available but not shown in the store.

Please contact Fusion3 Technical Support to provision those items in a shopping cart for you.

Ensuring your Fusion3 printer is working at peak performance is key.

To that end, every Fusion3 customer is provided with FREE phone and email technical support for the life of their printer.

Our support team is available Monday through Friday, from 8am to 8pm via phone & email.

Note: this support is intended to help customers with any technical issues with the printer. They will attempt to assist with certain questions when your printer is working as intended, however, they may have to curtail the amount of time they spend in those situations to assist with customers requiring technical assistance.

Fusion3 is reachable via phone and email for support and you can even schedule an appointment with us.

To initiate a technical support incident, please visit our Contact Support page.

Fusion3’s technical support team is available from 8am to 6pm, Monday through Friday, US Eastern Time.

While we’d like to help customers with any question, our team is limited to helping customers diagnose and fix any technical (break/fix) issues with their printers.

In the event you require assistance beyond an occasional question where your 3D printer is working fine, we ask that in order to obtain additional assistance that you purchase our 1 Year Enhanced Support plan.

The 1 Year Enhanced Support PLan enables our support team to help you with any reasonable question beyond ‘break/fix’ issues. This is not an extended warranty, nor priority support.

The best way to explain this is if you were to contact our support team starting with “My 3D printer is working fine, but….”.

Examples of the times when this could be useful:

• New users requiring extra assistance
• Expert users whose time is valuable and would benefit from faster problem solving for items such as material selection for advanced tasks, designing features for 3D printing, customizing settings