When you have finished smoothing the base you can make side parts. Line the side parts up parallel to the sides of the base and parallel to each other, keeping about 5mm between the first piece to the edge and about 10mm between the individual pieces and superglue them into place, as shown in the picture.
When you have the pieces firmly glued in place, secure the base into the machine, side parts facing up and parallel to you as shown in the picture. Next, find the Z0 point of your base just as you did when smoothing the surface of the base. When you have found the Z0 point of the base, use the large white circle to raise the drill exactly 1.6mm, 160 micrometers, above the surface of the base; set this point as your new Z0 point.
Open the Milling Machine program, MODELA Player, as you did when smoothing the base. When MODELA Player opens go to “File” then “open” when you get the screen with all the saved files in it open the one that says “side_part_2A_ASCII.STL.” This screen should pop up.
When you are at this screen, go to the “Option” menu and select “layout.” Once you have done this you will see a screen that looks like the following picture. Make sure “Automatic” is not selected in the surfacing section so you can access the textboxes. Next, estimate the lower left corner of the side piece closest to you by using the “View” arrows, enter that (X, Y) point, into the milling machine not the computer, as your (X, Y) origin just as you did when smoothing the base. Now measure the length of the longest side piece and the width of all of the pieces across the base. Add an extra 5mm to the measured length and width of the side pieces and enter those numbers into the textboxes. Set the “Depth” of the drill to 0.1mm. Your screen should look similar to the following picture. Press the “Start” button at the bottom of the surfacing section. When this is completed your side pieces will all be 1.5mm in height.
When you are done smoothing the surfaces of the side pieces, go back to the main menu and click “Direction” located in the upper right corner of the screen, you will see a window like the picture that follows. When you do, select the elephant with its head facing down and its legs in the air located in the lower right corner of the series of elephants. When you are done with that click the “Back” button located on the lower right part of the screen, this will take you back to the main screen.
Next, click on the “Dimension” section of the main screen located just below the “Direction” button. When you have done this you will see the screen that follows. Adjust the wheel on the right of the screen to fit the desired dimensions of the side pieces. When you are done adjusting the wheel, click the “Back” button to return to the main screen.
When you are back to the main screen, click the “Cutting Depth” button located just below the “Dimension” button. When you have done this you will see the screen that follows. Adjust the wheel on the right side of the screen to the desired cutting depth. Since the side parts are typically 1.5mm in depth you want to mill 1.8mm in depth to make sure you mill the entire piece. When you are done adjusting click the “Back” button to return to the main screen.
Next, click on the “Draft” button located just below the “Cutting Depth” button. When you do this you will see the screen that follows. Adjust the wheel in the upper right corner of the screen to the diameter of the drill you are using, which will most likely be 6.0mm. Make sure the flat ended drill symbol is check, located just below the drill diameter display. In the material section make sure MgO2 is selected. When running the first sequence of milling the side piece you want to have draft selected in the “Finish” section. When you have done all of the above, click the “Back” button to return to the main screen.
When you are back in the main screen go to the options menu and select “Layout,” you will then see the screen that follows.
This time the only section we are concerned with on this screen is the layout section, which is located in the upper right corner of the screen and looks like the following picture.
You will now need to use the “View” arrows estimate the lower left (X, Y) point of each of the side pieces. To do this, move the drill, using the “View” arrows, an estimated lower left (X, Y) point of the piece, enter the lower left (X, Y) value into the Layout section, the “Margin” value will always stay 6, and start the milling process by pressing “OK” on this screen then “Start” on the main screen, watch the drill very carefully as to how far away the drill is to the edge of the piece as it makes its first rounds. Adjust the (X, Y) value so the drill moves just along the edges of the side piece. If you do need to adjust the lower left (X, Y) point, first stop the process by pushing the blue “Pause” button, second go to the printer screen and stop the print process, third enter your new (X, Y) values then click “OK,” next press the blue “Enter” key on the machine, finally click “Start” on the main screen. Once you have found the correct lower left (X, Y) coordinate for a side piece write it down then start the milling process again and let it run to completion, do this for all of the side pieces. When the milling process is complete for all of the pieces, go back to the “Cutting Depth” screen and change the depth to 1.7mm. Then click the “Draft” button on the main screen. Now, click the draft button under the “Finish” section of the screen that pops up in order to change the process from draft to fine. Enter your (X, Y) values again and run the milling sequence for all of side pieces once more to get a “fine finish.”
When the milling process has finished, you'll need to dissolve the superglue in order to get the side pieces off. To do this, remove the base from the machine, place the base into a beaker with the side parts facing up (any beaker will do as long as the base fits inside), completely submerge the side parts in an Acetone solution, leave the side parts to soak in the Acetone over night, and in the morning the superglue will be dissolved so you can retrieve your side parts.