Support – Polaroid Play+ 3D Pen

The pen can be powered either by plugging the USB C cable into a suitable USB power adapter which then plugs directly into the wall, or by using an adequate power bank. Both of these must be a 5.0VDC – 2.0A source. Please note that the power supply you are using is not an Apple iPhone charger block, as these do not have enough power to run the pen.

No, you do not need to keep the Start button pressed when loading a new filament.

To load new filament, firstly make sure the pen is turned on and the LED light is blue. Then place the filament into the loading hole at the top of the pen (the one next to where the power cable is inserted). Make sure the end of the filament is flat across the end before inserting (cut carefully with scissors if not). Insert the filament gently until it stops. Then simply press the Start button once and you will feel the filament being gently guided into the pen automatically. Wait for the filament to be pulled all the way through the pen until you see it appear from the end of the nozzle. You can speed up this process by pressing the ‘Speed Control’ button, until 3 green LED lights are showing indicating the extrusion speed is set to rapid.

Firstly, please double check that you are using an adequate power supply. This must be a 5.0VDC – 2.0A source. If your supply is less than this then insufficient power is being pulled into the pen which could cause the pen to not power up correctly. Please note that the power supply you are using is not an Apple iPhone charger block, as these do not have enough power to run the pen.

If you have confirmed that you are using the correct power supply and the pen is still not working, please try using an alternative power source (power bank, USB power adapter etc.) to ensure that this isn’t the cause of the challenge.

If the pen still does not work then please double check that the cable is inserted into the top of the pen correctly and if so, that by moving it around inside the fitting in the top of the pen you still do not see the light come on at all.

If none of the above resolves the situation then please contact the Polaroid 3D support team and they will be able to help find a solution for you.

Firstly please double check that you are using an adequate power supply. This must be a 5.0VDC – 2.0A source. If your supply is less than this then insufficient power is being pulled into then pen which could cause the pen to not heat up to the correct temperature meaning the light will not turn to blue. Please note that the power supply you are using is not an Apple iPhone charger block, as these do not have enough power to run the pen.

If you have confirmed that you are using the correct power supply and the pen is still not heating up, please contact the Polaroid 3D support team and they will be able to help find a solution for you.

Firstly, please check that you have adequate power to your pen (5.0VDC – 2.0A) and that your pen is heated to the correct temperature ready for use (the LED light is blue).

Next, make sure that your filament is inserted correctly into the pen. If you already have filament loaded please unload completely from the pen (by pressing and holding the Power button for a couple of seconds and waiting for the filament to be completely retracted). Once removed, please ensure that the end of the filament is flat across the end (cut carefully with scissors if not) before re-inserting into the Loading Point in the top of the pen (next to where the power cable is inserted).

Please re-load the filament by pressing the Start button once and you will feel the filament being gently guided into the pen automatically (you can increase the speed at which the filament is pulled through by pressing the ‘Speed Control’ button, until 3 green LED lights are showing indicating the extrusion speed is set to rapid). This time, gently apply a small amount of pressure by pushing the filament slightly as it feeds into the top of the pen. Wait for the filament to be pulled all the way through the pen and this time you should see it appear through the end of the nozzle and the pen will be ready to use.

If however you are still not seeing anything extruded, please contact the Polaroid 3D support team and they will be able to help find a solution for you.

If you are seeing your pen slow down when using a power bank, this is generally due to the power bank itself running out of charge. This means that there is insufficient power to run the pen as it needs to and these results in a slowing down of the extrusion. Please check your power bank is fully charged and try using the pen again.

If your power bank is fully charged and you are still having problems with the pen slowing down, please try an alternative power source to rule out any other technical challenges with the power bank itself. We suggest using a USB power adapter and plugging the pen straight into a socket in the wall.

If you have tried both of the above and the pen is still slowing down, please contact the Polaroid 3D support team and they will be able to help find a solution for you.

Please turn on the pen and allow it to heat up. Even before the pen reaches its optimum temperature (when the light is blue) the plastic around the nozzle will have started to soften. Please take a pair of tweezers and gently remove the softened plastic. DO NOT try to remove this by hand as the nozzle will be starting to get hot. To prevent this build-up from happening in the future please always remove any residual plastic from the nozzle whilst the pen is still warm.

Different colours of filament melt at slightly different temperatures and therefore for those with a slightly lower melting temperature you may find that the extruded filament is softer than you have previously seen. If this happens, try slowing down your extrusion speed slightly as this means the melting temperature is slightly lower and therefore the filament shouldn’t be as soft when it is extruded. This should also help to prevent any bubbling in the filament.

It is important to always use Polaroid 3D Pen Filament with your Polaroid Play+ 3D Pen as these have been specifically designed to work in conjunction with each other which means challenges such as this are minimised.

To start extruding with the pen you can either, press and hold the Start button or you can simply click-and-release (rapidly) the Start button. Please refer to our instructional video for more information on this.

If you want automatic extrusion then simply ‘click’ the Start button once. PLEASE NOTE that this must be a ‘click’ (a quick ‘click-and-release’ of the button) and not a ‘press’ of the button as pressing it will start the Manual extrusion process, and therefore when you release the button the extrusion will stop.

Once the button has been clicked, the Automatic extrusion will continue until the button is clicked again which will then stop the process.

Pressing and holding the Start button will start manual extrusion; the pen will keep extruding until you release your finger at which point it will automatically stop.

If you are trying to load or unload filament and this is taking some time then you can speed up this process by pressing the ‘Speed Control’ button, until 3 green LED lights are showing indicating the extrusion speed is set to rapid.

The process of changing a colour is as follows. Firstly, to change the colour of the filament you are using, you need to unload any filament that is already in the pen. To do this, press and hold the Power button for a couple of seconds. You will see the LED light on the front start to flash from red to blue and you will hear the motor start to unload the filament. You will also see and be able to feel the filament moving as it is retracted from the pen. If you gently hold the end of the filament you will feel when it has come loose from the pen and it can then be removed completely.

To load new filament, firstly make sure the pen is turned on and the LED light is blue. Then place the filament into the loading hole at the top of the pen (the one next to where the power cable is inserted). Make sure the end of the filament is flat across the end before inserting (cut carefully with scissors if not). Insert the filament gently until it stops. Then simply press the Start button once and you will feel the filament being gently guided into the pen. This process will then continue automatically. Wait for the filament to be pulled all the way through the pen until you see it appear from the end of the nozzle. You can speed up this process by pressing the ‘Speed Control’ button, until 3 green LED lights are showing indicating the extrusion speed is set to rapid.

Firstly please double check that you are using an adequate power supply. This must be a 5.0VDC – 2.0A source. If your supply is less than this then insufficient power is being pulled into the pen which could cause this intermittent stopping. Please note that the power supply you are using is not an Apple iPhone charger block, as these do not have enough power to run the pen.

If you have confirmed that you are using the correct power supply and the cable is inserted correctly and you are still seeing this problem then it could relate to the power cable itself. If so, please contact the Polaroid 3D support team and they will be able to help find a solution for you.

Firstly please double check that you are using an adequate power supply. This must be a 5.0VDC – 2.0A source. If your supply is less than this then insufficient power is being pulled into the pen which could cause the pen to not heat up to the correct temperature and the light will not turn to blue. Please note that the power supply you are using is not an Apple iPhone charger block, as these do not have enough power to run the pen.

If you have confirmed that you are using the correct power supply and the pen is still not heating up, please contact the Polaroid 3D support team and they will be able to help find a solution for you.

Firstly please double check that you are using an adequate power supply. This must be a 5.0VDC – 2.0A source. If your supply is less than this then insufficient power is being pulled into the pen which could cause this unwanted speed change. Please note that the power supply you are using is not an Apple iPhone charger block, as these do not have enough power to run the pen.

If you are using a power bank, please check that there is still sufficient charge to be able to power the pen. If unsure, please re-charge and then try using your pen again.

If you have tried both of the above and the speed is still changing, please contact the Polaroid 3D support team and they will be able to help find a solution for you.

When making a model, please ensure that you press or release (depending on if you are using Auto or Manual extrusion mode) the Start button in order to stop extrusion before moving from one area of your model to the next. If you pull the pen away before it has completely stopped extruding then this could leave some stringy residual filament.

You may also find that this happens more with certain colours of filament than others. This is because different colours melt at slightly different temperatures and therefore for those with a slightly lower melting temperature you may get small amounts of filament still being extruded from the nozzle momentarily after the Start button has been pressed/released (this being the residual filament in the nozzle that had already been melted). If this happens, please either gently remove the unwanted stringy filament whilst still warm (and therefore soft) by pulling it swiftly away from the model, or wait until the filament has hardened and then remove carefully using a pair of scissors.

You can also try slowing down your extrusion speed slightly as this means the melting temperature is slightly lower, which in turn may mean you see less of the ‘stringiness’.

It is important to always use Polaroid 3D Pen Filament with your Polaroid Play+ 3D Pen as these have been specifically designed to work in conjunction with each other which means challenges such as this are minimised.

If you are seeing a small amount of smoke when you turn on your pen, this will be because there is a small amount of old, residual, solid filament in-or-around the nozzle area from the last time it was used. After a few seconds of extrusion once the pen has been turned back on this smoke should subside as the old filament has been re-melted and therefore extruded through, and away, from the nozzle along with the new filament.

To prevent this from happening in the future please always remove any residual plastic from the nozzle whilst the pen is still warm.

All due care and attention has been made to ensure that the filament reaches you in optimum condition, however, on very rare occasions you may find that there are some breaks in the filament reel that you receive.

If this happens and the lengths of the filament are still at least double the length of the pen then these can be used as you would do normally. If the pieces are smaller than this, please send a photograph of the reel as it was received inside its packaging to the Polaroid 3D support team at polaroid3d.com/contact and they will be able to help find a solution for you.