Solidoodle Workbench Overhaul (Page 3 of 4)

I found the problem: a typo in the config.g file where I defined the bed size parameters.  I had essentially placed the print head 'out-of-bounds' when it was z-homed, so it wouldn't respond to absolute position commands.  Fixed!  Now I am printing a calibration cube. 

After I get it calibrated, I'll start playing with slicing for multiple extruders.  It's very gratifying to get this thing breathing fire!  The SD Workbench hardware and DuetWiFi electronics, along with the E3D Titan extruders and v6 hot ends are turning out to be quite a nice combination.

-Kevin

I've printed my first dual-extrusion piece...a 25mm calibration cube that's half blue/white ABS.  It came out pretty good, especially for my first try. 

Leveling the two nozzles was not a big deal.  I used a feeler gauge against the bed, and got as close as I could.  I figured I would have to make an adjustment or two once I had printed a few items.  I can't even detect the difference between the two materials' height with my fingernail, so there's no need to make further adjustments to the.

My biggest challenge was figuring out how to slice an object for dual extrusion.  I've settled on Ultimaker Cura 3.6.0 as a slicer.  It's not too steep to learn, but I wish the UI was more configurable.  When it comes to slicing options, you can select either 'dummy' mode with pre-configured selections, or 'full-Einstein' mode with every possible variable in full glory.  Some tasks like saving changes to printer settings or slicing profiles are not intuitive.

One thing I did was to define the zero of my print carriage as the mid-point between the nozzles.  To the slicer, #1 is +9mm and #2 is -9mm on the Y axis.  I don't know if that's right, or if #1 is supposed to be at zero, and #2 -18mm...whatever, it's working for me at the moment.

One thing I found is that the slicers I tried really hate it when you want to print a single-extruder item from #2.  They expect you to print singles from #1, and will fight you every step of the way.  I even went so far as to manually edit the gcode in Notepad++, but in the end, the juice wasn't worth the squeeze.

Another interesting thing I found is that Ultimaker Cura by default wants to do a 6.5mm retraction when switching active nozzles.  There's a clog waiting to happen!  It must be something particular to their hardware.

My main goal with the dual extrusion is to print exotic shapes utilizing water-soluable support material.  I'm going to play with dual ABS for a while to refine my settings and workflow.

-Kevin

I am so excited to find this.  I am hoping to be able to order my Duet 2 wifi and PanelDue 7i on Friday.  I am so looking forward to getting mine up and running.

@knowack if i have questions can I ask you on what I need to do with it?  I got this unit just before Solidoodle was closing their doors and I was having some issues with it and after they closed I could not get it working at all. So it has sat here for over 3 years just collecting dust.  I have made some upgrades to it before now.  I did spend some money on some Bowden Extruders.  I picked up the BondTech QR Extruder along with the E3D v6 1.75mm (12v) hotends.  But like I said I have not ran anything through them.  Now I am excited to see that you have done it and I need to get mine going.

@knowack  Thank you so much for that.  I have read the whole thread and I am so glad to hear that you have been printing with it and have seen great products coming from it.  It gives me great hope to get mine up and running.  Thank you again.

That would be amazing. I got my parts last night and started the install and figured out that my power supply needed a little work so I am going to fix it tonight and try to power it up.

Ok I tried opening it but my computer does not like the bin file. Any tips or programs that I should use to open it?

Thank you
Jeff

Exactly!  You need to go to the Duet Wiki for the procedure to load the firmware onto the PanelDue.  You need to learn it anyway; they will sometimes need to be flashed before initial operation, and if you accidentally do a hard reset, it will erase the firmware.  Regardless, it's not difficult and the instructions are pretty good.

-Kevin

Hello again, I am hoping I did not do this process backwards, I have all my hardware connected to my duet board before I have updated the firmware. Is that ok?

If your stated numbers are accurate, then your power supply should be okay.  I didn't keep the original heat bed, so I'm no help with what its power draw is at 12v.  I went with a more powerful 24v bed to ensure I could achieve higher temperatures to print some of the more exotic materials.

I personally am not a fan of the SSR method.  There is much discussion online regarding relay life when using PID mode and rapidly 'fluttering' the relay.  If employing bang-bang mode, there are concerns with warping the build plate, temperature fluctuations, and adverse effects on the power supply.  I personally have never tried an SSR.

-Kevin

An SSR or Solid State Relay is essentially an optically controlled transistor for DC or Triac for AC. There is no difference between it being turned off and on rapidly through Bang bang or PID control. It won't hurt the SSR any more than it will hurt the MOSFET/Transistor on the controller which is being used the exact same way but with a lower power rating.  With the SSR method you are simply using the controllers MOSFET to control the SSR instead of the bed.

I purchased a couple of these when I built the  FT 5 kit  I hooked them up one at a time and they were hotter faster than the heat bed. . did not end up using them. And I do not remember the below warning.

A heatsink and cooling is needed if using on the upper range of the amperage.
To me they are wasting a fair amount of wattage if one must use a heat sink and cooling fan.

https://folgertech.com/products/solid-s … v-24v-110v

Tin,

I didn't see a spec sheet on those at that link, but I'd bet that those are a) not optically isolated, and b) possibly bipolar transistor rather than field-effect.

It's a shame, because it's a nice looking package and form-factor.  They would still probably work OK for lower current applications, but I would probably stay below 15A.

-Kevin