26 Reply by n2ri (edited by n2ri 2018-11-12 08:21:48)

  • n2ri
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  • From: St Louis MO USA area
  • Registered: 2013-02-03
  • Posts: 2,539

Re: Cheap vs. Quality

heartless wrote:

seems most members on here have not yet enjoyed their 3D printer loosing its com port due to other USB devices that sync or use bi directional com port being installed or used while 3D printer was off line and the other device permanently high jacked its com port.

ok, here is the thing, when setting up my printers COM ports - I manually change the COM number to something higher.. leaving the lower level numbers for other devices.. this is SUPER easy to do and then you no longer have that issue.
SD4 #1 is COM 13 (yes, I deliberately chose this number, lol)
SD4 #2 is COM 15, and everything else is higher from there.

When you first connect the printer, yeah, the computer will assign a number, but once that is done, you can change it to whatever you want that is not currently in use (up to 256) and the computer will remember that COM setting for every future connection to that printer.

As for the LCD/SD thing - those are not that hard to add to pretty much any printer. You don't want to be tethered, add one!
Or, Look into setting up a pi & Octoprint.. There ARE other options out there.

Yes, I run mine tethered to the computer, it works for me - for now. I like the control I have over ever aspect of the print job - i can adjust the hotend and/or bed temp, feed rate & flow rate on the fly with just the click of the mouse.
With a print running from SD card it is not quite as easy to do - too much digging through menus for my tastes. (yes, I have a printer that has the LCD/SD card reader - i never use that part of it)

I am frequently running both of the SD4s at the same time, and, recently, could have used a 3rd one... which I now have in my possession. smile

On the other hand.. the Duet & Panel Due touch screen combo is very nice! super easy to make adjustments on the fly. But I rarely use the machine that has this setup for "production" stuff because it has the Volcano on it, and most of the stuff I am running needs the smaller nozzle size for the details and/or needs smaller layer heights..

well like I posted above mine did loose its com port after connecting a syncing device while printer was off. and it was NOT easy to fix like it would be if done when 1st installed and even SD techs on remote share had no clue (I never remote share after that mess).

dont want to use win 10 ever again. nor string RPs etc just to run 2-4 printers at same time either. what about running multiple RH windows if they can keep from mixing up which printer to talk to? heck solidoodle ran over 24 SD3 units at same time on 1 PC & didnt see anything hanging on them to do it.

Solidoodle 2 with Deluxe kit cover & glass bed with heater. and 2nd board SD2 used not 3rd and alum platform not installed yet still wood. also need cooling fan installed to board. use Repetier Host couple vers. Slic3r also have all free ware STL programs

27 Reply by n2ri

  • n2ri
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  • From: St Louis MO USA area
  • Registered: 2013-02-03
  • Posts: 2,539

Re: Cheap vs. Quality

n2ri wrote:
heartless wrote:

seems most members on here have not yet enjoyed their 3D printer loosing its com port due to other USB devices that sync or use bi directional com port being installed or used while 3D printer was off line and the other device permanently high jacked its com port.

ok, here is the thing, when setting up my printers COM ports - I manually change the COM number to something higher.. leaving the lower level numbers for other devices.. this is SUPER easy to do and then you no longer have that issue.
SD4 #1 is COM 13 (yes, I deliberately chose this number, lol)
SD4 #2 is COM 15, and everything else is higher from there.

When you first connect the printer, yeah, the computer will assign a number, but once that is done, you can change it to whatever you want that is not currently in use (up to 256) and the computer will remember that COM setting for every future connection to that printer.

As for the LCD/SD thing - those are not that hard to add to pretty much any printer. You don't want to be tethered, add one!
Or, Look into setting up a pi & Octoprint.. There ARE other options out there.

Yes, I run mine tethered to the computer, it works for me - for now. I like the control I have over ever aspect of the print job - i can adjust the hotend and/or bed temp, feed rate & flow rate on the fly with just the click of the mouse.
With a print running from SD card it is not quite as easy to do - too much digging through menus for my tastes. (yes, I have a printer that has the LCD/SD card reader - i never use that part of it)

I am frequently running both of the SD4s at the same time, and, recently, could have used a 3rd one... which I now have in my possession. smile

On the other hand.. the Duet & Panel Due touch screen combo is very nice! super easy to make adjustments on the fly. But I rarely use the machine that has this setup for "production" stuff because it has the Volcano on it, and most of the stuff I am running needs the smaller nozzle size for the details and/or needs smaller layer heights..

well like I posted above mine did loose its com port after connecting a syncing device while printer was off. and it was NOT easy to fix like it would be if done when 1st installed and even SD techs on remote share had no clue (I never remote share after that mess).

dont want to use win 10 ever again. nor string RPs etc just to run 2-4 printers at same time either. what about running multiple RH windows if they can keep from mixing up which printer to talk to? heck solidoodle ran over 24 SD3 units at same time on 1 PC & didnt see anything hanging on them to do it.



so how long has the Quick reply window not been posting reply's? only quotes do

Solidoodle 2 with Deluxe kit cover & glass bed with heater. and 2nd board SD2 used not 3rd and alum platform not installed yet still wood. also need cooling fan installed to board. use Repetier Host couple vers. Slic3r also have all free ware STL programs

28 Reply by heartless

  • heartless
  • heartless
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  • From: Northcentral Wisconsin
  • Registered: 2015-04-08
  • Posts: 2,152

Re: Cheap vs. Quality

i dont have a problem with the quick reply box... must be something on your end.

All I can tell you about running multiple printers from one computer is my personal experience. How others do it I can not say.

#'s 1 & 2 are running identical boards & firmware, and as I noted before, plugging them in to the same USB source causes problems. Using different USB sources there is no problem.
on my computer, there are 4 USB slots on the back, 2 in the front.. the back is one source, the front is another (different places on the mainboard). I can run a powered hub from the back, and it counts as a separate source. #1 is plugged into the back of the computer directly, #2 is plugged into the hub, which is plugged into the back... it works.

I do run multiple instances of RH - one for each printer in operation - and i try to orient them on the screen (2nd monitor) in a similar pattern to where the printers are to make it easier to keep track of which one is which.
example: when looking at the 2 SD4s, #1 is on the right, #2 on the left.. I will place the RH for each in the same way.

SD4 #1 & #2 - Lawsy carriages, E3D v6, Rumba controller board, mirror bed plate, X motor fan, upgraded PSU & Mica bed heater
SD4 #3 - in the works ~ Folgertech FT-5, rev 1
Printit Industries Beta Tester - Horizon H1