Topic: Solidoodle's new hot end design
I just received two new SD hot ends, and was surprised to see that they have been redesigned. See attached pictures
Re: Solidoodle's new hot end design
It looks like the insulation for the heat core is some kind of silicon or resin rather than crumbly fire cement. I don't know what the mounting plate is.
3 2012-12-22 16:08:48 (edited by jon_bondy 2013-01-04 22:39:21)
Re: Solidoodle's new hot end design
And the wires are too short to actually work on a printer.
Re: Solidoodle's new hot end design
I managed to use a needle nose to pull about 1/2 inch of wire out of the cable bundle to get the connectors to fit. I was not happy about this, since this is the very wire that failed on my other printer. Abusing that wire was not part of my plan.
I have noticed that there is a square spacer that is part of the older design, which has been replaced by a circular spacer on the new design. The new one does not actually work as a spacer: it is too small. See the attached picture.
Re: Solidoodle's new hot end design
It is only the thickness of the spacer that matters. It holds the mounting plate far enough down to keep a small gap between it and the acrylic.
Re: Solidoodle's new hot end design
With the original design, the spacer was wide enough to press against both the wood on the bottom and the plastic on the top. Now, the spacer touches neither.
None of this is very well designed: you should not end up with a gap between the wood and the plastic where the screws put pressure on the wood, since this will distort (or crack) the wood. The spacer should extend far enough that the wood is fully supported along its entire length. Both the old and new designs fall down there.
Re: Solidoodle's new hot end design
The new hot end is really NEW: it has never been used before. So, when you heat it for the first time, it will make quite a stink.
Re: Solidoodle's new hot end design
jon_bondy wrote:
And ... ... These guys are morons.
Perhaps, but they are NICE morons...
9 2012-12-22 17:19:33 (edited by elmoret 2012-12-22 17:20:27)
Re: Solidoodle's new hot end design
jon_bondy wrote:
These guys are morons.
I just got a paper envelope from them that was supposed to have two M3 bolts they forgot to include with my new carriage that was replacing the one that was broken in shipping two months ago. Here's that envelope:
No bolts inside.
Re: Solidoodle's new hot end design
Yes. Always polite and helpful. Not always delivering on help, but offering it repeatedly.
Anyway.
I'm printing with the new extruder. The first 2 inches of the print did not occur, because no plastic came out (even though I had extruded some before the job started, and even though I print a glob at the start). Might just be a one-time thing.
The old extruder stayed within about 2 degrees C throughout the print; this one oscillates +/- 5 degrees C. I'm not sure whether this will present a problem or not, but it is a bit surprising that the new design is not as temperature-consistent as the older design. It's just a resister/heater, right? And the same wattage. Puzzling.
Re: Solidoodle's new hot end design
The heater/insulation properties have changed. You need to retune the PID. Run "M303 S200"
Re: Solidoodle's new hot end design
Thanks. Wouldn't it it be nice if Solidoodle included this kind of information with their spare parts? Argh.
Re: Solidoodle's new hot end design
Yup! By the way, as far as I know that M303 command is only present in newer firmwares, like Lawsy's. My SD2 serial number 96 was still on the old firmware.
Re: Solidoodle's new hot end design
I have the command, but when it is finished, it tells me to put the numbers in the configuration.h file. Does that mean I have to re-flash the firmware? Or is this a Repetier/Slic3r parameter?
15 2012-12-22 18:03:10 (edited by elmoret 2012-12-22 18:34:07)
Re: Solidoodle's new hot end design
Repetier lets you put them in EEPROM. It's in printer settings, I think?
EDIT: Config -> Firmware EEPROM Configuration
Re: Solidoodle's new hot end design
Much better! Thank you!
Re: Solidoodle's new hot end design
jon_bondy wrote:
Much better! Thank you!
No problem. Does this mean you'll be on your way to making your own filament shortly?
Re: Solidoodle's new hot end design
elmoret wrote:
The heater/insulation properties have changed. You need to retune the PID. Run "M303 S200"
can you explain how to do this to a novice or direct me where to find the info ? I an running repeteir 0.9.1 and i have the updated firmware as follwed from Ian's video blog about using Repeteir.
Re: Solidoodle's new hot end design
Manual Control tab, send gcode
Re: Solidoodle's new hot end design
Make sure letters are all caps or they will be ignored.
Re: Solidoodle's new hot end design
elmoret wrote:
jon_bondy wrote:Much better! Thank you!
Does this mean you'll be on your way to making your own filament shortly?
I wish! The holidays will intervene for at least a week. Argh. Soon. Sorry I have been unable to give you the feedback that you had hoped for!
Re: Solidoodle's new hot end design
So, after printing with the new hot end for about an hour, it failed. Turns out, the wires that go between the connector and the heater simply pulled out of the connector. The connector shows some signs of having been over heated: maybe it melted a bit. I could try to solder the wires directly to the connector, but fear that I will melt the connector doing that. Any recommendations would be appreciated.
- caswal
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Re: Solidoodle's new hot end design
You are not having much luck are you jon?
You should be able to remove the pins from the connector, on the opposite side to the last picture. There should be 2 tiny little tabs that can be pressed in (they grip against the plastic housing to stop them from being forced out), they are a awkward to do. Once removed, should then be easy enough to solder.
The scorching makes lit look like there was a poor connection between the wires and the pins. Causing an area of high resistance, and therefore heat causing the scorching.
Lead Programmer & Co-Owner of Camshaft Software - Creators of Automation - The Car Company Tycoon Game
Re: Solidoodle's new hot end design
I really don't like those connectors. If it's what I'm thinking, it just pinches the wire.
Any 0.1" pin header should work. Perhaps you have some from an old motherboard? The hotend draws a little under 2 amps, which should be ok on old motherboard headers.
Re: Solidoodle's new hot end design
caswal wrote:
You are not having much luck are you jon?
I guess not!
The following picture shows how the new hot end is constructed. A block of aluminum with a hole drilled through it and a resistor stuffed in the hole. The resistor does not fit snugly in the hole, nor is thermal compound present (probably would just melt and drip out anyway).
My first attempt at soldering things failed. I'm in the process of trying again.