Gina

Printed parts production progressing perfectly Just printed one Z bearing block for the Giant and now printing the second

First one printed perfectly so now printing the other.

Z axle bearing block. Now printing.

There are a couple of minor bits to add to the Mini printer sometime. LED lighting strips, Raspberry Pi camera and I think I'll add the rubber feet from the Pilot to complete the job. I might add acrylic panels to the sides plus maybe plywood top and add a door, to form a fume cabinet. Then I can keep it in the living room where the Pilot printer was. Oh, and I'll probably add a shield for the Duet board which is exposed on the back of the printer. Later, I expect to swap the bed heater for the new mains version - 400W compared with 220W.

Now I have a printer that works well enough for printing parts I can either continue working on the Giant printer (which is continuing anyway) or replace the RAMPS etc. on my Titan printer with the Duet. I can print parts for the Giant with the Mini - I no longer need the Titan except for bigger parts.

Only problem now (apart from WiFi) is that I can't hear when the printer is working Unless I'm within a few feet of it and can hear the extruder fan.

Fixed Added the line M104 S0 ; Turn off extruder heater After M109 R70 ; Set extruder temperature and wait to cool So the new (correct) End G-code is ; Mini end code M104 S0 ; Turn off extruder heater M140 S0 ; Turn off bed heater G1 X0 Y0 Z100 ; home X & Y and Z to 100 M84 ; disable motors M109 R70 ; Set extruder temperature and wait to cool M104 S0 ; Turn off extruder heater ; M107 ; Turn off fume extraction fan M81 ; Turn off ATX PSU

Here is how I'm thinking of arranging the Z drive - as seen from above. The cord is wound up on the axle and goes over pulleys front and back down to the Z carriage (XY frame). I haven't shown the pulley brackets and some parts are not to scale.

All mine have the tiny ball bearings so probably pre Feb 2017. I may be buying another to make my Giant a dual extruder jobby but in view of the problem I'll hold off until E3D have their proper solution to their problem. Haven't decided yet just how to arrange two extruders and a Z probe to minimise lost printing area. I know they do a mirror image version so two extruders could go side by side though maybe front to front may be better rotated 90° to normal with the motors sticking out the sides. But I digress...

I had a cover crack some time ago but it was before the period of the problem - I though it was my fault for over tightening the screw, which I'm sure it was. Not sure if I bought a Titan extruder in the time period they said but I'll keep a lookout for the problem. Nothing seen so far. I tend not to mix lubricants as I'm not an expert on lubricant chemistry.

Seems to work in the Printer Settings. But I still have a funny to sort out - the 12v power is turned off when the hotend gets down to 70°C as set up but afterwards Duet says Fault for the hotend heater and I have to restart the Duet when I want to print again. Maybe it needs the heater turned off again. This is my End G-Code :- ; Mini end code M104 S0 ; Turn off extruder heater M140 S0 ; Turn off bed heater G1 X0 Y0 Z100 ; home X & Y and set Z to 100 M84 ; disable motors M109 R70 ; Set extruder temperature and wait to cool ; M107 ; Turn off fume extraction fan M81 ; Turn off ATX PSU

I have a few things to sort out with Slic3r. For instance there are two places to put Start G-Code and End G-Code - "Filament Settings" and "Printer Settings".

First class result First printed parts that were not a test

No scale - what size is the print?

Ah yes... I must order some 24v fans for my Giant printer. I might change my Titan printer to 24v too - not sure yet. I'll get the Duet working on it first, with 12v main supply.

I now have my Mini printer working well and up to printing drums for the XY motors on this printer I've printed a 20mm diameter one but might go for bigger. Circumference for 20mm = 62.83mm so for 500mm range the number of turns = 2x500/62.83 ≈ 16, width of 8mm - that's alright The one I've printed is fine so I'll just print another. ... Done.

Printing XY drive drums for my Giant printer now - in true RepRap style

I wonder if improving the WiFi signal strength and sensitivity with an access point will cure the not-connecting problem. Nothing like hoping

I'm taking a "sledge hammer" approach to the ultra-weak WiFi signal and ordered a long range WiFi Access Point to connect to my router instead of the internal WiFi. Ubiquiti Networks UAP-AC-LR 175.7 x 43.2 mm 2.4-5 GHz 802.11ac Dual-Radio Long Range Access Point - White

Parts ordered. The overall main frame size will be 740mm x 610mm x 1000mm (WxDxH). This will give not only a bigger printing area but also space for two extruders plus Z probe.

Left to run overnight and this morning I found a perfect print on the print bed and power shut down as programmed There will be no need to replace the Z drive gears - the new pinion has cured that problem. No lifting off the glass - the brim worked perfectly As this was a calibration test print I've checked up on that. As before X=100mm, Y=100 and now Z=100.18mm and all three axes are orthogonal as near as I can tell with the corner of a piece of paper There remains just one problem - the WiFi won't work without the USB connection to laptop.

Adjusted Slic3r as above plus added a 3mm brim and started another calibration print with a simpler model. Looking good so far (a couple of cm of column).

Generally the print is good except for the pillar which has too much extrusion. Think I'll stick with higher extrusion for the first layer but return to standard for the rest.

I seem to have got the print bed pretty flat as there is no visible Z movement as the nozzle proceeds over the bed. Been playing with Z offset (Z Baby Stepping) and got the nozzle closer to the bed. Also, upped the bed temperature for the first layer and increased the extrusion rate (to 1.3). Bed adhesion seems improved. I have also increased the printing speed of the infill.

New pinion printed and put on motor shaft instead of old one. This one printed better than last time (on the same machine). Now testing with calibration test print.