Gina

Quite true I keep trying things in an attempt to make improvements. Started stripping down my Pilot printer for parts. Undoing the hard work I put into that brought a bit of a lump to my throat but it has to be. It's being replaced with what should be a far better printer and I can't keep too many 3D printers Onwards and upwards, though in this case my Mini printer will have the same print volume albeit with better accuracy and resolution. I shall test it with Mega/RAMPS/LCD control but it will be getting the Duet Wi-Fi control board.

Mostly I've found glass to be good but have had problems with ABS and ASA with high sided prints. A brim helps but doesn't always cure the problem. I've bought a sheet of LokBuild to try on my Titan printer but haven't stuck it on yet. It's supposed to cure this sort of problem but I'll believe it when/if I see it!

Been trying the camera cooling with various voltages on the Peltier TEC but the thermal lag makes it difficult. Also, the exposure makes a very big difference - it's running imaging that generates the heat in the camera. One thing that has become clear is that higher voltage means that there is more heat to get rid of from the hot side and the plain aluminium pipe isn't shedding heat all that well - it needs a better heat dissipater. Maybe some aluminium or copper fins arranged around the pipe just below the ASC.

Been testing and 9v on the Peltier TEC doesn't seem to cool as well as 5v Tried with the dome on and with it off and little difference. Some way of controlling the voltage would be good. No, not PWM, TECs don't like it. Maybe I could take a PWM output, smooth it and apply to an analogue voltage dropper. I'll have to measure the current at 9v and see how much power dissipation there would be in a voltage regulator. No, don't like that - too complicated. I think bench testing would be adequate so I could run the rig from two bench supplies. ie. a separate one for the Peltier TEC.

That's interesting Maybe an aluminium plate for my Giant printer will work well then, without anything on top.

I use self-adhesive copper foil for the Z probe. Or do you mean for printing onto?

Camera cooling and dew heater.

Circuitry for dew heater and camera cooling controls added to HAT.

I've set up a buck converter for 9v output and will be adding this to power the Peltier TEC for camera cooling. Then there's the dew heater to set up and the circuitry on the HAT to finish. Also, sometime I have to sort out the Wi-Fi which isn't working.

I haven't ruled that out

That's all the endstops taken care of. The print bed and the runs of cables would seem to be next.

X endstop attached. A little adjustment to the run of the cords is needed, I see.

Designed and now printing the X endstop bracket. This will be attached to the X rail and the endstop will be operated by the extruder motor casing.

Y endstop fitted to rail - also shows a Y carriage, pulleys, motor etc.

Printed a bracket plate for the Y endstop. This will be attached to the Y rail.

That's much better I'm quite looking forward to trying my Duet Wi-Fi board. My Mini printer is not far off finished now and once that's working with Mega/RAMPS/LCD control panel I can try the Duet on it. Which printers end up with Duet boards remains to be seen

Assembled dome and casing top etc.

Making the parts to hold the dome. A seal underneath and just inside together with a ring and skirt to hold it down onto the casing top. First pic is a cross-section of the dome, seal (red), casing top (green) and clamping ring (yellow). Then the seal and clamping ring.

I'm hoping this printer will produce more accurate prints than my Pilot printer which it will replace. I can use a nozzle of 0.25 diameter and small layer heights. The Pilot goes out of calibration and suffers from the Y axis being by moving the print bed.

I've decided to erect just part of the mast for the weather station and ASC. This will be much lower than the final arrangement but is something I can do in winter. It's using the same mast as for the previous ASC version. It's 2.5m high so rather low for the wind sensors but adequate for testing and setting things up. Once I have everything working I can see about a bracket to take the larger aluminium tube that will form the lower part of the mast. The smaller ASC mast (aluminium tube as well) will go in the top of the larger tube giving a height of around 6.5m.

ASC outside on the guttering, no dome. Exposure 30s, gain 200, gamma 10, temperature 9.1°C. Ambient temperature below freezing.

I have a 3" dome on order on a slow boat from China and might make a new casing top when that arrives. I think a smaller dome should be easier to heat to prevent dew.

Designed and now printing a new top for the casing to take a 4" dome (of which I have two). Dimensions of top 35mm high, 96mm inside dome. Dome flange 9mm.

I think I should get my Mini printer working first before doing more to the Giant so I'm thinking of stopping construction of this for a little while.

Took Mini printer off the table and put the Pilot printer on it. Then I noticed something I had completely forgotten about - X and Y end stops Hope I'm not losing it Think I'd better sort out the X and Y endstops before other things then.