2 Fans to be independent

I have a fan on my E3D hot end and want to add a print cooling fan, which fan should plug in where to the ramps if i want them independent and the e3d one to be always on but the print cooling one to be variable through the gcode?

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If you need some help, or don't understand what I just said, feel free to send me a PM anytime

Printer: Prusa i3, 2 E3D v6 Hotends, Arduino + RAMPS 1.4 with a Bypassed 5V Regulator, 400w Insignia ATX PSU, Custom Designed Bowden Extruders

The print cooling fan is connected to fan output of the RAMPS board. The E3D fan is connected directly to the 12V supply.

will i have to modify the pins.h ? my fan is currently using the second hotends power, and i plan to use this for a second hot end soon

also by directly to the 12v supply is that a specific spot no the board or just where the atx supply actually connects to the board?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/09/2016 10:42PM by DaGameFace.

Connect the end fan to 12v power. Anywhere with a constant 12v and ground will work. I have mine directly to psu.

The fan you want software controllable is currently on d9 which has a mosfet that controls 12v power to the 12v fan while being switched by the 5v arduino. To add a second hotend and continue to use a software fan you would need an custom setup.

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Prusa i3 Rework - Ramps 1.4 - E3d Lite6 - Full Graphic LCD Controller

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gmckee
To add a second hotend and continue to use a software fan you would need an custom setup.

Example custom setup I made to control extra fans:[forums.reprap.org]

If your d9 is being used by an extruder or chamber heater like mine these [m.ebay.co.uk] fan extenders work really well. Just connect to servo plugs and wire to 12v.

You don't need to change pins.h in later versions of marlin as long as you set motherboard 13 EEB it reassign pins 9 to the second extruder and remaps the standard firmware fan to this module's fan 1. You can also have a second fan. These are both pwm controllable.

Hey guys, I have a similar problem. My E3D V6 has a fan that always needs to be on with a push fit connector on the end and the kit I have also comes with a fan that needs to be directed onto the ramps board for cooling.

Both have the white push fit connectors. I'm very new to all this and inexperienced. are there any places on the RAMPS 1.4 board that these can be easily connected to?

The guy who supplied me the kit suggests wiring both fans to D9 in series and keep the fan option set to on, but I'd really rather keep D9 free for a cooling fan for prints in the future if possible.

If there are pins i can just push fit to that will keep these fans always on could someone please attach a diagram to help me understand where they can go.

Or if connecting to D9 is the better option for now, do I simply remove the connectror ends and put both cables into the respective D9 outs and screw them down?

Sorry for being a needy newb

Hi, welcome to the forum

There isn't anywhere on the ramps you can just push those fan molex connectors, so you'll need to do some modifications. There is a pair of holes marked 12v aux on the ramps, close to the pair of poly fuses, you could solder wires directly into those holes to get 12v, or you could solder a piece of pin strip in there so that you could use the corresponding female connector. Alternatively, you can connect the fans directly to the 12v supply. At the fan end you can either cut off the connectors and solder extension wires directly, which is the most reliable option, or you could buy some male molex connectors to match the ones on the fan and use those to make extension cables.

Quote
Peteorama
Hey guys, I have a similar problem. My E3D V6 has a fan that always needs to be on with a push fit connector on the end and the kit I have also comes with a fan that needs to be directed onto the ramps board for cooling.

Both have the white push fit connectors. I'm very new to all this and inexperienced. are there any places on the RAMPS 1.4 board that these can be easily connected to?

The guy who supplied me the kit suggests wiring both fans to D9 in series and keep the fan option set to on, but I'd really rather keep D9 free for a cooling fan for prints in the future if possible.

If there are pins i can just push fit to that will keep these fans always on could someone please attach a diagram to help me understand where they can go.

Or if connecting to D9 is the better option for now, do I simply remove the connectror ends and put both cables into the respective D9 outs and screw them down?

Sorry for being a needy newb

There is a 12v aux power connector on the ramps it's between the x stepper driver and the yellow solid state fuses. The +ve is towards the middle of the board. Failing that cut the plug off your fans, strip the ends of the wires and wire it to your power supply. Only wire the fans in series if you want them running at half power, wire them in parallel if you want them both running at full power.

(Keep the plug you cut off, it's easier to solder and heatshrink it to another wire later, than to get a crimper and get good at using it.)

D9 is useful for a print cooling fan and can be controlled either automatically by your slicing application or directly be using m106 sX where x is a value between 0 and 255 to set fan speed.

You can buy a fan extender also which gives you two more controllable 12v fan outputs.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/13/2016 01:19PM by DjDemonD.

Thanks for your replies and the welcome!

I've gone with the, connect to power supply option as this seemed like the more simple way for my lack of knowledge and experience!

Thank you again

First the equipment and firmware I'm using.

RAMPS 1.4, Arduino Mega 2650 and Marlin 1.1.0-RC7.
Purchased RRD Fan Extender board.

With 2 fans connected it works with the following sample program.
void setup() {

pinMode(11, OUTPUT);
pinMode(6, OUTPUT);

} void loop() {

digitalWrite(11, HIGH);
digitalWrite(6, LOW);
delay(5000);
digitalWrite(11, LOW);
digitalWrite(6, HIGH);
delay(5000);
}

So I know that the fans are connected properly.

What I would like to do: I want to use these as material cooling fans.
Since I am using dual extruders I would like to be able to have these fans turn on and off under software (Repeiter) control. So that if I want to turn the fans on after 2/3 layers have printed I can set Repeiter appropriately and let it print.

I don't know what pins are used by Repeiter to do this. As you can see the RRD board uses pins 6 and 11.

I would think this is possible but I do not know how to go about it.
I know about the M42 command but I have no idea where the commands should be inserted. Or is it possible just to reassign the pins used by Repeiter?

thanks

Don

Update:
From looking at the M106 command, it looks like Marlin only supports Fan 0, so I'm guessing that Repeiter does the same. Unless someone knows another way.

thanks

Don

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/27/2016 04:07AM by kd6hq.