WARNING: Simplify3D causing potential fire hazard

Hi

I had a large print going on the other day, which I needed to print overnight. Fortunately I woke up and I was wondering why the printer isn't making any noise. The print had stopped after few hours leaving the still hot extruder on the print. The print itself was hot and badly melted. Several clocks in the house were resetted, so there must have been a short power outage. But it hadn't resetted my Mendel90, which was still running hot. So, I stopped printing when I wasn't nearby and awake.

But, now I had the same issue again and again. I'm printing a solid object which take more than 8 hours to print. Several times the print stopped after 1:40h. Finally I realized that the sd card was full and the gcode was only partially saved. There is a bug in the current Mac Simplify3D (v 4.01), possibly also in Windows/Linux. The software doesn't check the integrity of the exported gcode nor does it check if there's enough space on the sd card. This leads to a incomplete gcode where the end script is missing which is essential for shutting off the heaters and homing the print head.

I'm still using my old Mendel90 with Neil Darlow's firmware, which I haven't updated for a long while. The firmware doesn't check integrity of the gcode either, or at least mine doesn't. I'm not sure if this is feature in more recent firmwares!?

So, be careful when using Simplify3D. I've reported the bug today, hopefully they are addressing it immediately.

Good point, with the traditional CAM modules like HSMworks it always opens a separate window with the gcode to verify. This should also be standard with the slicers

In case of a fire, you would be asked if you had implemented the required safety features.
To say you left the machine unattended then blame Simplify3D wouldn't be accepted as an excuse !

---

"A comical prototype doesn't mean a dumb idea is possible" (Thunderf00t)

Quote
atmark
Hi

I had a large print going on the other day, which I needed to print overnight. Fortunately I woke up and I was wondering why the printer isn't making any noise. The print had stopped after few hours leaving the still hot extruder on the print. The print itself was hot and badly melted. Several clocks in the house were resetted, so there must have been a short power outage. But it hadn't resetted my Mendel90, which was still running hot. So, I stopped printing when I wasn't nearby and awake.

But, now I had the same issue again and again. I'm printing a solid object which take more than 8 hours to print. Several times the print stopped after 1:40h. Finally I realized that the sd card was full and the gcode was only partially saved. There is a bug in the current Mac Simplify3D (v 4.01), possibly also in Windows/Linux. The software doesn't check the integrity of the exported gcode nor does it check if there's enough space on the sd card. This leads to a incomplete gcode where the end script is missing which is essential for shutting off the heaters and homing the print head.

I'm still using my old Mendel90 with Neil Darlow's firmware, which I haven't updated for a long while. The firmware doesn't check integrity of the gcode either, or at least mine doesn't. I'm not sure if this is feature in more recent firmwares!?

So, be careful when using Simplify3D. I've reported the bug today, hopefully they are addressing it immediately.

Marlin firmware has an "inactivity shutdown" setting and a g-code to change the setting (M85) that shuts everything off and shuts down the print when inactive for a certain period of time. That period is reasonable, but you can make it as short as you like. A firmware upgrade may give you better piece of mind.

I frequently run prints overnight without supervision, but I know that my firmware will shutdown if something "bad" happens. (I have witnessed it do this)

DLC

---

Kits: Folgertech Kossel 2020 upgraded E3Dv6, Anet A8 upgraded E3Dv6, Tevo Tarantula enhanced parts and dual-head, TronXY X5SA Pro(E3DHemera).
Scratch: Large bed Cartesian, exchangeable heads, Linear slide Delta, Maker-Beam XL Micro Delta, 220x220CoreXY.