Makerbot Extruder V2.2 / 5D Firmware - not talking! Out of ideas!

My mendel is all but up & running. Axes moving with Adrians 5D Firmware.

It's built using the latest Makerbot boards.

Initially I tried the ReplicatorG firmware which seemed to be able to control everything bar the stepper motor on the extruder. Heater & thermocouple worked fine. That proves that the extruder board and extruder work OK.

With the 5D firmware on both the motherboard and extruder, the XY&Z axes move, but the extruder heater, thermocouple and motor do nothing! The Comms diagnostic looks as if the two are talking.

I've read so much stuff today about persuading stepper motors to work with RepG and other people having problems getting the makerbot boards to work with 5G that I'm now thoroughly confused!

So, my question is:
Is it possible to use 5D firmware with Makerbot boards?
If not, is there a ready built firmware set that will operate a stepper?

I found a bit of code Adrian had posted to run a stepper motor on the Makerbot extruder controller - but it just makes the stepper spin, it's not an extruder controller. Do I have to write my own version of the firmware? Is there a different board I can build / buy which will work? Any answers gratefully received!

TIA

Si

The solution was to get the very latest version of the firmware from Sourceforge (4 hours old at the time) which worked pretty well.

My extruder kept jamming because the filament was melting inside the PTFE bit - but I've made a heatsink that screws on to the heater barrel and sits just below the PTFE. It seems to lower the temperature in the PTFE by about 50 degrees.

I also found that putting silicone heat-sink compound between the thermocouple and brass barrel reduces the lag in the readings and has reduced temperature fluctuations a bit.

Si

Quote
SimonRafferty
I also found that putting silicone heat-sink compound between the thermocouple and brass barrel reduces the lag in the readings and has reduced temperature fluctuations a bit.

Do you mean the heat-sink compound that you get with many after-market computer processor fan sets, etc? I'm not sure that's silicone-based, but that doesn't particularly matter.
There are likely different varieties of this type of material. Did yours have a brand name, or any indication of it's maximal temperature, or any other relevant information for someone looking to replicate your solution.

As I recall, most computer processors get unhappy above ~90C, but the extruders expect to work in the ~150C range, perhaps higher (ABS? anyone).

---

--
Aidan in Sunny (?) sub-tropical (very) Aiberdeen. Fit like, loon?
What grabs my interest ? Making models of fossils which are preserved as rock that ISN'T THERE.

In the olden days, it was made from silicone - but it may have fallen victim to H&S regulations.

The stuff I use comes from RS - and the box is covered in health warnings - so don't put it on your cereal boys & girls!

It seems more than happy at 150-220 deg - though I don't know what it's actual rating is.

Si

From the RS page for "Heat Sink Compound" (http://uk.rs-online.com/web/search/searchBrowseAction.html?method=retrieveTfg&Ne=4294958691&Ntt=heat+sink+compound+thermal+conduction+paste&Ntk=I18NAll&Nr=AND%28avl%3Auk%2CsearchDiscon_uk%3AN%29&Ntx=mode%2Bmatchallpartial&N=4294955469+4294833370&Ns=stockPolicy_uk|1||new_uk|1&Nty=1&multiselectParam=&selectAttribute=Heat%20Sink%20Compound#breadCrumb)

Part # Description Temperature range
554-311 Heat sink compound,20 ml tube no temperature indication ; 60-80% ZnO
665-4855 C/works Boron Nitride H/Sink Grease 3.4g -15 to 300deg.C
665-4846 C/works Silicone Free HeatSink Grease 8g ZnO, -15 to 200deg.C
503-357 Heat sink compound,35ml syringe ZnO with C7-C9 branched alkyl esters, no range data

That answers several questions. Some heat-sink compounds are silicone-y, others aren't, and the reason appears to be RoHS. So I guess that if you're building something for work and don't want to have to go through 74 reams of HS&E paperwork, you'd need to go for the RoHS-certified stuff.
(Personally, from my chemical knowledge, I wouldn't be bothered about using most silicone compounds as an "intimate lubricant". But I do have a deep aversion to HS&E paperwork.)

Given that the temperature range for the BN material is higher than that for the ZnO material, then on general principles I'd use that stuff even if I knew that a particular extruder was only going to be used at (say) 120deg.C ; but the comment that one of the ZnO compounds contains C7-C9 alkyl esters ... well, I've personal history with such materials and it's not a nice personal history. For me, that makes it a no-brain choice (now that I've used my brain).

What's the price difference? The BN stuff is twice the price of the ZnO stuff. Given my memories of blisters and weeks unable to sleep without waking up form the bleeding blisters ... it's boron nitride for me. It's still only a tenner.

---

--
Aidan in Sunny (?) sub-tropical (very) Aiberdeen. Fit like, loon?
What grabs my interest ? Making models of fossils which are preserved as rock that ISN'T THERE.

Thanks Aidan!

Si