@dlc60 Thanks for the suggestion. I did indeed do that while running. As a result I have my motors running a tiny bit quieter and I still have not taken readings of the motor temperatures. As it turns out this was a problem with one particular model I was printing, sliced for 0.3mm layers. (download from thingiverse ) The large flat piece with an irregular notched hole in the middle at the coarby papergeek - Prusa i3 and variants
I'm sure this is answered elsewhere but the only (unanswered) question I found was on Amazon. I've recently swapped out my RAMPS 1.4 board for a RAMPS 1.6 and noticed that between RAMPS 1.4 and RAMPS 1.5 the PS-ON pin, which would be tied to the PS_ON input on an ATX power supply (enable PSU by pulling low) is no longer present (it used to be next to the reset button). The obvious alternative isby papergeek - RAMPS Electronics
I started another print this morning which was not covering a huge amount of area, and this time it got stuck on an X-axis movement and became skewed. My strongest suspicion is that either the drivers or other regulator components on the RAMPS board are failing. I was not expecting a failure so did not have temperature measurement running but all of my motors were too hot to touch when I cancelleby papergeek - Prusa i3 and variants
Good idea, I'll take some temperature measurements...by papergeek - Prusa i3 and variants
I'm curious as to whether anyone else has seen this problem. On a couple of fairly large prints, usually taking up much of my XY surface (this is a Prusa i3 6 I got from MakerFarm 4-5 years ago), I've had an issue where the Y axis gets stuck and the print continues but is skewed by around 5-10mm on the Y axis. I've printed several reels of ABS on this machine and have not had problems apart fromby papergeek - Prusa i3 and variants
I've seen mention of Cyclone Dust Collectors and it seems like something I want to do. However, I've been pretty careful to empty the dust regularly. In this case I was facing my spoilerboard to level it and going very slowly, and was in the middle of a section where I wasn't generating any dust. I did have good airflow from the dust shoe but I think my little shopvac was just not meant for thatby papergeek - CNC Routers, Mills, and Hybrid RepRapping
I have a 1000x1500mm OX CNC machine I built, and I was planing down the spoiler board to make it perfectly level. I was using my 2hp ShopVac (a genuine Shopvac) for dust control. About 15 minutes in, the vacuum starts wavering, then blows a circuit breaker, and I have actual smoke rising from the shop vac. Unplugged it and took it outside right away, then disassembled to see this: Basically thby papergeek - CNC Routers, Mills, and Hybrid RepRapping
Thanks, that is helpful. After posting this I notice there's also a smoothie forum here. The MKS sbase is not really open hardware but seems to be copied from a number of different Chinese manufacturers. The genuine Smoothieboard seems to have a more robust driver design in the electronics. I built a 1000x1500mm OX CNC and using the same motors (NEMA23 178oz/in) on all. I'm also running at 24V.by papergeek - Controllers
Seeing the MKS ??? 1.4 in this thread, I got this confused with the MKS Sbase (which I have the 1.3 version of, and also has a 1.4 version apparently) Needing to use some free TTL pins (for a relay board and a MOSFET to turn on a laser) I put together a list of pins for the MKS Sbase. I put together a spreadsheet (LibreOffice calc but should open in Excel) which maps the CPU pins used in Smoothby papergeek - Controllers
Are you using the onboard stepper motor drivers with the MKS Sbase v1.3 board running Smoothieware? What size motors? How is that working for you? I'm curious because I'm putting together an OX CNC system with 4 NEMA-23 motors. I'll certainly find out how that works but would like to know how that's working for others and what current settings you have for the Smoothieware config.by papergeek - Controllers
I have answered my own question 1, still hoping to hear back on what motors people are controlling using on-board stepper drivers. I put together a spreadsheet (LibreOffice calc but should open in Excel) which maps the CPU pins used in Smoothieware config to the silkscreened connectors on the board. Since there is a set of duplicates I've called the power output connectors on the bottom edge BEDby papergeek - Controllers
I have the MKS 1.3 which I'm using to set up an OX CNC for laser cutting and etching. I've been looking at the one-page pinouts and comparing it to the Smoothieware documentation, and also found schematics on Github for the 1.2 version. I'm trying to figure out a couple of things: 1. Are all the pins capable of being used for TTL versus PWM? I just need 3 (two for inputs to a relay board, one fby papergeek - Controllers
That's a very cool idea. My time is limited but I would be interested in helping out. The problem always seems to be liability insurance. Somebody with a big enough bankroll should be able to get the infrastructure going. I saw something recently about an East Austin project which was providing housing and opportunity to make and sell stuff. I thought that was a really great idea and it sounds liby papergeek - Texas, Austin RepRap User Group
New to Austin but I've been involved in 3D print and design (mostly Freecad) for a few years. The ATX Hackerspace group sounds interesting but like most hackerspace clubs, a bit too pricey for me. I might drop in on their monthly openhouse, though... I have a 6 inch MakerFarm Prusa i3. Recently replaced my hot end with the Prusa MkIII.by papergeek - Texas, Austin RepRap User Group
Thanks for the quick response. The thing I'm confused about is that the datasheet for the NDC7875 says operating voltage is 3.7 - 5.5vdc. This model has some thermal protection built in also. When I've accidentally driven it up around 8v or so it begins to blink. I also looked at using a 2A Murata DC-DC converter to get 5.5V from the 12v input (since I also need that to run the fan) but figuredby papergeek - Laser Cutter Working Group
Here is my first pass at a working schematic. My design skills are beginner level but the basic idea is to take a 12V input (from a PC power supply) and regulate voltage to around 7.5v using an LM338, then another LM338 with the current sense switchable. The bottom range current is for focusing. I've stuck with the mfr "safe" current range for longer life. To be added: protection diodes (to guarby papergeek - Laser Cutter Working Group
Yes, I would not rely on this alone. However, you cannot have too many extra precautions and for that it seems to work quite well. There are probably some reasonable techniques for measuring incidental reflected optical power. I'd like to figure out how to do that affordably. It's easier to get a rough idea with the visible spectrum (than, for example, IR) but I would't rely on that.by papergeek - Laser Cutter Working Group
I received this material day before yesterday and I did some experiments at low to moderate power - very pleased with the results. It's a very dark orange and at low power ("focusing" range) the bright blue center on white paper is a dim yellow. At cutting power the normal reflections on other surfaces disappear and primary reflections from a white cutting surface are bright yellow but not enoughby papergeek - Laser Cutter Working Group
Well, I'm back after a long hiatus - new baby meant less garage time for me. I had found some laser safety film but it was ridiculously expensive (around USD $500). I've ordered this stuff, which was cheap (came to less than $50 with shipping): By area it works out to much less than the TAP Plastics acrylic (also much easier to cut). I don't have a good method to test its blocking for 445nmby papergeek - Laser Cutter Working Group
There are a few people out this way who've expressed interest - I'm in Escondido, some are in San Marcos, a couple of people in Temecula, etc. I've had my hands full between work and a new baby in the house...by papergeek - California / Southern California RepRap Usergroup
Go to meetup.com and search for FAB LAB San Diego. Wednesday (Feb 12) they have a 3D printing meetup at their place in Kearney Mesa (San Diego). They have a regular Saturday event which I haven't been able to attend yet but I've visited the space there and it seems like a very cool setup.by papergeek - California / Southern California RepRap Usergroup
OK, so basically if I used the maximum forward current of 1.7A plus 5% as an absolute maximum, that's a maximum current of 1.785A and optical power of around 2.33W Not 3W but still decent, and I'd rather have it last longer. Most of my testing has been at 1.7A and I think I'll stick with 1.7-1.8. Interesting diagram of the heat distribution - that's quite a large range from 42C to 28C on the caby papergeek - Laser Cutter Working Group
I have a 445nm blue diode laser, which I got for USD $140 including housing and lens. The datasheet (Nichia NDB7875-E) claims a maximum forward current of 1.7A and and optical power output of typical 1.6W at 1.2A. I seem to be able to comfortably run it for extended periods at 2.0A which (if the forward current to optical power output is linear) implies optical power output around 2.66W. This isby papergeek - Laser Cutter Working Group
As far as how MakerFarm can sell a good lasercut i3 kit for around $500, I think his formula is something like this: - The Mega board is a knockoff made in China as is the RAMPS board - once you have a reliable supplier you can get direct shipments fairly easily (at least here in the US) - Decent stepper motors made in China - Hardware made in China. So far this was the only point of failure forby papergeek - Reprappers
I simply treat it as a design issue and allow 0.2mm tolerance on all surfaces (e.g. on a post which is meant to fit in a 3.0mm diameter hole, make the post diameter no more than 2.6mm). For a slightly easier fit I'll use 0.25mm. The first layer will tend to spread a tiny bit but that's not usually an issue. I like to have things fit together tightly with no filing required. I'd rather err on theby papergeek - General Mendel Topics
I'm sure someone has a tutorial on running pronterface from source in Windows. The dependencies are minimal but there are a couple of things to install. There are basically four packages to install listed here: You can download the source archive from github without needing to install git (download zip link on the right), then start by running pronterface.py Note that you need to install theby papergeek - Printing
Taking a quick look at the printrun/printcore.py source (where pause and resume are handled) it looks like there have been some changes in the gui but the actual print / resume is fairly simple and has not changed. There is a recently opened issue: which sounds exactly like what you are describing. This issue is specific to the precompiled binary. It's possible this is a build problem with theby papergeek - Printing
There is an M code to resume printing since SD printing is done in the firmware itself. When printing using pronterface, it is software running on the PC which is feeding G-code to the printer's firmware over USB. Pronterface (and octoprint) also support management of printing from SD card using M codes. I used to use pronterface (now use octoprint from Raspberry Pi) and always had the option oby papergeek - Printing
You can definitely change filament using pause and resume (in pronterface). The problem with this approach is that you need to hover near the printer and be ready to pause printing at the right moment. Another problem is that when you pause, the nozzle stays in place and may begin oozing melted filament. When you resume (not restart - restart will start printing from the beginning) it will starby papergeek - Printing
Yes indeed, Notepad++ is what I meant and the other plus got lost in seniorspace... It's an excellent FOSS text editor for Windows...by papergeek - General