Off topic: I think it might be worth while to have a compact gcode format, both for file transfer and easier parsing in the controller. After some thought I've come up with a proposal for what I believe may be a simple way to do it at about 50% of current file sizes. Thread is here: Compact Gcode. (Done with this thread.)by Paul Wanamaker - General
The issue of Gcode size has come up recently, so I want to discuss standard ways to reduce gcode size, and I have a proposal for a standard format for Compact Gcode. I invite your comments. This was prompted by the following: Quotefrankvdh Gcode files are huge, so transferring them to the printer's SDcard over the wire isn't practical. Before I get to a more compact format, here are some wayby Paul Wanamaker - Developers
Well, yes you did! You have done a very fine job. Congratulations! Excellent job on the write-up too. I really do like your innovation with the rods as bearings. Elegant. And if they wear a bit, just rotate them...by Paul Wanamaker - Developers
Well... Toben, you have ignored or do not grasp all of the technical details. Maybe it's because I've been typing in English, or that I used some irony. No one does you a favor however by shielding you from reality, so this is my final try (I must be a sucker for punishment). I am really sorry to have to be blunt (again). QuoteToben Changes to both firmware and slicer required to make thiby Paul Wanamaker - General
Quotethe_digital_Dentist If the user has to enter all that at print time they may as well just run the slicer themselves and get maximum control over the print. Agreed, Sigh. Unfortunately the issues are not getting across, so I have to be blunt I guess. And I might be a bit cranky now... It might show. It might be possible to do very limited slicing on a 32-bit micro-controller that is on aby Paul Wanamaker - General
Elmo, I give an example of gcode for this here. I'd recommend manually moving your hot end to the starting location you want to prime at and noting the coordinates, and then move it to where you want it to end, and note that. Then you could create some gcode that just moves there and test it. Once that is OK then add the extrusion amounts that are correct for your printer, and test that. If alby Paul Wanamaker - General
Tobben, I want to get to the root of your issue, so bear with me - I'm not trying to pick it apart - I am providing possible solutions. My background is in all facets of design and development of multi-tier computer systems and desktop apps, and I have been working for over a year on analyzing and post processing gcode from multiple slicers. My basic design rules are: #1: First carefully desby Paul Wanamaker - General
I've found a few things that make the first layer 100% reliable for me with ABS. I know kapton directly on the heatbed would be faster to heat than with glass on top, with less maintenance, etc., probably better, but this method just always work for me, and I didn't want to apply kapton to such a large area. I never even think about the first layer, except to smile. My personal preference is toby Paul Wanamaker - General
Kevin, This is very good work! As I have just written in another place, I've been thinking of a scenario for this kind of thing - for a robotics project with a great number of motors. QuotePaul W Instead of interpreting gcode and sending step pulses, a multi-core master controller (like a Pi 3) could send "motion frames" to slave controllers (like 1GHZ Pi Zeros running bare metal, $5 each). Thby Paul Wanamaker - Firmware - experimental, borrowed, and future
There is an functional project for this: I am quite impressed with it.by Paul Wanamaker - Experimental
Several minds have spent a lot of time puzzling about this. There is a project folder here, but it is stagnant: I think there are versions of this that have some merit. You could of course use LinuxCNC to send steps directly to the printer - but the communications would need to be altered, probably not worth it. I personally do not like having my computer chained to the printer, and printingby Paul Wanamaker - Experimental
QuoteShadowphile On a separate front, I decided to try ABS because that is usually jam-free. I have avoided though because of the warping. My bed will get to 100 C ok (glass bed). I hung a pair of garbage bags over the machine to get the chamber temperature up. It printed the whole thing but warping was terrible! This is a hollow 4 sided box about 5" x 6" with 10mm thick walls. I don't know howby Paul Wanamaker - Delta Machines
OK, I listened to the video over and over. It sounds like loose bearings rattling. But I understand now - the problem only started when you changed to RADDS - so it's the drivers causing it. What model stepper drivers are you using? There is a huge difference in the noise from various drivers. DRV8825 can be the worst, Allegro drivers better (depending on tuning). See these videos about thby Paul Wanamaker - Developers
I finally found the thread I remembered here talking about the exact same problem - with a lead-screw driven printer. The lead screw will transmit the noise from the stepper driver much more than belts do. The amount of noise varies greatly with the variety of stepper driver, how they are tuned, the microstepping, and the amount of current. It is well described here: the_Digital_Dentiby Paul Wanamaker - Developers
I would envision a program like Google Picasa for STLs. This would be an interesting project. So I think the program would need: - A lightweight database - The ability to scan through the directories, adding all the STL files to the database. - A function to render the data, like this one: - Simple folder options for organizing the files, naming, tagging, rating - Sorting by tag/category, etby Paul Wanamaker - General
Well, for instance you can do slic3r-console --cut 30 moai.stl That will separate the upper and bottom part. And then rename moai.stl_upper.stl to workfile.stl Then do slic3r-console --cut 0.20 workfile.stl That will give you the one layer that is between Z30 and Z30.20 mm I wrote a batch file that will do this for as many layers as you want. I'm sure there are other programs that could do iby Paul Wanamaker - Developers
AussiePhil, I'm quite impressed with your results - and from my experience I know that engineering a printer that large - that works well is difficult, time consuming, and yes, can be frustrating. And also rewarding! Well done, keep at it! I see you are getting very good results with the Duet. 32-bit is the only way to go (I use a Smoothie and like it). The flying extruder mod is an intereby Paul Wanamaker - Delta Machines
With apologies to the OP, as this is not quite what he is looking for: Slic3r also has an option to slice to SVG. This creates a SVG (vector) file with a vector object for each layer, all stacked on top of one another. The vector objects contain the outlines of the 3D object for that layer. Here I sliced the above object to SVG, and then in Inkskape I turned off all fills, and set an outlineby Paul Wanamaker - Developers
JoeJJJ (With apologies to the OP as this is off topic). You can use Slic3r's Cut feature to create thin slices. There is even a command line option to do it Slic3r Command Line Here I used the Cut feature to make a section of a helmet I wanted to print full size to check the fit, before printing the whole thing:by Paul Wanamaker - Developers
There was a long thread about this a while back in the Slic3r forum here. One issue brought up is that smaller holes have less facets - more strait lines around the hole - effectively making it smaller. Another issue is that filament being dragged around the hole may be pulled slightly inward. One thing that was recommended was to print outside perimeters first. This will actually print the iby Paul Wanamaker - Printing
Hi Andrew, Yes you can change the contact distance, although it is not obvious from the interface. You can just type the contact distance you want into the Contact Z distance dropdown. I use: Contact Z distance: .06mm Pattern spacing: 7 mm Interface layers: 2 Interface pattern spacing: 2mm Note that my extrusion width is .8mm and larger (custom hot end). You will need to do some tests to seeby Paul Wanamaker - Printing
I will take it you are comfortable with your extrusion width calibration - using a single walled shape. So - this might be a known bug in Slic3r. See Here. Also, some Slic3r tutorials here.by Paul Wanamaker - Slic3r
Very good advice. If you are having problems with shifted layers - check out the Wiki page: Shifted Layers / Offset Layers / Missed Steps for more than 30 possible causes, and solutions.by Paul Wanamaker - Printing
QuoteSrek A long or voluminous melt zone is something that can be helpful for extrusion at continuous speed, but you only have that with injection molding or very few special cases in FDM. In general the extrusion needs start and stop very often and is done at various speeds in one print. I disagree with this to a point. I am using a very similar hot end to what I refer to, and know it to workby Paul Wanamaker - General
Quotemdashd Do you have any ideas of what might happen if I shifted your changes a little and put the narrowest part higher within the nozzle? Would it change the diameter of the resulting extrusion? As it reduces the volume of the melt chamber, would it also reduce the volume of the throughput also? Or would the bottom end also be considered part of the melt chamber? I've never seen that done,by Paul Wanamaker - General
Quotemdashd At the moment, the motor is pushing hard into the hot end which is producing a lot of back pressure in the filament. The limiting factor seems to be the nozzle. I’ve read that speed is proportional to hot-end temperature (hence the high thermal mass of the nozzle), but is there anyway that the nozzle might be physically altered to increase the speed of the extrusion? Does anyone havby Paul Wanamaker - General
Very nice! I do like the level of control. What size line will it do? What model laser and optics?by Paul Wanamaker - Printing
QuoteDownunder35m By the way: I can now run engravings at 7200mm/min on my Marlin based laser. This was done by matching the acceleration values to the movement speeds. Before that the max possible was around 4500mm/min above that lost steps, shifting, rattling noises. I think it would be really beneficial for a lot of people if someone could design a model for jerk and acceleration checks. My pby Paul Wanamaker - Printing
QuotePaul W Plus for this project you will need more sophisticated/different and therefore custom slicing software. Quoteteh.stig Software: What are you basing that off of? My background: I've been writing software for 20+ years, and have been working on a post-processor suite for Slic3r with multiple pressure compensation and acceleration related features, as well as Guided Calibration (as timeby Paul Wanamaker - Let's design something! (I've got an idea ...)
I hope your project goes well! I think it's fascinating - that's why I'm commenting. Just a few observations. Scaling up a printer involves much more costly components and care, because of the need for: - increased rigidity - more powerful motors and more sophisticated motor drivers - closed loop - a faster controller (32-bit) - longer cable runs for sensors and motors - changes to extrusionby Paul Wanamaker - Let's design something! (I've got an idea ...)