Considering Duet3, New to RPi

Dizzwold

Hi All,

I have a Tronxy X5SA Pro, which I've bricked. Long story.

So I'm considering doing something along the lines of the BLV Cube with my Tronxy frame and a Duet3.

I've tinkered for many years with Arduino's, but never Raspberry Pi.

Is there a demonstration video anywhere for me to setup the RPi with the Duet3, so I can understand what I'm considering to undertake first?

With a newly purchased RPi do I need set anything up on it first?

I'd be very grateful for your advice.

Dizzwold.

fcwilt

Hi,

I've got three Duet 3 boards but none are using an RPi.

I haven't yet figured out what the benefit is.

I have no complaints about the boards and standalone mode.

Frederick

Veti

whats your reasoning for using the pi with the duet3 ?
the duet 3 can also run in standalone mode.

the tronxy frame is missing some structural strength compared to the blv cube.

for the tronxy the mini 5 would be enough.

Dizzwold

Hi guys,

Thank you for your replies.

The added structure on the BLV is in-part for the X/Y belts and the open front frame. I intend to keep the Tronxy X/Y belt system and closed front frame.

I latter intend to add a third z axis and Mic6 aluminium bed with mains heater.

I'm considering the RPi for the wifi, but could manage with just the Ethernet.

Dizzwold

Hi Guys,

Another question I've just come across.

On the Duet3 why can you only connect the PanelDue with a 4way cable on the 5pin header.

This then also stops you from using the sd card reader on the PanelDue?

Veti

@Dizzwold said in Considering Duet3, New to RPi:

This then also stops you from using the sd card reader on the PanelDue?

yes. there is no 8 pin header on the duet 3. only on the duet mini 5.
sd card support is not there even for the duet mini 5

I intend to keep the Tronxy X/Y belt system and closed front frame.

but thats the bad part.

I'm considering the RPi for the wifi, but could manage with just the Ethernet.

there is a wifi mini 5 version

fcwilt

@Dizzwold said in Considering Duet3, New to RPi:

This then also stops you from using the sd card reader on the PanelDue?

Do you think you would really use that SD card reader?

Frederick

weed2all

@Dizzwold said in Considering Duet3, New to RPi:

I'm considering the RPi for the wifi, but could manage with just the Ethernet.

You don't need the raspberry pi to have wifi...I just bought this little wifi router for only 20$
TP-Link TL-WR802N Nano Router N300 Wi-Fi

Phaedrux

At the moment there is no overly compelling reason to use the Rpi though it does allow for a few conveniences.

For the Duet 3 the pi allows for:

wifi access
touch screen displays that use the full DWC interface
USB storage devices instead of SD cards
software expansion and plugins that will become more common and more powerful over time.

So in short, unless you're keen to tinker, there isn't much with the Pi that you can't do with a standalone board.

garyd9

I'm still spending time evaluating the pros and cons of using the Duet3 with a Pi. In my particular case, if I'm using the duet3 as standalone, I still use a Pi nearby the printer to act as a wifi bridge and for the pi camera. I also use a paneldue (so have full control over the printer even without network connectivity.) I don't have a HDMI touch screen.

Wiring - this is about the same either way. One config requires an ethernet cable, the other requires the SPI ribbon cable. The ethernet cable can be much longer than the SPI ribbon. Either way, the raspPi needs to have it's own power connection (Pi4 was undervolting when trying to pull power from the duet3.)

Speed: SBC is much faster for uploads and any network activity. The wifi on a raspPi4 is at least 10x faster than the wired ethernet on the duet3 (for my environment.) Haven't noticed any speed difference for actually printing.

Reliability: This goes in favor of standalone due to SBC being an additional point of failure. (For standalone, while a RaspPi failure cuts me off from using DWC via the wifi bridge, at least the printer will still print jobs already uploaded.)

Usability: At the current time, DSF seems to offer nothing (to me) that I don't have in standalone, but DSF is lacking in some things (such as conditional gcode functions and it has some additional bugs.) For some people, the ability to attach a touch HDMI display to the SBC might make it more useful. Personally, I prefer the 7" panelDue (which has an interface designed for a tiny screen, and only requires 4 thin wires to attach as opposed to a thick HMDI cable + a USB cable for touch+power.)

Tinkering: This goes in favor of the SBC. The additional layer has all kinds of (currently unused) possibilities. (For normal most people, "tinkering" is a low priority thing. For most people that own 3D printers, it's likely a much higher priority.)

Support: This is in favor of standalone. Issues reported in RRF are usually at least responded to within 24 hours, and bug fixes are often posted within hours of being acknowledged. With DSF, it appears to take longer for acknowledgements and fixes to be made available. There's also the additional complication that sometimes fixes for the SBC combination require changes to both RRF firmware and DSF.

(By the way, the above comments are my own notes to myself that I've been keeping while evaluating. I just did a copy/paste...)

All that being said... I'm actually using the SBC (Pi4) right now (and I can't explain why.)

Dizzwold

Hi Guys,

Thank you for taking the time to reply and the clear explanations.

Very helpful indeed, and very grateful.

It looks like I'll be going with a Duet3 without an SBC / RPi. After-all, I'm only a hobbyist and it's not a source of income.

@Veti said in Considering Duet3, New to RPi:

I intend to keep the Tronxy X/Y belt system and closed front frame.

but thats the bad part.

Hmm, yes admittedly it's not the best solution, but as I currently have no other control boards, therefore no printer. At-least staying with the frame to begin with, along with a Duet is a start. Sorry, I didn't and should've explain this before.

I'll have a look at the TP Link item. I do actually already use a couple of their Ethernet over Mains (Passthrough Powerline) plugs for my Fire TV Stick as I live in an old house without any such wiring.

Thank you for all your help and input.

dc42

@Dizzwold said in Considering Duet3, New to RPi:

It looks like I'll be going with a Duet3 without an SBC / RPi. After-all, I'm only a hobbyist and it's not a source of income.

Have you considered the Duet 3 Mini? It's available in both WiFi and Ethernet versions. Both have the option to connect a RPi, in case you want to do that later.

We have another production batch of Duet 3 Mini being assembled and tested this week and next, so availability of Duet 3 Mini should be good by mid February.

Dizzwold

Hi dc42 & Veti,

Is that the Duet3 Mini 5+ ?

If I went with the Duet 3 Mini (I believe it has 5 stepper drivers), If I later decide to go with a triple z axis would, therefore needing an additional Stepper and Driver, what / which add-on would be the best option?

Also I can see the documentation on the Duet3 Mini 5+ and the add-on accessories, but no prices. Do you have any prices for the above items?

Can I pre-order if I decide to go with the above?

Dizzwold

jay_s_uk

@Dizzwold There is an expansion board that will allow 2 extra drivers to be added.
The mini 5+ also supports can boards so you could add a toolboard or a duet 3 3HC if required

Veti

@Dizzwold said in Considering Duet3, New to RPi:

Can I pre-order if I decide to go with the above?

its already available, but has been sold out.

Dizzwold

Hi Veti,

Yeah just found the price on E3D, but like you say, sold out.

Thank you.

matt3o

@Phaedrux aren't most of the services run from the Pi instead of the duet, leaving the duet just handling IO? I thought that especially at high speeds having a Pi would lighten up the duet MCU.

Also updating is much faster/easier with a pi

Dizzwold

Hi Jay_s_uk,

Okay thank you.

Dizzwold

Hi matt3o,

Oh, another positive thought on the RPi.

LOL, commence the battle of RPi users vs non RPi users.

As a hobby user, so light use, would I benefit from having a RPi?

matt3o

@Dizzwold said in Considering Duet3, New to RPi:

As a hobby user, so light use, would I benefit from having a RPi?

define "hobby" many users here including myself take the hobby very seriously

If you connect to the duet from 1-2 PCs and you print at "human" speeds I don't think it makes any difference. Probably it makes no difference for 90% of the use-cases. Personally I use it mostly for the wifi and for the good performance ssh connection.