Flashforge Creator Pro & Duet 3 Mini 5+
-
This is my first post, so please be gentle.
I have an old Flashforge Creator Pro that has been great to me for 6000+ hours of printing but is starting to show its age.
Looking at upgrade or replacement options there isn't a lot of parts or information available on them. I am looking to upgrade the creator pro with a duet board based on lots of recommendations from here, google and Reddit.
That said, I've seen some posts of people doing this with the Duet 2 but see that the Duet 3 is out and it has compatibility with Raspberry Pi and the 7" display. Since I already have lots of pis and a screen available I was thinking of going this route. However, I don't see much information on other people doing this so am just looking for a yea based on the equipment on the pro, it should work fine with the Duet 3 mini 5+ and has the correct functionality to make it work.
I would appreciate any advice the community might have. I am a bit of a noob in this area but have decent fundamentals, am relentless to figure things out, and am good at reading lol.
Thanks in advance!
-
Well I ordered a board. I will try and document the process in another thread and potentially link back here incase anyone is interested.
-
Let us know if you have any questions on specifics.
-
So I got the board the other day and I am working through the documentation and I have a few questions:
-
Can I use the pi to power the duet board? If see that there is a 5V select jumper but I don't see much information on it regarding the Duet 3 Mini. In the documentation, it just says that you need to supply power to the pi and duet board and that the duet board cant power the pi but it looks like vice versa is possible. The board however did not power up with just the ribbon connection from the pi. What are the current requirements for the Duet board?
-
I have a duet thermocouple daughter board on order but it was definitely not as easy to source as the main boards. Is there a reason that the Duet boards don't have support for thermocouples out of the box? Is this thermistors only? Is there a benefit to using thermistors vs. thermocouples? I am wondering if I should just figure out how to convert my printer to use thermistors vs. thermocouples.
-
I bought a DC42 IR probe that only required 3.3V, GND and an io.in. In the RRF config tool under Z-probe I can only use the temp connectors or io3? I am bit confused by this since the temp connectors are only 2 wire and the io3 is a waste of a 5 wire connection when you only need 3 wires? I am missing something? Also, I am assuming I don't need to do anything with the Modulation Pin or PWN Control Channel in RRF?
Thanks in advance!
-
-
@misterjtc said in Flashforge Creator Pro & Duet 3 Mini 5+:
- Can I use the pi to power the duet board?
There's no point; if you want to use the stepper drivers, fans and heaters, you'll need to connect a 12-24V PSU anyway. Then use the onboard 5V to power the Duet. If you really want to power the Duet from the RPi, you could power it via USB.
- I have a duet thermocouple daughter board on order but it was definitely not as easy to source as the main boards. Is there a reason that the Duet boards don't have support for thermocouples out of the box? Is this thermistors only? Is there a benefit to using thermistors vs. thermocouples? I am wondering if I should just figure out how to convert my printer to use thermistors vs. thermocouples.
See https://docs.duet3d.com/User_manual/Connecting_hardware/Temperature_choosing
Adding the circuitry directly to the Duet mainboard would add cost and increase price, for something that relatively few people need.- I bought a DC42 IR probe that only required 3.3V, GND and an io.in. In the RRF config tool under Z-probe I can only use the temp connectors or io3? I am bit confused by this since the temp connectors are only 2 wire and the io3 is a waste of a 5 wire connection when you only need 3 wires? I am missing something? Also, I am assuming I don't need to do anything with the Modulation Pin or PWN Control Channel in RRF?
My IR probe is connected to io3 on my Mini 5+. io3 is the only analog IO input; see https://docs.duet3d.com/Duet3D_hardware/Duet_3_family/Duet_3_Mini_5+_Hardware_Overview#io-headers
In the past on Duet 2, the IR probe worked in analog mode, but on Duet 3 it is set up in digital mode in the configuration. So it may be that this limitation is no longer valid; I honestly just haven't tried it any other way, as I have spare IO anyway. I'd say set it up on io3 and make sure it works, then try it on another IO header. No, you don't need modulation or PWM control with the IR probe.
I'm not sure what this has to do with the temperature input; those inputs have special circuitry (a voltage divider) designed for reading the resistance of a thermistor or PT1000. You can't connect a probe to that. Also, the io3.out and 5V pin on io3 will still be available, just a bit harder to get at.Ian
-
So I am well on my way to getting the machine set-up but have run into an issue with one of my end stops that I can seem to figure out.
I have been working through the commissioning steps and am stuck at the end-stop portion. My X and Z end stops appear to function correctly during homing but I noticed some odd issues when the machine hit the Y-axis end-stop first. In testing the end stops with the M119 gcode I noted that the X and Z endstops register correctly via M119 but not the Y-axis stop. When the Y-axis stop is depressed, the machine registers that all three endstops are hit. Once removed, all end-stops register as not touched. I've went over my config a few times and changed IO ports but cannot get it sorted. Another thing I noticed during this testing is that the LED's on the end stops on the X and Z axes illuminate when pressed but the Y end-stop does not. I checked the wiring on the Y axis and even re-crimped the connectors.
My current config.g is below. Any advice or help is very much appreciated!
; Configuration file for Duet 3 Mini 5+ (firmware version 3.3) ; executed by the firmware on start-up ; ; generated by RepRapFirmware Configuration Tool v3.3.15 on Sat Jan 07 2023 21:50:31 GMT-0500 (Eastern Standard Time) ; General preferences G90 ; send absolute coordinates... M83 ; ...but relative extruder moves M550 P"prometheus" ; set printer name ; Drives M569 P0.0 S1 ; physical drive 0.0 goes forwards M569 P0.1 S1 ; physical drive 0.1 goes forwards M569 P0.2 S0 ; physical drive 0.2 goes backwards M569 P0.3 S1 ; physical drive 0.3 goes forwards M569 P0.4 S1 ; physical drive 0.4 goes forwards M584 X0.0 Y0.1 Z0.2 E0.3:0.4 ; set drive mapping M350 X16 Y16 Z16 E16:16 I1 ; configure microstepping with interpolation M92 X94.12 Y94.12 Z400.00 E96.2752:96.2752 ; set steps per mm M566 X480.00 Y480.00 Z400 E1200.00:1200.00 ; set maximum instantaneous speed changes (mm/min) M203 X6000.00 Y6000.00 Z180.00 E1200.00:1200.00 ; set maximum speeds (mm/min) M201 X500.00 Y500.00 Z150.00 E250.00:250.00 ; set accelerations (mm/s^2) M906 X810 Y810 Z300 E810:810 I20 ; set motor currents (mA) and motor idle factor in per cent M84 S30 ; Set idle timeout ; Axis Limits M208 X-111 Y-75 Z0 S1 ; set axis minima M208 X150 Y75 Z150 S0 ; set axis maxima ; Endstops M574 X2 S1 P"!io0.in" ; configure switch-type (e.g. microswitch) endstop for high end on X via pin !io0.in M574 Y2 S1 P"!io4.in" ; configure switch-type (e.g. microswitch) endstop for high end on Y via pin !io4.in M574 Z1 S1 P"!io2.in" ; configure switch-type (e.g. microswitch) endstop for low end on Z via pin !io2.in ; Z-Probe ;M558 P0 H5 F0 T6000 ; disable Z probe but set dive height, probe speed and travel speed ;M557 X15:135 Y15:60 S20 ; define mesh grid ; Heaters M308 S0 P"temp0" Y"thermistor" T100000 B4066 ; configure sensor 0 as thermistor on pin temp0 M950 H0 C"out0" T0 ; create bed heater output on out0 and map it to sensor 0 M307 H0 B1 S0.85 ; enable bang-bang mode for the bed heater and set PWM limit M140 H0 ; map heated bed to heater 0 M143 H0 S120 ; set temperature limit for heater 0 to 120C M308 S1 P"spi.cs1" Y"thermocouple-max31856" ; configure sensor 1 as thermocouple via CS pin spi.cs1 M950 H1 C"out1" T1 ; create nozzle heater output on out1 and map it to sensor 1 M307 H1 B0 S1.00 ; disable bang-bang mode for heater and set PWM limit M143 H1 S280 ; set temperature limit for heater 1 to 280C M308 S2 P"spi.cs2" Y"thermocouple-max31856" ; configure sensor 2 as thermocouple via CS pin spi.cs2 M950 H2 C"out2" T2 ; create nozzle heater output on out2 and map it to sensor 2 M307 H2 B0 S1.00 ; disable bang-bang mode for heater and set PWM limit M143 H2 S280 ; set temperature limit for heater 2 to 280C ; Fans M950 F0 C"out3" Q500 ; create fan 0 on pin out3 and set its frequency M106 P0 S0 H-1 ; set fan 0 value. Thermostatic control is turned off M950 F1 C"out5" Q500 ; create fan 1 on pin out5 and set its frequency M106 P1 S1 H1 T45 ; set fan 1 value. Thermostatic control is turned on M950 F2 C"out6" Q500 ; create fan 2 on pin out6 and set its frequency M106 P2 S1 H2 T45 ; set fan 2 value. Thermostatic control is turned on ; Tools M563 P0 S"EXTRUDER RIGHT" D0 H1 F0 ; define tool 0 G10 P0 X0 Y0 Z0 ; set tool 0 axis offsets G10 P0 R0 S0 ; set initial tool 0 active and standby temperatures to 0C M563 P1 S"EXTRUDER LEFT" D1 H2 F0 ; define tool 1 G10 P1 X-34.04514634972721 Y0.29743029572304586 Z0 ; set tool 1 axis offsets G10 P1 R0 S0 ; set initial tool 1 active and standby temperatures to 0C ; Custom settings are not defined ; Miscellaneous M911 S10 R11 P"M913 X0 Y0 G91 M83 G1 Z3 E-5 F1000" ; set voltage thresholds and actions to run on power lossI also tried to get the End-Stop add-in working but couldn't figure out what needs to be contained within the zip package. All my attempts ended with either nothing happening or a manifest error.
Secondly, my stepper motors are a bit noisy under certain conditions. The symptoms are below:
- The X and Y-axis steppers sound pretty good when moving.
- As soon as I do any movements and the steppers stop moving I have a nasty hum/whining during idle.
- When the Z axis is moving it sounds horrible kind of like a soft grinding.
The steppers are configured based on other people's configs for the same printer (Flashforge Creator Pro).
I am looking for some advice on tuning these steppers better.
Thanks in advance!
-
Is the Y endstop physically the same as the X and Z endstop? Are you sure it's wired correctly? Can you show some photos or show a diagram of how it's wired? If triggering Y makes all seem triggered maybe there is a short?
For the stepper tuning, see here: https://docs.duet3d.com/en/User_manual/Connecting_hardware/Motors_tuning
You may be able to improve the noise by setting up stealthchop.
-
@misterjtc Hi, can you share your results, please? Is everything ok?
I want to get Duet 3 mini 5+ as well because of the tmc2209 drivers. Duet 2 wifi is better known to the community, but it has 2660 drivers without stealthchop unfortunately.I would appreciate if you describe the steps needed to go through the upgrade.
-
undefined Inlinebrother referenced this topic
-
@misterjtc Hi, I would appreciate if you share how did you find out stepper motor currents? Are these currents for original creator pro stepper motors?
It seems to me that config from github here is a bit off
I have Y axis layer shifts sometimes and extruder motors at 700 are clicking when they should not -
@Inlinebrother & @misterjtc I just finished converting my flashforge creator pro (replicator 2) to a duet 3 mini 5+ .. with the exception that I did gut the extruders and replace them with a biqu h2 v2.... so you're on your own with setting up the two extruders.. but the rest of it I got worked out.. respond and tag if you are looking for help ...
