effector tilting into bed on print

dc42 · 28 Jul 2018, 05:15

The probe is built into the PCB. It uses the nozzle to probe the bed and the PCB detects the force. See the commissioning section in the fitting instructions at https://duet3d.dozuki.com/Wiki/Smart_effector_and_carriage_adapters_for_delta_printer.

TimVukman · 28 Jul 2018, 09:58

Ooops. Sorry about that. I hadn't read the commissioning part yet when I wrote my note. I'm glad to know that my kit wasn't missing any parts.

I will follow the commissioning instructions very carefully and report back

TimVukman · 28 Jul 2018, 15:55

I have gone through the commissioning section.

I get the green light for the z-probe.

The hot end stops on the way down when I tap the nozzle.

Auto configuration returns

G32
Calibrated 6 factors using 10 points, deviation before 2.045 after 0.181

Homeall
G32
Calibrated 6 factors using 10 points, deviation before 0.238 after 0.226
G32
Calibrated 6 factors using 10 points, deviation before 0.204 after 0.199

Observations / Comments / Chance of printing?
Please advise

Dougal1957 · 28 Jul 2018, 16:30

@timvukman do several Autocals (without homing in-between) til it converges so the the before and after figures are about the same your figures still seem a bit high tho they are better than before as a matter of interest high many factors are you calibrating?

Doug

TimVukman · 28 Jul 2018, 16:41

I'm not sure what you mean by how many factors. I believe it is 6. That is my S setting

TimVukman · 28 Jul 2018, 16:42

G32
Calibrated 6 factors using 10 points, deviation before 0.206 after 0.202

Better?

Dougal1957 · 28 Jul 2018, 20:07

yes it is the Param

6 or 8 is ok 7 or 9 will try and adjust the rod length which if your using haydn's rods should be set correctly anyway

TimVukman · 28 Jul 2018, 21:28

Check this out!!!

G32
Calibrated 6 factors using 10 points, deviation before 0.206 after 0.206

dc42 · 29 Jul 2018, 06:05

@timvukman said in effector tilting into bed on print:

Check this out!!!

G32
Calibrated 6 factors using 10 points, deviation before 0.206 after 0.206

That's a lot better than you were getting before. It's still a lot worse than is possible with the Smart Effector, so I suspect that either the carriages are out of alignment or the towers are not quite parallel to each other. If it's the carriages then the spirit level will probably show some varying tilt.

You can try printing with it, but you will need to use either a higher than normal first layer height, or mesh bed compensation.

TimVukman · 29 Jul 2018, 10:42

I am going to order a metal kit for the top and bottom frames. There are visible spaces that I can't get rid of on the current injection molded ones.

Would my original 80 steps / mm change for the M92 command?

My test prints are really unusual. I will send a calibration cube so I can see what I am physically getting, but I tried a couple of small items and I am getting puddles. The hotend is not going up quickly enough and the nozzle is plowing through previous layers.

Should I get rid of the microstepping?

dc42 · 29 Jul 2018, 11:55

M92: the tower steps/mm depends on the number of teeth on the motor pulleys and on whether you have 1.8 or 0.9deg motors. 80 steps/mm is correct for 20 tooth GT2 pulleys and 1.8deg motors.

Microstepping: I recommend you use the default x16 with interpolation to 256 until you have the printer working well.

TimVukman · 29 Jul 2018, 14:11

Thanks
Motors are 1.8. 20 tooth, microstepping is 16. Interpolation is off.

I'm going to try mesh bed compensation

Ran a test print. Way too much filament. Had to stop the print since it was bogged down in the cube.

X and Y dimensions appear pretty close. Z not doing well. Z height

DWC has extruder controls set at 1 mm feed amount and 1 mm feed rate. Extrusion slider is at 100%

TimVukman · 29 Jul 2018, 14:32

Watching the print. Z is climbing at .2 for each layer which is what is set my my slicer software (Simplify3d)

I guess I need to take apart the hotend so I can see what length is being extruded when I tell it to extrude 100mm

TimVukman · 29 Jul 2018, 14:39

Backed the filament out of the hot end.

Extruded 10mm and it advanced 40mm. Searching for my notes on adjusting.

TimVukman · 29 Jul 2018, 15:21

Extruder Adjusted

Printing Calibration Cube.

Print is looking very good. X and Y are 20mm.

I can't thank you all enough for the help and support that you have provided. You are all consistently knowledgeable and helpful every time I contact you.

My printer is completely silent except for the fans that are cooling the main board. There is no motor sound at all.

I am really very impressed with the Smart Effector.

Is there any way I can adapt my cartesian printer to support one of these? My current hot end is a square unit that mounts via screws through the top. It would be great to be able to bolt one of these on somehow.

(edited for spelling)

dc42 · 30 Jul 2018, 07:57

I'm glad you got there eventually!

I guess you could mount a Smart Effector on a Cartesian printer, but it would take up quite a lot of room. You might want to look at the Precision Piezo, which is another type of nozzle-contact Z probe. I haven't used one, but several forum users have and can tell you more if you ask.

PS - is it possible that the bed is not quite at right angles to the towers? If so then it's worth trying 8-factor calibration (S8 on the final G30 command in bed.g instead of S6). I suggest you use 13 or 17 probe points, e.g. 9 or 12 around the periphery, 3 half way from the centre, and the centre.

TimVukman · 30 Jul 2018, 11:20

Thanks dc42. It is possible that the bed is not at right angles. I will try S8. I will search for the Precision Piezo.

I wrote my not just before heading out. The print did not complete. The nozzle stopped rising and there was evidence of skipping from the belts.

Time to order the metal frames. I will pick this printer up again later.

Thanks for all the help

Tim

TimVukman · 12 Aug 2018, 21:47

Hi:

I have now received and installed the aluminum corners for my printer. The lower ones are single thick pieces and the upper ones are the normal single thickness.

I had hoped that I had some sort of gap in the old plastic parts causing my issues. With the aluminum, everything is tight!

Auto Configuration is returning
G32
Calibrated 6 factors using 10 points, deviation before 0.071 after 0.066
5:32:20 PMG32
Calibrated 6 factors using 10 points, deviation before 0.075 after 0.067
2:02:38 PMG32
Calibrated 6 factors using 10 points, deviation before 0.071 after 0.058
I am surprised that these numbers are changing. I would have expected that they would settle out and then stay the same each time.

I did try to print, which was not a good idea. I am not printing at the center of the bed, and the print height is not steady.

All ideas welcome

dc42 · 13 Aug 2018, 06:57

The numbers change because the bed probe reading heights you are getting are varying by about 0.01mm. This is a very small amount, comparable with the size of a single 1/16 microstep if your delta printer uses 1.8deg motors.

If you are using M558 P5 with your Smart Effector, you may get slightly better results with M558 P8.

Although your calibration deviation is not as low as many users obtain, it should be good enough to print with. I used to print with a calibration deviation of 0.12mm before I upgraded my delta to linear rails and Smart Effector.

adavidm · 13 Aug 2018, 09:57

@timvukman Just to re-iterate what dc42 said, those figures are good enough to print with. It's unlikely that you can see such a deviation with the naked eye, so something else must be going on.

I wonder if you have an old mesh bed compensation file that's being loaded at startup. Running G29 S2 will clear a pre-existing mesh.

It might also be a good idea to post your config.g, config-override.g and bed.g files.

adavidm