Change Z-babystepping to Y-babystepping for Belt printers.

NAK_3D

Hello,
Would it be possible or is there a way to change Z-babystepping to Y-babystepping? I'm building a belt printer and the distance from the print surface is controlled by the Y-axis on a belt printer.

Thanks
NAK_3D

dc42

The M290 command currently only supports Z babystepping, but it would be possible to extend it to support other axes as well.

bot

I could see this feature being useful for fine-tuning the alignment of tools on an IDEX printer.

On that note: does babystepping function on a per-tool basis, or is it an augmentation of a single "machine coordinate system?"

dc42

@bot said in Change Z-babystepping to Y-babystepping for Belt printers.:

On that note: does babystepping function on a per-tool basis, or is it an augmentation of a single "machine coordinate system?"

It applies to all tools. I guess we could add a command to shift the babystepping offsets into the offsets of the current tool and clear the babystepping offsets, but I'm not sure whether that would be useful more generally.

timcurtis67

@dc42 said in Change Z-babystepping to Y-babystepping for Belt printers.:

@bot said in Change Z-babystepping to Y-babystepping for Belt printers.:

On that note: does babystepping function on a per-tool basis, or is it an augmentation of a single "machine coordinate system?"

It applies to all tools. I guess we could add a command to shift the babystepping offsets into the offsets of the current tool and clear the babystepping offsets, but I'm not sure whether that would be useful more generally.

Personally I would prefer to alter the X and or Y with a G10 offset in my config file or manually. Once I change hotends I always get my offsets dialed in before doing any real prints. Then once it is set I haven't had any alignment issues.

Just my opinion on this, nothing more.

bot

@dc42 said in Change Z-babystepping to Y-babystepping for Belt printers.:

@bot said in Change Z-babystepping to Y-babystepping for Belt printers.:

On that note: does babystepping function on a per-tool basis, or is it an augmentation of a single "machine coordinate system?"

It applies to all tools. I guess we could add a command to shift the babystepping offsets into the offsets of the current tool and clear the babystepping offsets, but I'm not sure whether that would be useful more generally.

Hmm, maybe a good solution would be to simply allow a modifier in the babystepping GCODE to tell the printer to apply it to only one specific tool?

@timcurtis67 said in Change Z-babystepping to Y-babystepping for Belt printers.:

@dc42 said in Change Z-babystepping to Y-babystepping for Belt printers.:

@bot said in Change Z-babystepping to Y-babystepping for Belt printers.:

On that note: does babystepping function on a per-tool basis, or is it an augmentation of a single "machine coordinate system?"

It applies to all tools. I guess we could add a command to shift the babystepping offsets into the offsets of the current tool and clear the babystepping offsets, but I'm not sure whether that would be useful more generally.

Personally I would prefer to alter the X and or Y with a G10 offset in my config file or manually. Once I change hotends I always get my offsets dialed in before doing any real prints. Then once it is set I haven't had any alignment issues.

Just my opinion on this, nothing more.

I agree. I could only picture using babystepping to discover the best offset to apply manually/permanently.

NAK_3D

@dc42 That would make dialing in a belt printer much easier... I would be more than happy to test the feature should you implement the ability to baby step the y-axis.

NAK_3D

@dc42 I was just on a live stream with Scott Lahteine from Marlin.. He told me that with Marlin if you enable "Babystep_XY" it will let you babystep all axis.. I know currently this feature is not supported by RepRap.. Any chance you guys have the pull to get this feature supported as well as I believe this would resolve my problem.. Thanks

dc42

Please remind me again about a week from now. Just to be clear, do you need to babystep Y while the print is running, or would you do it before starting the print?

NAK_3D

@dc42 I will do my best to remember to remind you in a week... As for when I would use babystepping, both would be nice but I see it being used more during the print for my application.

dc42

@nak_3d, wouldn't babystepping during a print give you a Y layer shift as well as adjusting the Z height?

NAK_3D

@dc42 I suppose you might see a slight shift but I'm wanting to be able to adjust for flow variances that effect first layer adhesion..so I'd only be using it to make small adjustment in the first few layers... If you've never seen a belt printer running it may be hard to grasp, but on each layer only 1 line moving across the x-axis touches the bed.. the z-axis moves horizontally away from the nozzle while the y-axis varies the distance from the bed moving on a 45 degree angle.. So the only way to compensate for bed adhesion is to slightly adjust the Y axis.. Hope this all makes sense...

NAK_3D

@dc42 This is your friendly reminder one week later..

dc42

Thanks for the reminder. Can you confirm that your machine uses a single Y motor, that affects nothing other than the Y position?

NAK_3D

@dc42 Its a CoreXY design.. I do believe two motors have to run to go a single direction.

dc42

@nak_3d said in Change Z-babystepping to Y-babystepping for Belt printers.:

@dc42 Its a CoreXY design.. I do believe two motors have to run to go a single direction.

That complicates things, if you want the babystepping to work quickly.

I've implemented changes to the M290 command in my latest internal build to allow any axis to be baby stepped. Currently it will only attempt to apply baby stepping to existing moves in the queue for the Z axis. So Y baby stepping will work on a CoreXY machine, but you will need to wait for existing moves in the queue to complete before it takes effect.