Use IDEX or toolchanger, and PrusaSlicer? Slow tool changes?
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I have made a feature request on the PrusaSlicer GitHub repo for Active Temperature Control. It is a feature in the slicer IceSL that is really cool. If anyone here would like to comment in support or critique of the feature request, you can find it here: https://github.com/prusa3d/PrusaSlicer/issues/5554
I have a feeling that Prusa won't want to implement this, unless they have a printer in the works that would need it. So, if anyone would like to help me implement this I'd love to start. I know my way around the PS codebase a little bit, and have a basic knowledge of C++ which I have been practicing. Let's do this!
Here is what I wrote in the FR on GitHub:
IceSL describes it like this:
Active temperature control is specifically designed to avoid material to degrade and ooze from idle extruders. The idle extruder is dynamically cooled down and heated during printing, such that it is ready when needed and cooled when not needed. Adjust extruder parameters idle_extruder_temp_degree_c and extruder_degrees_per_sec when using this feature.
IceSL implements this feature well. A target standby temperature is set very low: 100 degrees C by default. The user then estimates and inputs the time it takes to heat/cool in degrees per second. The slicer then calculates, for all tool changes, at what point during the layer to start pre-heating the next tool. Also, importantly, it decides to what temperature to cool the tool being deselected so that it doesn't cool down too much for the time it needs to be inactive. This means the tools may be commanded to different temperatures for standby depending on how long it will be inactive. It gets as cool as possible, given the time, and with enough time will be cooled down much lower than other slicers achieve.
This is only really useful for printers with discrete tools: IDEX or toolchangers. Prusa may not have any such printers on the market right now, but they should make an IDEX printer because they are friggin rad.
Also, if Prusa Research is not willing to implement this feature, I would be glad to help in any way I can, and seek help form others to implement this feature in a way that would be acceptable to the Prusa team.
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@bot said in Use IDEX or toolchanger, and PrusaSlicer? Slow tool changes?:
Prusa may not have any such printers on the market right now
Well, some good news on this front...
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Also, is this something that could be accomplished purely with a Duet firmware plugin? It seems like looking ahead to toolchanges and doing tool preheating should be totally possible.
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@whopping-pochard Interesting article! Maybe Prusa will jump on this idea.
I'm not sure if the firmware would be able to look far enough ahead while also calculating the time needed for all the moves. If it's possible on firmware that would certainly be delightful.
