Best way for manually interchangeable tool-heads?
-
So, I have a Delta with Duet Wifi2, BerdAir (connected to e1heat), Zesty Nimble and a SmartEffector all is good. System is 24V, with a 12V Step down for remaining fans
But, I have an idea to build a (super)volcano hotend, with a separate extruder, 5015 part cooler and be able to manually shift the toolheads. I've got an extra smart effector, and remaining parts, available.
Now, most of the electrical stuff will handle it self via the connectors, great. The exception of course being the part cooler.
What would be the smoothest way to do this?
Basically I would like to be able to just chose "one or the other" hotend in Cura and have the rest be automatic.
SO, I will assume that I need to connect the part fan to the regular fan output. I suppose I could use the "last" stepper driver for the second extruder motor.
But I may be approaching this from an incorrect angle. So, what would be the clever way to do this?
-
Assuming you are using the magnetic rods, then swapping the effectors is easy enough. You can leave the filament tube and the electrical connections connected, if you have enough spare ports on the Duet, then you just need somewhere on the frame to safely park the unused effector out of the way.
You may be able to split the output from the BerdAir so that it supplies air to both effectors, if the flow is sufficient; otherwise you could use a 2-way tap to send the air to one or the other.
You can configure each effector as a separate tool, then in Cura you just need to select the tool. You will need to change the Z probe configuration depending on which tool is in use.
Obviously there is a risk that you will have the wrong tool loaded when you try to print or home the printer. I suggest you set up some means to verify that the correct parameters (e.g. tool Z offset, and Z probe settings) are correct before doing any Z probing or moving the effector down. One way might be to do a cautionary single Z probe at bed centre with low motor current set, in homedelta.g immediately after homing, to verify that the actual tool loaded matches the selected one. Another way might be to have the homedelta.g file prompt you to tap the active tool, and use M581 triggers on both Z probes to detect which one triggers.
-
As for the Z-probe, my current strategy is to traverse down to 100mm from expected bed and do a G30, that should cover any combination of tool and print bed so to say. However the M581 tap-test seem ingenious. Thank you!
But, using blowers instead of the BerdAir is one of my desired outcomes here, as I feel the berd is (compared to noise level) not the best way for a high flow hot end. I may be completely wrong here?
