Duet Wifi setup - need help
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If bed compensation is working then you should see the Z stepper motor moving a little as the head moves in the XY plane. If it has failed, then if you go to the Console page of the web interface or PanelDue immediately after running G32 you should find an error message.
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Thanks for all the info…more to absorb. I'm running a test print now and everything seems to be functional. With all the changes, I think I have some adjusting to do in the config.g file. The speeds were dialed down as recommended for testing so I have just bumped them up and will try and get the printer dialed in. The Z-axis is moving during the print so I guess it is working!
A couple of things I have noticed...
First, every once in a great while during a rapid move over a longer distance, I get a weird rattling sound. It doesn't happen all the time so I'm not sure what it is or how to really describe the sound. I'm familiar with the mechanics of this printer so it's usual "normal" noises I am used to.
Another thing I am having problems with is the IR sensor dragging over globs of filament. As I am new to printing, I occasionally get a messy print and if I'm not sitting by the printer, I could come back and have a good little mess. Prior to the IR sensor, it didn't matter but now I'm wondering what to do about this. Using a mount I found on Thingiverse, I have the sensor pretty close to 1.5mm above the nozzle height. When it does the bed leveling, the nozzle looks about 3-4mm off the bed when the sensor triggers. The instructions say to shoot for 1.5mm. How much can I raise the sensor and still expect good results?
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If the probe is dragging on blobs of plastic and it's 1.5mm above the nozzle, then the nozzle must be carving grooves too. The only real solution is to get your printer dialled in so that you don't have the mess of plastic to deal with.
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First, every once in a great while during a rapid move over a longer distance, I get a weird rattling sound. It doesn't happen all the time so I'm not sure what it is or how to really describe the sound. I'm familiar with the mechanics of this printer so it's usual "normal" noises I am used to.
I had that once on my Ormerod. I was printing an enclosure for a Duet, which had lots of small cooling holes in the sides. So at certain heights, the perimeters it printed consisted of a series of short dashed lines. Where the dashes were overhanging the previous layer, there was a slight curl up at each end. At one point the gcode did a fast travel move along the perimeter, and it made a loud rattling sound as the nozzle passed over all the curled-up ends. Could the same be happening to your print?
Another thing I am having problems with is the IR sensor dragging over globs of filament. As I am new to printing, I occasionally get a messy print and if I'm not sitting by the printer, I could come back and have a good little mess. Prior to the IR sensor, it didn't matter but now I'm wondering what to do about this. Using a mount I found on Thingiverse, I have the sensor pretty close to 1.5mm above the nozzle height. When it does the bed leveling, the nozzle looks about 3-4mm off the bed when the sensor triggers. The instructions say to shoot for 1.5mm. How much can I raise the sensor and still expect good results?
You can raise the sensor a little, so long as it triggers reliably before the nozzle touches the bed, But I agree with the previous post - if you are getting blobs as high as 1.5mm then you need to fix whatever is causing them.
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Thanks once again for the support. I don't think the rattling noise sounded like what had happened to you but will have to wait until it happens again…perhaps I can then describe it better.
Yes, I suppose you both are right regarding my printer setup and tuning. Still new to this so will work on that.
Something else has come up...on a couple of occasions, I have gotten a heater fault. The first time, I thought a thermistor wire came loose or something of that nature and double checked the wiring and found no obvious problems. Eventually got it working again but can't recall what I did to "fix" it. Now, this just happened again. I am doing test prints to adjust the z-offset and cancelled a print bad start via the web interface. I then edited the config.g file and tried again. It seemed that the z-offset adjustment did not take as there was no change in the first layer adhesion and I cancelled the print a second time. I thought that perhaps I need to reboot the Duet so powered it down and back up and now I have a heater fault. This time, I can't figure out how to make it go away.
Questions...should I be doing things differently when cancelling a print? Do you indeed need to reboot for a config.g change? It always asks if I want to perform a software reset and I select yes.
After doing a bed calibration, the z-axis shows 3.5mm for the machine status head position. I am not sure of the actual physical distance between the nozzle and the bed. If the nozzle is too high on the first layer and the print is not sticking, should I edit the config.g file G31 Z3.6 or something similar? Just tried this and it indeed lowers the nozzle for the first layer. I would not have thought 0.1mm was too much but judging how the filament is laying down, I think I compensated too much.
Also, now it seems the IR sensor is somehow lower than it used to be. I removed the glass plate I was using as it was too much of a nuisance right now and am printing on an aluminum heated bed covered completely with blue tape. I'm printing something and it looks like the IR sensor is about 1mm from the bed. Perhaps I could safely raise it 1mm. Will work on that.
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When you make a change to config.g you can either reboot or you can execute the changed commands manually. After you cancel a print you do not need to reboot.
For advice on heater faults, see https://duet3d.com/wiki/Spurious_heater_faults_and_how_to_avoid_them.
Adjusting the G31 Z parameter is a good way to adjust the Z=0 height to get good first layer adhesion. 0.1mm is quite a large adjustment to make to the Z=0 height, especially if your first layer height is only 0.2mm. Try 0.05mm or smaller increments.
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Thank you…I still have much to do and much to learn.
I'm currently struggling with how the Z-height adjustments/compensations work. If I home the Z-axis, it is 3.5mm. But I don't quite understand the interactions between the G31 Z parameter, my Simplify3D start scripts and the global G-code offset. Trying to make sense of how all these adjustments affect the first layer. I find myself changing one of these 3 parameters in order to fix, most likely, an error in setting one of the other parameters. Feels like that's what I'm doing anyway.
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I'll try and help clarify things for you.
Using the X axis as an example, if you have something like a micro switch at the end of the axis and this position corresponds with the edge of the bed, then the axis home position is the same as the switch trigger position. However, if the bed is narrower in the x direction than the total length of travel for the X axis, then when the switch triggers, the nozzle won't be at the edge of the bed but too far to the left. Lets say it's 20mm. So when the switch triggers, X =0 is actually 20mm to the right of that (that's the offset).
Using a probe on the Z axis is the same principle. The G31 Z parameter is basically the distance that the nozzle is above the bed at the point when the Z probe triggers. So, lets say it's 1.7mm. When you home the Z axis, it lowers the nozzle (or raises the bed) until the probe triggers. The firmware then knows that this point is 1.7mm above the bed. To actually move to the point where the nozzle is just touching the bed, you would then have to do a G1 Z0. This would move the nozzle down (or bed up) by 1.7mm. So, before you actually start to print, after homing Z, you then need to move it to Z=0. You can put this at the end of your homez.g file or have it at the start of the gcode file for the object you print (i.e your simplfy3D start script).
HTH
Ian -
So, before you actually start to print, after homing Z, you then need to move it to Z=0. You can put this at the end of your homez.g file or have it at the start of the gcode file for the object you print (i.e your simplfy3D start script).
Actually, there is no need to move the nozzle to Z=0 prior to printing, unless you want to check visually that the nozzle is just touching the bed or you have significant backlash in your Z axis. The gcode generated by the slicer will move the nozzle to the first layer height before extrusion starts.
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Thanks to both of you for the help. I have been away for work but am home now.
I get intermittent heater faults (don't quite know what triggers them) and the M562 command does not clear the fault. I have to power down the control board and that usually fixes it but sometimes it takes a couple of tries.
I had adjusted the G31 Z parameter to 1.9, removed any Z-axis compensation in the slicer and was getting perfect first layer adhesion. Now, several days later, I am having issues with the first layer sticking. What I don't understand is how I can have variations in the Z height over time. I could be wrong, but it seemed this was happening before. Strange and likely some sort of user error.
Specific questions…
1. When editing the config.g file and doing a software reset as it prompts you to, is there a way to know when the process is complete? When I do this, I'm always wondering if it's done.
2. When you upload a g-code file using the web interface, is the file saved to the SD card on the Duet?
Lastly, I received my new Panel Due and HUGE 7" display from Tim at Filastruder.com! I was reading the instructions on how to set it up, etc. and got confused on the firmware update process. Do I need to do this or is it set up to work as is?
As always, grateful for the assistance!
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1. When the firmware has restarted, the printer will show as not homed. So if it was homed before you saved config.g, the homed status will tell you. Alternatively, look in the Gcode Console page for the new Connection Established message.
2. Yes, in the /gcodes folder.
PanelDue controller boards are normally shipped with firmware for the 4.3 inch display. You will need to update the PanelDue firmware to drive the 7 inch display.
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Thanks for the info, David. Should I try version 1.14 or the 1.15 beta?
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Hmmm…frustrating! I tried to install the Bossa program and it won't install...I get an error message saying it can't install and to try again. I downloaded this file: bossa64-1.2.1.msi and assume it's the correct file? I am on Windows 10 and have not updated the firmware on the Duet Wifi yet. Not sure what to do at this point.
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Use the 1.15beta firmware, it's only still in beta because the icons don't work well with the new optional dark theme.
I have heard before that Bossa won't install under Windows 10. You can use the command line version bossac.exe instead, it's in the Tools folder of my RepRapFirmware repository and needs no installation.
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I've entered this at the command prompt:
bossac.exe –port=COM6 -e -w -v -b PanelDueFirmware.bin
I get an error message saying something like bossac is not recognized.Ports show Bossa Program Port (COM ) but the Duet Wifi is not shown now (it was earlier). Edit...Duet printer control electronics are shown on Com 4 and Com 5 and Serial G-code printer on Com 3. I have no idea why there are 2 for the Duet and what the serial Gcode 3D printer is???
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I downloaded the bossac.exe file and when I run it, it just flashes a window for a split second and does nothing else.
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Put both bossac.exe and the PanelDuetFirmware-xxx.bin file in the same folder, go to the command prompt, and CD to that folder. Then enter the bossac command line.
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Go to the directory where bossac.exe and the firmware is using Windows Explorer.
Hold down SHIFT+Right click on an empty space in the folder window, and you will get an option to "open command window here." Select this. It will open a command prompt at the location and all you have to do is paste in the command you tried previously.
edit: oops david beat me to it. -
Did this and it says:
Erase flash
No such file or directory -
So you need to replace PanelDueFirmware.bin in the bossac command line with the name of the actual firmware file you downloaded, which I guess is PanelDue-7.0-1.15beta3.bin.
