Topics created by Sethipus

My 2 cents/bullet points:

While I'm very pro-24V for stepper motors, there is a much wider range of fan (and LED, etc.) choices at 12V. So I have a fanless 24V supply for my steppers and hotend heaters, and use an inexpensive switching regulator (I used one of these: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/LM2596-LM2596S-ADJ-Power-supply-module-DC-DC-Step-down-module-5V-12V-24V-adjustable-Voltage/32271465162.html) to supply 12V for fans and any other 12V accessories (Duet Wifi conveniently and simply supports a different voltage for fans).

While I'm also a proponent of using mains power for bed heating for the same reasons DjDemonD listed, if you insist on 24V then a separate supply for the bed isn't a bad idea (apparently I'm just copying DjDemonD's notes for this bullet). While the average power usage will be much lower than bed+hotend1+hotend2+peak stepper current, etc., you still have to size your PSU for the peak, because these switching power supplies don't have much energy storage to handle transients above their rating.

That toaster analogy is a good one, DjDemonD - the inefficiency of converting hundreds of watts of mains power to 24V to warm up a resistor makes the efficiency expert in me cringe! 🙂

I adjusted my voltage to 13.06v (the pot changed tons for just a tiny movement, so I called it good) and my heated bed will now reach 105 C uninsulated by the cork sheet on top, so that's nice. It also heats up to my usually temperatures (60 and 70 C) noticeably faster. I think I'm going to call it good for now.

@crispy:

@dc42:

Which firmware version were you using when that happened?

First noticed on 1.10, but also seen on 1.17-based firmware. But it was a lot less frequent on 1.17.

If you can find a print that reproduces the problem reliably in firmware 1.18.1 then I'll try to work out what is happening. You can help by running M122 after layer shifting occurs and reporting the Step Errors count.

Thanks, I'll increase the default limit to 288C in the next release.

My worry has always been that if I try to cut the legs, the PCB pads would lift. I guess it's OK if your cutters are sharp enough!

Thanks again. I created short macros enabling me to switch between T0 and T1, enable and disable cold extruding, etc. It's all working great, and I'm able to do whatever I need. The help was much appreciated!

Interesting. I started reading up on the Alexa stuff. Still have much more to read and learn, because I've never done something like that before, but I think it would be cool, and want to figure this out.

https://plus.google.com/+StephanieS3D/posts/hjjLNnsScaz

Holy crap that's awesome! I love how he's getting those faces on there.

This is kind of wierd but I've never printed a vase yet. I should try that, and then see if I can get that velocity painting to work. That's just too cool.

Thanks David. I've got the display working at the moment attached to the DuetWifi, even though the display is jittery. I've emailed Filastruder about arranging a swap for a non-jittery display.

I'm very impressed with the DuetWifi, it's web-based control system, how well it seems to be working, etc. This is just great. I ordered this based on the impressions of another user who upgraded his Wanhao printer with this board, and based on my conversation in our Facebook group about it, another guy went out and ordered the DuetWifi. I hope the popularity of this controller continues to improve.

Done! Found it under the printer configuration. I've only been 3D printing for a couple months now, and still learning new things every day. I had no idea there was this start and end gcode configurator in Cura until I went looking for it after your previous post.

Thanks!

I have one more issue that I know of now, which is that my paneldue 7" lcd isn't working right, but I'll post that in a separate thread.

I appreciate the help. This upgrade to the DuetWifi from the Melzi board wasn't for the faint of heart, but it was totally doable, and I'm just about there, and blown away by how eery it is not to hear my printer other than the fans. I was just lying on the couch and had to peek my head around the corner just to make sure my print was still going, because I'm used to hearing it loudly, and now I just don't.

Ok guys, be prepared to chuckle.

When I removed the build plate to have a look at the thermistor I noticed that the color of the wiring (white teflon insulation) was different than the wiring I had going to the bed temp thermistor slot (black vinyl). Hmm.

Coincidentally, the previous "Z Stop" switch wiring was white teflon coated, while the wiring I cut at the Z stop switch to splice in a new piece of good wire was black vinyl.

I put a new two-pin connector on the white teflon wire, plugged it into the bed temp sensor socket, and now it all just works.

Coincidence? I think not. 🙂

I don't know how I managed to mislabel the wiring as I pulled it off the old Melzi board, but somehow I did.

I have one remaining issue that I know of (at least until I try to plug in the PanelDue and 7" screen), but I'll post that in a separate thread.

Ok, I got everything connected up. It wasn't without its hiccups, but I worked through them. Somehow, magically, the wiring between my Z stop switch and the DuetWifi board went bad. I tested this with a multimeter and proved that it was the wires running from the printer in the main bundle of wiring. I spliced in a new length of wires between the Z stop switch and the board and now it works fine.

I'm left with a single issue: I'm getting an error message from the bed heater. I've tried both orientations of the pins for the bed temp sensor, and the behavior is the same either way (I don't know enough about the temp sensor to know if there's a polarity or not.

I'll post that in another thread so that it gets new eyes.