I've been sorta avoiding working on my 3D Printing setup because I was under the impression I had a lot of annoying, fiddly problems to solve, to put it back in working order after multiple upgrades, a mis-aligned extendo ribbon cable between control panel and printer (sorta necessary when printer is in a tent), and some other issues.
Today I decided it was time to dig in and get it done. I'm doing laundry anyway (which is in the same room) so I figured I could hang out down there fiddling with the printer while I'm waiting for laundry changes.
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| printer & panel work and the new graphics are dope |
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| auto-leveler works |
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| enclosure temp control works |
The R-π works fine too, I just got sick of wrestling with images and Blogger.
Ahem. Well. It turns out I fixed all of the most-worrying problems some time ago and forgot that I had done so. I powered up the bench and everything came on and seemed to be working fine.
Now I merely need to:
• find or fix a working keyboard to connect to the Raspberry-Pi
• twiddle a few system settings that must be changed to accomodate the new higher-wattage heater
• update Python on the R-π (just found this out, you have to burn a new µSD boot card, sigh)
...then I can start running test prints.
• install a new power outlet strip
I might have to re-level the bed if the printer has lost those settings. Auto bed leveling accessories are the bomb. Do 25 points and go grab a cuppa. :) The 3D heat map of the actual bed height/shape is really cool, and for me at least, it really helps me to understand what I need to do.
I could wish the controller was a touch pad instead of the stock I/O knob, but that's for another time far in the future after everything else has been addressed. Especially since I can't hardly afford the accessories and upgrades I need now, so luxury tweaks can certainly wait.
I also have a very nice outlet strip for the printer bench I need to install some day soon. I seem to have a lot of things on that bench which plug into AC, and the cord pile behind that bench is a dog's breakfast.
And the R-π needs to be relocated off the top of the tent, which is more about re-routing cables. I can't stand having a work area that is constantly untidy and covered in loose cables. Besdies, with my tendency to twitch or fumble these days, it's a recipe for disaster.
Granted, since I have now changed the extruder, the hotend, the coldend, and probably the lukewarm end, there will be several settings that need changing. I have to re-learn a lot that I forgot most of a year ago, because I've been "just getting started" this whole time, and there hasn't been enough repetition to make the fiddly details stick.
I hope I can get to where all the filament settings are set in the slicer and downloaded to the printer with the job, in a way that's easy and smooth to change for each filament and model, with jobs submitted and monitored remotely from my main desktop (upstairs) using the R-π. I hear slicers have gotten better since I last looked.
Anyway, that's the plan. And either buy or build some kind of filament enclosure for the spool that is currently in use, because extra spools definitely don't fit inside the tent anywhere, and the tent will never be hot enough to dehydrate anyway.
A friend bought me several kinds of spool rollers and -holders, and I've no way to put them to use yet. I don't especially want to build that enclosure, but we're broke and they seem kinda spendy considering the inexpensive mass produced plastic moldings they are all assembled from.
Oh, if I recall correctly, there was trouble with the Pi-Cam, so I may need a new one, or perhaps just another cable. Or it could be working fine, but I have to reconfigure the R-π and probably update OctoPrint as well. And ahem: whoever decided that delicate ribbon cable was the way to make that camera connection was a bonehead.
Of course, as any other 3D printing enthusiast could tell you,
this entire exercise is only so I can justify buying more kinds and colors of filament... ;)
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