Dr Footleg (he/him)Building my ERCFv3 today, using my CrowView with Pi5 laptop to view the build manual. #3dprinting #ERCFv3 #MakerMonday <- well #MakerXmas all week really
Filament blocks fully assembled and contact surfaces filed to ensure none of these stick down. A lot of work but as I learned with the v2 build, getting these moving cleanly is critical to successful operation. #ERCFv3
Just as I was approaching the finish line, I discovered that no mounting solution has been published for the Carrot Topper filament buffer on the ERCFv3 yet. The links in the manual all point to a github repo that does not exist. So I ended up working on my own mounting solution in CAD tonight.
Some minor modifications and I have my Siboor ERCFv2 kit LED pcb working in the ERCFv3. I think I have solved the ERCT filament buffer mounting too. Just some wiring modifications to finish and I can do the final assembly. #ERCFv3 #ERCF #3dprinting
Wishing I had soldered this connector before I mounted the filament buffer unit to the printer.
Made this neat cable retaining plate which clips into the slot on 2020 extrusion. Sparkles from the pattern on my holographic print bed. #3dprinting
I think the ERCFv3 is now functionally complete! This rebuild only drew blood 3 times. Calibration next. #ERCFv3 #Voron #3dprinting #ERCF
Well now it has drawn blood 4 times, and I know how I got the earlier cut on my finger as I just cut the same place as my finger rubbed along an edge when undoing a very tough to unclip clip. Making has stopped for the day while I nurse my wounds. The main carriage is binding and I am not sure exactly why.
Took some investigation, but I have solved the binding problem of the linear rods/bearings which the selector runs along. Took out the rods to check for straightness. Rolling them on a marble slab confirms a subtle bend in both of them. But by marking the face on the inside of this curvature on both rods I was able to reinsert them so they both curve in the same plane, and now the selector does not bind at points along the axis. #ERCF
After a break to play with my Christmas zigbee gadgets I am back to attempting to tame the ERCF v3 with a 4 colour 3Dbenchy. It has got further than ever before, but has still needed regular interventions. #ERCFv3
Still going! The MMU fails to unload filament completely every now and then, but otherwise it has been behaving better than I ever saw with the previous ERCF design.
#3dprinting
#3dprinting
It finally completed at 1:30AM. Many filament unload fails resulting in some layers being printed in the wrong colours as the selector failed to move due to filament not being retracted enough for it to clear the selector. Need to work on a solution for that, and detection so it can pause if it occurs. #ERCFv3 #3dprinting
Another big step forwards today. I learned how to configure the ERCF configuration to detect when the selector is blocked from moving by using the stallguard feature of the TMC2209 stepper driver. Now when filament fails to completely unload the selector detects the stall of the motor and the software attempts a recovery. It unloads the filament a little more then tries a home to the end stop. If this fails it pauses rather than loading the wrong colours as and printing on. #ERCFv3
I have spent the evening tuning the flushing volumes to determine the minimum purge amounts needed to ensure clean colours. Here you can see the purge block transition from black to green (it gradually changes over several lines), and from green to red (happens more abruptly over just a few lines). I think I am nearly ready to attempt another full print to see it it can complete without interventions. #3dprinting #ERCFv3
Heinz Monika@drfootleg
Whats your printer? I have an Ultimaker 3s with only 2 colours
Whats your printer? I have an Ultimaker 3s with only 2 colours
@HeinzMonika The printer I am building this filament changer onto is a Voron Trident 350 AWD which I built from a kit.
concretedog@drfootleg despite unintentional... it's a cool effect!
Maurice@drfootleg that's a tidy model for a first go!
Anthony 🇦🇺🦘🐨🪃🌟✨️🕯🏏🧩🎭🪁@drfootleg good luck with it.
@drfootleg well done. But will they stay aligned??
@skyfire747 The bearings appear to resist the rods rotating, and the ends are held pretty firmly in the plastic, so hopefully they will stay aligned. Only time will tell.
Now I have confirmed my design works in operation, I have published my custom mounting bracket design which I needed to enable the ERCT filament buffer to work with the #ERCFv3 #3dprinting #ercf
https://www.printables.com/model/1554025-erct-filament-buffer-mounting-bracket-for-2020-ext
https://www.printables.com/model/1554025-erct-filament-buffer-mounting-bracket-for-2020-ext
Extreme Electronics@drfootleg do you do commissions ?
@Extelec Given how long this cable took me to make, I suspect nobody would be prepared to cover the cost of my time! But if the project was interesting enough I might help with a one off.
I've published this generally useful part on https://www.printables.com/model/1554005-wire-retaining-plate-for-2020-extrusion in case other people have the same need to hold cables in place in the slots of 2020 extrusion. #3dprinting
