How do I LOAD and OPERATE the second extruder?

#1
I received my GMax last week and I am pretty pleased with it. The lack of a COMPREHENSIVE operations guide however is a source of frustration and is forcing me to turn to the forum for some much needed help.

How is the second extruder loaded and controlled? I was able to load the first extruder and have successfully printed out several things of various sizes with really good quality. But when I navigate through the LCD menus, prepare->Axis-->(etc) I can only see one extruder entry and that controls the first extruder. It wasn't readily apparent how to load the first extruder when I loaded the filament for the first time - I stumbled on the first extruder entry and figured that was it and it was. But there is absolutely no entry anywhere for the second extruder. I am selecting the .1 mm (smallest degree of travel) from the LCD menu tree for the move distance and then scroll down and see the first extruder. (it just says extruder - it does not enumerate it. ie. list it as extruder1). So I can move and load filament there for the first. But there is no mention of a second extruder anywhere.

My main info screen shows the temps of the two thermistors but I realize those are two separate sensors/pcs of hardware and are connected to the ramps board independently of the extruder steppers. But it's interesting to note, the firmware knows there are two thermistors so logic would make you assume there would be the same number of extruders shown in the prepare sub menus. - but I guess that would be too easy :)

I tried flashing with the different dual firmware packages to see if maybe the cause was the latest release but none of the dual extruder firmware (past or present) provides the ability to control the second extruder via the LCD screen. My Config.h file appears correct (it shows the # of extruders as 2) At this stage, I don't want to pour through all of the marlin code to figure out whats going on.

I'm obviously missing something that should be a no-brainer. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Larry
 
#2
I forgot to mention that I was trying to use the GMax in standalone mode (SD card). I was not communicating with the printer via a computer. From what I can tell, the firmware for standalone mode does not allow you to manually advance the second extruder.

I found that to load either extruder you only need to physically press the spring arm down and push the filament in as far as it will go. Since I found the setting for the first extruder on the LCD menu and it allowed me to have the printer advance the extruder in tiny increments, it was a natural assumption to think I would be able to do it for the second one too. It turns out you can't and I feel pretty dumb finding out you just press the spring arm all the way down and jam the filament in until it can't go any further.

Ray K. suggested I try printing from a computer via Repetier and that proved to be a huge help. I installed Repetier-Host and imported the latest GMax Slicer config bundle and I now have full control over both extruders with the correct 1.5 XT settings. Thanks Ray!

I've printed various objects already, but this is the first multi extruder print I'm attempting. I'm currently printing out the calibration cube and the second extruder is spitting out glow in the dark blue PLA for support material (I am an enthusiastic newb for sure). Based on the print so far, it looks like I have some tweaking to do but at least my issue of operating the 2nd extruder has been resolved.

Answer: The current firmware only supports single extruder MANIPULATION via the LCD screen. You can print and use both extruders if the print file on the SD card needs it, but you cannot have the printer control the second extruder (feed forward or reverse) via the LCD screen. This must be done via external computer/software.

To load the filament: just press the spring arm down and feed the filament in through the hole. Push the filament in until it can't advance further. Release the spring arm. Doh!