Hi All,
I needed another gMax Dual 1.5XT but I didn't want to wait 8-10 weeks like my first one so I built one from scratch with a few significant features added. Specifically Automatic Bed Leveling & Ditto Printing. I also needed it to run Marlin as the firmware. This was crucial.
I've previously posted my experiences/successes as they related to Ditto Printing and Auto Bed Leveling with a Dual 1.5XT. But that involved switching firmware from Marlin to Repetier since Marlin doesn't easily support Ditto Printing and the current gMax Marlin firmware predates the auto-bed leveling code base.
In short, Repetier's auto leveling proved too unreliable and I can't use it for production purposes. It would simply spaz out, reset ,auto home, etc. in the middle of a print but the issue was not repeatable. It would happen at random times during complex prints. Sometimes the print was successful. Sometimes not. It was absolutely a firmware issue and not a slicer issue because when running the same gCode through Marlin with auto leveling on, I had ZERO issues and it was tested across 4 or 5 different models with the same results. Repetier = fail/ Marlin = pass. And it did not matter what slicing engine I used (Slic3r or Simplify3D). The results were the same. When I ran the gCode through Repetier with Auto leveling OFF the prints finished successfully every time. So IMHO Repetier's auto leveling is not really ready for prime time.
I also originally thought Repetier had superior print quality but after really dialing in my printer, there isn't any noticeable difference quality-wise between Marlin and Repetier. So I switched back to Marlin with the first task being setting up the auto bed leveling. Since I already had Autobed Leveling working in Repetier and had built my servo/z-probe and had all the wiring in place, it was pretty straight forward. Ditto Printing took a little more wrangling but I am happy to say, Auto-bed leveling and Ditto Printing are now merged into one Marlin package. I've had it running on both my Dual 1.5 XTs for several days with zero issues.
I will be posting the new firmware and making it available here within the next week. It will be here (gCreate) first and eventually on GitHub but I wanted all my gMax brothers & sisters to be able to upgrade their gMax printers should they want to. These are outstanding printers and they should be extended to their fullest capabilites. Keep in mind, Ditto Printing only works with Dual Extruder printers. It makes the inactive nozzle print whatever the active nozzle is printing. So two simultaneous objects in one print. Ditto Printing is enabled with an M420 S1 command and disabled with an M420 S0 command. If you don't have a Dual Extruder, that's ok. The firmware adapts and Ditto Printing simply won't be available. Auto leveling works for any number of extruders but will use extruder one (left one) as its reference to home.
The intent was always a dual extruder with a full graphics controller. Since this was my first scratch build, I wanted to get it running with a single extruder first, and then upgrade to dual Volcanos. The graphics controller gave me some headaches but in the end it was an outdated library causing issues so the printer now has Dual Volcanos with a full graphics controller. (see second set of pix)
That being said, I am adding a few more tweaks and finishing up some documentation. Mechanically, there are a few differences between Phat Freddy and a stock DUAL gMax1.5XT (i.e. physical dimensions, endstop locations, servo for z-probe,etc., hotends) so I want to make sure the firmware documentation reflects those changes for an easy upgrade.. I will work with gCreate (Gordon & Kyle) to ensure there will be minimal changes required for gMax users to upgrade their printers and I hope to have this to them very soon.
I also want to give special thanks to Kyle for helping with some much needed info during the materials ordering process & his design of the E3D adjustable fan shroud and to Gordon for designing the gMax in the first place. It was a no-brainer that my second (and third and fourth) printers will all be gMaxs (or is it gMaxi?)
And now, here's Freddy..............
I needed another gMax Dual 1.5XT but I didn't want to wait 8-10 weeks like my first one so I built one from scratch with a few significant features added. Specifically Automatic Bed Leveling & Ditto Printing. I also needed it to run Marlin as the firmware. This was crucial.
I've previously posted my experiences/successes as they related to Ditto Printing and Auto Bed Leveling with a Dual 1.5XT. But that involved switching firmware from Marlin to Repetier since Marlin doesn't easily support Ditto Printing and the current gMax Marlin firmware predates the auto-bed leveling code base.
In short, Repetier's auto leveling proved too unreliable and I can't use it for production purposes. It would simply spaz out, reset ,auto home, etc. in the middle of a print but the issue was not repeatable. It would happen at random times during complex prints. Sometimes the print was successful. Sometimes not. It was absolutely a firmware issue and not a slicer issue because when running the same gCode through Marlin with auto leveling on, I had ZERO issues and it was tested across 4 or 5 different models with the same results. Repetier = fail/ Marlin = pass. And it did not matter what slicing engine I used (Slic3r or Simplify3D). The results were the same. When I ran the gCode through Repetier with Auto leveling OFF the prints finished successfully every time. So IMHO Repetier's auto leveling is not really ready for prime time.
I also originally thought Repetier had superior print quality but after really dialing in my printer, there isn't any noticeable difference quality-wise between Marlin and Repetier. So I switched back to Marlin with the first task being setting up the auto bed leveling. Since I already had Autobed Leveling working in Repetier and had built my servo/z-probe and had all the wiring in place, it was pretty straight forward. Ditto Printing took a little more wrangling but I am happy to say, Auto-bed leveling and Ditto Printing are now merged into one Marlin package. I've had it running on both my Dual 1.5 XTs for several days with zero issues.
I will be posting the new firmware and making it available here within the next week. It will be here (gCreate) first and eventually on GitHub but I wanted all my gMax brothers & sisters to be able to upgrade their gMax printers should they want to. These are outstanding printers and they should be extended to their fullest capabilites. Keep in mind, Ditto Printing only works with Dual Extruder printers. It makes the inactive nozzle print whatever the active nozzle is printing. So two simultaneous objects in one print. Ditto Printing is enabled with an M420 S1 command and disabled with an M420 S0 command. If you don't have a Dual Extruder, that's ok. The firmware adapts and Ditto Printing simply won't be available. Auto leveling works for any number of extruders but will use extruder one (left one) as its reference to home.
The intent was always a dual extruder with a full graphics controller. Since this was my first scratch build, I wanted to get it running with a single extruder first, and then upgrade to dual Volcanos. The graphics controller gave me some headaches but in the end it was an outdated library causing issues so the printer now has Dual Volcanos with a full graphics controller. (see second set of pix)
That being said, I am adding a few more tweaks and finishing up some documentation. Mechanically, there are a few differences between Phat Freddy and a stock DUAL gMax1.5XT (i.e. physical dimensions, endstop locations, servo for z-probe,etc., hotends) so I want to make sure the firmware documentation reflects those changes for an easy upgrade.. I will work with gCreate (Gordon & Kyle) to ensure there will be minimal changes required for gMax users to upgrade their printers and I hope to have this to them very soon.
I also want to give special thanks to Kyle for helping with some much needed info during the materials ordering process & his design of the E3D adjustable fan shroud and to Gordon for designing the gMax in the first place. It was a no-brainer that my second (and third and fourth) printers will all be gMaxs (or is it gMaxi?)
And now, here's Freddy..............