Automatic Nozzle Wiper

[MattBill1]

I was tired of waiting for my printer to heat up to wipe off the excess filament before it started printing. So after much work and frustration along with some help from SEEMECNC and Repetier I finally have it working.

http://youtu.be/y3l7kjuVhro" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I used the Rambo board to control an RC landing gear mechanism with a brush in it and designed a housing to hold the mechanism just to the side of the build plate. Just added commands to the pre-print script to deploy the brush and wipe the nozzle though it a few times before it prints.

[Brian]

That's pretty cool!

[critical_limit]

Very cool!

Any more infos here?

Wiring informations and GCode would be helpful. Have some RC retractable legs as well useless in a drawer.
To which Port you connected the leg? Can you post your GCode here?

Thanx
Dirk

[MattBill1]

Here is the Pre-G Code I am using, obviously the G1 commands will vary depending on where your bush is when its open.

G4 S3
G28
; BEGINNING OF HEAD MOVEMENT WARNING TONES
M120 S4 P10
G4 P40
M120 S4 P10
G4 P40
M120 S4 P10
G4 P40
M120 S4 P10
G4 P40
M120 S4 P10
G4 P40
M117 KEEP HANDS AWAY
G4 S3
; END OF HEAD WARNING TONES
M117 DEPLOYING BRUSH
M340 P0 S900
G4 S4
M117 CLEANING NOZZLE
G4 S1
G1 X119 Y-28 Z22 F5000
G1 X89 Y-21 Z22 F3000
G1 X119 Y-28 Z22 F3000
G1 X89 Y-21 Z22 F3000
G1 X119 Y-28 Z22 F3000
G1 X89 Y-21 Z22 F3000
G1 X0 Y0 Z100 F5000
M117 NOZZLE CLEANED
G4 S1
M120 S4 P10
G4 P40
M120 S4 P10
G4 P40
M120 S4 P10
G4 P40
M117 RETRACTING BRUSH
M340 P0 S2000
G4 S3
M117 TIME TO PRINT!!


as for the configuration.h file:
DEFINE FEATURE_SERVO 1
// Servo pins on a RAMPS board are 11,6,5,4
DEFINE SERVO0_PIN 4
DEFINE SERVO1_PIN -1
DEFINE SERVO2_PIN -1
DEFINE SERVO3_PIN -1

So the signal wire of the servo is connected to pin 6 on the PWM header and I have the 5v and ground of the servo connected directly to the 5v lines of the ATX power supply. I had to make a change in my commands.cpp file in order to get the servo control to work as the latest version of the Rostock custom Repetier firmware has a bug in it. So unless you were able to figure out how to upgrade Repetier to .91-7 you will have to change that as well.

This is whats there now:
#if FEATURE_SERVO
case 340:
if(com->hasP() && com->P<4 && com->P>=0)
{
int s = 0;
if(com->hasS())
s = com->S;
HAL::servoMicroseconds(com->P,s);
}
#endif // FEATURE_SERVO

and it should be changed to look like this:
#if FEATURE_SERVO
case 340:
if(com->hasP() && com->P<4 && com->P>=0)
{
int s = 0;
if(com->hasS())
s = com->S;
HAL::servoMicroseconds(com->P,s);
}
break;
#endif // FEATURE_SERVO

[critical_limit]

Thanx a lot!!!!

Will try that next weeks....

Thanx again

cheers
Dirk

[teoman]

Would you mind sharing the stls and the parts list?

[Eaglezsoar]

I don't know a thing about RC parts and after searching the web for RC landing gear mechanism, the least expensive I could find was over $100 and I am not sure
it would work. I would appreciate it if you could indicate a source for one similar to what you used.

[critical_limit]

I don't know a thing about RC parts and after searching the web for RC landing gear mechanism, the least expensive I could find was over $100 and I am not sure
it would work. I would appreciate it if you could indicate a source for one similar to what you used.

You can find them on Hobbyking.com

If you select your US-Warehouse you will find some servoless retracts under 20$, depends on size and force.

[Eaglezsoar]

Sorry for all the questions but as I indicated I know nothing about RC and servos.
Would this one work? http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/stor ... ing%20gear" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[teoman]

It is polite forum etiquette to indicate the exact links so that others can implement the exact thing with minimum hassle.

If you do not want to do that. That is perfectly fine as well. You do not need to provide any reason or excuse. It is your own hard work and you may have spent hundreds of hours and not be willing to give it away or you may want to go commercial. That is all fine with us. But in that case please say so.

[critical_limit]

It is polite forum etiquette to indicate the exact links so that others can implement the exact thing with minimum hassle.

If you do not want to do that. That is perfectly fine as well. You do not need to provide any reason or excuse. It is your own hard work and you may have spent hundreds of hours and not be willing to give it away or you may want to go commercial. That is all fine with us. But in that case please say so.

I dont know which one he is using, so I can´t give a exact link, sorry.

Normally they all should work, but which one exactly he is using - I don´t know and cant see it on the pictures.

At the moment I´m at work in Tel Aviv. And as soon as I´m back to Germany I) will start testing. But first I have to do the magnetic ball ends mod. Can post more details end of September I guess. And the L-Cheapo is waiting as well. So much to do and no time left

cheers
dirk

[MattBill1]

That would probably do it, it looks very similar to the one I used. Unfortunately the one I did use came out of a plane that was wrecked and given to me by a friend a while back and so I don't really have a way of figuring out what specific model it is. The key thing that you are looking for is that the actual gear arm is held in by set screws, that way you can just loosen them up and remove it and put in a brush. There are some that don't work that way and would make this a bit more challenging to do.

for example this one; ( NOT GOOD )
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/stor ... ouse_.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This one is a little expensive and of course is backordered ( which hobbyking is famous for ) but as you can see it has a set screw that holds in the arm.
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/stor ... duct=44520" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Several people have asked me about a kit to do this, if I can find somewhere that I can get the landing gear mechanisms for a reasonable price I may do that, but after a few minutes of searching hobbyking and Ebay I coudlnt find one that would work for sure and was in stock.

I have attached my STL file for the holder, but keep in mind that it may or may not work depending on which mech you find.

[teoman]

Sorry if I sounded like an arsl.

Try http://Www.dx.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; or http://www.banggood.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[MattBill1]

No worries my friend, when I finally got it all working I was so excited to post in on here that I just threw it up without all the details and maybe next time I will calm myself down and write up a full post!

I just wish I had done this with a mech that I had ordered so that I could share it easier.

[geneb]

That's the most brilliant printer hack I've seen yet.

If you can provide me with a parts list and the STL file for the mount (or A mount), I'd really like to add that to the next spin of the manual.

g.

[singh336]

that is really clever !

[teoman]

Lets make this a project like an instructable so that all can benefit. I am willing to spend time coding etc...

[geneb]

Instead of trying to track down a landing gear assembly, why not use a micro servo with a 3D printed armature that attaches to the servo horn?

g.

[teoman]

That is exactly what i had in mind and was going to ask.

How about this one [img]http://img.dxcdn.com/productimages/sku_12859_2.jpg[/img]

http://www.dx.com/p/towerpro-sg90-9g-mi ... _yL0EixuVI" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[teoman]

coupled with this:

http://www.banggood.com/Rotary-Wire-Bra ... 30607.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


[img]http://imgmgr.banggood.com/images/uploa ... /you/3.JPG[/img]

the idea being that you can follow the round contour of the brush so that you can wipe in all directions. I think of this because i have had carbonized filament fall off the nozzle and in to the print. It was the infill, but none the less.

[teoman]

Ok, who is good in mechanical design and up for this project?

[teoman]

Also, can this be configured such that you can wipe the nozzle at the end of every layer?

I think Captain Starfish mentioned that that is what the up printer does.

[geneb]

That would be a very efficient way of making a 10 minute print take 2 hours.

g.

[teoman]

[Brian]

Also, can this be configured such that you can wipe the nozzle at the end of every layer?

I think Captain Starfish mentioned that that is what the up printer does.

If I were making such a thing, I'd put a blade or something that rapidly wiped across the nozzle tip so it would not take extra time. It could also be used to lop off stringing at the tip too. It would need a way to remove the buildup on the scraper but that could be something that could be done every 10 layers or something, so it could move over to a wiper like this one periodically.