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stopping and resuming a print to load components

Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 5:52 pm
by redtank
Hello,
I have an application where I wish to print a shell and somewhere while printing the shell perimeter, have the printer (Rostock V2) stop move out if the way and then I can drop another part inside, then return to where it left off and finish the shell (container). Can anyone help with sample code?

Thanks,
Cris

Re: stopping and resuming a print to load components

Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 9:54 pm
by Qdeathstar
most slicers have a pause button. If you are printing from SD you can pause the print right from the printer.

Re: stopping and resuming a print to load components

Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 11:07 pm
by IMBoring25
That won't pause the machine at a predetermined point. Repetier isn't great for this requirement. I do my prints that involve encapsulated components on my Mendel that's running RepRapFirmware. There are some workarounds discussed at https://forum.repetier.com/discussion/2 ... e-in-gcode

Re: stopping and resuming a print to load components

Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2016 12:37 pm
by Jrjones
In your Gcode at the layer you need to add a component, add a coordinate move somewhere out of the way, along with a retract, and then add a pause command for X amount of seconds.

After the pause go back to the coordinates you were at, and undo the retract.

This should help you out: http://reprap.org/wiki/G-code#G4:_Dwell

Re: stopping and resuming a print to load components

Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2016 3:30 pm
by Eaglezsoar
Thanks for the link to the GCodes Jrjones.

Re: stopping and resuming a print to load components

Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2016 9:52 pm
by lightninjay
Another option, if you are unhappy with the pause or dwell Gcodes, is to generate the Gcode for your file, determine what layer number you wish to pause at, and then open the Gcode with a text editor.

Most slicers will have layer denotations, so utilize a search function within your text editor and at the layer you wish to pause at, select and cut all the text from the layer pause to the end of the file. Paste the contents into a new gcode file (can be named same as the first with something like a 2 at the end of the name). At the end of the first Gcode, on a new line, add "G28". This will home your printer at the end of the first gcode, but will not lose your extruder position, nor will it shut off your temperatures.

Once you wish to resume your print, make sure that the first coordinate within the 2nd gcode file contains the Z-layer height, and when you start the second gcode, it should resume right where it left off.