IDEX wiper and tool change G-Code

[Jim Swath]

I have a Modix BIG 60 V3/4 with IDEX. This is a large 600x600 mm bed, with 0.8 noz, on solid-copper Volcano-like hotends, and I am having a lot of trouble with ooze and prime & wipe towers. The Modix has no wiper, or purge bucket, or really any waste management at all. In 3D Printing Today, show #473, Andy spoke about how he custom made a wipe tool for his E3D tool changer... The show describes the part and he said he would list a Thing number for the part and the tool change script, but that Thing number is not in the show. I would very much like that Thing number, to see the wiper part and especially the tool change g-code would be a huge help right now! Are there any links or suggestions to this solution? Or comparable? 

If this has already been discussed on the Group, I apologize... I'm new to Groups and still figuring it out...

[3D Printing Tips and Tricks]

Thanks for posting. Looking at the title of that segment "Tenlog Extruders" and trying to remember what I said is a bit tricky. IIRC, initially I tried to make a bungee cord like thing to do the same as what worked well for the E3D Toolchanger, but it would not work. To get a bungee cord wipe you have to prime a longer string than an IDEX has room for and the tool has to go across the cord diagonally. IDEX Mendels can't do that. The result was the priming strings got pulled over the cord rather than getting knocked off.

I went back to the drawing board and instead tried an ooze or nozzle blocker:

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5696424

This did a wipe ok but while the tool is parked the melted material created downward pressure and the stuff would ooze out the bottom.

So then I did a "Retract when tool disabled" (this is in PrusaSlicer for each extruder) long enough upwards to move the material out of the melt zone. The suction pressure upward on this retraction in the Tenlog's teflon lined heat brake is enough to draw almost all the material up and away from the melt zone. The result; no ooze, no stringing, no need for priming.

Will this work with your extruder setup? No idea. If it doesn't work you get tiny gaps and blobs. You would have to try it. It works great for the Prusa XL, but only for PLA. PETG still makes too many blobs and multicolor PETG needs a prime tower.

How about you take some pics of your setup and the extruders and let us see?

[3D Printing Tips and Tricks]

I googled "Modix BIG 60 V3/4". Nice looking machine. Not a Mendel... CoreXY? Big. My bet is you could easily make a bungee cord wipe for it. Simply use aluminum extrusion pop-in nuts, make yourself a hook and string an 8mm thick bungee cord between them (you can easily buy a spool on Amazon along with the extrusion popping nuts) across the paths of the extruders when they leave the parking places...
I see the Panel Due. It's RRFW. Good. Making the macro for the prime wipe is way more feasible, but you will need to dig into how to do it for your machine. I don't see detailed pics of the parking places or how the IDEX works... so yeah pics. Actually, I'm a bit surprised Molex doesn't already do it?!?!? At that price for that level of machine to not know the requirement for prime/wipe? Unless your extruders will draw all the material up like my XL does.

[vr...@optonline.net]

Hey Andy - your "bungee cord wipe" suggestion sounds a LOT like what is implemented on the Bamboo Carbon X1. Cool!

-K

 

------ Original Message ------
From: 3d-printing-...@googlegroups.com
To: 3d-printing-...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, December 6, 2023 12:21 AM
Subject: Re: IDEX wiper and tool change G-Code
I googled "Modix BIG 60 V3/4". Nice looking machine. Not a Mendel... CoreXY? Big. My bet is you could easily make a bungee cord wipe for it. Simply use aluminum extrusion pop-in nuts, make yourself a hook and string an 8mm thick bungee cord between them (you can easily buy a spool on Amazon along with the extrusion popping nuts) across the paths of the extruders when they leave the parking places...
I see the Panel Due. It's RRFW. Good. Making the macro for the prime wipe is way more feasible, but you will need to dig into how to do it for your machine. I don't see detailed pics of the parking places or how the IDEX works... so yeah pics. Actually, I'm a bit surprised Molex doesn't already do it?!?!? At that price for that level of machine to not know the requirement for prime/wipe? Unless your extruders will draw all the material up like my XL does.

On Tuesday, December 5, 2023 at 9:03:35 PM UTC-8 3D Printing Tips and Tricks wrote:
 

 

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[Jim Swath]

Thanks for the response/suggestions!  The Modix is Cartesian (not CoreXY, unfortunately), though to be fair, I expect it'd be difficult to make this design C-XY (Modix machines are upgradable from generation to generation). It has two NEMA-23 motors to drive the X-axis, N-17's on the Y and U axis, and four 17's for the bed. Auto bed-tilt, auto bed level (compensation), auto Z-offset. As you said, RRF. Ver 3.4+, Duet 2 WIFI w/ Duex5 expansion.

Here is my gantry. The heads are big and heavy, but the motors are strong and and sling them around pretty good. But they are only mounted on the single Hiwin rail; I would have preferred dual rails. As you can see, there is nothing special about the Park position. No wipe apparatus or anything.  Just the normal Home position.

Primary print head:

The primary print head is a Griffin hotend, which is a custom Modix design based off the Volcano with extra stabilizers to handle potential head crashes. Modix collab Bontech BMG. There is very little, if any, place to mount a wiper... The gantry passes the main 4040 extrusion by about 2mm, so I can't mount to the side. The Hiwin is mounted to the 4040 underside, so I can't mount there. There is a 2040 extrusion below that for the door frame, but it is only mounted to the machine wall; I would need to affix it to the 4040...

Secondary print head:

The secondary print head (the U axis) again passes within 2mm of the 4040, with the Hiwin underneath. There is no 2040 on the back here (as there is no door), and the cable chain (and it's mount) pass by here...  Which makes a wiper mount rather difficult as well.

Any suggestions or ideas are welcome!  I do like the bungee wiper idea and I will look into that. I may try to mount something to the gantry itself (so the wiper rides with the X axis). I can also try your suggestion to "Retract when tool disabled"; I haven't messed with that. Though the hotend assembles just like a Volcano (uses Volcano nozzles), so it might not have the suction.  What retract distance would you suggest for a Volcano-like melt-zone?

Thanks for reading this far!

[3D Printing Tips and Tricks]

Wow! That sucker is crazy! You might be able to design a wipe tower that connects to the extrusions in the back, then make wipe macros. First try the retraction though. Let us know.
. It’s kinda tough to see it all in the pics. That thing is a monster!

[3D Printing Tips and Tricks]

I got a couple of guys here looking at the Modix Big 180, IDEX. How's your 60 doing???

[Jim Swath]

My 60 is doing well, and prints nice, but you have to be ready to manage the machine. It is a lot of work to build, and you have to be meticulous about it. With it being so large, any shortcuts or mistakes you make in assembly will be amplified much more due to the size. The 180 is even more so.

If you want to print big things, you will want to move to a larger nozzle. A 0.4 noz on these machines will have your prints taking weeks. Most slicers default profile is for a 0.4, so if/when you move up to a 0.8, 1.0, or 1.2 then you will have to develop your own print profiles. Which can be quite time-consuming. You almost have to consider if the thicker layer lines are acceptable, or if you will have to post-process your parts for application. Most people buying the 180 are  building car parts, so there is a level of sanding, Bondo, and painting after the print is finished.

The idex is cool, and both of my printheads print nicely. But I am struggling with ooze from the standby printhead. Modix promotes a prime tower with shield that is being difficult for me... Which is why I was looking for a wiper solution. I am no expert with IDEX, so maybe I'm just doing something wrong?

If you need to print large parts, and you are very mechanically inclined, then the Modix printers are great for the money. If you want to print a lot of smaller parts, get multiple smaller printers. I have two Bambu X1Cs in addition to my 60. I print big things on the 60 and small things on the X1Cs.

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[3D Printing Tips and Tricks]

After sleeping on it I’m pulling out of the venture. Too much of it will be on my back. Eff that!

To stop the drool… retract out of the melt zone when the tool is parked.