M600 color change

[Matt Saeger]

So I got the new creality printer CR200b. I have not been able to get a color change command to work in cura or prusa slicer. I used to do it by telling simplify 3d to slice for instance layers 1 - 25 save that as one gcode then slice layers 26 - 50 and save it as another and just manually change filament between the two prints. I was hoping I would be able to do it an easier way with this machine since it mariln 2.0x on it.

Anyone know another way? 

[Alan Biocca]

In Prusa Slicer you can select a color change in the Plater view and it will generate the filament change GCode. I do it on the MK3. The question is does the Creality honor the code? If not a new firmware on the Creality might be needed.

On Sat, Sep 18, 2021 at 12:14 PM Matt Saeger <msa...@gmail.com> wrote:

So I got the new creality printer CR200b. I have not been able to get a color change command to work in cura or prusa slicer. I used to do it by telling simplify 3d to slice for instance layers 1 - 25 save that as one gcode then slice layers 26 - 50 and save it as another and just manually change filament between the two prints. I was hoping I would be able to do it an easier way with this machine since it mariln 2.0x on it.

Anyone know another way? 

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[Matt Saeger]

Thanks for the reply 

That is what I am doing and it doesn't do the filament change so I am guessing creality does have advanced pause enabled like it says here. 

https://marlinfw.org/docs/gcode/M600.html

Hoping there is another way. 

[Ray Price]

If you are using Octoprint, it has the capability to accomplish the same thing without the M600 command.

The GCode Scripts section has blocks for "After the Print Job is Paused" and "Before the Print Job is Resumed".

Go here GCODE Scripts — OctoPrint master documentation in their wiki for a sample set of scripts under "More Nifty Pause and Resume" and drop them into the above two blocks.  

After that, insert "@pause" on the gcode line of choice to pause and move the head out of the way, do your filament change, prime nozzle with color, and then hit the Resume button on the UI to return and continue printing

This is super slick and exactly what I need for my use case.  I use the UI Pause button to do ad hoc changes / refills and the "@pause" directive for programmed changes followed by the Resume button.

Works really well and I no longer have to wait for M600 support in the firmware.

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[Matt Saeger]

Thanks for the info about octoprint. I don't have that setup but I have a raspberry pi laying around so I guess I could. 

I wonder how the filament runout sensor sends the pause? I had filament run out and it does pause the print and allow you to resume so maybe that could work. 

[Kurt at VRFX]

Matt,

A couple years ago, I too was trying to do a filament swap for a print job - to change colors. I use Cura for my WanHao D6. In Cura, it would allow me to do a print pause. You should be able to find that option - and you simply put in like what layer you want the pause to occur. Then, once paused - you should be able to do the filament swap.

In my case - it wasn't working. I posted here to the prior version of the forum - and I tried to get help. But, still I couldn't get it to work. However, then something ODD happened...

My original test was with a smaller print - maybe like 3"x1".

However, for the Halibut - I tried a much larger test - like 8"x1" - and, BOOMED - the Pause would work!

So - its worth a shot in the dark for you. Am curious - what's general dimension of the piece you're trying to do a color swap on???

-K

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[Matt Saeger]

Thanks for the idea I have only tried the color change so far I did that on a large object but told it to swap after a few layers. I will try the pause print on some various size things and see what it does. 

[Matt Saeger]

So the pause and layer height did something. I set it to pause and to purge 25mm. It paused moved to the designated location, purged 25mm, then started printing again. 

After more reading it seems like the issue may be marlin not thinking there is a display attached because creality is doing something different to run the displays. They have many people asking about it on their forums. I will keep messing around and if I really need to do it I can go back to the old way. 

[Kurt at VRFX]

Matt - are you actually using Cura or Simplify3D as your Slicer???

Will admit - my Cura is Old - as JetGuy told me NOT to dare let it update. So, in my Cura - this is where I would initiate the Pause - which would allow me to swap filament:

And, yeah - I use this older Cura at home on my printer. But, at Essentium - where I Kick Arse by day - I am Kickin' It w/S3D. And, although Simplify3D has Stagnated - SADLY - for like 2 years - its Still Quite powerful!!! So, you SHOULD be able to do a Pause command - such that you should be able to take control of 3DP - and Swap filament - then resume. That being said - its still up to the 3DP as to how it implements things. And, yeah - you should be able to do what you what based upon your Firmware version, BUT - its still dependent upon if Creality properly implemented the commands that you wish to use. Sure - its a bit of a tricky business!

At work - I've also begun to dig a bit deeper into GCode for some of my projects. For one project, its a "Grinding Test" to push a TON of filament thru a machine - to see the impact of HARSH filaments on part of the feeder units (on the website - you will see the printer has a "lower feeder" - which helps to push filament from the canisters at the bottom up into the machine - to give it proper slack - since the filament has to travel a good distance to the print head). So - we were shoving CF type filament thru the system (and the Nozzles were held aside at print head - so, no heating of filament) - and we were driving a ton of filament thru the system. For this test - we did like 13Kg of filament. And, yeah - it was done by my creating a Special set of GCode. And, most of that code was manipulated by hand by me. Fun project indeed!!!

-K

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[Matt Saeger]

I was using cura tonight and it has the same plug-ins window as in your old version it just looks a little different. I picked that plug in it just did the purge and didn't actually stop so I can swap filament. I haven't tried simply 3d with this machine just because I don't have it installed on the new computer I am using and I figured pursa or cura would be better because they have a profile built in but I may install s3d and see how it works. I prefer the interface of s3d over cura and prusa slicer. 

I think the issue is the printer ignoring the commands. 

[Kurt at VRFX]

So - I tried to do a bunch of digging around in regards to your problem. I was trying to find prints of mine, like GCode - where I did the pause on my printer - but, could not trully isolate the right code.

I did searching on the web - and one video posted shows a dude on a Creality machine attempting to do EXACTLY what you want to do. So - not sure if you already saw this - but, I suspect you did - since it WAS posted in the Creality forum. Anyway - here it is:  https://youtu.be/mnujJOvzf0o

This is the webpage in the forum where it was discussed:   https://forums.creality3dofficial.com/community/how-to-troubleshooting/pause-at-layer-x-with-gcode/

I believe there is a difference between the GCode for filament change, vs. just putting in a Pause command. If the Change GCode command doesn't work for your Creality machine - which I suspect is the Case - you may have to just try using a Pause command. Although I suspect that's what Cura is already doing, and its not working for you.

But, yeah - at one point I was also struggling to do what you're trying to do - back when I was trying to do it on my WanHao Duplicator6...

-K

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