Vote for Gigabot Repairs and upgrades.

Vote for Gigabot Repairs and upgrades.
I’d like to get the Gigabot going again, so I am putting up a vote for $700 to get the gigabot to peak performance. The vote consists of the following:
Below will be ordered from Filastruder:
Duet 2 Control Board: $200
BLtouch probe sensor: $35
E3D VOLCANO 1.75mm hot end: $95
PANELDUE 7I: $110

Why not get the Duet Wifi and skip the PanelDue screen? It really isn’t needed when you can use the computer screen or your own tablet as the screen. I’m running that setup on both of my FDM printers at home and see no need for the PanelDue. I use my iPad in the other room and it is so much more convenient than the tiny PanelDue screen. And the Duet Wifi is only $170 so that save money for other repairs/upgrades. I also have a BLtouch I can donate as I switched my machines to Piezo sensors.

Otherwise I vote yes.

I have E3D volcano stuffs I can bring in.

JP B

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This sounds great! Seems like a good solid rehabilitation project!

the WIFI board vs. panel sounds like good option as well (who likes having to find an SD card?)

Has it been confirmed that the proposed board will work with our heated bed sensor and hot end sensor? would it be reasonable to assume we should replace the sensor in the hot end?

I also have some 24V RAMPS 1.4.2 boards: https://reprap.org/wiki/RAMPS_1.4#RAMPS_1.4.2

The Duet boards will work with every type of sensor so we should be good with what we have for the heated bed. They aren’t too expensive so replacing them isn’t an issue. If you upgrade to a volcano hotend you will need a new sensor (thermistor) anyway as the size of the port in the heater block is different.

I’d love to help with this, seems I can’t get enough 3D printer tinkering at home!

I thought the gigabot already had a volcano head?

I am entirely in favor of getting the Gigabot functional because it is just sitting there in the way right now. I know next to nothing about the technical details so I will let you wizards sort through all of that.

I do want to point out that it seems to me that there is no Hive topic that even approaches 3D printing when it comes to long winded arguments about fiddly jargon, parts and opinions. Yet when I walk up to our 3D printer and attempt to print even the simplest thingy it comes out bearing virtually no resemblance to what I was expecting. I don’t think it has to be this way. I printed something at the public library a few years ago and it came out EXACTLY like what I was expecting without me knowing a damned thing about what I was doing. I want to implore the the most fundamental goal with “improving” any of our 3D printers is that any member can print a basic thingy and it come out looking like a thingy instead of a melted pile of goo.

If you all come to something resembling a consensus on what to buy and you take my urging into serious consideration you will have my vote. If it smells like it is getting too specialized I make no promises.

Dave 3.0

Dave, have you tried using the ultimaker since Jeff fixed the extruder issue? The parts it’s printed this week have been very nice, clean, accurate, and reliable when printed with the 100% default CURA 4.1 settings for an Ultimaker 2.

I have not. I will absolutely give it a try this week. I would really like to print thingys but I’ve come to expect something more like what dribbles out of my hot glue gun when its warming up.

I’m having trouble finding a proposed solution for the bed warp problems in earlier discussions. What are we going to do about the fact that the bed is not flat?

JP B

yeah, try again with a fresh install/reset of CURA 4.1 (I recommend your own computer so you know no one has put in crazy settings, or do a reset of CURA profiles on the CAD computer), select the printer as an Ultimaker 2 (not plus or any variant) and let it slice with the default settings and then export the code and try it. I got really good results this weekend with near zero effort.

3D printers can be temperamental. I’ve had prints from the library fail (Kenton County Library) but I noticed that the machine I was using wasn’t maintained well. They all require maintenance and each “Thingy” you decide to print will require different print settings. Since many different people use a community machine, you really need to check the settings before you print to make sure the person before you didn’t have it set for something that won’t work for your model. Maybe we need a class to go over the basics of 3D printer and print settings? Even experienced users could learn a few things as there are many different machines and slicers on the market these days.

Jeff, are you talking about the Gigabot or the Ultimaker regarding the bed not being flat? If it’s the gigabot, adding a Duet board will allow auto leveling that will adjust the Z motors to keep the bed level while printing, it works amazingly well. We could also get a cast aluminum build plate for not too much money either.

We have a flat glass bed plate for it to go over it’s existing aluminum one that is warped. That with the BL-touch and auto bed mapping should be good enough, right?

auto leveling can create its own problems, especially with a bed this large.

I’d be curious to see how flat the contraption stays once the whole thing is up to temperature. This is something we can check with a dial indicator.

JP B

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It’s also worth putting some effort into improving the bed mounting screws/adjustments/springs, currently the bed is held on with a very inconsistent set of hardware, with the silicone heating pad acting as the leveling springs. It’s possible that fixing that arrangement will greatly improve the bed’s flatness.

I do advise we settle on a 100% permanent home for the gigabot before doing any work on dialing it in. where it has been sitting is no good because of the leaky windows raining on it, and in the middle of the room is in the way. We can probably make room for it where the vacuum former is, slide the vacuum former toward the laser, and get the big green table off that wall. I can make legs for the straight line bender so it can be free-standing.

So what is the cost of a similar machine of similar intended functionality?
I ask, because is it truly worthwhile putting large sums of money into a machine that is known to have a warped bed, have issues getting/staying square, needing a retrofited heated bed, and a host of other things people have said are wrong with it?
I know nothing about the Gigabot other what I have been told about it. And people have said that it can be made to work, but no one has said it can be made to work well, much less stay working.
If the thing could be made to work for $200, great.
If the thing could be made to work WELL for $700 … maaabye??? unless for $800 we can get a new device that will not have the already know issues going on with it.

I don’t like having things that don’t work in the hive. But I REALLY don’t like throwing money at things to make them work if it becomes a black hole and the money is better spent working towards a better device.
I don’t have the personal knowledge to say one way or another, so I’m relying on the people that do to speak up and sway my opinion one way another. And what what I have heard in the past, it points to no.

WillB