COMPLETE Dual Titan IDEX - another try

Discussion in 'Guides, Mods, and Upgrades' started by Alex9779, May 14, 2017.

  1. Kanedias

    Kanedias Well-Known Member

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    There's a grub screw on the bltouch to adjust the magnets, maybe that'd help.

    I use the default travel speed to to a 16 point mesh with the bltouch and haven't had any issues.

    Hopefully at some point they'll add a way to store the results.
     
  2. Proto_BB

    Proto_BB Well-Known Member

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    I also have a bltouch and have had nothing but a positive experience. It seems reliable and fast. The print adhesion and bottom layers have been great since I converted over months ago.

    You might want to contact the manufacturer as they seem responsive. Apparently there were cheap fakes being sold that had issues. I suspect you probably brought yours direct from Korea so might not be a possibility. You should however send them an email. I expect they would send a replacement.
     
    #42 Proto_BB, Jun 7, 2017
    Last edited: Jun 18, 2017
  3. Alex9779

    Alex9779 Moderator
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    Yeah i know of the screw, I also removed the pin and did everything I thought that might help.
    But one of my tests was just to probe one point without moving anything other than Z and also in this scenarios I had major differences...
    I have no idea if my BLTouch is the problem or what...

    Nope. German reseller...

    And still I think I will stay with the IR, the sequence can be much faster with it because you don't have to lift Z as much as you have to with the BLTouch...
     
  4. Proto_BB

    Proto_BB Well-Known Member

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    Fair point. I assume you are running a fancy PEI build plate and not glass. I would try the IR probe from the Duet people if I had the PEI plate. I nearly brought one but the slow heat up turned me off at the time.
     
  5. jfb

    jfb Well-Known Member

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    My personal experience is that any time saved by faster heat up is lost again in cleaning and prepping the glass bed, prising prints off it etc. At most there are a few minutes difference, and when you're talking several hours of printing, then a few minutes is not worth worrying about. On the other hand, the ease of use and consistency with the PEI bed makes quite a difference.
     
  6. Miasmictruth

    Miasmictruth Well-Known Member

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    Looks Great Alex!

    I am starting the prints tonight!
     
  7. potti5

    potti5 Well-Known Member

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    So Alex how well this works? How good quality you get? How about printing speed? This is lot lighter than basic dual extrude setup so maybe get some improvement to speed also. Can you share us some dual printing video? I just thinking start i do this or not.
     
  8. richgain

    richgain Well-Known Member

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    Just to register my support, I too have started printing the parts for this upgrade.
     
  9. Alex9779

    Alex9779 Moderator
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    Well I did some prints with one head... worked good.
    I did some dual calibration and a test print which worked well.
    Then I printed the lastest parts too and replaced everything again.
    Since then I didn't have time to print and recalibrate dual... Before I had a Z offset of both nozzles of -0.05, now it is more...
     
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  10. Alex9779

    Alex9779 Moderator
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    I have to admit that there might be an issue with quality in X direction because of the non centered mount point of the carriage belt. You have a little force momentum between the front or back bearing and the belt.
    I had not so smooth flat surfaces in X direction but I saw and felt some roughness... I will try to lubricate the bearings a little more, maybe use something special like Teflon spray to reduce initial friction... And maybe belt tension has an influence on that too...
    But so far I am really pleased of how it works, a little quality decrease compared to hassle free dual printing is ok for me...

    All that experience will flow into my next project, a totally self made printer...
     
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  11. Miasmictruth

    Miasmictruth Well-Known Member

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    Any update or findings with the X Axis? I have all the parts printed and, the chains, steppers and mirrored Titan on the way. Probably will be a few weeks until I can start the update though as I am getting married in a couple weeks.

    How long was the change over for you Alex, which setup did you come from?
     
  12. Alex9779

    Alex9779 Moderator
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    No news on that behause I have no time myself...
    I came from Gregs IDEX so I had to remove the whole motion system...
    Best would be from any of Chases design and siblings you can mount mine without removing Y axis...
     
  13. Miasmictruth

    Miasmictruth Well-Known Member

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    Gotcha, thanks. I am still on 1.1, I printed all the parts for Gregs version and bought to rods but never had the time to do the conversion :/ hoping I can do this conversion before the next idex iteration is out lol
     
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  14. Proto_BB

    Proto_BB Well-Known Member

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    The big question is if this is a better design than Bjorns. It overcomes issues but does it introduce any new issues? I was a bit worried to hear that print quality might have declined. I printed most of Bjorns parts but then did not have time to convert.

    It's a hard decision to go from a printer that runs pretty darn well into the unknown of Idex. My reason for considering is I need supports in a different material so that I can make functional and pretty parts with nasty overhangs. Things like machine tool handles that replicate the originals. I don't want to sacrifice print quality however.

    I'm not convinced that once I modify my bigbox that I would be able to get it back should the idex build not work out. I'm not talking about destructive modifications, more about the voodoo that makes it all work nicely without any tuning. I almost feel like it's luck given how some other builds fared.

    I have a tough decision to make I guess..
     
    #54 Proto_BB, Jun 14, 2017
    Last edited: Jun 18, 2017
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  15. Miasmictruth

    Miasmictruth Well-Known Member

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    Well I am committed, worst case I print the parts for different version or switch to the bowden which I have parts for already. If you want to wait that long enough for my to review the quality. It may be while though.
     
  16. Alex9779

    Alex9779 Moderator
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    Ok just a little update...
    I did some test prints after applying some grease to the bearings and rods and some additional oil.
    Now it seems way better. I don't see those patterns I saw previously on X axis only surfaces anymore...
     
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  17. Proto_BB

    Proto_BB Well-Known Member

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    I have started printing the parts in Edge. It will take me a while before I get them all finished. Then I will make a call on assembly. It does look like this design is the least disruptive - so we will see.
     
  18. Alex9779

    Alex9779 Moderator
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    I think my issue was because of all that build and rebuild and rebuild the rods were a bit dry. Forgot about that and was so curious of how printing works out with it...
     
  19. richgain

    richgain Well-Known Member

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    I've been busy printing all the parts in black Edge and ordering the necessary hardware for this conversion.
    I started assembling modules last night and my one observation was that the 2 mm spacers used to mount the Titan motors on the X carriages seemed a little too bendy. It made me wonder if the hot end would move around more than it should with rapid X movements. I guess I won't know for sure until I get the whole gantry assembled and connected to belts. If it is an issue then perhaps using a more rigid plastic like PLA or slightly thicker spacers would help.
     
  20. Alex9779

    Alex9779 Moderator
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    I printed everything in nGen.
    Yeah they are bendy but they are fully clamped between the Titan and the motor. The remaining distance to the bearing mount is so short it cannot bend...
     

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