Are you still using Simplify3D as your Slicer for the Toolchanger/Motion System? Any reason why you can't/won't use PrusaSlicer as it's free, open source, and has options for multiple (at least 4) extruders? Thanks.
I am using S3D and there is no reason why you couldn't use another slicer. All the tool changes are managed in the firmware and tools are automatically picked up / docked / swapped simply by issuing T0, T1, T2, T3 and T-1 commands. I have no tool change scripts in S3D.
Hi, thanks for the quick reply. I'm a relative newb and only ever used my mk3 & PS. Are the T0, etc, commands gcode? I see there is an option in PS to insert custom tool-changing gcode, so should be fairly easy to figure out I guess!
yes, T0 etc are g-code commands. I recommend you have a good read through this.... https://duet3d.dozuki.com/Wiki/Gcode Also I have just added some notes to the slicer section on github as a result of your post | https://github.com/e3donline/Slicer-Profiles
For what it’s worth, i’ve been using KISSlicer for BigBox since day one (including the IDEX incarnation), and plan to continue using it for Toolchanger as well. As Greg says - tool changes are handled in the firmware anyways (even in Marlin).
I ended up setting a profile in prusaslicer (slic3r fork) and so far it looks like its working well. The only issues are that slic3r doesn't seem to want to throw a (T0) when I am using the "default" or the first tool when slicing, and setting the temperatures isn't done the way I'd like. The issue with slic3r not throwing a T0 when using the default or extruder 1 is only a mild inconvenience at worst. I ended up throwing a manual T0 into the custom start gcode section in slic3r which fixes this problem. The only downside is you end up having an extra toolchange at the start of your gcode if your print starts with any tool other than T0. You can have different printer profiles in slic3r with different starting gcode but I find this solution less elegant than just having an extra quick toolchange at the start. The issue is that "T[next_extruder]" and "T[current_extruder]" aren't defined in the start G-code block. I'm hoping slic3r is eventually updated to allow this. The only issue with temperature is that I don't have a good way to customize the temperature gcode so I can control both the standby and current temperature in slic3r. Slic3r automatically heats up every tool used in the current print at the very start of the print and holds it for the duration of the print. You can set your starting filament temperature to 0 slic3r to prevent it from auto heating everything up, then manually set your filament temperatures in the duet's web interface. This works really well. I think I can have the filament manager in the web interface remember temperatures and set them for me. Everything else seems to be working as expected. I haven't done too many prints yet so I'll update if I find any more problems.
I am also having an issue with S3D picking T0 first even if another tool is supposed to be used. Having buggered up T0 earlier with a blockage I decided to tune T3 next as it has a standard brass nozzle as I fitted to T0. On generating the gcode and starting the job it tries to heat up T0 by going and picking it up first. I checked the gcode and it is issuing the following towards the start before the start script. M104 S205 T0 M109 S205 T0 The process selected for the job is T3 so to get around this I am editing the gcode to change the T0 to T3, it works but is a pain. Am I missing something that is causing this?
Now I have seen the Rene Jurack youtube video (Toolchanger - Slicing #01 - S3D Basics) I can see the error of my ways.
S3D is notoriously complex, but does offer the maximum control when you absolutely positively must control everything down to a tee. For my part, I rarely use S3D now except for some factory files I set up long ago that don't need to change. Today, I find that PrusaSlicer covers everything I need to achieve at present.
Extrusion width differences I haven't tried, but layer heights can be adjusted per part per layer range.
I've stuck with s3d as I am already familiar with the basics and with all the other things I am having to learn for the toolchanger I didn't want to introduce even more ways to screw things up. I just wish there was a little more in the way of documentation for the scripting side.
@Rene, it looks like you can indeed also adjust extrusion width, per part, per range, and affect a number of specific aspect of the slice rather than hitting extrusion width for all aspects. You can even choose a different tool for that range. It seems pretty flexible to me.
@Watchmaker I don't blame you. I stuck with S3D alone for the about 4 years and figured out how to achieve almost anything I needed. S3D is still the only slicer where you can combine vase mode with regular mode in the same print. But it is a mind meld at the start. I still use it when nothing else will get what I want.
