Replacement Controller for CubePro Trio

[ryanhatfield]

I wouldn't worry about the relay board. Yes, it was made by 3DS but I looked at it and it seems to have all the right T's crossed if I remember right... good AC side isolation, different sides of the board have the ac and dc components, opto-isolated ac/dc separation ... so no worries there.

So basically my elevator pitch is "a drop-in replacement control board that allows the use of open source software to control a cubepro with no tricky hardware modifications". Marlin was just the firmware I've had a little experience with. Really, it's using similar hardware to some of the other 32bit firmwares out there so many could be ported over if someone was interested.

I like your idea for "preheat the oven" mode, I'll have to remember that when I get to the final firmware modifications. There will be a few "special" functions that won't be in other Marlin printers, so I'll have to figure those out when I get to them. I'll have several "Aux" ports (similar to other Marlin based boards) so if someone wants to add a heated bed or an additional temp sensor, that should be easily done.

The door isn't locked, and I don't think there's even a sensor. This could be determined through heat changes (i.e. if A power is applied to heater, the temp should go up by B degrees per second). It's a closed system of sorts, so fast heat loss would mean you opened the hatch.

I am planning on wiring up all 3 extruders electrically, but if there's any software hurdles I'll just focus on the two. I think the Duo was more popular than the Trio.

As for my location, I'm in North Dakota ... and because of the winter we're having, I had to put this project aside for the weekend so I would work on my other project ... a 48V homemade electric snowblower conversion. Batteries came from a hybrid Honda Civic. The donor snowblower is from 1979. Almost done, just waiting for a part for the snowblower transmission in the mail.

[TommyDee]

That's not too far from Oregon. I make it up to Spokane from time to time. Just wondered how many time-zones a mailing would have to cross. Snowblowers would be a good thing there in the winter

Love the pitch! Indeed, that is what people want. Simple and straight forward. I take it you have the wherewithal to hack Marlin to your liking? That alone is excellent in making conversions such as this more "complete". Considering DDD also makes high end industrial printers, their attention to safety matters is likely leaps above other manufacturers. When they put a CE sticker on there, they've documented how they meet the relevant requirements. I'll have to see what category they put 3D printers under for certification.

I'm sort of surprised that the door doesn't have a "pause" interlock though... (F/W pause as a minimum) to keep it from having motion safety concerns. Most products with moving stages get the book thrown at them when it comes to safety qualifications. 3D printers are getting a huge hail Mary pass on a lot of possible pinch points, at least traditional requirement for test and measurement equipment which 3D printers are not. Basically, nothing can break a match stick that a user can access in my industry. What I completely overlooked when asking was the need to do maintenance with the door open and the stages operable. I'm going to have to dig deeper in the safety docs to learn how they get away with that. More a curiosity, being in the industry... of course.

So next question... CubePro has a lot of F/W guided maintenance routines. Will you be able to mimic those in your solution? I'm remembering a lot of conversations with regard to automating the filament change in Cube3 with custom BFB codes. This can be done but again, lack of sincere interest really does limit our great ideas when it comes to code development.

There are two main differences between you and me, Ryan... and there is no right or wrong to it... just is. I tend to live the project before ever taking a screwdriver to it. You take a step by step approach to the project and work out the details as you go. I envy your method! Maybe my foresight will come in handy in some instances. Ignore those comments that are simply crazy or paranoid. That never offends me. I get paid to do exactly that

[ryanhatfield]

I can easily include a lever switch and the hardware needed to make such a feature for you. There are some serious pinch points on the chassis, and could easily do some damage if you reach in there while it's printing (admittedly I have). I don't disagree with you on this, but you would need the ability to override the door safety switch, especially for manual leveling. If it's not something Marlin can do already, it could be easily added.

These firmware guided routines are a nice touch. This will be lost at first, but most other printers just use generic test prints I think, there's many on thingiverse with step by step guides to reading what the print tells you. Eventually, I think more people will want a color screen, and adding images in the mix could be possible. After the hardware is finished I'll focus more time on modifying Marlin. I just verified Marlin would work for all of my hardware requirements, and it does.

I use a print that has manual gcode pauses in it, it goes to 5 points on the bed, 2 times in a row. It pauses at each point to let me level it, then hit the continue button. It works much the same way the cubepro's works, just without the screen prompts. That's the part that I think will be added in the future.

[TommyDee]

Monochrome screen on Pro? Wonder if a Cube3 screen would plug-n-play on the Pro. Same motherboard says it should be interchangeable with possible F/W exceptions.

In my world, a tool-access is required for technicians certified to access the less safe areas. Access requires system knowledge and higher level of awareness. But again, that the Semi industry in general. I've caused myself a lot of grief just collapsing ladders... so who knows what's real in the printer world.

I am not a fan of software leveling. It is more a crutch than a functional feature. You can always see the tell-tales in the print when the auto-leveling is active.
However, it is useful to find when you are truly level. You can hear the ticks when the Z-axis adjusts. These ticks can eventually be removed completely with manual leveling. Doing it this way doesn't require a gauge. You just keep auto leveling to zero in on zero ticks. What I haven't figured out is how to disable it completely. It is always active and you can never force a zero adjustment until you get the plate absolutely level. This stays set in firmware so the process is co-dependent

Does CubePro have software auto-leveling? Curious to know if you ran the V2.02 S/W and the latest F/W when you revived the unit. Maybe I should start reading the manual, huh

I don't worry too much about safety protocols. Got plenty of scars to prove it. What doesn't kill you... right? And if it did, I'd be the last to care.

Don't forget, I don't have a urge to learn how to make material files. I'm still happy with the AXON slicer. The reason for Pro for me is to see how much better CubePro is compared to Cube3. What's already very apparent is that those areas we wanted to access in Cube3 are already available in CubePro. My goal is to get CubePro files to print on Cube3. Funny thing is, the software is already set up for that! Something turned off access in config files. I think I already found the entry where this access is managed. Just gotta find the key. If I wanted to shoot myself in the foot, I'd get that little MP Select Mini to see what Cura can, or can't do.

Which significant printer makers are running Marlin F/W?

[splitn2]

Watching this closely, I have a Cube Pro Trio and looking to get it to 32bit Marlin with Trinamic stepper drivers, E3D hotends, and a decent heated bed. I have considered running a Duet3D (with Marlin) main reason I like that board is it seems to have been well developed and quality electronics, and its got the TMC2660 chips which I have used in a small cnc and impressed with them. Very intererested to see where you design is heading and I am keen to collaborate where possible. My email is rich@splitn2.com if you want to get in touch and I am also on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/rich.harcourt?ref=bookmarks so reach out if its easier to chat that way. Cheers, Richard

[TommyDee]

Welcome to the forum, Richard! Ryan, meet Richard

[splitn2]

Welcome to the forum, Richard! Ryan, meet Richard

yeah thanks guys, its funny the more I use the CubePro as it is the more respect I have for simple Ender3 and similar, they do an amazing job for so cheap. However I can see the Cube chassis is worth spending some effort on matching up with best fw available and matching electronics and hotends etc eh. Cheers, Rich

[TommyDee]

The CubePro slicer is definitely something to get use to. It has way too many dumb features that get in the way. But I'm getting a handle on it... slowly!
It is quite obvious that DDD got a good talking to by the likes of Microsoft and CocaCola when making the Cube3/Ekocycle platforms. The usability improvements are VAST! If only they didn't screw up the bowden delivery so badly.

[splitn2]

Ryan, have you decided what extruders and hotends you are going to use ? The standard ones on the Cube or after market ? I have a dual bowden Micron EME which I purchased a while ago https://micron-eme.com/collections/a...en-feeder-sale which is a nicely built unit, and I am pairing it up with E3D Chimera dual hotend https://e3d-online.com/chimera - your thoughts ? At least for starters this will reduce the gantry weight massively and I am hoping with the nice acceleration profiles on Marlin I should be able to push it pretty aggressively after removing all the bloat off the gantry. cheers, Rich

[bemarriott10]

Hey ryanhatfield. I am new to the forum. But yeah I have a cubepro. Had it for a long time, but only have about 1.5 filament rolls through it and it is giving me some major x axis layer shift. I think i just want to replace the motherboard, but yeah they dont make them any more lol. Do you do you have yours up for sale yet?