Use Simplify3D with a Cube 3

[Sofa_Kingdom]

Dual extrusion is really the test for post processing in S3D. I've worked out some of the dance that 3DS did to make this happened in the slicer. They use a very cumbersome overshoot protection. Also the wipes and purges have to be managed somehow. Does S3D have specific functions you can define 'tool change operations' like switching nozzles?

I would assume this is what you mean.
Annotation 2020-04-30 152227.png
That seems to be a section for tool changes. I personally probably wouldn't worry about wipes because when i got my printer with wipes are half broken (literally looks like they were cut in half on each side but the bottom is still there)

[TommyDee]

Oooohhh - ahhh!!!! LOL YEA!

Now I'm gonna have to look at all that again. Yep, that makes it possible.

How to manage the toggle.

It needs to swap left to right which changes the script. So two scripts.
On tool change from left to right needs script 1 and a tool change from right to left needs script 2.
This will keep the right wiping operations in tact.
These are full G1 locations within the BFB so left is unique from right.
You are looking for how to to a toggle in an "IF Left is active and Right is not: use script1, ELSE use script2"

Let's also make sure I understand 'tool change' here. I assume this means that when an extruder call comes about, a pre or post operation can be performed.
therefore, each is a specific state; from 1 to 2 or from 2 to 1. Each should point to their own script... somehow.

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Prints need some kind of purge between colors. CubePro makes a mess with turds. I suspect S3D has some nice tools to clean the nozzle closer to the print. Then the swap becomes simple. Where S3D turns the nozzle off, just run it down to 150'C and move onto the other nozzle as normal. You have to decide if you want the unused nozzle to reach temp or not before continuing. If you're doing a purge that is already part of the slicer, then have it purge right away and the unused nozzle can stabilize. Just figure out what to do with the bit of drool... Makes a big mess of high contrast prints. Cube3 does pretty good with it if you want to copy the masters.

Now that I think about it, I bet the bias temps has something to do with the drool as well. If that cooled completely on the unused nozzle, it could knock over any other structure that may get in the way. At 150'c, the plastic dribble probably has a chance to get moved out of the way for that little stain in the otherwise perfect field of white.

[Sofa_Kingdom]

Instead of adding it to the current profile I would do what I did to get V2 which is just rebuild from a fresh CubePro profile. I would use the dual extruder profile and see if I can get that to work. I'm going to get turds with my printer anyways because of the condition I got it in. I first need to make a feed system for that side of the printer and get another spool of PLA because I'm running low. I don't have any reason to print with dual extruders atm but I could see that being useful in the future.

[TommyDee]

Indeed, yes. I think the tools are there and the options are more than what 3DS provided in the canned system.
CubePro does a straight forward swap from one to the other. Like I said, post is just setting the M(1/2)04 S0 to M(1/2)04 S150 and call it good.

Purge towers are a common feature in Cura. Also in S3d?

[razor81]

Yes in the toolchange Script, it can be done through gcode

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You could use prime pillar function, so would be no need for so much extra code

[TommyDee]

Exactly. S3D has its own tricks.

[Gaveroid]

I'm only getting a .gcode file, not a .bfb... on Simplify3D v3.0.0. Any ideas?

[jagsta]

Hi, thanks for this, it would be fantastic to have a viable alternative to using the cube slicer and to have more control over prints!

I'm having an issue and thought i'd sanity check what i'm doing to see what might be going wrong. I don't yet have Simplify3D and was hoping I could the test Benchy and encode that as is to test the output on my printer, but i'm not having much success when trying to print it.

My printer is using the extruder hub and the B2B nozzle and is calibrated for z-gap nicely, with no elephant's foot on first layers currently (the gap is approximately .254mm). I'm using lokbuild as the build surface and for PLA don't need any glue usually. If i print a Benchy using the cube software to slice it prints pretty well.

I've taken the Benchy BFB in your archive and encoding using cubepro-encoder (compiled locally on my Mac) to produce a .cube3 output file. The printer accepts this as printable when loaded from USB. I see the printer warm up and purge the nozzle, but when it goes to print on the bed it seems to under extrude and as a result nothing sticks to the bed and I end up with a little rats nest around the nozzle.

Would you expect the BFB file to print well as-is, just encoded? Did you have to adjust any of the calibration of your printer when compared to printing with the cube slicer?

Thanks again for the work in producing this profile, if I can get it to work i'll be really happy to have another option to use for printing (and lots more to tweak in pursuit of the best possible print output from the Cube3!).

[TommyDee]

Welcome to the forum jagsta.

You make a good point and I am not sure how the current config is using it. I assumed the CubePro that originated the baseline recipe would account for first layer differences but maybe not.

Cube3 uses a very aggressive first layer. It has an extra thick layer as it is printing the first layer's thickness at 0.25 or so, and there is a gap to make up for. So the first layer is about 1/2mm thick. So it needs extra extrusion pressure and it needs to go a little slower. Alternatively, for the test print, reduce the gap significantly.

[jagsta]

Hi Tommy, thank you, i've been lurking for so long I forget I haven't actually posted yet! Thanks also for the B2B design, the nozzle is working better than any i've attempted using a quick connect, and you can feel there's much less resistance in the path to the nozzle through the print head, no more stripped filament getting stuck so far, which is fantastic.

Having auto gapped using the calibration menu, that has done the trick. I guess simplify3D is approaching the first layer differently to the cube slicer (my gap for the cube slicer is nearly 300 microns larger than auto gap would set it). I also think the test benchy is using 70 micron layers, which may explain why I was seeing less extruded than I am used to. So far every print i've done with the cube slicer has been with 200 micron layers.

It's currently printing the test model successfully (so far). It's fascinating to hear the very different noises the printer is making, and the wildly variable speeds it's using, I had no idea the cube could move that fast! I'm really excited at the possibility of using a different slicer, even if it is a very expensive one.