Cura slicing but not printing

[Ray722 0]

I am trying Cura looking for better quality prints on my Duplicator 4 printer. I am using a simple model I have printed with other software before. I have added Wanhao Duplicator 4s from the ADD a printer list. I prepare and slice the model and save it as X3G file. then copy it to a SD card.

Once my extruder & printer bed have heated I set the printer to run from the SD card, the process starts as the printer LCD screen changes and shows progress as 0%, filament used as 0 and elapsed time starts counting. Beyond that the extruder does not extrude or even move. Nothing happens except the extruder starts to loose temperature.

Other than using the included printer settings is there anything else I should be doing please? Is anyone able to advise please?  

[GregValiant 1,245]

If you post the Gcode file and a 3mf file (with a model loaded use File | Save Project), somebody can look at it.

[Ray722 0]

As usefully suggested I attach 2 files. Hope this helps someone determine my problem.

Mirror support 11.8MM ball.3mf Mirror support 11.8MM ball.gcode

[GregValiant 1,245]

This is from your Gcode file.

 

M140 S60
M105
M190 S60
M104 S200
M105
M109 S200
M82 ;absolute extrusion mode
G21 ;metric values
 G90 ;absolute positioning
 M82 ;set extruder to absolute mode
 M107 ;start with the fan off
 G28 X0 Y0 ;move X/Y to min endstops
 G28 Z0 ;move to min endstop

 

With the bed and hot end pre-heated, the Gcode starts with the bed heating.  The machine waits for the bed to heat, then the extruder heats, and then the machine waits for that to finish.  This is normal routine.  I always pre-heat both the bed and nozzle.

If your machine isn't getting to the G28 Auto-Home lines, and the hot end temp is falling, it's probably hanging on the M190 line.  Some other machines had that problem but they were printers without heated beds (so they would wait forever).  Since your printer has a heated bed then it shouldn't hang there.

So open the Gcode file in Notepad and put a semi-colon in front of the M190 S60 line.  That will turn it into a comment instead of a command.  Print the file and see if it gets past that and heats the hot end and continues to homing.

 

I don't know that this will matter, but while you are in the start-gcode, there are a few lines where the first character is a space.  Remove the spaces so that the first character is a real character.

Edited January 19, 2021 by GregValiant

[Ray722 0]

Thank you Greg, I have tried all of your suggestions without any progress. However I think I cleared my head and see why. If I edit the start code before slicing this is used, but of course there are instructions built in to the machine profile used in the slicer.

None of the settings you refer to are in the start gcode so I can edit the Gcode file as sent to you but as Cura automatically converts this to x3g for my printer it is too late to make changes to the Gcode.

I can look for the app which will convert the gcode to x3g and try using that file in the printer.

It is a pity the guy who provided the file to Cura is not available to explain why it wont work for me as it clearly has for him.

I can override the extruder and bed target temperatures through my printer LCD screen but this does not seem to make any difference to the inactivity.

[GregValiant 1,245]

Sorry, I don't know the x3g routine.  It would seem reasonable that Cura would simply convert the gcode from text to binary (or hex or Latin) rather than adding or removing commands.  The fact that the hot end temp falls off is odd.  When I pre-heat the bed and hot end together, as the gcode runs (like the previous post) the printer knows to wait for the bed to heat up but nothing tells it to turn the hot end off so it just keeps heating, or floats at print temp, until it's own heating instructions show up.  At that point it swings into the print.

 

In the Cura Marketplace there is a plugin for additional printer settings.  You might want to load that and see if anything jumps out.

 

@ghostkeeper wrote the x3g writer for Cura.  Maybe he can take a look at this and make a suggestion.

[Ray722 0]

Greg

Others have found problems with this code and have question if it was even tested by the author. I have found another profile, for a dual extruder Duplicator 4 which I an going to shift my attention to. 

rebekah_harper posted it on this community site on Nov 16 2018.

I have one issue to overcome yet, that is where/how to change the default to be 2 extruders. Plus I think in adding a new printer I need to activate it, but I'm not getting that option yet.

I checked Cura Marketplace but there is not aolug-in for this printer.

[Ray722 0]

I have downloaded and added new settings published by a different author for the printer. It adds new definitions for the printer and extruders. Unfortunately the author published a correction to a typo error and Windows 10 does all it can to prevent making changes to some files. I will try to contact the author Brad Fettes. 

[Ray722 0]

I have downloaded the file below and used to add a printer in Cura 4.8.0 and added the new files in Resources Definitions and Extruders.

I noticed a message from Brad Fettes showing how to correct a typo and have corrected that.

I removed Wanhao Duplicator 4s from printers and added it again after making the changes above.

When I opened the printer up after this it still only showed one extruder, clearly the changes have not completed this correctly.

I think the changes have changed the printer Gcode but it still remains idle when I try to print.

I have included the files below in case anyone has time to look.

Thanks

WanhaoDuplicator4S-Cura-master.zip WD4S_Mirror support 11.8MM ball.3mf WD4S_Mirror support 11.8MM ball.gcode

[GregValiant 1,245]

If you add a custom FFF printer you can pretty much configure it however you want.  The two options under "Custom" are Custom FFF and Custom Smoothie.  A custom FFF can have any of the available Gcode Flavors.

I've played with configuring a CustomFFF as a dual extruder and as a 4 into 1 extruder.  I'm hampered since I don't actually own one of them.  I do slice and study the gcode files to see how Cura handles them in case questions come up here.  That Gcode file you included would run on my Ender.

 

If you absolutely need the x3g format for the printer you may be stuck.  I'm not bad at gcode but you'll need someone who knows the x3g translator.  Right now Ghostkeeper and the other Cura team members are busy writing code for the new version as well as the normal addressing the posts on GitHub.  We have kind of run out of my knowledge of the situation and I hate guessing as it just leads to confusion and 3d printing is confusing enough already.

[ghostkeeper 105]

Hey. I can share what I know of the X3G conversion. Thanks for the ping, Greg.

 

The X3GWriter calls upon an executable called GPX to convert g-code to X3G: https://github.com/markwal/GPX

The X3G files work slightly differently than g-code files and they need slightly more information. Sometimes this is where mistakes sneak in.

 

GPX accepts extra settings as parameters and Cura translates most of those to machine settings that you can modify through the Printer Settings plug-in on the Marketplace. This means that *machine settings may affect the X3G conversion*. In particular, the Maximum Feedrates and steps per mm are important. The full list of conversions between Cura's settings and GPX settings are here: https://github.com/Ghostkeeper/X3GWriter/blob/1386edb609b467b7457a98f99cd693095bf22a61/X3GWriter.py#L219-L281

 

Aside from that, GPX also has a number of pre-defined profiles. In Cura you can choose one of these via the machine_x3g_variant metadata entry. The list of pre-defined profiles doesn't include the Duplicator 4 though. Here's the complete list: https://github.com/Ghostkeeper/X3GWriter/blob/1386edb609b467b7457a98f99cd693095bf22a61/X3GWriter.py#L168-L187

 

So to create support for the Duplicator 4, you need to somehow find out what settings are necessary in GPX to convert g-code to X3G. I don't know those and can't really help you testing them. Then you need to fill those into the machine settings in Cura. If you get them to work, perhaps we can add a profile to the GPX application too.

[GregValiant 1,245]

OK @Ray722 it's right from the Ghost's mouth.

 

I believe you have a little light reading ahead of you.  I'll look at it too and if I see anything I'll chip in.

[Ray722 0]

Thanks to both of you. I have been following the details here:https://www.fettesps.com/adding-the-second-extruder-for-the-wanhao-duplicator-4s-in-cura-3-6-0/

This is the work Brad Fettes did to add a second extruder to, I assume the one added to the printers in Cura.

I will see how that goes first.

[GregValiant 1,245]

I got that to work.  I don't know about the Gcode or how/if it would print.

 

Here is a 3mf with the dual extruder printer and a couple of calibration cubes.

25x25Cube.3mf

[Ray722 0]

Thanks Greg, I will see what I can do with that.

[Ray722 0]

Greg

Downloaded and opened in Cura. Of course as you do not have a Duplicator 4 it was not prepared with that printer and so there is no code added to save the file as X3g. I have opened the Gcode file and will look at it to see if it can be used in Cura for a Duplicator 4 printer.

[Ray722 0]

Thanks to both of you. I have been following the details here:https://www.fettesps.com/adding-the-second-extruder-for-the-wanhao-duplicator-4s-in-cura-3-6-0/

This is the work Brad Fettes did to add a second extruder to, I assume the one added to the printers in Cura.

I will see how that goes first.

[Ray722 0]

Thank you to the guys who have helped already. I believe I have altered the json files as per instructions but can immediately see the FFF is not configured correctly yet because as mentioned I still do not have two extruders showing. I add 3 json files which should be as instructed. I would be pleased if anyone who understands these can look at them for errors please.

This is the link I followed to download the modified json files: https://github.com/fettesps/WanhaoDuplicator4S-Cura

 

wanhao_d4s.def.json

{
  "version": 2,
  "name": "Wanhao Duplicator 4S",
  "inherits": "fdmprinter",
  "metadata": {
    "visible": true,
    "author": "Brad Fettes",
    "manufacturer": "Wanhao",
    "file_formats": "text/x-gcode",
    "has_materials": true,
    "platform": "wanhao_225_145_platform.obj",
    "platform_texture": "Wanhaobackplate.png",
    "machine_extruder_trains": {
        "0": "wanhao_d4s_extruder_0",
        "1": "wanhao_d4s_extruder_1"

 

wanhao_d4s_extruder_0.def.json

{
    "id": "wanhao_d4s_extruder_0",
    "version": 2,
    "name": "Extruder 1",
    "inherits": "fdmextruder",
    "metadata": {
        "machine": "wanhao_d4s",
        "position": "0"
    },

    "overrides": {
        "extruder_nr": { "default_value": 0 },
        "machine_nozzle_size": { "default_value": 0.4 },
        "material_diameter": { "default_value": 1.75 }
    }
}

 

wanhao_d4s_extruder_1.def.json

{
    "id": "wanhao_d4s_extruder_1",
    "version": 2,
    "name": "Extruder 2",
    "inherits": "fdmextruder",
    "metadata": {
        "machine": "wanhao_d4s",
        "position": "1"
    },

    "overrides": {
        "extruder_nr": { "default_value": 1 },
        "machine_nozzle_size": { "default_value": 0.4 },
        "material_diameter": { "default_value": 1.75 }
    }
}

 

Thank you in advance.

 

 

 

[GregValiant 1,245]

It looks good to me, but what I don't know about Python fills libraries.

Did you try leaving a message on Brad Fetts GitHub site?  

Were you able to add a second extruder in the Machine Settings / PrintHead Settings / Number of Extruders?

Edited February 9, 2021 by GregValiant

[Ray722 0]

Thanks Greg, I will try leaving a message. No second extruder, that is a dead give-away that it has not worked.

[Ray722 0]

Contacted Brad Fettes but he declined to help. I guess I will give up trying Cura.

Edited February 21, 2021 by Ray722

[obewan 37]

not 100% sure but it look like you are missing a }

 

 

"machine_extruder_trains": {

    "0": "wanhao_d4s_extruder_0",

    "1": "wanhao_d4s_extruder_1"

},

[GregValiant 1,245]

You know you have this VB guy trying to pound his way through Python.  I got it to work but my head hurts.

There are 2 extruder files and one def file in the zipped files.  The Extruder files go into Cura ...\resources\extruders and the other goes into Cura..resources\definitions.  I was able to add the printer and set the second extruder up.  Whether I did it correctly, I have no idea, but it looks good to me.

 

wanhao_d4s.def.zip wanhao_d4s_extruder_1.def.zip

Edited February 21, 2021 by GregValiant

[Ray722 0]

Thanks guys, I will try both when I have a break from printing.

[Ray722 0]

Obewan

It looks like the file actually has the (. I have copied the file from Resources, Definitions.

 "machine_extruder_trains": {
        "0": "wanhao_d4s_extruder_0",
        "1": "wanhao_d4s_extruder_1"
    },