Issues with Pause at height

[zews 1]

I am currently running Cura 4.8.0, just updated from 4.6.1.

 

In 4.6.1 Pause at height was a very easy command and worked very well for me. Set the height in mm at which point you want the printer to pause, and it would happen flawlessly. The printer would stop, at which time I could insert a 1/4-20 nut into the partially finished print. After this I would push the button on the front of the printer and the print would resume.

 

Now in 4.8.0 when I choose Pause at height, there are a lot more options. You can now choose the height in mm of layer number. There are many more options to choose from No matter what options I have chosen, the printer does not pause at the chosen height/layer. The printer stops.

 

When I set the "Disarm timeout" setting to 20 seconds for instance, the printer pauses a short time and then still stops completely.

 

What are the correct settings for the printer to pause and then resume again? The printer I am using is the Ultimaker 2.

BTW, this is what I want to make again. I have made this successfully numerous times for myself and friends. It's a tripod holder for my phone. I need to pause the printer to insert the 1/4-20 nut. These photos were taken after the printer stopped.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 31, 2021 by zews

[GregValiant 1,246]

When you try to use Pause at Height with "Height" as the main option, and you have Z-Hops in the file, the plugin doesn't find the correct Z height.  It's a known issue and has been reported on GitHub and a repair is planned.  The layer number is the number of the layer in the Gcode file (base 0).  It is equal to the Cura preview layer minus 1.

 

Method.  You have it set to BQ(M25).  That is firmware-specific to your printer. 

 

The Disarm Timout is a countdown in seconds.  If there has been no movement for "X" number of seconds then the Stepper motors disable and the printer loses track of the print head location.  20 seconds wasn't good.  The max allowed in the plugin is 1800 seconds so set it to that.  It will give you 30 minutes to change filament or install a nut, or whatever.

 

The amount of Retraction occurs at the pause.  The amount of Extrude is the prime on restart.  They require some practice since they are affected by the amount of ooze that occurs during the pause.  The speeds can be set to whatever you normally use in Cura.  I use Pause at Height to change colors.  I don't bother with the retraction settings.

 

Redo layer???  I know it doesn't work as expected and that's about all I know.

 

Standby temperature is generally your printing temperature so the nozzle doesn't cool off during the pause.

 

Display text sends a message to the display.  Yours might be "Insert your nuts now".  (Sorry...couldn't resist.  I'm doubly sorry if you are of the female persuasion.)

 

Gcode before Pause I usually put in M300 so the machine beeps when it pauses.

 

Gcode After Pause can be used for different things.  It goes in at the line immediately below M25.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[zews 1]

I don't know what Z-Hops means. The fact that this is a known issue makes me want to believe that I cannot make this work in version 4.8.0. I guess it's back to version 4.6.1. Is that correct? 

They made something that was very simple much more complicated, and now it doesn't work. Would have been nice if I had known about this in advance. I would not have updated Cura. 

From your answer I read that the BQ(M25) setting is correct for my Ultimaker 2 printer.

 

The mentioned 20 seconds for Disarm timeout was just a tryout. I had the Pause height set a layer 4, so it would be just a few minutes after the beginning of the print instead of almost done.

I don't understand why 20 seconds would not be good. 20 seconds gives me plenty of time to insert the nut. I don't need 30 minutes to do that.

All the other settings you mention do not seem to be relevant to my particular print.

 

 

 

[zews 1]

I just reinstalled version 4.6.1 and tried Pause at height again. I set the height to pause at to 1 mm so I wouldn't have too waste much filament.

It still doesn't work. As with 4.8.0 it stops at the set height, instead of pausing.

 

Now I don't remember which software version it worked with. It may have been 4.0.0, 3.6.0, or 3.2.1 (these are the versions for which I still have the install files.) Or even all the way back to 15.06.03. So annoying, because it used to work beautifully.

 

[tinkergnome 927]

2 hours ago, zews said:

From your answer I read that the BQ(M25) setting is correct for my Ultimaker 2 printer.

 

Why do you use the script for BQ printers (your screenshots)? M25 stops the print on Ultimaker printers.

The default method should be "Marlin (M0)"  - which is the correct choice for UM2.

[GregValiant 1,246]

Cura users asked for changes.  I'm sure the people who develop and caretake Cura looked at those requested changes before implementing them.

The default "Disarm Timeout" on my Ender 3 Pro is 120 seconds.  I'm not there to constantly stare at the printer so I set the Disarm Timeout as high as possible just in case I'm slow to respond.

I find that the Pause at Height works exactly as intended.  My machine has Marlin firmware.  The M0 stops the print and a button click on the LCD resumes the print.  Looking back at my statement "That is firmware-specific to your printer." could be misleading.  I should have said that the Mcode used to pause a print is "firmware-specific to ANY printer".  

[zews 1]

18 hours ago, tinkergnome said:

 

Why do you use the script for BQ printers (your screenshots)? M25 stops the print on Ultimaker printers.

The default method should be "Marlin (M0)"  - which is the correct choice for UM2.

I used the BQ(M25) setting because that was the default after I installed version 4.8.0, not knowing any better. I assumed Cura would know which one to use as my Ultimaker 2 is the only printer set in Preferences. Frankly I don't know what a "BQ printer" is. Even though I have had my Ultimaker 2 since 2014, and have used it regularly, my prints are always very small. I use the printer mostly for jewelry prototypes, so very small items. I am just now finishing the filament spool the printer came with. My skill is just mediocre level at best.

The only time I have needed to use the "Pause at height" option has been for this phone tripod holder that I have made a number of times. It has always worked beautifully going back to Cura version 15.06.03 from 2015.

I made another print with your suggested method of Marlin(M0), and "Pause at height" of 1 mm as a test. BINGO! It worked beautifully! It stopped, and I could resume the print. Thank you very much for that tip!

I do have a couple additional questions if I may. I had retraction set to "0". A bit of filament was still hanging from the nozzle as the print head paused in the far right corner. When the print resumed that got in the way a little. I wonder if I should set it to 1mm or another setting to prevent that. Do you have a suggestion?

How could I have known that I should set method to Marlin(M0) from the start? I could not find any documentation for this setting.

In version 4.6.1 there is only one setting available for Pause at height, which is in mm. Nothing else can be set. As I mentioned pause did not work in this version either. How would that be solved in that version?

Thanks again for your advice. It made all the difference.

[GregValiant 1,246]

"...A bit of filament was still hanging from the nozzle as the print head..."

The technical term for that is "booger" and it is the result of some oozing from the nozzle.  The retraction setting would likely help, but then you need a prime ("Extrude Amount" in the settings).  If the Extrude Amount isn't just right it will result in a blob.  My system is to hold the booger with a pair of long nose tweezers in my left hand, and hit the button with my right hand.   Off it goes.

 

In Cura under Manage Printers | Machine Settings the Gcode flavor is noted.  In 4.6 check that you are using Marlin(M0) to pause.  As I said, if there are Z-hops in the Gcode file then the Plugin has trouble finding the working Z height.  "By Layer" should work fine.

 

 

 

 

 

[lnxguy 0]

Nobody has addressed the OPs questions about resuming the print.

 

The "Disarm Timeout" has nothing to do with pausing the print and inserting a part.  It is a way to turn off the steppers and should never be used unless the print is unattended for days...

 

There is no automated resume setting in this script ant the print must be manually restarted.

 

When I attempted this, the print stopped and never resumed because I do not have a screen item to touch for resume.  Luckily, I was able to pull the SD card and delete all the gcode prior to the pause and it worked!  I, too want to know what to add to the script to automate the resume after a predetermined pause time!

[GregValiant 1,246]

@lnxguy have you tried using "G4 Sxxx".  G4 is "dwell" and the print will automatically resume after "S" seconds.  You can put the G4 command into the Pause dialog box as either "gcode before pause" or "gcode after pause".  You may have to go into the gcode and manually remove (or comment out) whatever pause command Cura inserts.

The downside to G4 is that you need to be standing there when the machine goes into the Dwell since it is on a timer and will resume by itself.

On my Ender, if I don't enter a value for "disarm timeout" it uses the printer default of 2 minutes.  The Max disarm timeout is coded into the plugin at 1800 seconds (s0 mminutes) while the Max that my printer will accept is 14400 seconds (4 hours).