Ultimaker 3 Custom Gcode Issue

[BairdB 1]

Hello Forum!

 

I have an Ultimaker 3 and I want to write custom Gcode for the printer to run for vibration testing. I tried to write my own code in a text editor, put that on a flashdrive and then tried printing it on my Ultimaker 3 over USB. I renamed the file to have a .gcode.gz extension because the printer does not recognize the file if I leave it as .txt. However, when I try to run the file on the printer by selecting print, it does not do anything. I have read this post about the Griffin Gcode commands and I am confused how to write my own gcode files for my printer to execute. I think my file might need a header as explained in the post I linked. But I do not know how to implement this, or if the file is a binary or a text.

 

If anyone has any experience writing their own code for the Ultimaker 3 I would appreciate you input.

 

I attached an example of the kind of code I want to run on the printer.

 

Thanks!

 

Baird B.

 

VibrationIsolationTestText.zip

[tinkergnome 924]

ok, let's see...

 

• Like any other Ultimaker printer the UM3 can read text files with the file extension ".gcode"
• In addition the UM3 is able to directly use gcode files that are compressed with gzip, those will have the file extension ".gcode.gz". Cura generates such files by default if you print over network, but it's not mandatory
• But: the .gcode file has to begin with the mandatory Griffin-"Header" - basically a few lines with specific comments that describe the print job.
• The easiest way to get such a header is to prepare a similar print job in Cura, slice and save the gcode file to disk.
  Obviously you don't want to heat anything up - so set all temperatures to zero.
  Take a look at the header lines in the file, it's not very hard to interpret. Afterwards replace everything below the header lines with your own G-Code commands.

 

 

Further:

• I'm not sure, if the UM3 supports the G28 command (i think it does not?) - it's possible that it will be ignored or it will work different from what you expect. The UM3 has its own start- and end- procedures builtin that are performed for every print. There's no easy way around it.
• You should add a feedrate (parameter "F") prior or within the first move commands, to tell the printer how fast it should move.

 

Example:

 

;START_OF_HEADER
;HEADER_VERSION:0.1
;FLAVOR:Griffin
;GENERATOR.NAME:Cura_SteamEngine
;GENERATOR.VERSION:4.11.0
;GENERATOR.BUILD_DATE:2022-02-14
;TARGET_MACHINE.NAME:Ultimaker 3
;EXTRUDER_TRAIN.0.INITIAL_TEMPERATURE:0
;EXTRUDER_TRAIN.0.MATERIAL.VOLUME_USED:3029
;EXTRUDER_TRAIN.0.MATERIAL.GUID:506c9f0d-e3aa-4bd4-b2d2-23e2425b1aa9
;EXTRUDER_TRAIN.0.NOZZLE.DIAMETER:0.4
;EXTRUDER_TRAIN.0.NOZZLE.NAME:AA 0.4
;EXTRUDER_TRAIN.1.INITIAL_TEMPERATURE:0
;EXTRUDER_TRAIN.1.MATERIAL.VOLUME_USED:2515
;EXTRUDER_TRAIN.1.MATERIAL.GUID:506c9f0d-e3aa-4bd4-b2d2-23e2425b1aa9
;EXTRUDER_TRAIN.1.NOZZLE.DIAMETER:0.4
;EXTRUDER_TRAIN.1.NOZZLE.NAME:AA 0.4
;BUILD_PLATE.TYPE:glass
;BUILD_PLATE.INITIAL_TEMPERATURE:0
;PRINT.TIME:4321
;PRINT.GROUPS:1
;PRINT.SIZE.MIN.X:9
;PRINT.SIZE.MIN.Y:6
;PRINT.SIZE.MIN.Z:0.27
;PRINT.SIZE.MAX.X:213
;PRINT.SIZE.MAX.Y:214.402
;PRINT.SIZE.MAX.Z:32.07
;END_OF_HEADER
;Generated with Cura_SteamEngine 4.11.0

G0 Z30 F1200
G0 X40 Y40 F6000
G0 X50 Y50
G0 X40 Y40
G0 X50 Y50
...

 

Edited February 14, 2022 by tinkergnome

[BairdB 1]

Thank you very much! Hope this post is useful for other people with the same issue.

 

Cheers!