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Posted · Profile for obsolete printer

Hi,    This is my first experience of 3D printing so I’m very green, but learning (as fast as possible).

I’ve been given a CubeX single jet machine but I don’t have the toolkit or the Cubify USB stick. I've sorted various hardware issues and I think I am about ready to ask it to print. Hence, I have downloaded Cura 5.1.0 and in the Welcome Page, hit 'Get Started'.  But when I try to  'Add a non-networked printer' there are no CubeX machines in the list.

So, my question is  --  Is there a way to add a Cura Profile for my ancient printer or do I have to enter all the details manually? (and which details are necessary?)

Hoping you can help me.    Regards,     Myosotis.

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    Posted · Profile for obsolete printer

    You will have to set it up as a "Custom FFF" printer in Cura.  After you have installed it you can make any changes you need by going to "Manage Printers" and then "Machine Settings".  Deepending on how old it is it might be an "Origin at Center" machine.  Nowadays that is mostly used for Delta printers.

    The rest of the settings (build plate size, print head dimensions) you can measure off the machine.

     

    The main thing is to get the "Gcode Flavor" correct.  I came across THIS PAGE that appears to be bad news.  I'll let you decide.

    There is also THIS PDF that is the user manual.

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    Posted · Profile for obsolete printer

    Hi GregValiant,  Thanks first for your prompt reply.  I have followed your links and see the 'bad news' from the RepRap site.  Before I even think about ripping out all the controls and replacing them I'm going to see how others in the Cubex community have worked round the proprietary features and made it work whilst keeping most of the firmware.

    I'm making progress, but it is slow going. My problem seems to be finding a post-processor to convert .gcode to .cubex files. It reports 'unable to print' but it does not give any clue to the reason. When I break through this glass ceiling and hone my prints to an acceptable level I hope to be back and contribute.

    Thank you for all your assistance - it has helped a lot.

    Regards,    Myosotis.

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    Posted · Profile for obsolete printer

    Hi, That sounds very interesting. Unfortunately I don’t have a .cubex file. As I explained both the original toolkit and the memory stick were ‘lost’. I’ll see if I can get my hands on one and the .gcode before processing – then we could see the changes made.

    Will report progress. Myosotis.

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    Posted · Profile for obsolete printer

    There is THIS THREAD here that has some info.

    The RepRap WIKI has separate listing for BFB firmware commands.  It doesn't appear to be complete but it is somewhere to start.

    HERE is a little light reading on additional BFB commands.

     

    You could try hand-coding a brief Gcode file with the file name extension of ".bfb" (instead of ".gcode") to see if it works.  Commands like G28 appear to work.  You can heat the hot end with M104 but it looks like M109 (wait for temperature) isn't supported.  I guess you could put in a G4 command to act as the "wait".

    If you can get the machine to fire up the bed and hot end then most of the movement commands would appear to work and so the machine should print.  How it would handle things like Accel and Jerk might be a problem.  You could simply shut them off in Cura.

    Figuring out a proper StartUp gcode is a key here.  The Ending Gcode shouldn't be too bad to figure out.

    I see that G90 (Absolute Movement) is supported but G91 (Relative Movement) is not and M82/M83 are not supported.  Those two things together mean that movement within the Ending Gcode to get the nozzle away from the print will be in the XY only and there won't be a retraction.  It also means that the firmware only understands "Absolute Extrusion" or it only understands "Relative Extrusion".

     

    Good Luck!!

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    Posted · Profile for obsolete printer

    Myosotis, I know your pain. I was given a Cube 3 a few months ago. It was my first foray into 3D printing also. The learning curve has been steep. Unfortunately, 3D Systems has abandoned it's home products line and there is no support. As you have found the system is proprietary. But that doesn't mean it is out of reach for talented individuals. The good news is there is a strong community around these Cube printers. You might call it a fan base. Some of those talented individuals are at the core of this community and have managed some pretty amazing things like a decoder/encoder for cubex files.

     

    I have a Cube 3 as I said, not a CubeX so I don't know the details of that machine but you should check it out at Print3DForum CubeX .

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