M84 idle timeout syntax in config.g

ractorIII

I need the Z axis stepper of my machine to stay engaged at the end of a print; otherwise the print head drops. I would like the idle timeout of my other axis to be 30 seconds. Can I separate these? In Config.g, would the syntax be:

M84 X Y S30 Z S0

OwenD

@ractoriii
You will need to put the commands on two lines I'd expect.

M84 X Y S30
M84 Z S0

Phaedrux

I'm not sure the time out time can be different for each axis. I seem to recall anyway.

ractorIII

@phaedrux @OwenD

So, I did set in config.g:

M84 S0

Am I misunderstanding what M84 does? I thought setting the seconds(S) to zero would hold infinitely.

But the motors still lost power at the end of the print and dropped... Alternatively, is there a way to run a script or macro at the end of every print that will park the print head in a designated place? I could just type up the gcode and add it to the footer but that is not optimal for my purposes.

jay_s_uk

@ractoriii rather than setting the idle timeout why not just set the idle amount? i.e. split your M906
so have M906 Z1000 I100 (assuming your z motors are set at 1amp). Then, the current should never be reduced

Alex.cr

@ractoriii

As an FYI regardless of idle timeout, if you have an M18 at the end of your print the motors will be turned off. Take a look at this if you haven’t already.

OwenD

@ractoriii
The way I read the docs, you should not set a value for Z at all if you don't want it to go to idle.
So maybe
M84 X Y E S30

To park at a given spot the best thing is to put all your moves and things like turning off heaters etc in stop.g in the /sys directory.
Then in your slicer end code just call M0 (which will run stop.g)

ractorIII

@owend - thanks! this is very helpful. I'm going to test today this all today, including parking the head.