Hello!

You may be having the issue with the Ethernet port I came across very recently as the temperature and humidity drop in New York City.

Static electricity.

I built a large Delta Kossel this summer (1800mm x 700mm frame) out of 2020 and 2040 aluminum with corners of thick aluminum.

My four-pin 0.9 42mm Nema 17 stepper motors are connected to the frame but there is a gap of rubber between the motor and aluminum corner for vibration and noise prevention.

The motors do not have shielded cable and the aluminum isn’t a great conductor for a ground.

During the summer and high humidity, I didn’t notice a problem.

The other day during a 12 hour print, I lost any connectivity with the Ethernet port. Even the indicator light on the gigabit switch went out.

The print worked out fine though but I was obviously puzzled as the Ethernet port issue didn’t happen right away.

After some digging here, I found a conversation from 2017 that brought up some great points about grounding and how static electricity can really cause havoc.

I’m removing my unshielded motor cables and using some 18/4 awg shielded cable in its place. I have just taken a break and noticed your message!

You may want to check if your printer is using unshielded and/or ungrounded stepper motors.

Apparently the static knocks the port right out.

I don’t feel like taking the printer apart so I’m down on a yoga mat soldering. Ha!

Good luck!

Such a great forum!

Thanks!

A

@dc42 That is so exciting.

Another new project. Ha!

Will there eventually be some additional documentation on how to configure things?

If you have four motors for movement with a fifth for the extrusion head, will the "Machine Status" list the motors as numbers or how will that be visualized (Instead of X, Y, Z .. 1,2,3,4)?

Very exciting!

Thanks,

A

Hello!

Wow! I've been away for a bit but I came back today for some software updates and I noticed one line in the new firmware notes that grabbed me.

"Support for additional towers on delta printers (up to 6 in total)"

I spent many years on the road as an operator with the Skycam (Flying Camera on Wire System) for the Olympics, NFL, NBA, etc. and it's a four-point system with the four reels arranged in a square or rectangle all sending cable out to a camera spar (and a bunch of other stuff, blah blah).

One reason I made my giant delta printer was it reminded me of a three-point Skycam.

By creating the ability to use four or more towers/motors, you have opened up another use for the Duet 3D which is creating and controlling hardware for camera systems.

Did I read the notes right? We can make delta systems with four motors and towers - "quad printers"?

Thanks!

A

This may be totally unrelated but I was having the same problem with the Ethernet port disappearing during long prints. Usually after the first hour or so.

Turns out my motor and motor cables were not grounded. After I installed shielded cabling, the problem has never reappeared. Even with 23 hour prints I haven't had the problem return.

Could be static.

Hello!

You may be having the issue with the Ethernet port I came across very recently as the temperature and humidity drop in New York City.

Static electricity.

I built a large Delta Kossel this summer (1800mm x 700mm frame) out of 2020 and 2040 aluminum with corners of thick aluminum.

My four-pin 0.9 42mm Nema 17 stepper motors are connected to the frame but there is a gap of rubber between the motor and aluminum corner for vibration and noise prevention.

The motors do not have shielded cable and the aluminum isn’t a great conductor for a ground.

During the summer and high humidity, I didn’t notice a problem.

The other day during a 12 hour print, I lost any connectivity with the Ethernet port. Even the indicator light on the gigabit switch went out.

The print worked out fine though but I was obviously puzzled as the Ethernet port issue didn’t happen right away.

After some digging here, I found a conversation from 2017 that brought up some great points about grounding and how static electricity can really cause havoc.

I’m removing my unshielded motor cables and using some 18/4 awg shielded cable in its place. I have just taken a break and noticed your message!

You may want to check if your printer is using unshielded and/or ungrounded stepper motors.

Apparently the static knocks the port right out.

I don’t feel like taking the printer apart so I’m down on a yoga mat soldering. Ha!

Good luck!

Such a great forum!