Hey there,

i want to show you what i modified about my first 3D Printer.

I'm a technician and IT-Specialist/Project manager out of germany. Because of a healing wound i'm at home since Dec 2019 and i'm sitting in a wheel chair. But that wasn't a reason to stop the project "Predator". Happily i have a feeling for technics in general.

In October i bought an Anycubic Predator. It was my first 3D Printer ever. I first printed in PLA and researhed about the quality of that predator, I found out that this machine in general has some issues. So it was clear to me that i need to modify the machine. I made an Excel Sheet to know how much i hat to pay and how much i would have to. Also i got with that sheet a buyers list. and that one has grown rapidly. I work with Cura and with 3D Builder to remix models.

I planned to exchange the original Trigorilla Pro Board by a Duet2Ethernet- The Effector should be exchanged by a SmartEffector because of the Z-Probe. I did want to reseat Filament Sensor and also change the Extruder. I changed the steppers towards three Nema17 with 65ncm. The thermistor was changed to a PT100. The Fans where substituted by SunOn's. The mechanics went over to linear rails with (additionally) MagBallArms by Haydb Huntley. The original Ultrabase was changed to a magnetic springsteel with Buildtak and also Buildtak PEI sheets applied. When i started i decided to substitute nearby all cables with ones with silicone insulation in the size of AWG20. I did want to rebuild it in logical groups step by step.But then the chaos started. The lackered V-Slots lost their color and so they got uneven. My starting point was the Blog of Jay_UK. Quite a good point for. But i did not copy at all. I also have an enclosure and new feet (Tennis ball ones) made. He's not finished yet.

Till now the project did take over 4 months. As the Predator was my only 3D Printer i first did print all the parts in PLA+ by Sunlu. Now, in a last step i print all the parts in 3D Jake NiceABS and exchange the PLA-ones. Nearby finished (He's printing again since a few days) i already think about changing a few topics. I think about using a Duet3 Board instead of my Duet2Ethernet. Also i think about switching over to a direct drive extruder (Orbiter V1.5). Also i will have to remix a big amount of parts to get the changes into an integrated state. I.e. i have printed parts mounted on printed parts.

There are a few more things to do especially on configuration (i.e. speed of printing) and macros. But he is working now. After he is finished up a bit more i want to build a kit like RatRig V-Core or a HEvoRT.

At the starting point i did want to build two PC Case to hang them onto a wall. Additionally two water radiators for the cooling and soume cases for the cables etc. I did want to buy a small printer to get an own built. Now i'm still stucking at that "small printer"...

Hi,

i have a quite strange Problem right now.

I own a Predator which i rebuild nearby completly. I equipped that with a original Duet2Ethernet Board. That is running on RRF 3.4 release since a couple of time. I did set it up with an hemera Extruder.

First i used a BMG and everything ran fine. After around 2 yrs of running that extruder i did want to check if an Hemera Bowden Setup works even better. It turned out that the Hemera has issues when "hanging around" as a flying extruder.ö He don't want to have that motion on the input-side.

So i decided to give the Orbiter v1.5 a try. I printed the needed adapters etc with the Hemera. Everything worked fine so far. After changing all i did not connect the electrical lines. I started the printer and got frequently error messages about driver 3 saying "Error Driver 3 over temperature shutdown. phase A short to ground, phase B short to ground" How could that be. There is no stepper connected yet. The fan to cool the board (it's a 60mm one) works fine all the time.

I disconnected nearby all connections for Stepper and endstops to be sure that it is not a connection/cable-failure. But the error remains. I slightly get to the opinion that RRF 3.4 don't like my Duet2Ethernet or that there is a failure on the board itsself. Do you have a glue what that error message want's to tell me?

@phaedrux
Yes. Pressing the button "Alle referenzieren". At all towers the sliders drive up to the endstop.

But i got the mistakes/errors i did.

1. I use3d accidently 160 Steps for my 0,9° steppers instead of 80 for my 1,8° ones.

2. and much more irritating i used a wrong polarization on the extruder. Testing the extruder everything ran fine except the z-axis endstop. I used the original Nema cable and also the connected plugs. And that went wrong. For the next time i will use the Molex Plugs and also change the full cavle as i did at all other ones. I also exchanged all other cables by own ones and used the Molex connects.

At last i need clean everything and check the PTFE way of the bowden down to the heatbreak of that hotend. This is needed as i used an (thingiverse redesigned) adapter for the Dragon/Dragonfly hotend.

As i use Version 3.3 of the firmware im a bit confised about some error messages. I reference all towers and a T0. I receive an error "Error: New tool too close to Z axis limit. Aborting tool change". Straight after i try it again and everything works fine. But it only happens when i try to set it active. Mysterious.

Hi out there,

i'm quite confised about the behavior of my printer. I made a coupe of changes to my anycubic Predator.

I changed the original Trigorille with a Duet2Ethernet. There V3.3 of RRF) is installed and used. I added a Duet3 Smart Effector. Also i changed the Titan Extruder to a bmg clone (I have layin' around an Hemera but didn't add yet). Also i changed the nema17 to 65Ncm versions. I use a dragon Hotend with a PT100 and a 50Q heater cartridge. I added linear rails with Haydn Huntley MagBallArms. Also i changed all fans by SunOn ones.

I wrote my config by my own and evrything worked. A few days ago i changed my Extruder to the hemera one and a couple of days later back to the BMG. As i changed the extruder i also changed some things inside the config.g. Since then everything behaves quite strange. i tried to print a file sliced by the actual Cura. I do only use original parts. Onlly the BMG is a clone. To have there also an original i bought that Hemera Bowden.

After all i got some quite strange synopses. When homing on DWC everything runs fine. when homing inside the Printfile the Z axes raattles like no good. When initiating an M119 after that rattle the system tells me that the z-axis is at Max (the sensor is working correctly).

First i thought that mi9cht be an hardware issue. But it seemed that it wasn't. So i installed the RRF mversions 3.22, 3.3 and the actual 3.4Beta7 to ensure it's about the firmware. When up-/downgrading the firmware the direction of the steppers changesd without touching the config.g. Also at homing the nozzle rams into the bed.

I have no glue what is going on and appreciate any help on this topic. Thanks in advance for that.

Actual Config.g
config 2021 12 28 0001.g
Actual Bed.g
bed.g

@velvia

1. It isn't my thing. So i do not have any more stuff like you.
2. There aren't M3 screws. There are holes for M2. They did fit very well for my dragonfly.
3. For the Bowden i had a M6 Holder added to a original Capricorn Set. The thread i did cut myself.
4. The nut wich did hold my full construction has been a M12 metal nut.

@PCR
Also at my side. I printed it in NiceABS. A highly modified ABS by 3D Jake. The new tested Effector did not work that good especially when the nozzle is used as a z-Probe. The used filament seems to be much softer, than the Alloy used at the threaded heatsink. I used originally that design for the effector: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4603940 and changed it a bit. The holes for the screws are designed really fragile. I enlarged the material to a diameter of 11mm and everything worked out fine. I use for all three fans SuOns at 24v.

A couple of weeks ago i changed from building up the printer to optimizing it. I got a quite good working effector with sliders utilizing a hell of original parts. And that i did want to simplify a bit.

@velvia
I got a design from Thingiverse: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4818787

@o_lampe:

the adapter i talked about ist that Thing. There i printed only the adapter named Dragon_Adapter_v3.stl, It is made for the full dragon hontend and also for the BMO. You will have to take off the BMO's groove adapter. One don't need the Groove Adapter any longer with this design.

I will order some washers at amazon. That should be fine.

@Jay_s_uk:
Nope. I got the E3D threaded heatsink and for the first time a plastic nut in a lighter gray. No metal nut and no washer at all. I got it from a certified reseller in germany (filafarm). I ordered M12x1 and the nut is working great at the threaded heatsink. I thought that there is a special reason for using plastic nuts except of saving a washer.

Hi,

the actual V3 smart effector has a plastic nutnto hold and fix the threaded Heatsink. I got an Adapter for the Dragon/Dragonfly hotend that need a M12x1 nut. I ordered 5 metal ones. So my questions on that topic are:

1. Can i use metal Nuts in general to substitute the plastic ones?
2. Do i need plastic washers to use metallic washers?

Thanks in advance for your help.

@donpedro
https://duet3d.dozuki.com/Wiki/Calibrating_a_delta_printer#Section_Correcting_for_small_X_and_Y_scaling_errors

@pickett
Chance favors the prepared mind. - Louis Pasteur.

In the question of which board to use i think primarilly about the PWM-Fan Outputs. I will be in need of at least 4 PWM fan groups. For hotend, partfan, the chamber and also the electronics box. I already have a thermistor for the chamber temperature installed. I also started with a cloned Duet2 but then I ordered an original one and i saw the differences in quality (i.e. soldering). I will keep on the originals. This printer did cost me a hell. If i would be married my wife would have killed me about that.

@jay_s_uk
It was definitly a huge help. I got a real good overview about the printer and the work. After the lecture i was able to say that i was able to work on the planned modifications. I got an idea what i want to print and what i need for. I don't want to be limited by a machine. Getting told all the time that i cannot. I heard that so often that i cannot do it because of a minor reason. I can't hear it anymore. I planned my hotend to be able to print at 500°C. Possibly I will never use that temperature but I'm able to. In my plans i will use the Predator for ABS/ASA and PLA in all the different flavors, Btw. I forgot to say that I use a volcano hotend with a PT100 and a 60/70W heater cartridge. I want to print the Parts of my own built printer on the Predator. Also i produce some presents (figures,...) for christmas and eastern. It is a hobby for me with no intend to earn money with that machine.