I Made a Self Deploying Allen Key Probe To Rival The BLTouch
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- Опубликовано: 30 июн 2024
- The hobby of 3D printing needs more touch probe options. The comparison of BLTouch vs. XYZ is kind of stupid because the vast majority of BLTouch alternatives are just clones: IP theft of the original design by Antclabs. The TouchMI is an optical touch probe at half the price of a BLTouch, but I think we can do better than that. How about 13X cheaper!?! This DIY solution uses the original touch probe idea of an Allen key activating a switch. Only this time the Allen wrench activates an optical sensor for some surprisingly accurate probing. Of course this design will only work on a Creality Ender 2, Ender3 (original), and CR10 (original) but these happen to be some of the most popular printers in the world, so hopefully lots of people will save lots of money with this awesome upgrade.
The Self Deploying Allen probe files have been uploaded. I will still be doing some work to make them easier to print and I also need to explain them more in the next video. That being said, you should be able to get these printed and working. My partner for this project 3D Printscape is responsible for the firmware and he is on a work trip until the end of the month. Expect the final vides from me and him at the beginning of March. In the mean time you should be able to get the probe working with the start script found at the link. DO NOT run a regular Auto Home (G28) command unless you are there to flex the deployment catch out of the way with your hand. This issue will be solved with the new firmware build which will move the X-carriage inboard to avoid the collision. Use the firmware and wiring from the previous build: • Unbeatable for $200 - ...
Link to Print Files and G-code script (Please consider $1 Patreon support):
thangs.com/punamenon/Main%20B...
Support The Channel: / designprototypetest 
Наука
Put the Allen Key in a Dremel and grind a needlepoint on it to alleviate any contact point deviation. Also on the end that triggers the optical switch, add a black "Flag" that triggers the sensor. That will diminish the trigger point error induced by the angled surfaces of the key and make for a more stable Trigger Point.
A sharp point can be an issue for heavily textured beds though, maybe just a rounded tip
just a touch of flat-black spray paint on the key would reduce the trigger point error too
A ball end would be much better and less prone to bed surface error.
Good idea William, but a sharp needlepoint could sink into the surface it is probing, and thus a more blunt would give better results. You are right it the surface points area will/could make that impact. But the opposite isn't perfect either.
But you get others, like me, to thinking, and that is great.
I bet you could use a piece of PTFE tube to help with the movement of the Allen key.
Great minds think alike!!
or silicon spray
My thoughts exactly. Watch the video. I had the same idea and started to skim through the comments to see if anyone had mentioned it first. Great minds think alike!!!😜
Just need a smooth enough hole really. Even with a well tuned machine pumping out exactly the right size holes, running a straight piece of wire or the right size drill bit in and out of the hole in a straight motion works to deburr and burnish the hole for smooth motion. Trick is finding a good RPM for your bit/wire and plastic but can get a shiny hole if you find just the right speed.
Linear ball bearing for the win
Only thing I would look into is that the deviation was increasing constantly over the 10 measurements. Backlash is the first thing that comes to mind.
Holy crap I think you are on to something! If you look at the screenshot at 10:40 he talks about the Range stat at the bottom, but every entry as you go down the page the Range stat gets larger!
I feel like that repeatability accuracy is not far off a genuine BL touch. Or even a CR touch which is purportedly more accurate. I like the simplicity. Less is oftentimes more.
Make the tube the wrench slides in longer. That will reduce your deviation angle.
Its kind of funny that you mention it that it started with micro-switches and a removable probe, and now in areas like the voron community, they ar egoing back to micro-swites in things like the klicky probe to deal with the heated chamber challenges of other probe solutions. Keep up the good work!
Some times simple is the best. I've tested a few key switches used by the keyboard building community and they also work great in filament run out detectors due to their low actuation pressure.
The Klicky probe is great because it auto adjusts your z offset when you change build surfaces and nozzles etc. In my experience though, you still need to run it at a consistent chamber temperature or you will get first layer inconsistencies between prints.
If I print from my machine cold, I get a first layer that is way too high and I have to adjust my switch_offset to move the nozzle closer. But then if my chamber is heated I get prints that are way too close.
I don’t know if this is because the mechanics of the switch itself alters with the heat or if it’s caused by something else, but this drove me crazy.
Now I just make sure my chamber is heated and I get prefect first layers even when I switch out build surfaces and nozzles.
microswitch is definitely the most KISS solution, his solution while he thought is simple is actually far more prone to errors than a simple microswitch... in fact i always go back to using those small tactile switch mounted directly on the nozzle.
Nice build! A couple years ago i've spoted this type of "BLTouch" on a Brazilian 3D Printer. GTMax3D, is the commpany name. But, in his machine, the allen key was a little bigger, so the probe retraction is done lowering the Z on the bed itself.
This is great! My original DPT direct drive mod is still holding up perfectly (even though I printed it in PLA) but I’d love to gain this functionality on my Ender 3.
My first printer, a MakerGear M2, came with a BLTouch and I spent hundred of dollars on replacement probes. On an unattended printer without collision or other kind of failure detection, spaghetti or curling corners can snag the probe. This can then start shifting layers and worst case, a feedback loop that gets bad fast. Many times, I didn't notice the probe was bent, leading to frustrating goose chases. I've never had a problem with the PINDA on my Prusa, and since I ditched the glass on my M3, I'm thinking of switching to inductive. I prefer to spend my tweaking time elsewhere, but to each his own. Ditto on the shout-out to IP. It's something we don't think about enough, being so spoiled by the cheapness of clones that it's so easy to not care about innovation. It's only going to get worse if ignore it. Double ditto on KISS. It's a shame I only ever remember the basics after days of over-engineering.
Great video! I will definitely have to try and make something like this for my printers. Don't own any of the creality machines so would have to modify this one to work for me. Nice of you to share with the community as I am sure you put plenty of hours into making it.
This was a great follow up to the first version of this that you posted. Solid concept and I'm sure you'll nail down the fine tuning in no time.
Good job, dude.
FWIW, I like the Euclid Probe a lot better than the BLT. I've had 5 BLTs fail in as many years, each time costing me a lot of money in damaged print surfaces and new BLTs
this is why i buy the cheap 3d touch probes. they work and their like 15$. id like to support bltouch but 40$ is alot of money for something that will break eventually and sometimes they just dont work properly( i have 2 real bltouch sensors currently and honestly the 3d touch probes work better as far as just doing their job, the accuracy is off a slight bit but for 25$ less ill make do)
This is a terrific build idea. I got my stock ender3v2 for Christmas last year, and in a lucky coincidence my family bought me PETG instead of PLA for my first filament spool, so I had to learn some things pretty quickly. Haven't burnt out my feed tube yet, but did melt off my shroud, but still works okay. My first mod was updating the firmware (which is an ABSOLUTE MUST), and second was a side-spool holder. A couple comments about this video though: I would have liked if the model of the optic sensor was included in the graphic animation, to show where the sensing transition was, and also a little the explanation how the trigger point is at a constant, if indeterminate, offset from the bed, how that is adjusted in the firmware to create the z adjustments.
Quite interesting. I think it's similar to BFPTouch, but addition of magnets to keep probe retracted - is quite cool!
"Don't buy knock offs from China" Proceeds to build part for Chinese knock-off printer with Chinese knock-off sensor bought from Chinese knock-off website.
Either proudly made in the USA 😤😤😤🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🦅💪🏻😎 or it's just a fake knock off. Good line of reasoning dude.
A knock off is a copy of something already existing made with the purpose of deceiving. Creality is a brand and makes his own products and aliexpress is just a portal like ebay: you buy from sellers not the platform itself. And you cannot claim a basic optical sensor has some kind of "legitimacy" as it's a generic enough part that doesn't have any owner.
@@ef3675 I didn't say anything about made in the USA. All I said was that it was funny he said not to buy knockoffs, then used a knock off printer (It's a clone of a prusa) and bought knock off parts from a site that specializes in selling knock off stuff. No shame, my printer is also a knock off. I was just pointing out the irony.
@@justind8521 although I see the irony about a China made product, can't agree with the other part. Ender 3 isn't a knockoff of Prusa. If you strech it that far, then Prusa and even the reprap is a 'knockoff' of Stratasys FDM printers.
@@ytskt I stand corrected. The Ender is an entirely original design not based on any existing printers. It's not at all a knockoff made to sell printer to people looking for a budget friendly option.
@@justind8521 ender is NOT a clone of prusa. They were developed from common ancestor, so they are similar, but both are equally original.
I´d use a 3mm linear rod and use two sintered brass bushings as a guide. But great to know that it would not even be necessary. Great idea for self deploying, kind of like an optical klicky probe. I admire the simplicity.
I like the fact you don't only are criticizing things and situations in the printing world(to do good) but you also have the brains to make things yourself! Good luck with the product.Grtz
I used Sharp optical switches for engine cam/crank position sensing with excellent results and reliability. Great choice. They have some with narrow apertures, might help some.
Also have a half baked idea of 2 magnets, one on probe, other rotates for park/release. One side will attract, other repels for slight spring action.
Yes! The slotted ones. Under $.80 online. Very sharp transition and if the interrupt or is knife edged (or very thin), the response is extremely accurate.
The best thing about 3D printers is making new custom stuff for 3D printers! Cool idea and thanks for publishing your design.
That wobble effect causing inaccuracy is why I opted to print and design a probe in the cnc surface probe style but adjusted down to the size of a BL Touch and using parts readily recyclable (probe tip is burned out CD drive's linear rod, pre-load spring also found in all drives as a vibration dampener). Even in a setup that guides the pins around the probe into their saddles in the housing, takes thoroughly accounting for that motion to get it right. My CAD constraints all look like programming functions at this point.
Please publish your start script as well for those of that use klipper... could be used to build a gcode macro in mainsail. Thanks for all your work! great job!
Excellent video! You are a great contributor to our community. I have been thinking there has to be a better probe than the bltouch or inductive. Keep it up!
I like the simplicity of your deployment method. I have been working on a touch sensor that uses a Nitinol wire actuator to deploy the probe but it is too complicated by far. I do use a piezoelectric sensor to detect contact on the touch sensor, along with a single underbed piezo sensor to detect nozzle contact and if the nozzle is clean. I will see if I can come up with a version using your "Allen key" method but I will continue with the piezo as it works well for me.
I support RepRap, thus I support clones.
Especially when it's 1/4 the price for the exact same thing.
@@justincasiere9598 but it's seldom the same exact thing. The plastic maybe exact but all the hardware is where corners are cut hence the price is cheaper
@@angelvip2474 it's 90% of the product for 10% of the price. Every single clone I have works fine.
@@Treekicker How many BLTouch are you running?
@@Treekicker How many times have you managed to get warranty support? Gonna guess it'd be easier said than done to even find a contact in many cases.
Interesting.
- There is a 3rd situation where Bl-Touch, or electromagnetic based sensing device won't work; in a strong magnetic field.
I made a super duper Delta printer using ball joint and magnets to eliminate slop. The field generated by the 6 magnets around the effector is strong enough to disrupt completely the weak little electro-magnet of the Bl-Touch.
- You would have less wobble if you had longer sleeve or even better 2 paced out guide holes.
- Can use a larger Allen key if wanted, just use a thin flag.
- need to package this in order to easily adapt to many hot head styles.
there is a bigger reason, you really dont want to use a off center probe on delta. regardless of it being bltouch or not.
Great idea! To optimize it you can maybe rotate the Allen key to horizontal position and use a lever to get more precision!
Great video! I like the magnet implementation you did. Was kind of sceptic on last video because it needed human intervention but its all good now
BINGO! That is one great solution!
You know, you could make that 0.025mm closer to that sub-micron number by putting pieces of electrical tape over the round sensor hoke with a gap of about 35-50% of the diameter of the sensor hole. Also, the closer to the sensor side of the transmitter receiver pair you locate the interrupter, the more consistent and snappier the response.
You’ve probably already looked at most or all of these features, but I thought I’d throw-in on them for those super detail types (like me).
Thanks for what I think will prove to be one of the most innovative 3D printer hacks of this cycle….
Cheers, sir!
But that's exactly the point! Why would you bother with such an accuracy that you don't need here, yet there are still other problems not solved yet. With this design he is solving those problems, and gives a darn f* to unnecessary accuracy, that lot of people hooked on like they need to compensate something.
@@dekurvajo Practical or not, needed or not, every engineer strives for accuracy. It’s in our DNA. The fact that he resolves a set of other issues is completely laudable and appropriate to this idea. The fact that he’d like the probe action to be more accurate is equally laudable. Practicality, complexity and cost will likely swamp out many potential improvements, but he’s done his homework and has a nice solution.
Awesomely simple, and works well. Thanks for sharing.
I tried the Teaching Tech CR6 style bed leveling on the Ender 3 but I found that the design was more rigid than my print bed. I like that the probe on this has a degree of movement so the bed doesn’t have to be super rigid. Possibly when I get a second printer I will try combining the ideas.
I have a couple of ideas:
1) maybe some adjustable rollers/bearings in the tube could help improve precision;
2) consider selling completed devices or parts kits on Etsy or something similar.
Prusa offered me part of a 3 BTC open contract to gangstalk you, but I defiantly say "NO" to the abusive practices. HONESTY is what is needed in the 3D printing community. We stand with DPT.
On a 3D printing discord a few people got offered BTC to mess with this guy. Dont know if it was Prusa. But yeah, crypto was being mentioned
Maybe some kind of standard dowel, or cheap straight shank tool like a drill would have the least slop and most circularity. Then a reamer can be used to create a smooth, accurate bore for a much tighter tolerance.
I tend to bounce around with the subject content I watch. Every time I bounce here I always find something interesting and enlightening. Thanks for that 👍🏽.
You are more than welcome and thank *you.*
very good i like it! and FWIW -+1 thou sounds to me like a plenty good enough accuracy for any typical fdm printers. but especially at such a low bom cost. really appreciated this and thanks for doing the video 👍👍
I like the simple mechanism with the magnet. Great idea
So when you use it, you have to manually pull it down once to release it from the magnet, and at the end of the bed sensing cycle, you have the machine push the key back to the magnet, right?
The machine pulls it down also
Reminds me of the TouchMi probe which also uses an optical sensor.
If you can setup custom motions and read from the sensor in real time outside of the programmed bed-probing mode; I think you might be able to use this as a makeshift 3d (well, more like 2.5d) scanner, by probing over the whole usable space, rising above the highest part of what you're scanning before each horizontal movement to ensure no crashes. Would benefit from a thinner probe though.
To improve the consistency of the vertical movement I would hold the probe with a bi-stable flexure. That way it would not rely on gravity and you could eliminate the magnet. Likely you could eliminate the key as well and print the probe as part of the existing fan housing. I would also make a housing around the optical sensor to eliminate stray light.
See??
THIS is why I love watching, and support where I can, Design Prototype Test!
Not only is this a big time K.I.S.S. part, it's got its roots all the way back to the humble hobbyest 3D printings' beginnings!😁
Please, never stop with your content.
I'ma lifer for sure!😋😁❤️
Alright, I've got working ABL! Inspiration is far more valuable than any "IP". Thank you.
Thank you so much for your videos and this one in particular. Keep up the good work!
The biggest issue i have with this and all other bed leveling methods like the BLTouch etc, is that it does not know of the current nozzle height.
Every time is dismantle the hot extruder and put it together again the height was always different then before. For me the only right solution is to use the nozzle to measure the bed level.
Going to have to give this a try. I've been holding off on ABL because I'm tight but this should fit the budget nicely. I might tweak the design a bit to deploy via an eject button on X home and retract automatically via magnet at print height (lower than probe height). That should pretty much eliminate any extra commands or firmware requirement methinks.
Just uploaded a quick demo of what I was trying to say.
Definitely interesting probe. I've saw some similar one like Touch Mi. For safety i would make pin printable and not very strong specifically for cases when for some reason you forgot to retract it and it hits the bed or printed object. So pin will easily break without damage of head holder for example. Pin can be printed again so there won't be big damage from incident.
But what i think would be a winner in probes is that which will measure the offsets by nozzle. It's a really painful to set correct Z offset after changing the nozzle (or whole head). So probe which will measure bed and nozzle offset at the same time would be perfect.
A Wheatstone bridge strain sensor uses the nozzle as the probe, check hackaday article named ‘QUARTET OF SMD RESISTORS USED TO SENSE Z-AXIS HEIGHT’
@@iridiandot great idea! Unfortunately it's mostly for bowden system. Doing it with direct extruder will be more tricky as you have to invent some flexible mount for the whole extruder. May be strain gauge for the whole X rail can sense bending when nozzle touch the bed.
Well done! It’s clear that good design intrinsically tugs your soul, and improvements just have to come out. It’s great to see this, as opposed to pursuing mainstream, easy videos!
Great video, idea and build!
What about drilling out that hole as needed and installing a metal tube of the correct size for the key to slide freely?
11:52 ..so good... Glad you are making videos again!
I love this, but not just because it adds even more DIY to my machines, but because the housing can be even more versatile with a version that supports a BLTouch, a CRTouch or no touch sensor at all. If you would consider it, please add a pair of models that will increase the utility of this 'system'.
Wow, what a great idea! Thanks a lot for sharing.
Shopping around for an optical switch and I notice some of the ones with built-in amplifiers/schmitt triggers specifically mention temperature compensation. Makes sense, the photo-transistor would pickup thermal noise offsetting the trigger threshold. Something to watch out for.
Can you give me a citation? Would love to read it and get all the information for myself.
@@DesignPrototypeTest I dare not post a link, but search for a datasheet for any optical switch with a "built-in temperature compensation circuit" like EE-SX398 by Omron. Plenty of papers on temperature dependence of phototransistors and such. As I understand, the slit width and sensor area are much larger than the precision we are trying to achieve, so it is very much operating in the analog regime so where precisely the trigger fires will be quite important.
@@DesignPrototypeTest Found a good one. I'd post a link, but RUclips. It's linked on my T-verse probe design/demo. "Technical Information for Photomicrosensors" comes up as first result (Omron). Figures 9 and 10 show temperature dependence of both LED and sensor with a 10% dropoff in light current from room temperature to 80C. If we assume the aperture width represents the transition from light to dark, 10% translates to a pretty big systematic error in height (which can be accounted for).
Thinking on this some more, it's probably not so bad. The sensor will saturate at high brightness, so fading out across the entire aperture width is not the problem. More likely it will stay on until the last little sliver of light disappears. So crossing the threshold will happen over a much shorter distance than the actual aperture width. Just crank up the brightness. Some sensors allow for bright pulsed light, too.
Very much looking forward to the next video. Great work.
Hey i am happy to see that you keep your unique work up! Don't forget to put your Patreon Links and other ref links into your description!
Really a big thank's for your time for that design I wish I could install it on my Ender max at the place where the bltouch 😉
Klicky is the way to go I don't know why Voron is the only one doing it. It's stupid simple and just works.
Annex is also using it, there's Quickdraw probe. Also, Sideswipe with mount controlled by servo is an option.
@@crawlerin I know who you are we have chatted in the voron discord before. Nice to see you here. I wish I had a zero and I would do the sideswipe for sure.
@@madeintexas3d442 Hey hello 🙂 Sideswipe definitely looks cool 😀I believe I saw other DIY printers like VzBoT using klicky too. After all, it makes sense when you want to make toolhead lighter in pursue of speeeeeeeeed, then you don't have to carry extra weight of sensor. Euclid probe of similar kind makes mounts for more printers too.
@@crawlerin it is simplicity at it's finest. I love how the magnets make the contacts for the switch. I'm glad others are using it too.
Watching this video, this may help the issue I am having with my bltouch on the cr10 max. I 'd love to test it and give you some feedback as I get the flashing light issue a lot on this printer even after changing the probe and bltouch itself
Did you happen to test the range on the bltouch with the same test?
Thanks for sharing. The amount of learning information you share throughout the video, not just the prototype, is amazing. Respect. (Would this work on a Ender 5 Pro)?
Looking at videos of the Ender 5 pro, I'm 95% positive that this geometry will bolt onto that machine without issue.
to make it as tight as possible, I would make the hole a bit smaller, then use a drill bit to make it just the right size
I've used the BL Touch Smart in a 55C chamber with no issues so far.
Gonna be honest with you, the pinda works so much better than the bl touch my guy
I'm not your guy, and you are wrong. If it was such a great solution Prusa wouldn't be abandoning it with the new PrusaXL. I can already hear your reply " They need the analogue touch nozzle functionality so they can self align the different print heads. That's why the XL doesn't have a P.I.N.D.A. probe." Sure, that's a believable reason for the tool changer XL, but what about the single nozzle "regular" Prusa XL? Why are they forcing you to pay extra money for the nozzle touch sensor? I thought the P.I.N.D.A. worked perfectly. So, either your favorite company is A)Ripping you off and forcing you to buy something you don't need on the upcoming printer or B)Selling you inferior technology in the P.I.N.D.A. probe. Either way I don't understand how you can continue to be a fanboy for this company that obviously just wants your money and your continued quasi-religious devotion. The idea that someone could love this company with such intensity is so weird to me. Anyway, now that I've made this criticism it's likely there will be an announcement that the single nozzle PrusaXL will come with a P.I.N.D.A. Then, when I claim that my criticisms motivated the change there will be a bunch of comments telling me "You are so egotistical, you think Prusa sees your videos or reads your comments. Dude! They don't even know you exist. Get over yourself."
Looking forward to trying this out! So far, I've had 3 bltouch sensors and at least that many clones fail after the first 3-4 prints, so anything has to be better. In fact, one of the bls failed on install....as did it's replacement. The 3rd replacement failed after 1 print, and that's when i decided I'm done with them for good...I didn't bother returning it for a 3rd time. 😔
I had a very similar problem, I removed the pin, left it on a magnet for 5 minutes to remagnetize it and cleaned it from any grease. Also cleaned the inside of bltouch with a qtip, now it works really fine.
From the 100 times it deployed the pin since I fixed it, it only failed like two to three times
@@pavol0 I wouldn't think I'd have to do that right out of the package, but I'll give it a try with them...thanks! 👍
Did you say we could start printing the print head unit? Where might I find that file? I’m really excited to see you complete this. Cheers
Will the geometry be compatible with the direct drive mount for your Newbs/Print Farms Ender 3 mod? Thank you for sharing!
Yes, and even better.
ive been wanting to integrate your probe,
got any manifold for a direct drive fit?
Awesome! It’s nice seeing these cost saving mods. Have you seen the the Ender Bender?
Great idea. I still have a delta printer with a Allen key type optical bed leveler. However I have to manually retract it.
I think you mean clicky switch. If it has an optical switch I would love to see a picture.
@@DesignPrototypeTest I don't know how to attach a photo to a comment but I used thing 605729 as a starting point.
With the comments I did read, I did not see ' make the block the key sits in slide between 2 bars, oversize the block the key sits in and after printing sand the block to barely slide between the bars. Gorilla Lube is my favorite for moving parts since it ' gunks up ' less than WD40 and seems to work well on plastics long term ( I do mostly PLA and not seen an issue on my STARTT 3D printer upgrades yet ). Keeping it simple can also mean that the imaged block for the key does not need the full key embedded inside, it can be the top and the ' inner side ' in the block, the rest sliding inside a C or U channel guide. There are a lot of options to make it drop straight and repeatable by just forcing the upper area to only fit it. Similar to the ruler example, just opening your hand enough, it dropped straight down.
I just found your video. Did you ever finish the project and make a second video? I am looking for the update you mentioned. It looks really interesting. Hoping for more. Thanks. 😊
it's great and it's true! Will impolement this in my next printers
you could insert a piece of brass tubing that has a loose fit for the Allen key, should make for tighter tolerances
Can't wait for the release.
Really like both design and the philosophy behind the channel. I've firsthand discovered that the knockoffs aren't accurate. I'd be curious to try yours out, but I'm running a different hotend - any chance you would share the source files and not stl's?
Thanks for continuing to post! Don't let content theft slow you down :)
Thank you Dillon. Your good wishes are reciprocated.
tube shape with half moon dots (dot guide) on the 6 sides at the top and bottom of shaft for the only contact areas to the metal shaft. optional is a draft shaft or blown air for canned air nozzle to clear debree chaffing out of the shaft hole via a side open area. clip locking top design to allow allen to be removed and cleaned. optional design is use a hobbyist brass tube heat melt into the walls or glued into shaft area.
Pretty awesome design.
Looks nice, allthough it isnt really new.
The TouchMI also uses a magnet held pin paired with an optical sensor.
I credited the TouchMI in the description. I have never seen one in person and so I was not able to learn from it to develop my design. Also, the combination of features in my design and the sheer simplicity has never been done before: Optical switch + Allen Key + Magnet + guide hole + physical catch for deployment/retraction. I think this is the lowest cost bed probe that has ever been presented. So, wouldn't you agree that I have created something new?
@@DesignPrototypeTest I was just referring to the principle. Your design is of course new.
Cool. In fact there are examples of optical sensors being used in touch probes on Thingiverse from as early as 2017 that I've found. Might even be some some predating that. www.thingiverse.com/thing:2197895
Idea: use a brass heat set insert to guide the Allen key, that way it doesn't magnetized over time and is rigid
Or undersize the hole and require it to be drilled out like is frequently done in guncad
really awesome concept for an ABL. I bought myself a BLTouch and really love it, and honestly I didn't feel the price was too steep(also compared to some other "upgrades" people suggest). What are your reasons for ~$40 being to expensive, with most machines already costing a couple hundred to thousands of dollars.
I got the Microcenter Ender 3 Pro deal for $100 USD so a BLTouch would be almost half the cost of the machine
@@NiSE_Rafter i mean kind of... you said you got a deal, not really the actual cost of the machine, and the ender series is already fairly cheap. the BLTouch has worked great for almost full automation of my printer, so for you, if it is only half the cost of the rest of the machine, that also seems like a decent deal to me. I wish getting autopilot only cost half the price of my car :D
Following for testing! Keep us posted!
Hi again.. I want to see if another update is coming.. I know you mentioned in my last post you were going to add direct extruder and a few other extras. I purchased all my fans, resistor, cables etc.. Again...I want you know I appreciate all you do. Thank you...
I hear you. I am working on it when I can.
@@DesignPrototypeTest thanks....not meaning to rush you because just you doing this for free is insane as it is... besides all the negative crap you get from these yahoo's. I'll sit patiently... I may go ahead and print what you have up and just do that for now... again.. I don't mean to be rushing you..
Do you know offhand if this will fit the Creality Direct Drive Extruder (the one they sell on the Creality site)?
I did not realize that product existed. Thank you for the heads up. Yes. It looks like the lower part is unchanged. The metal fan shroud looks identical to stock. Therefore, my design here should work perfectly.
Nice, I want to replicate it for my CR-10, where do you connect the sensor???
my first thought when i saw the opening clips and the probing action i thought "damn, that's great. i want that!", i was already sold on it there. then it kinda lost me with all the talking which starts me skipping through the video for the info i want, since i already know a bit about the other probe options. but hey, i don't make videos like this, so who am i to tell you how to edit your videos. anyway, great job on this mod ! 🙂
Do you need to change anything on the head or can you use it stock?
I'd buy one if this became a commercial product in something like polycarbonate. I have a chamber I print up to 125° in that that this would be useful for.
Hi very nice idea, did you try to grind the point of the allen key, I think if u make it conic it'll might give you better accuracy.
Really nice! Do you think you can reduce the slop problem of the allen key by using a thicker (and heavier) key? It could be less sticky in the hex hole even with tighter tolerances. (PS: not going too crazy on a super-massive key...just a little bit bigger)
I had thought of it, but dismissed it. Your comment is causing me to reconsider. There are a lot of aspects to the decision. Such as the thickness of the Allen combined with the plastic over-molding. These must be skinny enough to fit in the fork of the optical sensor. I'll look into it. If I end up using a thicker Allen you can take credit for making me think about it more. :)
Hi, I found your project on hackaday. First of all, nice idea!
I noticed, by looking on your data at 10:17, that the measured position value is systematically increasing. If thats really the case, then your measurement accuracy is corrupted not by the probe design but by a component of your printer. For example "lost steps" could cause such problems. Reach back, if you might want support on this topic.
Best regards,
Andre
what if you used a bit of ptfe tubing to line it for the allen to fit into, eliminating wobble? you could match it near the ID size is near the size of whatever allen you use, and remesh the model to fit the captured tubing. as for middle/bowing - I always wondered... is it possible to put a probe on either side the hotend and have them work together to detect more minute problems like that? if too difficult, a new probing method might need programmed to do "center" then like 4 points around the center, so the probe can detect that bowling or bulging.
The mesh bed leveling square grid may need to be rethought about and worked upon for greater accuracy at the foundation of these systems. And obviously the closer you can get the probe to the actual nozzle, the better, correcting for offsets is yet another step in complexity and having it off by 0.5mm can lead to disasters.
Thanks for the inspiration
The Bl touch I paid $40 for was well worth it made 3d printing possible when I was new and didn’t know anything but bought a ender3 clone the voxelab Aquila . It was $160 for printer and $40 for the bltouch and I put a pei magnet bed on it that was $25 oh and I got the newer red dual gear extruder that came with the better bed springs and Capricorn tube that was I think $29 or so total I think I got maybe $250 in it and it’s amazing how much stuff I have printed with it done went through about 5 spools of pla plus in last two months of having the printer and learning how to tune it and get it calibrated as accurate as possible little things you learn as you go.
But the learning after I got the bltouch installed and let the printer do the work for the first layer now so it’s just turn it on and go with it so now it’s all been learning the slicers and I have to say I like the Cura slicer it seems I get better prints cleaner finish surfaces and more accurate to the finish piece to model . Another thing you need to buy is a good digital caliper you really don’t need one in life a lot till you get into 3d printing haha but to tune a printer with sample pieces it’s essential and also each roll of filament I have found acts a little different and even the same name brand but a different color it might want a little more or less heat it’s definitely a learning experience I’d recommend everyone doing plus the amount of free usefull already designed files on the internet is amazing I have printed a pile of stuff for family and friends the PLA plus from esun and polymaker or very strong parts actually it’s pretty amazing how well you can make functioning parts for brackets and stands and they hold up very well.
Touch-Mi probe works on similar priciple, but with magnets.
No need for a magnet to retain the allen wrench in up position - just design a bayonet lug style slot in the body in which the wrench is dropped and retained by its own weight when not in use.
You’re really looking for a Schmitt trigger type output that is very consistent to the position of the Allen wrench.
We can’t see how you’ve implemented this positioning with respect to the interruption sensor, but several things could be done to reduce the natural variation in this already excellent solution. I’ve been crying for a simple electronic solution to touch sensor.
Not wanting to kill the BLTouch, but most of us can’t even get our crap MB/firmware to support them. Electrical contacting sending is nigh impossible on these varied build surfaces, but man, your touch/optical solution is awesome!
So, my other comment touched on a couple of ideas that I will certainly try, if I can find a way to adapt this to my Mingda D2…
But if you can find a Schmitt triggered outpost interrupt or sensor, your already awesome solution could become even more consistent.
We’re talkin’ in the micron realm here.
Is that necessary? I don’t think so….but it’s fun to look at these kinds of options.
Carry on, my wayward son…😎
Very cool, maybe you can bake in into klipper? that way you can use it on any printer without any firmware updates just a klipper update. I heard you can use klipper with just a laptop and the laptop does the job of the raspberry pi which is pretty cool, and the computer does all the algorthiming and sends the commands to the printer motherboard which just acts as the motor driver at that point. Thats my basic understanding of it, but seems the klipper approach would allow for detailed mods like this easier.
In this case it's far easier to use Marlin. Klipper has everyone's attention but it's not necessarily the best option.
I'm curious if you've actually tried it in a 60C heated chamber. The optical sensor will work fine, but it seems possible the plastic might change shape enough to cause some trouble in the movement of the allen key.
CNC Kitchen tested different plastics defeormantion in oven.
Nice work! This is innovative.
Have you considered lining the hole for the probe with a short length of PTFE tubing?