3D Metal Printing Slicer Plugin
This is a plugin for the slicing software Cura which will create G-Code specific for the MOST delta Open-source metal 3-D printer.
NOTICE: This plugin is only tested to work with Cura v14.x. It is not guaranteed to work on any version of Cura greater than 14.x.
Installation Instructions[edit | edit source]
- Download the Welder.py file from here.
- If you cannot obtain the code from GitHub, copy the code from below and save it as Welder.py
#!/usr/bin/python #Name: Welder #Info: Mangle GCode to work on welder (2014-02-10) #Depend: GCode #Type: postprocess #Param: speed(float:10) target extruder speed (mm/s) #Param: mindist(float:1) minimum travel distance to switch off welder (mm) #Param: ON(str:G4 P0;M42 P0 S3) Commands to insert after travel #Param: OFF(str:G4 P0;M42 P0 S0) Commands to insert before travel import sys __author__ = 'Bas Wijnen <wijnen@debian.org>' __date__ = '2014-02-10' __license__ = 'GNU Affero General Public License http://www.gnu.org/licenses/agpl.html' try: infilename = filename outfilename = filename ON = ON.strip ().replace (';', '\n') + '\n' OFF = OFF.strip ().replace (';', '\n') + '\n' except NameError: #assert len (sys.argv) in (3, 5) infilename = sys.stdin outfilename = sys.stdout speed = float (sys.argv[1]) if len (sys.argv) > 3 else .8 mindist = float (sys.argv[2]) if len (sys.argv) > 4 else 1. ON = 'G4 P0\nM42 P0 S3\n' OFF = 'G4 P0\nM42 P0 S0\n' extruding = False pos = [0., 0., 0., 0.] erel = None rel = False edata = [0.,0.] def parse (line): edata[0] = pos[3] global rel, erel, extruding if ';' in line: l = line[:line.find (';')] elif '//' in line: l = line[:line.find ('//')] else: l = line components = l.split () if len (components) == 0: return line if components[0] in ('M109', 'M104', 'M190', 'M140'): return if components[0] == 'G90': rel = False if components[0] == 'G91': rel = True if components[0] == 'M82': erel = False if components[0] == 'M83': erel = True if components[0] == 'G92': for w in components: if w[0] in 'XYZ': wh = ord (w[0]) - ord ('X') pos[wh] = float (w[1:]) elif w[0] == 'E': pos[3] = float (w[1:]) if components[0] not in ('G0', 'G1'): return line parts = {} for p in components[1:]: if p[0] in parts or p[0] not in 'XYZEF': print 'warning: %s' % line return line parts[p[0]] = float (p[1:]) x = [] for i, c in enumerate ('XYZE'): if c in parts: x.append (parts[c] if (rel if i < 3 or erel is None else erel) else parts[c] - pos[i]) pos[i] += x[-1] else: x.append (0.) dist = sum ([t ** 2 for t in x[:3]]) ** .5 if 'E' not in parts or x[3] <= 0: if extruding and dist > mindist: extruding = False return OFF + line return line del parts['E'] t = x[3] / speed parts['F'] = dist / t * 60. ret = 'G1 ' + ' '.join (['%s%f' % (c, parts[c]) for c in parts]) if not extruding: extruding = True return ON + ret edata[1] = pos[3] return ret try: if isinstance (infilename, str): with open (infilename, "r") as f: lines = f.readlines () else: lines = infilename.readlines () if isinstance (outfilename, str): with open (outfilename, "w") as f: for line in lines: f.write (parse (line.strip ()) + '\n') else: for line in lines: outfilename.write (parse (line.strip ()) + '\n') except: print ('something was wrong:', sys.exc_value)
- Open Cura and make sure the switch to full settings is selected under the expert menu
- Click on the plugin tab and navigate to the bottom of the screen where there is an "Open plugin location" button
- Click on the button and it will open up a file browser window, drag and drop the Welder.py into the window, and close the window.
- Restart Cura and the Welder plugin will be in the plugins box.
Use[edit | edit source]
- To use the Welder plugin double click on it and a Welder window will appear in the "Enabled Plugins" section of the tab.
- There are a few different options the plugin as seen in Figure 1.
- The target extruder speed is the target speed for the bed to move while the welder is turned on.
- The minimum travel distance to switch off welder is the minimum distance the welder has to travel before the plugin will insert a command to turn it off.
- Set this value at around ten unless you have a very special print. It is not good to constantly switch the welder on and off because doing so will eventually overheat the welder
- The commands to insert after/before travel inserts the entered G-code after and before a large block of movement set by the field above.
- For example G4 P5000;M42 P1 S0 for the MOST delta Open-source metal 3-D printer will pause the welder for 5s and then turn the welder on.
- Once you have entered your values in the plugin, slicing is the same as normally using Cura.
- After you have sliced the G-code, go back and double check the code for any conflicts.
See also[edit | edit source]
- Open-source metal 3-D printer
- MOST open-source metal 3-D printer v2
- Low-cost Open-Source Voltage and Current Monitor for Gas Metal Arc Weld 3-D Printing
- Integrated Voltage—Current Monitoring and Control of Gas Metal Arc Weld Magnetic Ball-Jointed Open Source 3-D Printer
- Substrate Release Mechanisms for Gas Metal Arc Weld 3D Aluminum Metal Printing - how to get your print off the substrate with a hammer
- In Situ Formation of Substrate Release Mechanisms for Gas Metal Arc Weld Metal 3-D Printing
- Aluminum substrate cleaning for 3-D printing:MOST
