Processor for 3d printing

Discussion about the CNC Shark Pro Plus HD

Moderators: al wolford, sbk, Bob, Kayvon

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DougE
Posts: 43
Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2012 12:37 pm

Processor for 3d printing

Post by DougE »

How would one go about creating tool path for using the HD for 3d printing ?

I am going to mount a 3d filament extruder to my HD Shark. This extruder is controlled with my own separate control software (I can control extrusion speed, heat of the heads and the heat of the bed with my software)

If I slice my model in Cura or similar software, what would I output the Gcode as so that the Shark understands it correctly ? Generally the code is going to run the toolpath which the slice software has created for each "layer" and then elevate the Z axis one "layer" height and again follow the toolpath for the next layer. etc...

The only variation in the code which I will sort out is the extruder "on/off" when travelling (but I think I can work this out)

I have not experimented with this (yet) myself. I will do so soon. I am just curious to know if anyone already has the answer to save me the time.

Do I save out the toolpath in Cura as reprap ? Or, is there a particular post processor that works with the Shark that someone is already aware of ?

Thank you

DougE

sk8nmike
Posts: 389
Joined: Thu Dec 01, 2011 7:35 am
Location: Carrollton, Tx

Re: Processor for 3d printing

Post by sk8nmike »

The difficulty you're going to face it the controller for the HD does not have enough outputs and. You have X, Y, and Z. You will need two more, one for the hot end and another to control the temperature if you have the rotary attachment you can use that to run the extruder. The last part is that if you plan on printing with anything other than PLA you will need a heated bed. So 4 servo controllers and 2 PID (Proportional, Integral, Derivative) circuits.

If you are serious about using you HD for printing look into building a second controller for the system. There are several open source versions using the Arduino Mega with a RAMPS or Smoothie board and Marlin software.

DougE
Posts: 43
Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2012 12:37 pm

Re: Processor for 3d printing

Post by DougE »

Thank you for the reply.

I am able to control the head temp, bed and extruder through a different controller.

What I am looking to do is simply control the path and motion using the existing controller for the shark. EG... I need to know what to output Cura files as regarding the Gcode. This Gcode file would normally be a .tap file from Vcarve. So, I am looking for what the code needs to be from Cura so the Shark can read it and run it, controlling only the x,y, and z motion.

Thank you

DougE

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Kayvon
Posts: 552
Joined: Tue Oct 21, 2014 11:46 pm

Re: Processor for 3d printing

Post by Kayvon »

The shark should take standard g-code. Just rename the extension to .tap. I'd start with some simple g-code and verify it works as you want first. If not, compare the generated g-code with a simple output, or with the post processor file, from the VCarve.

I'm curious to hear how well this ends up working. The Shark should have the precision you're looking for, but I'm unsure how consistent the speed is. I understand 3d printers want a consistent speed throughout the layer.

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