MakerGear Forum

So.... any more info on the M4, and if/when the parts will be available to upgrade the M2 to the M3 dual?

I would be interested as well in the upgrade to the independent dual.

Once we get the M3 shipping we'll work on some upgrade ideas. The dual uses a different top plate and it mounts differently to the M3 frame. We can make a dual top plate that fits the M2 frame but when we attach the top plate to the frame, we do the leveling in the shop - so you'll need to be able to do the leveling. Also, we've added a daughter board with a sixth driver for the dual and it required some small modifications to attach to the M2 electronics. I think the cooling fan upgrade should be more straight forward.

The vertical cooling fan is ducted to put air on the part as it is printed. It is also a lot more stable than the M2 cooling fan.

Rick

The M4 is currently on display at Rapid and we are getting feedback and interest levels.

The wiring is not in the final position. We'll figure out a way to manually make fine adjustments to the bed level. The Z knob is popular but I think that it is more popular with older M2s.

Since the steppers are mounted on the top of the frame instead of at the bottom like the M2/M3, dual output steppers with shafts coming out both ends would do the trick. I've seen them used on CNC's where manual control is still an option. It might be hard to find or cost prohibitive since one output would be the lead screw. CNC's usually have a coupler to connect the ball screw to the stepper.

The other option would be to implement it via software like Prusa has done on the MK2 with the live Z height adjustment.

thunderbt3 wrote:Since the steppers are mounted on the top of the frame instead of at the bottom like the M2/M3, dual output steppers with shafts coming out both ends would do the trick. I've seen them used on CNC's where manual control is still an option. It might be hard to find or cost prohibitive since one output would be the lead screw. CNC's usually have a coupler to connect the ball screw to the stepper.

The other option would be to implement it via software like Prusa has done on the MK2 with the live Z height adjustment.

Repetier-firmware supports "Z babystepping", which lets you do exactly this via an LCD. I don't run Repetier-firmware (but I want to eventually try it out), so I can't help with implementation. Marlin has something called "Z_BABYSTEPPING" in configuration_adv.h, but I've never enabled it to see what happens.

I'm thinking that we add a z knob but rather than have two knobs connected directly to the z motors, we have one knob that is not directly connected to the Z motors. Rather, it is mounted on the frame and allows for fine adjustments by working through the stepper drivers and moving both screws together. The end result will be the same, the ability to finely adjust z as needed.

rpollack wrote:I'm thinking that we add a z knob but rather than have two knobs connected directly to the z motors, we have one knob that is not directly connected to the Z motors. Rather, it is mounted on the frame and allows for fine adjustments by working through the stepper drivers and moving both screws together. The end result will be the same, the ability to finely adjust z as needed.

That ability is directly built into Marlin as BABYSTEPPING. It watches two pins and allows you to raise or lower the Z gantry during the print. The simplest implementation would be two pushbuttons (up & down) connected to two of the GPIO pins on the RAMBo.

Just put in a Pre-Order for the M3 Independent Dual! I saw it this past week at Rapid and decided to pull the trigger. Now comes the hardest part, waiting 2 months for it to arrive. Anyone else get an independent dual yet?

as long as the machine homes at Z max, then then I cant think of a need that I personally have with a direct mechanical Z knob. However an option like Rick and Insta suggested would do fine, I think.

I use my Z knob for setting Z height, so if it homes at the top then Im not sure how i will set Z height without crashing into the bed lol.