The previous part of this project sailed by pretty easily. Since my last update, I've run into some issues, but I've also made some progress.
I spent a fair amount of time rewiring my printer. The better organized wiring is easier to manage, and easier to improve. It amazes me how many wires are needed to control all of the parts of the printer. I had some difficulties with parts. I ordered new part cooling fans, for the second hotend, but of the 4 I got, all of them were defective. I spent some time after shopping around, as all fans appear identical, but it clearly some are better than others. Eventually I was recommended a brand on Reddit that works. I also tried upgrading the stepper drivers to TMC2130 drivers, which are better in many ways over standard stepper drivers. Unfortunately it appears that they too may be defective, although I have some more tinkering to do.
I have been trying for a while to improve the current V1 mount I have for tools. After several iterations, I have concluded that I was really lucky in getting the correct parameters for the coupling on my first try. It is difficult sizing the balls and grooves on the coupling. After many attempts, I have adopted a design that is basically the V1 mount, but smaller, allowing for more tools to fit.
My biggest successes of late have been with the Dremel attachment. My Dremel is a complicated shape. At first I considered merely working out a good clamp shape through trial and error, but I thought I would try 3D scanning. I took it to the library and 3D scanned it there. That also took some trial and error, but I understand the process better now. The scanner produced an incredibly detailed, full color, to scale mesh. I had to remove over 99% of the triangles in the mesh in order to work with it. Once I did, I was able to import it into Fusion 360, and design an attachment for it. The mount consists of 9 pieces, for ease of printing. These are attached with regular M3 screws. The attached picture shows the mount, which is printing as I write this. The yellow is standard PLA, but the red is flexible TPU, which should allow for a tighter fit.
It was during the design of this part that I realized that it would be quite a pain to print it in one, or even three pieces. I realized that splitting it would require some more design work, and assembly, of course, but it would simplify printing and improve print quality. I've applied this to the upcoming version of the hotend tool, which I've broken into 3 pieces. The picture below has the three pieces colored separately, although they will be printed in the same part.
Finally, I have made some progress working with GCode. I am working on a python script that will allow easier, smarter GCode, by allowing embedded python in the GCode. This will allow me to quickly modify the GCode from a slicer, to account for such things as tool changing scripts, different tool offsets (Especially for the dremel), etc.
This week I should be able to start with subtractive machining with the Dremel attachment. I'm crossing my fingers that no major issues arise.
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