More!
So I still have some unusual gaps and I noticed as I was doing I test cube, I was hearing a lot of rattling. I knew it wasn’t the tool head connection, I resolved that.
I did notice an 8mm screw under the printer. Hmmm.
So I tipped the printer on its back and noticed that the bearing holder was in place with 2 screws! The rest had fallen out. Inspecting the bearing holders was even worse. One was held in place with one screw! The rest were all very loose.
I installed new 8mm screws, based on the OHAI assembly guide and tightened the rest.
Note to self…do this again, but with some blue Loctite!
THAT was the source of all the gaps in my bead! Now that it is all tightened up, I am able to dial in the Probe Z Offset to -1.120 and get a very smooth, flat layer.
In the foreground is the gappy mess I was getting before.
The lesson here is this - if you get a free or second hand printer, it might not be a bad idea to check for missing or loose screws!
For the bed being fully heated, just change
M140 S{material_bed_temperature_layer_0} ; start bed heating up
to
M190 S{material_bed_temperature_layer_0} ; wait for bed to heat up before starting probe
For the graphic, I’m not sure if the UI element you’re looking for is part of that version of Marlin.
I’ve started doing another version of the firmware that includes MPC, but with the Taz6, I’m largely in the “if it ain’t broke” stage of operation, but with my personal Pro, I will try and use it when I build the firmware to support the custom toolhead I’ll be building. That and UBL instead of the bilinear that’s currently being used.
That 1st layer is looking pretty good. Based on that, the test prints should come out nicely.
That worked just as I had hoped!
Did it affect the bed mesh?
Everything seems to be dialed in pretty well - now that the bed isn’t falling off the mounts!
On all my machines, I have the G29 going on once the bed has heated to target temp. I also like that the hot end heat is off so I don’t have any filament leaking out while probing.
The prime / purge worked great!
I did a test print last night and aborted it since I was low on filament. I’m loading a fresh spool tonight to do another.
But yes, it has been an interesting journey!
I like having the M175 on there and BL Touch. Rather than changing tool heads, I find just replacing Slice nozzles for what I need to do vastly more efficient.
Success! Really pleased with the Cura 5.7.1 profile I made. And of course, fun to get some more life out of a 7 year old machine.
I’m very tempted to do the linear rail upgrades to X and Y. It’s probably money not spent wisely - but I’m intrigued on things that can overcome the shortfalls this machine has.
I could hear the print from upstairs so maybe even thinking of what a quieter board could offer
Running a “silent” board makes the fan cooling the electronics box, cooling fan, or hot end fan the loudest part, depending on which is running at the time.
I don’t hear fans from rooms away tho! 
On my print lab at home, the usual noisy control boxes of the CR-10S /CR-10 S5’s are very quiet just by changing out to quieter fans.
The M175 printed really nice. Thanks for sharing that modified duct. And @zenotek for the PDF that showed the correct BL Touch wiring
Here it is! I kept trimming the video down a lot but wound up adding some things back to make things flow better!
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I checked, and the wiring is the same in both my diagram and the other. Starting at pin 22, going from left to right Signal, Ground (-), Positive (+5v) on the board side of the BLTouch connection. I thought mine was clear, but with varying extension wires and knockoffs using different colors, colors should not be used as the guide. Check your sensor pinouts and go by that. Not even position can be guaranteed. Verify!
And not that it matters, but it’s pronounced rather not.
But for a conclusion as to why to work with a slow-ish old machine? Speed isn’t going to get much faster, yes, but 6 years from now, there’s nothing preventing this machine from still working or being modified in any way you choose. The lead screws are about the most proprietary part, but even those you can have made if you know a good machine shop.
So, I can guarantee that in 10 years, I could still have this running 100%. The new Bambu machines at work? Probably not worth keeping going when I need to find replacement parts. Yes, there’s new hot ends and other easily replaceable consumables on it from 3rd parties, but the parts that last 2-3 years and are worth about $5? Nobody is going to step in and make those parts when there’s no profit in it.
It’s like owning a 20-year old car. Engines? Transmission? yeah, those parts will be around, but good luck finding the clips that hold up your visor.
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Good points!
And glad to know how to pronounce your alias!
I hope you enjoyed the video tho!
Hi,
Reviving an old thread - I haven’t used my Taz 6 in quite some time since I have been sent some newer machines for testing/video content. (Bambu Lab, Anycubic, Elegoo and such)
But I have a soft spot for the Taz 6. I haven’t altered anything since what we discussed here. Same firmware, same Cura preset Start gcode you offered
I saw you submitted some new Taz profiles into Orca I thought I’d check if those would work as is?
Or should I alter the Start gcode as is listed above in this thread?
Other than that, I think the only other change could be the nozzle size - easy peasy.
Thanks!
The Orca profiles are for unmodified machines, so if you’re running the BLTouch, you’ll need to modify it. Otherwise it should just work.
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Hi !
So just the start gcode and let it go?
Thanks
Yep, give it a go. Speed settings in Orca may try and make it go faster than Cura did, so doing a max volumetric and punching your result in for the filament helps tone down print speeds.
I tried to do a slice and it doesn’t like something in the start gcode
Here’s the error
Failed to generate G-code for invalid custom G-code.
machine_start_gcode Parsing error at line 9: Not a variable name
M190 S{material_bed_temperature_layer_0} ; wait for bed to heat up before
^
Here’s my start gcode that’s worked fine in Cura
;This G-Code has been generated specifically for CuraLE the LulzBot TAZ 6 with BL Touch and M175v2
M73 P0 ; clear GLCD progress bar
M75 ; start GLCD timer
M107 ; disable fans
M420 S0 ; disable leveling matrix
G90 ; absolute positioning
M82 ; set extruder to absolute mode
G92 E0 ; set extruder position to 0
M190 S{material_bed_temperature_layer_0} ; wait for bed to heat up before
M104 R{material_probe_temperature} ; start heating extruder during probe
G28 XYZ ; home all
; start ABL sequence for used area
G29 ; probe bed
M420 S1 ; enable leveling matrix
M204 S500 ; restore standard acceleration
G1 Z15 F5000 ; Raise Z
M300 P214 S147 ;tones for level complete
M300 P214 S440
M300 P214 S294
M300 P214 S349
M300 P214 S220
M300 P214 S330
M300 P214 S440
M300 P214 S349
M400 ; wait for moves to finish
M117 Heating... ; progress indicator message on LCD
M109 R{material_print_temperature_layer_0} ; wait for extruder to reach printing temp
M190 R{material_bed_temperature_layer_0} ; wait for bed to reach printing temp
M117 Heating... ; progress indicator message on LCD
M117 Purge extruder
G92 E0 ; reset extruder
G1 Z1.0 F3000 ; move z up little
G1 X0.1 Y20 Z0.3 F5000.0 ; move to start-line position
G1 X0.1 Y100.0 Z0.3 F750.0 E15 ; draw 1st line
G1 X0.4 Y100.0 Z0.3 F5000.0 ; move to side a little
G1 X0.4 Y20 Z0.3 F750.0 E30 ; draw 2nd line
G92 E0 ; reset extruder
G0 Z5; lift Z
M117 BLulzot Printing... ; progress indicator message on LCD
I’ll toss the question out to the Orcaslicer reddit too, I’m pretty excited to see Orca work!
Got a reply - not sure how to implement it
Your place holders are incorrect for this slicer. Try these basic ones…
M140 S[bed_temperature_initial_layer_single]
M190 S[bed_temperature_initial_layer_single]
M104 S[nozzle_temperature_initial_layer]
M109 S[nozzle_temperature_initial_layer]
Just change out the cura placeholders in the M109, M190, M104, and commands to Orca’s placeholders.
{material_bed_temperature_layer_0} should be {bed_temperature_initial_layer[0]}
{material_probe_temperature} should be {nozzle_temperature_initial_layer[0] - 30}
{material_print_temperature_layer_0} should be {nozzle_temperature_initial_layer[0]}
Maybe I’m having a brain cramp same error and I replaced those placeholders. New start gcode below. (Thanks for your help)
;This G-Code has been generated specifically for CuraLE the LulzBot TAZ 6 with BL Touch and M175v2
M73 P0 ; clear GLCD progress bar
M75 ; start GLCD timer
M107 ; disable fans
M420 S0 ; disable leveling matrix
G90 ; absolute positioning
M82 ; set extruder to absolute mode
G92 E0 ; set extruder position to 0
M190 S {bed_temperature_initial_layer[0]} ; wait for bed to heat up before
M104 R{nozzle_temperature_initial_layer[0] - 30} ; start heating extruder during probe
G28 XYZ ; home all
; start ABL sequence for used area
G29 ; probe bed
M420 S1 ; enable leveling matrix
M204 S500 ; restore standard acceleration
G1 Z15 F5000 ; Raise Z
M300 P214 S147 ;tones for level complete
M300 P214 S440
M300 P214 S294
M300 P214 S349
M300 P214 S220
M300 P214 S330
M300 P214 S440
M300 P214 S349
M400 ; wait for moves to finish
M117 Heating... ; progress indicator message on LCD
M109 R{nozzle_temperature_initial_layer[0]} ; wait for extruder to reach printing temp
M190 R{material_bed_temperature_layer_0} ; wait for bed to reach printing temp
M117 Heating... ; progress indicator message on LCD
M117 Purge extruder
G92 E0 ; reset extruder
G1 Z1.0 F3000 ; move z up little
G1 X0.1 Y20 Z0.3 F5000.0 ; move to start-line position
G1 X0.1 Y100.0 Z0.3 F750.0 E15 ; draw 1st line
G1 X0.4 Y100.0 Z0.3 F5000.0 ; move to side a little
G1 X0.4 Y20 Z0.3 F750.0 E30 ; draw 2nd line
G92 E0 ; reset extruder
G0 Z5; lift Z
M117 BLulzot Printing... ; progress indicator message on LCD
