My wife bought a Mini 2 recently. I put Klipper on it. It prints awesome except for the first layer.
Is there a “bible” or “recipe” for a retractable Voron Klicky Probe style Z endstop at the bed (for bed leveling)? I want to ditch those stupid washers and the top Z-endstop.
If there is no bible or tutorial I’ll figure it out. Just thought I’d ask before I DIY. If I DIY I’ll end up ditching that Titan Aero thing and use a different 2.85 hotend. Trying to avoid modifying a Voron style hotend to work in the Mini2.
Thanks
I just added BLTouch to the Mini 2’s standard SE 0.5 toolhead.
Print up this, replace the old shroud, and tell Klipper what pins you’re connected to:
Lulzbot SE Toolhead Blower Shroud with BLTouch Mount by DavidJohnson - Thingiverse
If you use a BLTouch clone, it’s about $15 to do the upgrade.
I had terrible results with the BLTouch until I had added X axis twist compensation. I think the drag chain ends up pushing the nozzle forward more and more as you get to the right side of the bed, and with the BLTouch being further forward, it is affected much more by the push than the acutal nozzle.
Thank you @Wrathernaut. That forward lean from the toolhead, which correlates to a -Y movement of the nozzle, and layer shifting… Been there, done that. We own a bunch of taz5 printers that we converted to corexz ( GitHub - IggyTheWolf/TazWire: Lulzbot Taz6 to core XZ via Voron Switchwire · GitHub ). That forward lean was a problem with the taz5 machines. My wife and I do a little bit of USA only printing so we chose to buy like 15x taz 5 printers and use linear rods for Z. (we bought 15 or 16 printers to make 8x printers) I had to space out the Z linear rods to avoid that “lean” or that pull, or drag, or binding, etc. (because we use Igus)
So go figure… Lulzbot added a second set of linear rods to the Mini2… Except the weight of that toolhead and the chain, and Igus… @Wrathernaut thanks for your link. I’ll print it and get it up and running with a BL Touch we have laying around. Not sure that I’ll keep the Mini2 in stock form for long. Your comment is making me think long and hard about spreading out the Z-axis rods and converting the Mini2 into a corexz machine.
Thanks.
EDIT:
Taking a second look at the frame on the Mini2… That would be an awesome little CoreXY machine. Will someone else please do the work and post up the STL files? There are a ton of screw holes in that frame…
The only problem I have with the Mini2 since adding BLTouch is all related to all the play in the toolhead. Having multiple plastic plates for the swappable toolheads and fairly heavy toolheads ruins precision.
I wonder how much better it would be with the Titan Aero bolted directly to linear rail.
If you want to convert a Mini 2 to CoreXZ, the place to start would be the Mini 3 files on Gitlab. The frames are not the same size, but I bet if you cut the extrusions and linear rails a bit smaller, the whole Mini 3 CoreXZ mechanism could be fit into the Mini 2 frame.
Thank you both @cdsmith and @Wrathernaut. I tried to print the SE Toolhead Blower Shroud (By DavidJohnson on Thingiverse) that was linked. I printed it with 1.75 eSun ABS+ on a Prusa and the part came out OK. We have a Prusa with MMU. I’m thinking about re-printing the part with ABS and HIPS. Any advice on dissolving HIPS for supports? How long should I put the part in a d-Limonene bath? I’ve only used PLA and PVA previously.
Thanks.
@cdsmith I probably won’t go too crazy cutting stuff down or buy rails (vs rods). The taz5 that I have semi-working is amazing once you get everything in the correct place to avoid nozzle sag. If I have time this summer/fall, once I’m done with the corexz taz printers I’ll see what I can do with one of the mini 2 printers we have. Thanks.
there isn’t anything complex enough about the part to require any fancy supports. maybe no supports required at all. abs should be fine.
Am I printing it in the wrong orientation? When I look at the mini2’s I have, both of their SE toolheads look like they are printed from the bottom (nozzle side) up to the extruder gears and strain relief. When I import the part from:
and also from the Thingiverse link posted earlier in this thread, they all import (at least into Prusa Slicer and SuperSlicer) up on the side (the side that would face the back of Y axis or the side that would face the X axis rails.
Thanks again for the help.
I think I’m going to go a different route:
I’m trying to slice the bottom of the fan/blower duct shroud thing off of the part, so I can insert magnets into it and then I’ll just use super glue to glue the bottom of the fan blower duct thing back together. That will get me wires that go up and there are empty pins in the MOLEX connector. So that will get me two limit stop wires through the stock harness to the control board. I’m running Klipper so worst case I can make the Raspberry Pi a second MCU and use the Pi’s GPIO pins for bed leveling with klicky probe. If it works out and it isn’t too much of a pain in the rear-end, I’ll post something up on Thingiverse or Printables. I own several sets of the parts for klicky and GENUINE BL Touch from Lulzbot is like $55 + shipping. Trying to keep this 100% USA parts or COTS (Consumer Off The Shelf) parts. Thanks again.
edit:
Doesn’t matter if I do the BL Touch part linked, or if I do the klicky probe I linked, I’m having issues with print orientation and print quality. This is the first time ever that I’ve had a factory lulzbot part look better than a re-printed part from our Prusa printers.
The main reason for Klicky is getting around the tiny space in the v0, there’s no such limitations in the Mini2.
Also, no reason to split the part up, just insert a pause in the print on the layer you need to insert the magnets. No glue required.
As for print orientation, you’ve got it right. Any sagging in that part due to long bridges won’t affect it. Set layer height for like .20mm or less and it should be fine.
Thanks for the reply. I get the “pause to insert bearings” thing —or whatever Prusa says, or it probably goes back to Slic3r for all I know. My wife has an etsy business and she sells printed magnet parts. She sells and markets the stuff and I am her printing and fulfillment employee. I put magnets in a bunch of parts every day.
I guess I’ll just hack up the SE toolhead design. We use 6mm x 3mm round magnets. I don’t even need to do a pause for the magnets. It’s just that the bottom layer (the side that faces the print bed) of the blower duct part/thing… It’s not thick enough to hold the magnets. I need to re-design it a bit inside the part so that I can press in the wire and magnets when it is done. If not the magnets would push through that lower “outer wall”.
In addition to trying to stay stock/USA only parts (or COTS), the Mini2’s SE toolhead weighs 487g (**at least mine does), and I have a used 1.75mm Mini Aftersherpa toolhead with filament sticking out of it, and a ebb42 BTT board, and wires that are way too long, and that came in at 290g. I’m not going for the speed or weight game with these lulzbots, I want print quality. That’s why I am trying to focus on the first layer.
Maybe it doesn’t matter: All of those cable chains and the wires and stuff… Lulzbots are so crazy overbuilt. I don’t own a proper Voron, we own a 3dPrintersforAnts IDEX salad fork, and a Satsuma printer, and a corexz “halfwire” kingroon KP3S printer. That’s our “fun toys”. The rest are all bone stock Prusa Minis and MK4’s, and a bunch of TAZ5’s and now we have two Mini2’s. I was just trying to stay USA only or COTS if I can. And not add to the crazy weight of the Lulzbot toolhead. If I could get a USA made Orbiter 2.85 extruder I’d switch every single one of our 2.85 printers over to that —but then good luck finding a USA/COTS made canbus toolhead board…