New Aerostruder Micro tool head?

What version of cura do you have to have for a Taz 6. Does it use 3 mm filiment? I am planning on buying one thanks Phillip

You will want to use the latest version of Cura when using the Micro toolhead, which is currently Cura LE 3.2.27. It does use 3mm filament. One thing to keep in mind is that we have not released the adapter yet, for it to fit on the Taz. Hopefully it should be out in about 6 weeks.

I just received the new toolhead, but need to wait for the Taz6 and/or Mini 1 adapters. In the meantime,…I wonder how to set up Simplify3D for the new toolhead. Other than the obvious (setting nozzle diameter to 0.25mm), is there anything else I need to do? For example, there is a firmware setting for extruder steps/mm (set to 830 currently). I didn’t know if that was mm before or after the nozzle, or if Simplify 3D would figure everything out from the nozzle width. In other words, do I leave this alone or divide it by 4 because now 1/4 as many steps will push 1mm out of the nozzle?

Also I see a warning note in the box to upgrade the firmware. OK, will do that also.

When you update the firmware, it will automatically set your new Esteps along with the new PID information. As for setting up other slicers, we have a great tutorial on how to do that here: https://www.lulzbot.com/learn/tutorials/taz-6-gcode

Any updates on this adapter? I’m interested in one for my Mini 1.

We now have it live on the website: https://www.lulzbot.com/store/accessories/universal-tool-head-adapter-mini-1

I ordered one, and the adapter.

Follow-up question: If I were to get a Mini 2, could I use the Mini 2’s aerostruder with the Mini 1/adapter combo?

You absolutely could, the adapter will allow compatibility with all of the toolheads that have the newer more durable connector that came on the Mini 2. If you want to attach your Mini 2 Aerostruder to your Mini 1; when you go to setup the printer profile you will want to select the toolhead option labeled SE | 0.5 mm (Aero v2). The steps for installing it would otherwise be the same as installing the Micro toolhead.

Good to know. I asked because the cyber Monday discounts continued through Tuesday so I thought I’d grab one if this idea could work. I see its too late now, but it’s good info in case the mini 2 ever goes on sale again.

Early adopter of the Micro .25 tool head on my TAZ 6 (using the new universal adapter). I was having all sorts of headaches with filament not sticking to the bed and the extruder skipping while printing PLA. Turns out the PolyLite PLA profile included in with Cura 3.2.27 for the new Micro .25 extruder was printing at 185C. I usually print PLA at 205. I updated Cura (now 3.2.32) and the profile temperature is at 190C. Still too cool, in my experience. Increasing the print temperature to 205, or even 210 as noted on the reel of PolyLite PLA I bought at the same time results in successful prints.

I noticed similar temperature differences with a couple other materials I use: Ninjaflex is set up to print on the .25 at 210C instead of 225C. ABS (IC3D) at 225 instead of 245, and so on.

Is there a reason for these temperature differences in the included profiles for the Micro tool head?

Generally the slower you print the lower you will want the temperature.

Since the SL tool-head is putting filament a lot slower because of the smaller nozzle size this makes the ideal printing temperature lower than a standard tool-head.

With the filament not sticking to the bed, did you update your Z-offset when you flashed the printer?

Thanks for the explanation. That makes sense, and I know LulzBot team does a massive amount of testing to generate these profiles.

I should have mentioned in my prior post two variables that may be influencing these results: I am printing with Verbatim PLA, not PolyLite, and I got rid of the PEI sheet last year and print directly onto Elmer’s Disappearing Purple Glue Stick over glass. Maybe the Verbatim PLA is less tolerant of the lower printing temp, and Glue Stick may also require a higher temp than raw PEI.

I did update the Z-Offset, and further, I fine tuned it using a pattern of six 10mm x .5mm discs in a 3 x 3 grid spaced 30mm apart, printed one at a time. That allows me to adjust the Z-Offset between each just a little at a time while taking notes on a sheet of paper. After printing, I mark the print sequence on each disc, pop them off the bed, and take a look at the first layer quality under magnification. In this case, I ended up with the best first layer at -1.29 Z-Offset: cleanly visible extrusion lines with an acceptable adherence flat, yet not so ironed down to the point of merging with adjacent lines.

As a side note, I’ve put labels on my print heads to remind me to update firmware, run the M502/M500 commands, set Z-Offset (to my tried-and-true tunings), and for the original Single Extruder, set the E-Steps.

One last observation - I’m surprised the TAZ 6 Universal Adapter Plate doesn’t include an X-Axis End Stop switch.

We have been chasing this one down the past couple of weeks, and we found we had an improper motor current called out on the extruder in the firmware. We now have marlin 1.1.9.34 available in Cura LE 3.6.3. From our testing this modified current fixed up the skipping issues. We are still in Beta with 3.6.3, but if testing goes well this week we will release next week. You can try it out here if you like: http://devel.lulzbot.com/software/cura-lulzbot/

Ahh this could be the difference! Each vendors specific blend of PLA has slightly different thermal properties. We did not do any testing with Verbatim PLA, as we didn’t quite have the bandwidth to get every blend tested and verified.

With Marlin 1.1.9.x we require the user to home the printer before movement will be allowed. There is then a software max travel position we use to limit travel, so the X max switch is not required. Have you had any issues with moving the tool head too far?