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Mods and upgrades

DevilclarkeDevilclarke Posts: 13🌟 Super Member 🌟
edited July 2018 in Upgrades & Modifications
HI All,

I have had my Z-603s (Green Board) for about a year now and am looking to start upgrades and mods.

I have installed marlin 1.1.18 and have that working great!

Mods planned:

glass & removable print bed
bltouch
close the machine (sides and doors)
enclosure heater
Filament sensor (width)
octopi

i have seen Steve Waggs work and love it but unfortunately cant seem to find any files anywhere! (if you know of them please point me to them) so am going to start designing and will keep you guys up to date :):)
Post edited by Devilclarke on

Comments

  • DevilclarkeDevilclarke Posts: 13🌟 Super Member 🌟
    edited August 2018
    Captains log, star date 25th July 2018

    Been working on the enclosure as some of the other steps require ABS printable.

    I have designed and printed side mounts, hinges and a handle for the enclosure, the side mounts are magnetic and will be screwed to an acrylic panel once i get them made :smile:.

    General parts i use are (i will update this a needed);

    M3 x 4.1 mm brass inserts (https://bit.ly/2JV0YIO)
    6 x 3 mm Neodymium magnets (https://bit.ly/2v6v86n)


    Here are a couple of pics and i'll link to my Thingiverse page to.

    My profile; https://www.thingiverse.com/devilclarke
    Corners; https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3019977
    Handle; https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3019994
    Hinges; https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3020018


    Left to Right; Corner piece, handle and hinges


    27th July 2018

    Right a quick update have bought a 300 x 200 x 3 mm glass bed should arrive next week. I have also purchased a brand new Pi 3 B+ to run octopi/print on, some more PLA and my first role of ABS and am currently looking for somewhere to get my acrylic panels cut (if you know somewhere please help me out :smile:)

    Any way back to what I have been up to,

    my new designs include a Pi 3 case and relay box (this ones not printed yet) these will be mounted to the bottom of the Z-603s to run octopi and the relay will turn the printer on and off at command (2nd relay is "just in case").

    The relay box has 3 variants; mag mount, screw mount and no mount, As always i want as few additional holes as possible so will be going for mag mount but the others are available if required. 

    I have also decided that i will be 'pimping' my printer with some RGB lights much the same as the ultimaker 2's.

    Here are a couple of pics and i'll link to my Thingiverse page to.

    Relay Box; https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3022806
    Pi Case; https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3021979






    28th July 2018

    Not a new thing but as mentioned by Samuel Pinches, firmware for the Z603s is scarce an from what I've seen doesn't work great with  either A or B variant of the motherboard. 

    I have Re-Flashed mine with marlin 1.1.8 created pin files for B variant, I only have a B variant . Currently i have a version that has 'Change Filament'  (Advanced park) enabled and will be working on BL Touch once mine arrives.

    Download is available here 1.1.8
    Advanced Park:  #### now at github (https://github.com/clarketronics/Z-603s_CFW/tree/master)

    31st July 2018

    BLTouch arrived (well a knock off)  and my glass bed! Will put up a proper install guide separately for the BLTouch but for now its all installed and working great.

    The knock offs have a well not so great record, mine was sticking and playing up from the moment i installed it so i took it apart, removed pin and blew air through and removed a metric shit tonne of filings and dirt. I then used a toothpick and some cotton wool soaked in IPA to clean it, reassembled and working great.

    I have updated the firmware to 1.1.9 as of tonight and have enabled both BLTouch and Change filament (Advanced park) functions.

    Download is available here 1.1.9
    BLTouch & Advanced Park: #### now at github (https://github.com/clarketronics/Z-603s_CFW/tree/master)
    Thanked by 1Samuel Pinches
    Post edited by Devilclarke on
  • Samuel PinchesSamuel Pinches Posts: 2,997Administrator
    edited July 2018
    Nice job! I'll add your mods to the Z-603S wiki page! 
    Does this mean you have motherboard type B? How long ago did you purchase your printer?
    Cheers :smile:

    Post edited by Samuel Pinches on
  • DevilclarkeDevilclarke Posts: 13🌟 Super Member 🌟
    Yes its a type B, 15 October 2017 i bough it so a little less than i thought.
    Thanked by 1Samuel Pinches
  • Samuel PinchesSamuel Pinches Posts: 2,997Administrator
    I find it quite confusing how JGAurora released the version B motherboard for the Z-603S, because the pinout is completely different and they cannot use the same firmware files! But JGAurora only seems to publish one firmware and I don’t know which board it is for.

    looking forward to seeing your mods :) I should post some photos of my printer too here when I get a chance...
  • DevilclarkeDevilclarke Posts: 13🌟 Super Member 🌟
    haha yeah, I've re-flashed my board with marlin. My prints seem a lot better and I've enabled to the change filament routine to make loading and unloading easier.
  • Samuel PinchesSamuel Pinches Posts: 2,997Administrator
    Nice job! So you know, Marlin is the name of the open source firmware, the printer would have actually come with that, it is just that JGAurora was just using a much older version of it.

    The GPL open source license requires that manufacturers are required to supply the source code with any product that they use it in, but JGAurora refused to provide the firmware to me when I asked in the past. For the firmware on the wiki, I used a multimeter to manually reverse engineer the pinout used on the custom JGAurora motherboards, in order to create the custom firmwares that are now on the wiki. it was especially frustrating when I bought a replacement motherboard after the first (a type A board) failed, and then had to do it all over again because it was a type B board! :D
  • DevilclarkeDevilclarke Posts: 13🌟 Super Member 🌟
    didn't know that, you mean i didnt need to reverse engineer the board? you already did it?  :'(:'(:'(  :D:D:D

    Oh well live and learn  :'(:D
  • Samuel PinchesSamuel Pinches Posts: 2,997Administrator
    edited July 2018
    Oh lol, did you do it too!? Well, nice job at least!
    D 

    Yep, I have working firmware versions for both boards on the wiki - I have board B in my own printer. I refer to them as "A" and "B" because I have also seen green boards that match the "A" layout.
    https://jgaurorawiki.com/z-603s/firmware
    Post edited by Samuel Pinches on
  • DevilclarkeDevilclarke Posts: 13🌟 Super Member 🌟

    8th August 2018


    So I've been busy, i have put the BL-Touch Stl's up on thingiverse and am very happy with how it is preforming.

    The Community firmware for the Z603s now has a GitHub, i will try my best to maintain it. There are currently 2 branches; 
    • No Hardware mods
    • Mods (Currently BL-Touch) 

    If you wish to contribute please feel free but only upload if it is confirmed working and also note any changes made.

    BLTouch

    Thing

    Mounted, programmed and happy as Larry. Will post a guide on getting it up and running soon, I promise :smile:. In the mean time here are a couple of pics of it;



    Glass Bed

    Thing

    I've been using the glass bed just resting on the normal bed, this works but i have had several failed prints due to the glass plate moving half way through a print.

    My solution to this was to design some clamps, there attach to the print bed by removing the spacers and screwing the prints back in the same place.



    OctoPi

    This is coming along nicely, i am in the process of writing up a guide for everyone so please bear with me.
    Thanked by 1Samuel Pinches
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