Swap Time For Multiple Colours ( 2 )
I originally posted this in the " Hardware, Firmware & Software section in error. I can't see how to delete the post and I really would like an answer so I'll try it here.
Lets say I'm printing an object with multiple colours on my MK3S+. When it beeps how much time do I have to make the actual switch? I'm doing a print that takes a bit over 6 hours and I'll need to make two switches and I don't want to have to sit beside my machine for the entire time. Can I walk away from it and come back to it well after it warns to make the swap?
TIA....
RE: Swap Time For Multiple Colours ( 2 )
As far as I remember there is no timeout. The printer should wait for you as longs as it takes. In the most recent firmware version there is an option to display how long it will take until the next color change. But PrusaSlicer has not implemented this feature yet: https://github.com/prusa3d/Prusa-Firmware/releases
In general I would advise to make the switch as soon as possible. Otherwise you burn the plastic into the nozzle if you let it sit for many hours.
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Going small with MMU2
Real Multi Material
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RE: Swap Time For Multiple Colours ( 2 )
The printer will wait - but within a few minutes the nozzle will cease being heated and you'll enter a mode where you have to click the wheel to reheat the nozzle. Eventually, the bed heating safety timer will kick in.
Word of advice - leaving your prints unattended for many many hours is not a best practice. Your slicer will tell you how log each color print will be (approx) so you can set an alarm if you need a reminder of when to go change the color. If you need to be away longer than the print will take, my advice is hold off on starting it until you have time to attend to your print.
RE: Swap Time For Multiple Colours ( 2 )
The printer will wait - but within a few minutes the nozzle will cease being heated and you'll enter a mode where you have to click the wheel to reheat the nozzle. Eventually, the bed heating safety timer will kick in.
Word of advice - leaving your prints unattended for many many hours is not a best practice. Your slicer will tell you how log each color print will be (approx) so you can set an alarm if you need a reminder of when to go change the color. If you need to be away longer than the print will take, my advice is hold off on starting it until you have time to attend to your print.
Both of you are correct with your answers and I appreciate your response. I did a bit if a test this morning and left it alone for a few hours. When I came back to it the unit has cooled down and needed to reheat before I could do the colour swap. After reheating it picked up where it left off.
Dan you mentioned the slicer breaking down the time for each colour. I haven't discovered that yet but I'll certainly look for it now. What I do know is Prusa's gcode checker does the same thing. That I discovered today as well after I did my little test. I'm not new to 3d printing but I am new to Prusa's machine and software as I just received my MK3S+ 2 weeks ago. It's been going steady since I got it but Mr. Prusa is one smart dude and has left a lot for me to learn.
Something else that's peaked my interest Dan is this comment you made.. " Word of advice - leaving your prints unattended for many many hours is not a best practice. " I'd like to hear your reasoning for that considering the unit goes into shutdown mode. ( I forgot to check the bed heat so I'm not certain it cools down. I'll do another test for that. )
Something else I learned. There is an option in " Settings " to make the constant beeping stop and beep only once. If it's something you find as annoying as I did it's easy to change.
RE: Swap Time For Multiple Colours ( 2 )
For those that want to know but don't the time for each colour layer will show if you select " Color Print " in the bottom left side of the slicer software.
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RE: Swap Time For Multiple Colours ( 2 )
@guyzerr
Thanks for the tip on the repeated beeping - I did not know that! My wife will click the X to turn off the beeping - which is the end of a print. That will be a big help in cases where I cannot get to the printer during a temp change (during school hours - my workshop is in a room that I have to walk through the school to get to- so during school hours, my printer is not available for me to go touch.
My comment on best practice comes from experience. Blob of doom and Spaghetti monster are good reasons to avoid treating the printer like it was a set and forget appliance. It definitely isn't. A filament jam can happen as well - which could result in layer shifts - ruining a print. I do have some prints that I have proven over and over (fishing lures) so if I have a way to prevent filament jams or over-run-of-spool (which I now do) I can watch the first layer for signs of trouble, and walk away with a fair amount of confidence.
For a print I have never done before, or that could warp, though, there are too many things that can go wrong to treat it as set and forget.
RE: Swap Time For Multiple Colours ( 2 )
@guyzerr
For a print I have never done before, or that could warp, though, there are too many things that can go wrong to treat it as set and forget.
That makes perfect sense. I think now it will be a matter of being able to get to it in a decent amount of time. I was more concerned if for example I missed the window and the print stopped dead in it's tracks.
RE: Swap Time For Multiple Colours ( 2 )
For those that want to know I have tested it one more time and the bed doesn't seem to cool down. The nozzle does but when you do the colour change the nozzle needs to reheat to accept the filament. Once done the unit goes right back to where it left off so the bed does not cool down from what I can see or feel. I don't know if there's something in the software that would automatically kick in or not and if there is at what period of time. At this point I believe I've received a lot of useful information and I appreciate it.
RE: Swap Time For Multiple Colours ( 2 )
@dan-rogers
I'm sure you're smart enough to figure it out but I created this post today to help others.
How to get rid of all those annoying beeps....
RE: Swap Time For Multiple Colours ( 2 )
@nikolai
The time to next color change is implemented in latest 2.4.0 built from master. It super handy
RE: Swap Time For Multiple Colours ( 2 )
@nikolai
The time to next color change is implemented in latest 2.4.0 built from master. It super handy
When I go to Prusa's slicer download page it shows 2.3.1 as being the latest available and that's the one I'm using. Where does one find 2.4.0?
EDIT: I see it's still in the beta stage......
RE: Swap Time For Multiple Colours ( 2 )
it's not released yet. you'd have to build it from source on github. they are supposed be releasing an alpha in a few weeks.
RE: Swap Time For Multiple Colours ( 2 )
Here's what the color change indication looks like when sliced with 2.4 slicer and running on 3.10 firmware.
