Err: MINTEMP could be improved
Today I got a bit scared when starting the printer. I got the mintemp error. I have my printer in a heated room in an unheated house. Outdoor temperature is below zero now so the room is only 12 degrees. First I thought the printer was broken but then I realized it said 15 degrees but the room was only 12. So I heated the machine with a heatgun and of course it started.
The firmware could be improved. If both sensors says 15 degrees at startup, give the extruder and hetatbed just a bit of current to heat them both, then measure after a short delay.
Thanks
Mårten
Re: Err: MINTEMP could be improved
Hi Marten
That's the beauty of "open source"...
Personally I don't think I would want my printer to be in such an environment and certainly some prints will suffer.
You may find that you have to build a housing for the printer with its own little central heating system.
Problem is that below 15 degrees, the thermistors are not sufficiently accurate and it could be dangerous to do as you suggest.of
Peter
Please note: I do not have any affiliation with Prusa Research. Any advices given are offered in good faith. It is your responsibility to ensure that by following my advice you do not suffer or cause injury, damage…
Re: Err: MINTEMP could be improved
Today I noticed another strange thing. The heatbed would not start heating unless the temperature is 16 degrees. I thought that there was a problem with cabling. When I heated the bed with the heatgun the heating started.
Re: Err: MINTEMP could be improved
Marten
Not really surprising that you need at least 16 degree ambient to get the printer working. As I said before, tolerances of thermistors plus lower sensitivity means they are not particularly accurate at those temps.
If you wanted, you could amend the firmware to lower the minimums; Configuration.prusa.h
// Mintemps
#define HEATER_0_MINTEMP 15
#define BED_MINTEMP 15
Although if the printer were to break because of the change, it would be you shelling out for replacement parts...
You can also check out the Thermistortable.h (types 1 = extruder and 5 = heated bed) to see the differences at lower temps.
Peter
Please note: I do not have any affiliation with Prusa Research. Any advices given are offered in good faith. It is your responsibility to ensure that by following my advice you do not suffer or cause injury, damage…