Hello.
I don’t want to run out of filament. Do l need a run out sensor or can I use the pause button on my lcd screen to pause and change the filament. If not then what is the pause function for?
I can’t speak directly to the ender but my sidewinder I can easily pause and then command a change. Remove the tail and feed a new filament and resume. I find if you delay too long it will fail.
I also cant comment on an ender, but on my AdimLab Gabtry-s, i use the pause button to preform a “manual” filament change. Just personal preferance.
Ah the Pause function… It had such potential if they hadn’s screwed up the implementation.
Yes, you can press Pause and the print head will go home and the print will resume when you press the button again. That’s great if you need to do something with the model like insert magnets or nuts into pockets or something like that, but really, now many times do you need to fiddle with the model itself?
The real, obvious, use for pause would be to change filament either when it’s about to run out or when you reach a layer where you want to change colours (although there are scripts to make the latter easier). So you’d think that with such an obvious use for Pause that Creality or whomever, would have left the heater on, but nope.
So, when you press pause, you have, maybe 30 seconds to change the filament before it solidifies in the nozzle. So, whip the filament out, then shove a new one in because once the nozzle cools below about 180C (for PLA), you’re not going to be able to prime the nozzle. If you can’t properly prime the nozzle, there will be a brief period where it doesn’t print properly.
But Wait! you think, can’t I just adjust the temperature manually? This is where I say Pause was poorly implemented. When you’re paused, the Tune menu is not available so you can’t adjust the temperature. Neither can you access “Preheat PLA”. So Pause locks you out of the one major control you need to change filaments with. Stupid, Stupid, Stupid.
It’s not that it can’t be done. In Cura, there is a script that can be added to your model. It’s called “Pause at Height” wherein you can specify that you want the printer to pause at some particular location and home the print head. It also has the option of setting a nozzle temperature while it’s waiting. That allows you to change filaments and properly purge the old filament and prime the nozzle with the new before resuming the print. It works great, but it needed to be the default behaviour for Pause.
The only problem with “Pause at Layer” is just that - you need to know the layer that you want it to take effect on. It’s not “Pause at Filament Runout” or “Pause when button pressed”.
Sorry for the rant, but this one’s been annoying me for months.
Lego that’s quite a rant. My pause on the artillery is basically pause at layer height the heaters stay on for 30 min I think. The Prusa however doesn’t keep the nozzle heater running. Personally I hit the pause and then change filament which runs the heaters once the change is done Resume. In setting magnets or adding bbs I use a pause at layer in the slicer I know when exactly I want to change.
I believe the temperature can be increased through the Control menu, then Temperature, then Nozzle on the LCD.
Technically true, but what I found was that it would not resume the print afterward. It’s as though using the G-Code to adjust temperature cancelled the subroutine that was handling the pause. When this current print is finished, I’ll print something small and confirm it.
Oh ya. A lot of pent-up frustration in that.
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OK. So I’ll correct myself. I’ve just started another print and paused it after two percent. Yes, you do get access to the temperature controls, so I was remembering that part wrong.
But I was right about the part that was causing me frustration. I discovered this within a week of getting the printer. I was printing an object on which I wanted the top three layers to be in a different colour. So after a 6hr print, I hovered over it (didn’t know about the pause at layer option) and waited until it started printing the text that was to go on top (last 3 layers) then paused it. Yes, the nozzle went cold, but I could change it,
What I couldn’t do, and can’t do right now, is resume the print.
Pause → wait → Resume works
Pause → change a setting → Resume does nothing.
A 6hr print down the tubes because of a firmware error.
At the time the only way I had around it was to change the filament like Superman before the nozzle got too cold to prime.
This is on Marlin 1.0.1 May 25, 2020
EDIT: I’m just discovering that Stop Print doesn’t work now either. I’ll have to reboot the printer.
Interesting Lego since I am also printing I poked a bit as well.
Pause → Wait → Resume works (SWX1) continues to heat nozzle, Prusa does not.
Pause → unload filament using printer input → Load filament → Resume works on both heating nozzle no issue.
Both are using a version of Marlin 2.
The ability to pause and command the printer to change filament is a solution to using a filament sensor.
Both the sidewinder and Prusa when the filament run out sensor is triggered it only continues to heat for a short time then it cools down. Triggering frustration ! The only advantage is it beeps. If you know you are short you need to keep an eye on it no matter.
What is SWX1? So you’re using Marlin 2 while I’m using Marlin 1. I haven’t upgraded the firmware beyond the initial upgrade to eliminate the communication error report, but beyond that I’ve been taking an “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” approach.
I don’t have an option to unload filament, so it’s probably another V2 add-on. I’m wondering if I should dare to upgrade my firmware??
I don’t know lego. You might have to do some tinkering. The original sidewinder firmware was 1.02 I think, it was enabled. It might be that it uses a Bowden tube and not a direct drive?
Well, I don’t know either. Bowden tube vs. direct drive should have nothing to do with whether the firmware can resume after you change the temperature during a Pause Print. I just think Creality rolled their own version of Marlin and screwed it up. What I’d love to see, instead of a version number is an MD5Sum so one can see if even a small change was made that they didn’t think warranted a version number change. The version numbers suggest we’re comparing apples to apples, but he behavior suggests we’re not.
I have a work-around for the filament change thing so I’ll put up with the old firmware until something forces the issue for me. In the meantime, I try to warn noobs about it. I wasted a lot of hours trying to get that to work.
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swx1 = sidewinder x1
It does seem like creality messed that up.
My turn to rant…
My feeling especially after rebuilding a 90% of new printer to make it print ok prints, is if it doesn’t work send it back. The mod and change everything on brand new is crazy. I am still stunned at the guts of the sidewinder, hot melt glue holding a dupont connector into a JST socket? I mean really ? A round peg in a square hole with hot melt glue? I ended up re wiring the whole printer, I was afraid of it starting a fire. Tech support… First week of December first email, First Reply in January, My second email in January and still waiting for my second reply? That is not support at all.
Rant over.
I use the pause on my Ender 3Pro and 3V2 all the time to change out filaments. Yes, you do have a limited amount of time before the nozzle cools down but you can retract the old filament easily enough without any problem. Then when you get ready to print again it takes a minute to heat the nozzle up again but then there is the option on the screen to purge filament before restarting. You can purge as much or as little as you wish then you tell it to restart and the nozzle will return to where it left off and start printing. Best of luck and hope this helps