Hi!
I previously posted about this, but either I didn’t understand or I didn’t get an answer.
I have everything wired up (I believe), all I need is some help with the firmware. I’m trying my best to figure out the whole “VS Code” and “PlatformIO”, but I just don’t understand.
Can someone point me to the right direction please?
SKR Pro V1.2, I am aware that I need the TMC2209, which will be installed soon. (just not in the picture at the moment)
Thank you.
Maybe posting in your original thread would help or at least link to it in here.
For the mpcnc firmware you dont need the extruder connected, the firmware you can download from the skr/ controllers page from v1e.com
SKR Pro - V1 Engineering Documentation
Sorry, I mean that I want to add an extruder to my MPCNC.
I want to make it so my MPCNC has an extruder, and to do so I’d need to change my firmware so it knows it has an extruder.
Thats uncharted territory in here (dont know actually, maybe use the 
function). I think you will need to recompile Marlin or edit the v1 firmware to add what you need
This thread topic comes up once an a while.
There was a time when playing with extruders on MPCNCs was a thing, but that was a while back- and the results of even the crappiest commodity 3D printer are likely to be better than what you’re going to achieve with an MPCNC/Extruder.
That said, the community is all about experimetation and building things- so some details.
First off, I don’t believe the V1 firmware currently supports 3D printing properly (or at least, no one I know of has tested this configuration in a long time.)
That’s the nature of your first question, you’ll need to be able to create yourself a build environment so you can rebuild the firmware with appropriate modifications to put 3D printing back in.
Next, you’re going to need a functional mount for an extruder, and if you do this you nearly certainly need a more modern extruder than what was used in the past (MK8s, I believe).
You’ll also need to add the wiring for the hotend, thermistor, and the stepper itself.
You’ll also need to think about how you do a heated bed.
If you can tell us more about your use case, and why you think you need to do this on an MPCNC, we can help guide you along the path you want to follow.
I plan to use it for large scale production that doesn’t need to be perfect, just ‘close enough’. I plan to use the printed parts for a basis, then use filler/clay for the final layup.
I’m pretty aware of all that, and I’ve done everything needed until the “coding” part.
All the wiring is set up, mount for the extruder has been made, and I used a fairly modern extruder.
I’m just not the most proficient at the whole “firmware” stuff, so I just need some help with that.
If someone could point me in the right direction for that, it would be much appreciated.
Obviously I’m not qualified, but I thought all you really need to do is let the board know the G-Code will supply information regarding filament going in/out?
Other than that information to the board, it’s similar to CNC G-Code, no?
Sorry for my ignorance.
Thank you
We do have some skr pro firmware with and extruder. But nothing for dual endstops. You would have to wire the motors in serial and have the same extruder. Those preconfigured firmwares are at MarlinBuilder releases
If you need to compile the firmware, then you need to get your hands dirty. The firmware from V1 will compile in platformio. Build it as is first before editing anything and try to edit as little as possible. Compare the dual and 3dp versions to see if you can tell what needs to change.
Please never apologize here for asking questions. That’s the core of what the community is- helping each other try and build our machines to achieve our project needs.
What time scales do you have to crank out parts? When you get to MPCNC sized prints, the build time is unbelievably long (many days), and things like bed adhesion and even managing filament spools become a major problem.
I’m not trying to discourage you, but we need to know these details to try and help make good recommendations.
Anytime someone here types platformio in a thread, it is supposed to link to a documentation section about that. It should show up as a link when I submit this post.
It’s all gcode, but it’s very specifically different than gcode for CNC. Aside from moving filament in and out of the extruder, it has things like what temp for the hotend, what fan speeds for the part cooling fans, what temp for the heated bed, etc.
For the workflow that you’re describing, you almost certainly want to use a sender like OctoPrint to get benefits like job control, filament changing support, filament runout detection, and the like.
You also will have to solve the part adhesion to the bed problem.
What filament materials and how big are those parts?
This thread has some information I hope you find useful. Good luck, I hope you succeed and keep us updated - I think a giant bed 3D printer with an appropriately massive extusion size is a cool idea.
