Geeetech A10M - getting started - A10M landing page

thingiverse

Hi guys, I just got myself a new printer, the A10M and tried to get my stuff together. As always it took ages to everything aligned, all the forums, the new marlin firmware and select the right tuning parts. So I decided to do this little landing page with all my lessons learned to help you get up to speed much faster, so here we go: 1. Before you buy the A10M (Reviews) I was able to find a few clips on youtube: The most helpful ones came from Teaching Tech, with a generic review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbZhNvMM4Os and some tips about how to improve the A10M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8o--HmfZ57I This shows most of the features I used to do my by decision. If you want to dig deeper, there is an active discord forum where you should be able to talk to other users: https://discord.gg/q7qxza 2. Getting started (assembling the A10M) Here I tried to go with the multiple unboxing clips at youtube, just to find out that geeetech just put a much more detailed manual on their homepage: https://www.geeetech.com/download.html?download_id=30 This now shows all the details you may need to assemble everything. You will also find all the software and manuals to connect the printer to your computer, flash a new firmware, create your own gradient mix models based on single color models etc. 3. Finding the right firmware My A10M came installed with Marlin 1.1.8. If you need the BLtouch support you can get the hex file at the geeetech.com homepage (https://www.geeetech.com/download.html?download_id=31) The original firmware might have some small bugs and need further tuning. If you want to tune it on your own (Just use the multiple tutorials in the web to setup your Arduino.), you can start with the geeetech Marlin you can get the source code on geeetech github: https://github.com/Geeetech3D/Prusa_I3_3Dprinter For me the only change which was really necessary was the adoption the extruder feed steps since I got some severe under extrusion. Just search the it in the configuration.h file for: "#define DEFAULT_AXIS_STEPS_PER_UNIT { 80.3, 80.8, 400, 340 }" And change the extruder value to 450 and in the process also correct the x and y steps to just 80 so no rounding error occur: "#define DEFAULT_AXIS_STEPS_PER_UNIT { 80, 80, 400, 450 }" In the forum there are talking about a range from 430 – 450 so this might need some tuning on your end. Before flashing, just make sure, that you have the right USB controller driver installed on your machine. Here just have a look at the relevant documentation on the geeetech download section (my board came with the CH340 chip, so I had to use the CH342SER.EXE). 4. Adding optional additional parts to your printer Parts to be purchased: - BLtouch (or 3Dtouch if you want to go cheaper but my suffer some more issues) 40-50€ - Raspberry Pi with Pi cam running octoprint (you might get the geeetech wifi module for 20€, but I prefer octopi since I have multiple brands of printers and the functionality is way beyond what the wifi module can do e.g. adding a relay to switch off the printer after the print is finished) 50-60€ (raspberry, cam, powersupply, SD card, housing) Parts to be printed: This is a list of the parts I have installed so far: - A fan cover for the electronic box (very usefull): https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3217532 - Belt tensioner Y Axis: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3461835 - Belt tensioner X Axis: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3466592 - Geeetech A10 A10M Ender 3 etc Pi Camera adapter v2 https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3871636 - Display back cover: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3227116 - Z-Axis Manual Adjustment Knob: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4046575 - BLShield | The BLTouch saver: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3419174 - Customizable v-slot cover plus: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3396601 - Filament holder DELUXE: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3114139 - Spool holder bracket: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3520218 (for aligning the spools with the extruders when assembled vertically) NOTE: vertical assembly is not recommended if you are using the standard PTFE tubes since the additional bending creates more friction and this might cause some under extrusion. - Geeetech A10M filament guide REMIX for the Spool holder bracket above (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3829316) NOTE: vertical assembly is not recommended if you are using the standard PTFE tubes since the additional bending creates more friction and this might cause some under extrusion. - A10M fan duct wing (regular and angled) (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3522470) - A10M / A10 fan duct wing for radial fan 50x50 (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3585978) - Base cover to protect the cable from electronic box to the display: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3490028 (since this is my own design, please let me know if you find any flaws in the model so I can correct it) - A10 - A10M (Ender 3) and generic octoprint/octopi case for raspberry, 5V power supply and relay (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3528164) If you are searching for additional part, you can also look for "A10" or "Ender 3" parts since most of the design is similar (but some isnt, so not all the parts will fit on the A10M)7 - Still searching for an advanced fan duct which is not to close to the heat block and is not melting when the fan is off...... 5. Bed leveling sensor (BLTouch vs 3DTouch): I first tried the 3Dtouch and got some wrong detection, so I replaced it with the original BLtouch. My opinion: It is definitely worth the money cause its causing less hassle. 6. Slicing (CURA) Also you can find a lot of good tutorials in how to slice dual print in CURA. The problem is that CURA does not support 2in1out extruders pre se so you have to manually ad a post-processing of the g-code to prevent cura to switch off the extruder heating when changing materials the last time (worst effect if you have complete layers in different colors!). - Just open in CURA: Extensions/Post Processing/Modify GCode/Add a script - Choose Search and Replace Search"M104 T. S0" Replace ";removed M104 T. S0" (. stands for *) - Activate Use Regular Expression - Details see at: https://github.com/Ultimaker/Cura/issues/2918 My Start and End G-Code (no gurantee it works so at your own risk): Start: M163 S0 P0.75 M163 S1 P0.25 M164 S2 M163 S0 P0.50 M163 S1 P0.50 M164 S3 M163 S0 P0.25 M163 S1 P0.75 M164 S4 T0 G28 ;Home G29 ; autoloevel M109 S{material_print_temperature}; M104 T{initial_extruder_nr} S{material_print_temperature}; G1 Z2.0 F3000 ; Move Z Axis up little to prevent scratching of Heat Bed G1 X0.1 Y20 Z0.3 F5000.0 ; Move to start position G1 X0.1 Y200.0 Z0.3 F1500.0 E15 ; Draw the first line G1 X0.4 Y200.0 Z0.3 F5000.0 ; Move to side a little G1 X0.4 Y20 Z0.3 F1500.0 E30 ; Draw the second line G1 x0.0 y0.0 Z15.0 F6000 ;Move the platform to 0mm 0mm 15mm G92 E0 G1 F200 E3 G92 E0 End: G92 E1 G1 E-1 F300;Retract the filament G28 X0 Y0 M84 M104 S0 M140 S0 7. HotEnd Maintenance: I did a short tutorial: https://github.com/caesar1111/Geeetech-A10M-HotEnd-Maintenance/blob/master/A10M_HotEnd_Maintenance.md ATTENTION: Every time your are doing something with the hotend it is recommended to check if the heater cartridge or the thermistor is touching the metal parts of the hotend. REASON: If both the cartridge wire an the thermistor wire it touchi 3633287ng the metal, you instantly fry the mainboard! HOW TO CHECK: Just unplug the cartridge and thermsitor plugs on the extension board, use a multimeter in diode mode and check the metal hotend vs. every line of the wiring. HOTEND IMPROVEMENT: Heater cartridge: The heater cartridge wires need to be bent 90 degree so make sure your heater cartridge is at least even or about 1mm outside the heatend. Best is if you also turn the cartridge vertically, so the little piece of wire exposed has enough clearance to the hotend. Advanced: you can also get yourself some hight temp silicone (+350°C e.g. K2 bond black silicone) or even exhaust assembly paste (+1000°C e.g. holts firegum but this will not be flexible) to seal the bare wires. this stuff might also help you with some hotend sealing... THERMISTOR IMPROVEMENT: Use a PTFE washer for the screw pushing the thermistor into the hotend. You might get the same result with a PTFE plumbing tape wrapper around the screw and the thermistor wires. Also possible is to use the high temp silicon, to just glue the thermistor into place, but this is somehow permanent. The better solution will be a DIY silicone sock. If you want to cast your own socks, you can use the following molds: A10M A20M silicon sock (thick walls, screw assembly) - casting mold (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3633287). This sock requires a disassembly of the hotend. Or A10M A20M silicon sock (easy slip on design - thin walls) - casting mold (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3645356). This sock can be slipped on without disassembling the hotend. 8. octoprint / octopi upgrade (no printer rewiring required) find the hardware at: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3528164 and the schematics at https://github.com/caesar1111/Power-relay-for-octoprint-with-manual-buttons/blob/master/power-relay-for-octoprint-with-manual-buttons.md 9. Details on the GT2560 V3 board: Thanks to Megasaturnv this is already covered in a separate thing: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3596842 I hope this helps you getting started a little faster. Please let me know if you need any further things covered. Für unsere deutschsprachigen A10M User noch in Tipp aus dem Netz: https://drucktipps3d.de/19-09-geeetech-a10m-er-ist-da/ Regards Caesar PS: Since I am now not frequently checking my account, answers might take some time.