Filament monitor for FlashForge printers

[Ward]

That's the most common use case for the Tunell monitor -- to detect when the filament has run out -- but it also is able to detect other filament feeding problems. Sorry for the confusion!

I'm sorry. I meant the printers....not your sensor. I figured your sensor device could do it.
I fixed the post above.

[toybuilder]

I'm sorry. I meant the printers....not your sensor. I figured your sensor device could do it.
I fixed the post above.

Oh!
That's correct - almost all printers that I know of do not check for filament right out of the box.

[curious aardvark]

lol why don't people check how much filament they have BEFORE starting a print ?
The slicer tells you how much you'll need. It's not rocket science :-)

These days I don't get snags or snaps - you just need to buy the right filament. Had a few when I was starting out.

Never run out of filament - 'cos i check before starting a print.

But there are going to be alot of people who don't take sensible precautions and if you've got a bunch of machines going, a sensor might be a good idea.

[Ward]

lol why don't people check how much filament they have BEFORE starting a print ?
The slicer tells you how much you'll need. It's not rocket science :-)

These days I don't get snags or snaps - you just need to buy the right filament. Had a few when I was starting out.

Never run out of filament - 'cos i check before starting a print.

But there are going to be alot of people who don't take sensible precautions and if you've got a bunch of machines going, a sensor might be a good idea.

I would be grateful if you could tell me how to do that.
I know that software like S3D tells you how much filament you will need but lets say for example it says I need 2500mm of filament. (random number)
How do I know I have at least that much and not 2400mm ?
Would I have to take it off the spool and measure it?

I wonder if you could use something like this (if you made a groove to guide the filament) ?
It would be even cooler if you could set it to count DOWN from the total length of the filament on the spool backward to zero. :-)
Provided there's accuracy.
0-9999-9M-Mechanical-Length-Counter-Meter-Rolling-Wheel-Z94-F.jpg_350x350.jpg

[toybuilder]

I would be grateful if you could tell me how to do that.
I know that software like S3D tells you how much filament you will need but lets say for example it says I need 2500mm of filament. (random number)
How do I know I have at least that much and not 2400mm ?
Would I have to take it off the spool and measure it?

I wonder if you could use something like this (if you made a groove to guide the filament) ?
It would be even cooler if you could set it to count DOWN from the total length of the filament on the spool backward to zero. :-)
Provided there's accuracy.
0-9999-9M-Mechanical-Length-Counter-Meter-Rolling-Wheel-Z94-F.jpg_350x350.jpg

Well, we don't have filament odometer implemented in the Tunell monitor, but that is one of several potential future updates to the product that I had in mind when I redesigned the Tunell monitor to the current version.

On Mightyboard machines (like the FlashForge Creator), there is a filament odometer feature. It's a bit hidden in the Utility menu, but it's definitely there!

BTW, we've further lowered the price on the Tunell monitor for our Black Friday weekend sale (we've got stuff up to 50% off).

[bkochis]

I just received my dual monitor in the mail, and am downloading some brackets for it. I will have an update for you all this weekend.

[bkochis]

Hello all,
I had purchased this filament monitor from Toybuilder.com on Black Friday. I printed this bracket, http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:695387, and after a few modifications everything is mounted and working
.IMG_20151202_133130_16CS.jpgThe circuit board end of the wiring goes in the black socket in the middle of the picture, along with the 3 gray wires
.IMG_20151202_150142.jpgThe monitor wire can be put into the split loom which will keep it from being damaged. To open these brackets insert a small screwdriver as shown and the bracket will pop open.
IMG_20151202_150159.jpgI had wanted to continue the sensor wire in the split loom but the sensor wire needs another 1/2" to do so. The sensor wire is JUST long enough with little room to spare.
IMG_20151202_150256.jpgThe brackets that I printed needed to have this slot moved more towards the back. Move this slot 1/4" towards the silver mark. I modified the one I printed with my Dremel tool. Also, the wiring connector slot, on the back face, needs to be moved outward another 1/8" so the sensor will sit flush in the bracket.
IMG_20151202_155922.jpgI used eight 4-40 sheet metal screws 1/2" long to assemble the bracket. Note that I mounted one sensor, the bracket and then the other sensor. I did not like the amount of tension on the gray ribbon cable from the split loom.

Other notes:
I cut 6 1/2" from the black plastic filament guides and discarded. If you do not add a filament tube below the sensors, you can now load the filament from the front of the printer!! Nice!

Remember you must press the red reset button whenever you start a job or take the pause off. Fortunately, this button is on the right side of the sensor when standing in front of the printer. Nice!

In all this sensor fit well and seems to be working correctly but my first failure will tell. As noted on tunell.us there is a timeout that is settable for no movement of filament. I am going to look at that further to see if it is the right amount.

This hardware, along with the UPS I added, should save a lot of time from failed prints.

Enjoy.

[curious aardvark]

I would be grateful if you could tell me how to do that.
I know that software like S3D tells you how much filament you will need but lets say for example it says I need 2500mm of filament. (random number)

it also tells you what weight of filament you will use. and what it will cost.
Even makerware desktop tells you that.

As long as you tell is3d what density the filament is and what it costs per kg. Manufacturers pretty much always have the density info on their websites. Although unless you're using something like bronzefill - the densities don't change enough to generally worth worrying about.

so what you do is weigh a new roll of filament. Take away 1kg and you'll have the weight of the reel.
You can simply weigh a roll before putting it on the printer - make a not of how much filament it has and every time you print something, take that weight away from your starting figure.
Digital scales are cheap: http://www.amazon.com/Ozeri-Digital-...digital+scales
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Savisto-Elec...digital+scales

Way cheaper than sensors.
I really don't see what the problem is or why anyone would print something for which they didn't have enough filament.

[ServiceXp]

Other notes:
I cut 6 1/2" from the black plastic filament guides and discarded. If you do not add a filament tube below the sensors, you can now load the filament from the front of the printer!! Nice!

Remember you must press the red reset button whenever you start a job or take the pause off. Fortunately, this button is on the right side of the sensor when standing in front of the printer. Nice!

In all this sensor fit well and seems to be working correctly but my first failure will tell. As noted on tunell.us there is a timeout that is settable for no movement of filament. I am going to look at that further to see if it is the right amount.

This hardware, along with the UPS I added, should save a lot of time from failed prints.

Enjoy.

Besides the cost of this thing and it's limited capabilities, that right there is a serious deal breaker.

At the current cost, I would want these functions added:
1) This reset chore to be automated by the printers control board.
2) I would also want a filament width measurement system.
3) A way to notify (text or e-mail) me when a failure is detected.

[toybuilder]

Besides the cost of this thing and it's limited capabilities, that right there is a serious deal breaker.

At the current cost, I would want these functions added:
1) This reset chore to be automated by the printers control board.
2) I would also want a filament width measurement system.
3) A way to notify (text or e-mail) me when a failure is detected.

#1 depends on the printer to signal a start of a new job to the monitor. The monitor itself could support this feature. In fact, one could wire already wire a signal line to the RST pin on the expansion connector to do this.
#2 Width measurement would add complexity and cost; and would require software on the host software or firmware on the printer to do something useful with the information. I believe people at SD3D is trying to do something along those lines. On Sailfish-based firmware (FF's for example), there's no good way for dynamically compensating for filament diameter, as the x3g format specifies target positions in stepper counts.
#3 Would require additional hardware to connect to the network, which this device cannot do on its own. Your sensors.org idea could work, though.

The reason for the manual reset of the sensor is simply because there's no other way to tell the difference between an end of a print job and a failed print. So the Tunell monitor is designed to take a "start of job" signal in the form of the reset button. As I mentioned, with additional development (firmware on the Tunell monitor and the firmware or software of the device connected to the monitor), it would be possible to automate this process.