Update #37 - Troubleshooting Tools - The Print Simulator

[amirjabri]

Hey everyone, I was really interested on the discussion of troubleshooting tools. At the end Rylan mentioned that the audio latency may be causing issues. I have been looking into this issue for linux and android devices and I found some interesting information on reduction of latency using realtime kernels and audio apps with hard timings etc. Would this help with the issue at all if the latency was driven down for the signal from the audio card?

[Feign]

Interesting to see that the laser intensity itself fluctuates slightly in places. Makes me wonder if there isn't something misinterpreting the 'off' signal in the hardware.

Also, I wonder if seeing the ability to turn the laser on and off as a requirement might have needlessly complicated things. It might be time to go back to the basics and push on/off signal interpretation to the "Peachy 2.0".

[rylangrayston]

Hey everyone, I was really interested on the discussion of troubleshooting tools. At the end Rylan mentioned that the audio latency may be causing issues. I have been looking into this issue for linux and android devices and I found some interesting information on reduction of latency using realtime kernels and audio apps with hard timings etc. Would this help with the issue at all if the latency was driven down for the signal from the audio card?

what you said about Kernels / apps with hard timings Really caught my attention, we have been working on getting the arduino due and its on board DAC s to drive the peachy printer, in the current DAC library its hard to time something to happen in synchronicity with the DAC s, dew to buffering. We would love to know if anyone has experience writing librarys for atmel chips.

[rylangrayston]

Interesting to see that the laser intensity itself fluctuates slightly in places. Makes me wonder if there isn't something misinterpreting the 'off' signal in the hardware.

Also, I wonder if seeing the ability to turn the laser on and off as a requirement might have needlessly complicated things. It might be time to go back to the basics and push on/off signal interpretation to the "Peachy 2.0".

We dont yet have a great way to test laser intensity is self, But good thinking we should probably find a way to do it. Last week we had a chat about the posibility of the power to the laser fluctuateing, which could result from many things including misinterpreting the 'off' signal, we plan to place an oscilloscope in line with the laser and put the screen in view of the camera in the print simulator, as a first go at testing this.

As for going back to not turning the laser off, honestly I really appreciate this suggestion, it shows you have the ability to make decisions based on whats best for the project, even if it means doing something that seems really undesirable. Thanks Feign, Ill be sure to keep this in mind as an option.

[jjmouris]

Rylan, currently I am working with Hobbyking and one of their manufacturers to bring a new high power ESC (brushless motor speed controller) to market. This one is designed to handle north of 7kW (10HP) and at these power levels a single wrong move from the Atmega processor driving the mosfets would result in the magic smoke coming out. Timing is everything. The cost of an Atmega is penny's but it is the time to develop the software that makes it work. There are some people who know their way around Atmel chips much better then I do but not sure if their knowledge would be of any use to you as it may be to specific. Worth a try?

To be honest with you, although I love the idea of running a 3D printer of an Ipad or other similar tablet device. For me Laptops are a neccacery evil and it is time 3D packedges move to Tablet devices for people on the go. Frankly I can see how all of these devises and their firmware would potentially create their own set of problems running the Peachy. Most cheap filament printers come with their own stand alone PCB that takes a memory card with the to be printed file. How much would it cost to make this for the Peachy and would it not be better to split up the development such that the printer is one thing, the way you drive it is another? If we know the printer works then it is time to sell it. The stand alone driver and the interface with various devices can even be done by the consumers. Probably somebody will do their own anyway.

I was wondering how the speed of the laser moving acros the print surface is controlled as it effects the exposure the resin gets. Any slowing down in the corners and speeding up on the straits would be one way to accidentally effect the print quality. Or any hickups in the software that controls the speed could cause the laser to stay in one spot and then jump ahead? Causing a hole? Looking at the laser doing a slow test pattern you would probably not notice anything. Looking forward to see the results from the print simulator and I hope that you will somehow manage to look at the speed variation on each layer as well.

[Chayat]

The way this print simulator works it looks like it would be a good basis for a 3d scanner too

[oninoshiko]

The way this print simulator works it looks like it would be a good basis for a 3d scanner too

scanning is one of the functions that the system is supposed to be capable of.