Month: October 2016

Duet WiFi or Smoothieboard 5x?

Which controller is the ‘best’ out there right now? I’m doing a gut and rebuild on an old stratasys machine and am shopping for the best controller. I will most likely be using external stepper drivers (going to go with much bigger motors than 2A), so that’s not really an issue. I need a lot of inputs and outputs, and both seem to have what I need. I like the LCD option(s) for the Duet, but am not thrilled at the WiFi only, as I’d rather it be ethernet. Any thoughts, or are both perfectly good options?EDIT: I should probably add the MKS SBASE boards on there as well. They apparently run Smoothieware and cost roughly 1/3 of the others. http://ift.tt/2dJLMEr

Today I learned why the PEI sheet on my print bed (TAZ5) has been coming up… Cleaning the bed with straight IPA damages the adhesive.

Just wanted to share in case others struggle with the same. Apparently isopropyl alcohol can permeate through PEI and compromise the adhesive holding it to the glass…. I definitely just soak a towel in the stuff straight out of the bottle to clean the bed, and the other day about a third of the sheet just lifted off when I was heating it up, so it needs to get replaced.The solution, according to Lulzbot support, is to use a solution of 90% water and 10% alcohol when cleaning your print bed.The more you know! http://ift.tt/2dH5IFG