Vandal Forge Printer Software
Team Name | Vulcan |
Duration | Fall 2017 - Spring 2018 |
Sponsor | Dr. Michael Maughan |
Faculty Advisers | |
Mentors |
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Students |
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The goal of this project is to improve the software used for 3D Metal Printing by updating the graphical user interface (GUI), changing the software to produce custom print commands required by the metal printer, and creating documentation for future teams.
Problem Definition[edit | edit source]
Background[edit | edit source]
Current printing software is not customized for a 3D metal printer. Print instructions created by default slicer software contains extra unused commands and does not provide custom commands needed to run a 3D Metal printer. Last year's team had to manually modify the output of Plastic Printing software, which was a slow and laborious process. OctoPrint, the interface between the print instructions and the printer, was originally designed for plastic printers and does not have the necessary features for metal printing. The Mark I and Mark II 3D Metal Printers require a custom print instructions file.
Mark I Printer (MIG Welder) |
Mark II Printer (TIG Welder) |
Printing Process[edit | edit source]
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Deliverables[edit | edit source]
Objectives[edit | edit source]
To improve the quality of the VandalForge Software while extending usability to allow further customization for future project endeavors.
- Slic3r produces custom GCode commands
- Octoprint accepts custom commands
- GUI's utilize custom commands
- ForgeWare Integration
- Easy to use
- Create excellent documentation for future teams
Requirements[edit | edit source]
- Use Open Source software
- Modifications must work for both versions of the printer
- Modified software should be user friendly
- Carefully document process so future teams can easily add improvements
Specifications[edit | edit source]
Alternatives[edit | edit source]
Cura Ultimaker Slic3r Alternative |
Pros
Cons
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Smoothieware Webclient OctoPrint Alternative |
Pros
Cons
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Results[edit | edit source]
Slic3r software customized to produce 3D metal printer instructions. Slic3r takes a 3D model, "slices" it into print layers and creates printing instructions for the Printer. |
Added new inputs for the TIG Welder printer to the Slic3r GUI. |
GCode before removing unused Plastic Printer Instructions. |
GCode after removing the superfluous print commands. |
OctoPrint software was originally for plastic printing. Octoprint is the interface between the Printer and the printing instructions created by Slic3r. |
We removed unnecessary UI elements, simplified the layout, changed the theme to University of Idaho colors, and added some controls. |
The TIG 3D metal printer has new controls that needed to be added to both the Slic3r and OctoPrint GUI's. |
We added the TIG Welder commands as buttons in OctoPrint |
Schedule[edit | edit source]
Fall 2017
- Gather Specifications and Research Software
- Research OctoPrint Host Software
- Customize GCode File output via Slic3r Software
- Design Review
Spring 2018
- Make Modifications to OctoPrint Software
- Custom GCode commands
- Add Mark II commands to OctoPrint UI
- Integrate with the Mark I Metal Printer
- Add Features specific for the Mark II Metal Printer
- Documentation
See Schedule Gantt Chart in Documents Archive section
Future Plans[edit | edit source]
Slic3r
- New Print-Path Algorithm
- Automatically change print parameters based on current print progress
OctoPrint
- GCodeViewer 2D output of print
- Web Camera to watch prints
- Create 3D wire-frame model of print with temperature/heat map from infrared camera
Team Information[edit | edit source]
Photo | Members |
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Pictured from left to right:
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Photo | Member Bio |
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Jonathan Buch |
Major: BS Computer Science |
Tim Clemans |
Major: BS Computer Science |
Michael Madsen |
Major: BS Computer Science |
James Young |
Major: BS Computer Science |
Document Archive[edit | edit source]
Schedule
Presentations
- Design Review: File:Vulcan 2018 DesignReview.pdf
- VandalForge Project Status Report (Design Review 2): File:Vulcan Design Review 2.pdf
- Expo Technical Presentation: File:Vulcan 2018 Technical Presentation.pdf
Expo Poster
Project Documents
- Quick Start Guide: File:VandalForge QuickStart.pdf
- Final Report: File:TeamVulcan2018FinalReport.pdf