Add support for tool changer machines

[rkarlsba]

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
Prusa XL is not supported so since PrusaSlicer can't read the extensions to 3mf added by Bambu and used by Orca, multicolour prints can't be moved between the two.

Which printers will be beneficial to this feature
Prusa XL

Describe the solution you'd like
Add Prusa XL

[GuyH77]

I'd love to see this support added as well.

[toddanglin]

BIG +1 to seeing support for Prusa XL (with tool changers) come to OrcaSlicer! I got spoiled to things OrcaSlicer has that PrusaSlicer lacks (like built-in calibration tests and support for brim ears). Would love to have those capabilities when working with my XL.

[teachingtechYT]

Adding myself to this request. Back to using two slicers now that the XL has arrived. Really keen to only use OrcaSlicer.

[freeformz]

Same. I'd like to standardize on OrcaSlicer over a mix.

[freeformz]

Possbile dupe of #2050 and #2021

[freeformz]

See also #2168 discussion.

[toddanglin]

Agree. All linked issues are at least somewhat related, especially #2168. All seem to also be in a relatively similar, untriaged state today, but they could be consolidated.

[tutulino]

It would be great to have this feature, this makes me use Orca for all my printers

[clockworkcrow]

Indeed, XL suppport would be appreciated.

[misisl]

Adding myself to this request. Back to using two slicers now that the XL has arrived. Really keen to only use OrcaSlicer.

[jayjar291]

Bump would really want support for the prusa XL 2t

[BrewNinja]

Would love this feature as well!

[xidus90]

Also like to see this, special because the seam join was merged.

[Bat-Maker]

+1....well 5, 5 Head version too please!

[Hardy786]

+1 for Voron Stealth Changer

[DaTTcz]

I don't know, I'll take a picture of the display menu on Monday. I can choose the head I want to print before each print.

[DoubleStrike]

Not sure if it will help, but here is the latest version of the start and end gCode for a multi-head XL that also includes the recommended tweaks to nozzle temps during the bed meshing step to prevent oozing.

end.txt
start.txt

[DaTTcz]

I export the gcode, upload it to the printer, select print and I can choose which head...

[cochcoder]

Can anyone, with only one print head, confirm this also works for them? Just to be absolutely sure that this would work for everyone and doesn't need a separate profile.

[SoftFever]

Hey guys,

I am starting my research on adding more sophisticated multi-tool support in Orca. I'm currently in the process of sourcing components to convert my Voron 2.4 to a TapChanger.

In the meantime, I’m looking for feedback on what features are currently missing in Orca that you think are crucial for a multi-tool printer.

I understand that Orca currently lacks the capability to use different sized nozzles in one print. While trying PrusaSlicer, I noticed its support for different nozzle sizes is also limited at the moment. When using multiple nozzles with different sizes, we cannot use the wipe tower, which, in my understanding, is a deal breaker in most cases.

Could you share your experiences with multi-tool printers?

[seenit783]

I'm in the middle of adding stealthchanger, starting out with 2 tools but will end up with 6 before i'm done as well. my setup will be handling different toolheads with different nozzle sizes. would be cool to have more choices for slicers.

[broncosis]

Would looking at some of our prusa configs help
I have written a decent nozzle priming start gcode
And I prefer to print with out a prime tower

[Topless-Stang]

Wipe tower is not an issue for most folks. I don't really use it with my 5TH XL. Multiple nozzle sizes during a print would be nice, but at this point I would just be happy being able to set up a print with all 5 nozzles.

[MKHTexas]

I have a Marathon from Formbot (Klipper). Someone (I'll respect his privacy but I wish he would DM you) made an Orcaslicer profile that works- but it could probably use some more graceful elements in the foundation of Orca vs. tweaking the MM settings. You can find it on the Formbot discord /marathon/orca slicer. Some issues:
-The machine has T0 and T1. But Orca uses material 1, 2, ... Clearly identifying the discrete tools by toolhead nomenclature would be more clear.
--- This could include better visual cues as to which toolhead is being used to select parts, brim, supports, features etc.

• For this machine, z0 is set using T0 only. Both heads have to be loosened (the heatbbreak cannot be the kind that screws into the cold end) and both nozzles pushed against the build plate, then the heatbreaks are retightened. This is not perfect. It would be nice to get the nozzles real close, but then set an exact z in Orca for T1. This helps when different nozzle types are used (CHT on one, Diamondback on the other), or when different materials need different squish.
• The ability to set up each nozzle/hotend separately and clearly for different nozzle sizes and types, or even different wattages.
• Bulletproof the ability to select separate components of assemblies imported for slicing using step or other file types.
• If someone runs one material on another, there is no reason to change bed temp- currently if you do this you have to make a specific filament profile for the second filament based on what the bed temp should be for the first filament- think PETG base and TPU on it.

[DoubleStrike]

I created a fork of PS that force-disables some of the nozzle mismatch warnings to allow you to proceed. Some folks said the latest 2.8 release has some issues where the previous one works fine, so I'm researching that now.

It is at: https://github.com/DoubleStrike/PrusaSlicer-MultiTool

[SoftFever]

I will convert this issue to a discussion thread to make it easier for everyone to contribute.

[jdmontgomer]

I have a stealth changer with 6 toolheads I don't know if their will be a limit for tools or if it's expandable but also know some one in community that is going to need 7 tool support. Ican send stealth changer start gcode if it's needed for development wish I knew more to be able to help. Thanks in advance for looking at

[SarraceniaWilds]

I also wish I knew how to help more, I'm currently starting up with an sv04 and would happily throw tests at it.

[Hellsparks]

I dont think its much to bring on up whats needed and not.

PrusaSlicer/Cura has covered most bases realy, we want to set N toolheads per printer, define our own toolchange macro, and edit each toolhead in its own menu tab (for nozzle size ect). Then we just assign a filament/color to each head.

Wipe tower per nozzle size is a nice feature but not realy gamebraking.
Other features like material interlocking also realy nice but not something to tackle from the start.

For a good start just bring the same features PS and Cura has and most people will be happy. that should also cover printers like the XL SV04 and others no problem.

[ansonl]

I agree, I use Cura mainly for the multi extruder support. Cura's predictive heatup and cool down and customizable gcode for each toolhead is all most users need. Cura also allows different toolchanger nozzles sizes simultaneously.
I'd like to try OrcaSlicer features as it seems to have the fastest development pace of all the community slicers but both it and Bambu Studio don't seem to have actual tool changer support.

[freeformz]

FWIW: This is now supported in the nightly builds and I assume will be out in the next version.

[ansonl]

@freeformz Cool, I will try out the nightly soon. Do you know if there is a guide or reference page on writing a custom printer profile?
I didn't see a page on the wiki and haven't looked too closely yet on if OrcaSlicer printer management is compatible with PrusaSlicer INI configs.

[freeformz]

There is a perl script out there that converts things (I forget where it is though), but I've had mixed success with it working as expected.

[kurtgluck]

Prusa XL missing features: 1) ability to have a wipe tower or TOWERS that handles filliments that dont bond to each other. The wipe tower is not designed for that, but if you decide to use PETG to support PLA or PLA to support PETG you most likely will have to turn off the wipe tower. Perhaps the ability to have a second wipe tower, or to at least pick a toolhead individually NOT to use the wipe tower.

[gltovar]

A feature that allows multuplastic single wipe tower that is available in prusa slicer is to have a defined exterior material shell on the wipe tower. Example: using both PLA and PETG you can say the outer perimeter of the wipe tower is always PLA, this maintains the structural integrity of the wipe tower.

[fionnb]

You can set a dedicated wipe tower extruder in PrusaSlicer for that. This one will build the outline. Other extruders will ony wipe inside, where it does not matter much if the filaments bond or not.

[Ro3Deee]

Other extruders will ony wipe inside, where it does not matter much if the filaments bond or not.

It matters if the extruded filament sticks to the nozzle instead to the tower

[gltovar]

Other extruders will ony wipe inside, where it does not matter much if the filaments bond or not.

It matters if the extruded filament sticks to the nozzle instead to the tower

In practice it works pretty well. Testing with PLA, petg, asa, and tpu

[broncosis]

So maybe a separate wipe tower for each tool ⁣Get BlueMail for Android ​

…

On Jul 2, 2024, 6:46 AM, at 6:46 AM, Kurt ***@***.***> wrote: Prusa XL missing features: 1) ability to have a wipe tower or TOWERS that handles filliments that dont bond to each other. The wipe tower is not designed for that, but if you decide to use PETG to support PLA or PLA to support PETG you most likely will have to turn off the wipe tower. Perhaps the ability to have a second wipe tower, or to at least pick a toolhead individually NOT to use the wipe tower. -- Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub: #5942 (comment) You are receiving this because you commented. Message ID: ***@***.***>

[matbee-eth]

I just want exactly what my Bambu has with multicolour. I dont care if its toolhead/etc, I just want to paint my model and hit print in Orca.

[nic335]

I must not be understanding, Orca has that already, You can paint colors, and even supports.

[kurtgluck]

My understanding is that while you can do the exterior with a particular toolhead, mixing non compatible filaments in the tower will lead to a failure.  I have not tried this, but watching the tower print I can see it.  As it is tower stability has been an issue.  It probably would be enough to allow you on a toolhead by toolhead level let you decide if a particular toolhead should wipe into a particular objects infill instead of the wipe tower. This way the incompatible material you are using for support could wipe into its own infill.   Even if it wasn’t a support reason you were using an incomparable material, like for instance if you had two materials that dont bond, intermeshed as two different objects (or perhaps parts) so that their interlocking would form a mechanical interaction - then you might want to direct one of them to just wipe into its infill instead of the wipe tower. This might be easer than adding in a second wipe tower Sent from my iPadOn Jul 2, 2024, at 1:08 PM, fionnb ***@***.***> wrote: You can set a single wipe tower extruder in PrusaSlicer for that. This one will build the outline. Other extruders will ony wipe inside, where it does not matter much if the filaments bond or not. —Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub, or unsubscribe.You are receiving this because you commented.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[fionnb]

That is not what I experience. Speculation from looking at pictures does not count. If you really get tower failures with single head tower outlines and mixed material in your practical use case, please try reducing minimal wipe in your filament settings (the default wastes too much anyway for 95% of materials) and raise your stabilization cone apex angle first. If that does not help, open a bug with the failing gcode attached, please. This ticket is not about wipe towers.

[SoftFever]

Hi all,

I shared some initial progress here: https://discord.com/channels/1137181739773603922/1258993224018821160

It seems the Prusa XL uses a lot more placeholder variables and grammars, necessitating a revamp of Orca's placeholder parsing code. I will see if I can get Tap/StealthChanger machine support to work first.

Are there any TapChanger or StealthChanger users here who can share their slicer configs? I'm particularly interested in the custom G-code part.

[sk8board]

@SoftFever , thank you for adding function for multi-extruder.

Once multi-extruder is functioning, the next step to get the most speed out of a multi-extruder printer is to allow different layer heights for different extruders (tool heads).

An example is to allow a fine nozzle and fine layer height for the perimeter, but use a large nozzle and large layer height for infill.

Do you expect different layer heights for different extruders to be available soon?

prusa3d/PrusaSlicer#12953

[broncosis]

Yes I certainly will share mine ⁣Get BlueMail for Android ​

…

On Jul 5, 2024, 8:57 PM, at 8:57 PM, SoftFever ***@***.***> wrote: Hi all, I shared some initial progress here: https://discord.com/channels/1137181739773603922/1258993224018821160  It seems the Prusa XL uses a lot more placeholder variables and grammars, necessitating a revamp of Orca's placeholder parsing code. I will see if I can get Tap/StealthChanger machine support to work first. Are there any TapChanger or StealthChanger users here who can share their slicer configs? I'm particularly interested in the custom G-code part. -- Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub: #5942 (comment) You are receiving this because you commented. Message ID: ***@***.***>

[toddanglin]

Closing the loop: multi-tool support is now available in Orca 2.2 (pre-release). It was added in the 2.2 beta: https://github.com/SoftFever/OrcaSlicer/releases/tag/v2.2.0-beta

Multi-tool support in Orca includes a built-in profile for the Prusa XL 5T, too!

I'm starting to put it through its paces with my XL 5T today. Working fine for single material. Will try with multi-material after re-calibrating filaments with OrcaSlicer calibration tests.

[nic335]

its works great!, most of us with StealthChanger been using it for the last two months.

[dpark12300]

And XL 2T?

[toddanglin]

I assume the 2T can just use the 5T profile. You can configure the number of extruders the printer has in the printer settings in Orca. It's 5 by default, but you should be able to reduce that to 2.

You might need to modify some of the printer profile gcode, but I'm guessing the XL will just ignore gcode for tools that are not installed.

[broncosis]

It's been pretty awesome ⁣Get BlueMail for Android ​

…

On Oct 12, 2024, 7:02 PM, at 7:02 PM, Nicolas Racine ***@***.***> wrote: its works great!, most of us with StealthChanger been using it for the last two months. -- Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub: #5942 (reply in thread) You are receiving this because you commented. Message ID: ***@***.***>