A thread on Thingiverse got me thinking about ways to cut down on print times on some of the large prints I have been running lately.  These ideas are either cobbled together from trial and error, or something absorbed from youtube or Thingiverse forums, or searching the web (in other words, mostly not my own ideads).  I thought it would be a good idea to put them here though, for my own recollection later, and also to help anyone unlucky enough to have stumbled on this tiny corner of Teh Internets.  I use Cura 4.1.0, so some of these may be out of date.

Speeds are obvioulsy the first to try, but will be limited by the printer, so assuming that the speed is the best balance between speed, and quality, the rest are all slicer settings (for Cura 4.1.0):

• Layer height, for big prints I use 0.24mm normally.
  
• walls - 2 is usually fine, but for structural parts more walls usually means more strength, so it is a trade off.
  
• infill - gyroid, usually between 10-25% depending on what it is for, you can also use grid and "gradual infill steps" to reduce unnecessary infill.
• supports - aside from orientation of the model and increasing the overhand % to reduce them, it helps to use "enable conical supports" in the experimental settings.
  
• shell> top/bottom pattern - changing from Lines to Concentric can speed up printing of thin walls where the infill is a bunch of time consuming zig zag patterns (see the pic - almost 5 hours with one change).

This is how I got my new "Elecrow 5 inch Capacitive Touch Screen" working with a fresh install of OctoPrint on a Raspberry Pi.

First I downloaded, and then imaged the latest version of OctoPrint (0.17.0 Currently) to a microSD card. 

Once the image was created, the SD has to be installed in a PC to edit the "octopi-wifi-supplicant.txt" file which will be in the drive called "boot".  Note that it will probably ask if you want to format the SD card - don't do that. 

In the "octopi-wifi-supplicant.txt" file, add the following (and keep the SSID and passwords for your network in the quotes):

## WPA/WPA2 secured
network={
  ssid="SSID_NAME_HERE"
  psk="PASSWORD_GOES_HERE"
}

Save that, and then find the file called config.txt and add this - it can go at the top or wherever (this was provided by the Amazon seller):

# --- added by elecrow-pitft-setup ---
hdmi_force_hotplug=1
max_usb_current=1
hdmi_drive=1
hdmi_group=2
hdmi_mode=1
hdmi_mode=87
hdmi_cvt 800 480 60 6 0 0 0
dtoverlay=ads7846,cs=1,penirq=25,penirq_pull=2,speed=50000,keep_vref_on=0,swapxy=0,pmax=255,xohms=150,xmin=200,xmax=3900,ymin=200,ymax=3900
display_rotate=0
# --- end elecrow-pitft-setup ---


Save that, eject the SD card and install it in the Raspberry Pi, then connect up the Touchscreen to the Pi with an HDMI cable and a USB cable (micro-USB on the screen side).  Then connect power to the Pi using it's MicroUSB connector and it should boot up.

Now you will see stuff on the screen but no graphical interface.  We still need to do the OctoPi basic setup which is done using the the web interface.  Having the screen though does help find the IP which will be shown on the screen when it is done booting up.  Put the IP in your browser and go through the setup and add a password (or not, I don't care - but you should probably add one).  Also note that it will take several minutes before you will be able to successfully acces the Octopi web server, so don't freak out if you get an error, just give it 5 or 10 minutes and try again.

Once the Octopi is working and you can access it via the web browser, the next step is to install the "TouchUI plugin".  TouchUI is a touchscreen UI for Octoprint and is what makes all the neat graphics, and buttons and stuff.  The problem is, we need it to automatically launch when the Pi is booted up, but will get to that in a minute.  To install it, first click the wrench: 

Then click on the Plugin Manager, and then the "Get More" button:

Now search for "TouchUI" and then install it.

Now reboot the Pi. 

Now the problem is that there will still be no touchscreen showing up.  There are 2 ways to deal with this, you can either ssh into the Pi using a tool like Putty, or you can connect a keyboard and use the tiny little screen - or connect it to a monitor.  Either way we need to make changes on the command line.

I am using Putty and below is a pic of the screen you would see when launching it.  You should not need to modify any of the options, just put the IP address of the Pi in the field and then click Open.  It will pop up a box asking you about saving the key (yes), and then the terminal window will open where you can log in to the Pi.

When you log in, the username and password will not be the same as what you set up in the Octopi setup - that was the password for Octopi, not the Pi that it runs on.  To log in to the Pi, use this:

Username: pi
Password: raspberry

Now the first thing you probably should do is change that, do do so, type "sudo passwd pi", then the current password (raspberry), and then enter a new password (and then one more time) - I also did this for the root password "sudo passwd root" but there is a more secure way to do it by changing the pi username.  Obviously don't loose these or make them easy to guess.  It is a good idea at this point to open a 2nd SSH session to the Pi and verify you can log into it using the new "pi" user and password, and then do an "su root" to verify the new "root" password works also.  If both the new "pi" and "root" passwords work, then just exit out of the 2nd session and continue in the original ssh session.  That way if you have a problem, you can still fix it from your original (logged in) session.

Now, my installation, which was a clean install, did not have any of the required X11 files or TouchUI files installed where they should have been, so I ran this according to the guide here:

git clone https://github.com/BillyBlaze/OctoPrint-TouchUI-autostart.git ~/TouchUI-autostart/

Next (agian just following the guide) I ran this:

sudo ~/TouchUI-autostart/helpers/install

This takes ...a WHILE... and installs the required "dependencies".  When I ran it, it seemed like it could have been hung up installing the dependencies - but it just takes a long time...

Once it wrapped up, it popped this screen up - had to think about this one a bit, but added the username for Octoprint (which was the username that was set up in the Octopi initial setup - not "pi").

Then use the tab key to move over to "OK" and then on the next screen it will ask to reboot (yes).  When it booted up, the TouchUI loaded up automatically and the touchscreen also worked without any issues (yea!).  For grins, I powercycled it to make sure it still worked, and it did :D

I did notice that the CPU can really get up there with TouchUI running.  I tried bouncing around though the tabs to see how high I could get it and saw it spike to 80% on the CPU (briefly).  Normally it is under a percent CPU for Chromium though.  This probably goes for any touchscreen running TouchUI though, but also means it would not be a good idea to play around with it while running a print (if that can be avoided).  I have a touchscreen on my Kossel printer and although it has had a number of problems, I don't recall any that happened while I was using the touchscreen, but I also did not do that often when the printer was running.

Octoprint has become integral to my workflow when printing things, and having an interface on the printer is helpful.  Adding a touchscreen to a Pi does have some design considerations however.  Many of the older resistive touchscreens would be attached by a ribbon cable or a "sandwich" board which requires the Pi to be in close proximity to the screen.  On my enclosure however I want the Pi to be in a separate control box so I needed to be able to extend the display.  Fortunately the Pi has an HDMI output and there are now touchscreens (resistive and capacitive) which use the HDMI and USB for the power and data.  I have not used these before and am hopeful there are no major drawbacks.  I settled on this one from Amazon:

"Elecrow 5 inch Capacitive Touch Screen 800x480 TFT LCD Display HDMI Interface Supports Raspberry Pi 4B 3B+ 3B 2B BB Black, Banana Pi Windows 10 8 7"
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FDYXPT7

There is also a very cool case for this screen by YWabiko on Thingiverse which I am remixing to work with my enclosure:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3444546

My remix however will require some special low profile HDMI connectors (similar to the ones below):
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078J16HP9/

And I am also going to need to get some low profile MicroUSB connectors as well.  Once I get everything figured out and tested I will post it up on Thingiverse with a BOM.

I will also post some info on how to get the tocuhscreen working with OctoPi, in another post as well (assuming I can get it working :D).

Printing a simple thing like a door for the enclosure has been a big project.  The parts below represent more than a week of printing time, and some had to be printed several times due to one problem or another.  One more to design and make, and then I need to build the back shell.

Below are some updated pics of the almost completed side door.  It works great so far.  I am waiting on some thinner weatherstripping to help seal it, since the stuff I was going to use is too thick.  I am now working on the front door and that is about half completed.

Update 11/25/2019: The front and side doors are completed and installed.  I used some thinner weatherstripping from Amazon which is working well (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VS2FPZZ/).  The doors do not seal air tight however due to some gaps, but overall I am happy with it.  I also noticed that the doors have a sag of a mm or two which I am going to work on when I get the back shell completed (the printer is pretty much running non-stop due to the large parts).  The doors themselves are quite strong so I suspect the sagging may be corrected by adjusting the hinges.  I have also adjusted the latch on the front door, so now I can close and latch it just by pushing on it.  I will post some more pics of the doors when I get done with the back shell - which is about 1/2 completed printing.  The back shell will have a 2 port AC/2 port USB power strip, a cable pass through, tool holder and a filtered air intake (or optional exhaust fan).  I plan to use the optional filtered exhaust fan, and will add a hose to direct the exhaust outside.

This is a remix of a prior filament pass through I made for my Rubbermaid storage containers which I use as filament dry boxes.  This design is intended to act as a pass through entrance for filament on my enclosure.  I still need to print and test it before it will be posted.  It will require cutting a 1 3/8" hole in the top of the enclosure and is held in by 3x M3x40 screws and 3x M3 nuts.

Update 10/25/2019: - It is posted on Thingiverse here:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3926297

Since I posted this, I made some minor changes and got it installed.  Below are some pics of the final version which can be found at the link above (Thingiverse).

I used up the boxes that my Ikea tables arrived in to enclose the CR10S Pro, which will let me see if I screwed up on my design, and test out the scrubber.  It is pretty crude right now and things are tight in there, which makes me certain it will need 2 doors and not one.  I cut a small hole (very unscientifically) in the side to allow air to flow into the enclosure, and therefore be sucked back out by the scrubber.  I can feel a slight airflow in, and a very good flow out, probably due to all the gaps.  My plan now is to test that temps don't go nuts inside the enclosure, and that it keeps any smells down.  So far temps are seem reasonable.  Once the bugs are worked out I can start printing the doors and back panel in PTEG.  One side will be made from an Ikea cabinet door which fits perfectly in the side openings. 

The Air Scrubber is finally installed, which required cutting a hole in my "enclosure".  Fortunately my template and a bit of care in aligning things helped me get the hole in the right place.  The hole had to be cut from the bottom and then the top separately, and I used some plastic bolsters which I printed to help with the alignment.  The pics below show the process.  There are two plastic bolsters which were installed inside the hollow top of the enclosure, which both gave me something to drill into and also assisted in aligning the template when I had to move it to the top to cut that hole.

The process was to set up and mark the opening in the bottom of the enclosure top, using the template which has some tabs on it to assist in getting it parallel to the side.  Then I drilled the holes for the bottom, cut the square hole, and ran some screws though and a couple additional holes which actually go on top, but I used those to align the bolsters and hold them in place from the bottom.  Once I was pretty sure the bolsters were in the correct position, I drilled (from the bottom) though just a few of the holes that will be used for mounting the top.  Those holes then helped me to align the template to the top, though it was not perfect.  I found that the holes drilled though from the bottom were a few mm off so I used the template, which was aligned to the edge, and drew some lines in pencil which I was able to use to then align with the drilled holes.  Once I knew where the template should go on top (using the drilled holes from below, and the template itself, which was parallel to the edge of the top of the enclosure), I marked out the holes that would be needed for the top, and the square cutout.  The rest was the same process as cutting out the holes from below.  Once the holes cut on the top, I mounted the scrubber from below.  There is one mounting screw location in the scrubber which is inaccessable since the fan covers it, so I had to widen that into a key.  The scrubber was then mounted from below using four #8 7/8" screws which went though the board material of the top, and then into the plastic bolsters.  Next the top was attached which required a bit of cleaning up the cut edges of the top with a razor blade.  I added some 1mm thick neoprene gasket tape to the underside of the top to assist in sealing (this was also used inside the filter in several places to assist with sealing).  Finally the carbon filter, then the HEPA filter were installed, followed by the lid, which is held in place by four M4 cap screws. 

I have it connected to a 12v 3A supply and from prior testing it pulls less than an amp and is not obnoxiously loud.  I added a 2A fuse on it and my updated model has the fuse integrated in the design using a fuse holder available at thingiverse - which was posted there by sk8rjess and originally created by Erik Cederberg (https://www.youmagine.com/meduza) and made available under the Creative Commons Share Alike License. 

I am still testing this and can tell that it will move air, there is a slight breeze from the filter when I put my hand over the exhaust.  I do not have my "enclosure" enclosed however, so I have yet to test it in the application I intended it for.  The hose idea, which was to use a C-PAP hose to pull air from around the hot end and filter that directly does not appear to have enough suction, but it is an idea I may come back to later (thinking of doubling the hose up for more cross section).

I plan to post this up to Thingiverse when I am comfortable with the design and have run it for a bit. Update - here it is.

Full Instructions here.

I only know a bit about George Washington's history from reading a few books, and recall hearing of his "Fort Necessity" and the Jumonville fiasco in college History.  At the time I thought the instructor was more into alternative history, and maybe a little eccentric (he once described how he dealt with a neighbor who thought she was a witch by placing a mirror on his front porch).  But it turns out, my history teacher's critical view of Washington's early military efforts may have been closer to the mark.  I suspect that Washington was lucky in that he survived his early (and later) mistakes, and learned enough from them to outlive his opponents in the end.  It is also pretty clear (from the piece linked below) that in the pre-opening days of the French and Indian War, he had the courage and ability (though maybe not the best strategic judgement at the time) to lead his command in an endeavor that was to take him far from his bases of support, being almost totally reliant on his Indian Allies (who he did not seem to have the best relations).

Although he failed on his first mission in a way that, by itself, left his mark on history, he was still brought along on the follow up expedition - which also failed, but it ended up further cementing Washington's reputation as a leader.

Below is the link to the piece, which is an interesting read (really makes me want to buy the book they are pushing).

"When Young George Washington Started a War" at Smithsonianmag.com

Things are moving slowly on the 3D printer enclosure simply due to the big prints and the process of prototyping.  I am loathe to waste filament on minor improvements so will probably be running with the v1.0 stuff on my own printer while the designs that eventually get uploaded will have the improvements - though some will be untested.  Anyway, I decided that instead of using a 12V power supply and a buck converter for the 5V stuff, it would be better to get a dual 12v 5v supply, and fortunately I found one from Meanwell which has a good reputation for PSU's.  It is the RD-65A which can supply 5v @ 6A (30W) and 12V @ 3A (36W) making it ~65W in total.  It is about $24 at Amazon and cheaper on Ebay and most important, it is small. 

My plan is to put it in an enclosure with a fused 110 AC outlet (which will be enclosed in it's own covered comaprtment, a 6 position 2 input (5v and 12v) fuse block, some illuminated rockers, a Raspberry Pi, and a thermostatically controlled PWM fan to cool the enclosure.  It will also have a pair of LCD voltmeters to monitor the 12V and 5V feeds from the RD-65A, and possibly a temp sensor as well. 

Right now this is the rough draft and will be updated with correct mounting holes and a few other odds and ends.  This will take up much of the bed on my CR10S Pro in order to print.

Version 2:

The Air Scrubber is almost done, I am just testing it before it is installed in the "enclosure".  So far it is working great though on my desk.  The blower puts out an impressive volume of air and although I had planned to control it using PWM, it seems to be running just about where I would want it when simply connected to 12V (red is +12V and black is Ground), so I think PWM is not necessary.  Running full open at 12V it only draws 750mA so it could go higher if needed - but that would require PWM control since I don't think it runs at full tilt otherwise (could be wrong but it is rated at 1.8A and it is not pulling close to that).  I filled the carbon filter box with some activated carbon pellets made from coconuts which is the way to go I think.  Some activated carbon comes from bituminous coal, so I thought it best to steer clear of that for this project.  Above the carbon box is a HEPA filter and the airflow goes from fan > carbon > HEPA.  I know this may not be the way many filters work, but I wanted the HEPA to filter any fine particles from the carbon filter before exhausting to the room. 

The black tape is 1mm neoprene gasket tape which I used to help seal between the filter body and the carbon tray, and avoid leaks, which seems to be working well.  I did not detect any leaks around the body of the filter so all the air seems to be moving through the HEPA (and I can feel the airflow though it also). 

The funnel like thing in the 1st pic is an adapter for a CPAP hose, which, when connected still has some mild suction at the end of the hose - though the hose is over a meter long and will be cut down in the final application.  I am still not sure if I will use the hose, but want to try it out as a point filter.  I should have some pics of this installed and set up soon.