The Mk4 hardware is nearly identical to the older Mk3 hardware... the real difference is the firmware, which we will be posting soon.As for the Mk4 Pro... we won't be selling it directly. What we've decided to do is to produce the Mk4 with the ability to be expanded via add-on modules. Those modules are all open source and you'll be able to buy all the components (except the printed components) off of places like Amazon with links we provide. We won't be selling any of the components directly as the cost of them is just too low.The planned modules are:1) Filament Runout Sensors (~$5)
2) OLED Display (~$1)
3) Extruder Motor Sensor (~$1) (It's not the TMC chip anymore, it's a rotary encoder which offers a cheaper, but much better solution.)
4) Auto 3DClippy Filament Cutter (~$15)
5) Dry Box with simple filament buffer (~$10)
6) I2C and I/O Pro expansion Bus ($10) - required for multiple expansions except for the Auto 3DClippy
In addition, the Mk4 firmware brings support for all of those as well as some other cool features, like "Switch to next" filament and "Switch to Random" filament. These are designed to allow you to use up scraps of filament or just vary the colors of a print. Another new option is what we call "zero trigger," which allows the 3DChameleon to share the homing position of any axis with their homing point without causing incorrect commands to be sent to the printer. This feature allows certain printers to no need to set a particular button location in software... since it will be triggered when the unit is at it's homed position. This, along with the Extruder Motor Sensor, can make the system setup very fast. We were demonstrating swapping the 3DChameleon at RMRRF from one printer to the other within 30 seconds using this.
The OLED display is real handy, in allowing you to also see the command that is being processed and what the 3DChameleon is expecting to happen next... for example, it'll tell you that it's cutting the filament, or that it is waiting for the button to be pressed to move a particular filament.
The Extruder Motor Sensor is a 4096 step per revolution rotary encoder that allows the system to detect when a user inserts filament and it can then automatically load the filament all the way to the extruder. Once the second filament is loaded, it'll be able to easily calculate the position of the Y adapter. The result is that the 3DChameleon will be able to automatically calibrate the settings needed for loading/unloading distances.
The Auto 3DClippy will automatically cut the filament anytime the filament needs to be changed. The process is automatic and no special commands are needed.
The I2C and I/O Pro expansion bus communicates with the existing stock electronics you have today to extend the capability of the unit to support any number of these types of add-ons. And the best part... all of these, including the firmware, will be 100% fully open sourced. You'll be able to also extend firmware with your own software or hardware add-ons using our extension module template of the new firmware.
Some of these features will be released within days, like the Auto 3DClippy and OLED display, while others need a little longer, like the firmware source, which needs to be cleansed and have the appropriate lawyer review stuff. There's so much more coming in the firmware as well that this one post can't describe all... but we'll get there.In all, this update is by far our largest and will greatly extend the capabilities of the 3DChameleon, hopefully, beyond anything we've seen before.
The Mk4 hardware is nearly identical to the older Mk3 hardware... the real difference is the firmware, which we will be posting soon. As for the Mk4 Pro... we won't be selling it directly. What we've decided to do is to produce the Mk4 with the ability to be expanded via add-on modules. Those modules are all open source and you'll be able to buy all the components (except the printed components) off of places like Amazon with links we provide. We won't be selling any of the components directly as the cost of them is just too low. The planned modules are: 1) Filament Runout Sensors (~$5)
2) OLED Display (~$1)
3) Extruder Motor Sensor (~$1) (It's not the TMC chip anymore, it's a rotary encoder which offers a cheaper, but much better solution.)
4) Auto 3DClippy Filament Cutter (~$15)
5) Dry Box with simple filament buffer (~$10)
6) I2C and I/O Pro expansion Bus ($10) - required for multiple expansions except for the Auto 3DClippy
In addition, the Mk4 firmware brings support for all of those as well as some other cool features, like "Switch to next" filament and "Switch to Random" filament. These are designed to allow you to use up scraps of filament or just vary the colors of a print. Another new option is what we call "zero trigger," which allows the 3DChameleon to share the homing position of any axis with their homing point without causing incorrect commands to be sent to the printer. This feature allows certain printers to no need to set a particular button location in software... since it will be triggered when the unit is at it's homed position. This, along with the Extruder Motor Sensor, can make the system setup very fast. We were demonstrating swapping the 3DChameleon at RMRRF from one printer to the other within 30 seconds using this.
The OLED display is real handy, in allowing you to also see the command that is being processed and what the 3DChameleon is expecting to happen next... for example, it'll tell you that it's cutting the filament, or that it is waiting for the button to be pressed to move a particular filament.
The Extruder Motor Sensor is a 4096 step per revolution rotary encoder that allows the system to detect when a user inserts filament and it can then automatically load the filament all the way to the extruder. Once the second filament is loaded, it'll be able to easily calculate the position of the Y adapter. The result is that the 3DChameleon will be able to automatically calibrate the settings needed for loading/unloading distances.
The Auto 3DClippy will automatically cut the filament anytime the filament needs to be changed. The process is automatic and no special commands are needed.
The I2C and I/O Pro expansion bus communicates with the existing stock electronics you have today to extend the capability of the unit to support any number of these types of add-ons. And the best part... all of these, including the firmware, will be 100% fully open sourced. You'll be able to also extend firmware with your own software or hardware add-ons using our extension module template of the new firmware.
Some of these features will be released within days, like the Auto 3DClippy and OLED display, while others need a little longer, like the firmware source, which needs to be cleansed and have the appropriate lawyer review stuff. There's so much more coming in the firmware as well that this one post can't describe all... but we'll get there. In all, this update is by far our largest and will greatly extend the capabilities of the 3DChameleon, hopefully, beyond anything we've seen before.
Bill