TAZ 6 Upgrade and Modifications by keithjjones

Last crawled date: 3 years ago

If you are like me, you upgrade your TAZ any time new improvements are announced. Lulzbot has released the TAZ 6 parts at http://devel.lulzbot.com/TAZ/Olive/ and https://ohai.lulzbot.com/group/taz-6/
I purchased my TAZ back around the AO and TAZ 1 days, so most of my mechanical parts do not match the TAZ6 parts. However, there is no reason you cannot print the improvements and enjoy the best technology offers. This "thing" contains all of the parts I used to modify my TAZ 1 up to a TAZ 5, and now a TAZ 6.
Make sure you have updated your printer to at least TAZ 5 to use these mods. Specifically, you need the hexagon hotend and the 24v system.
Basically, anything printed in blue ABS in the pictures, plus the Z probe mount, are parts that I modified for my printer.
My modifications:
I reduced all of the insert holes from the Lulzbot size down to 4.8mm so I could use my cheaper inserts from http://www.amazon.com/uxcell%C2%AE-M3x5mmx5mm-Threaded-Knurled-Embedded/dp/B01BHDGTQ2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage
I added an end stop to the extruder mount on the left side. This is because the older TAZ Z axis used a lead screw that is in the area that is now occupied by the left side extruder fan. You have to move the X carriage to the right approximately 20mm.
I added bed corners that moved the bed 20mm to the right.
I added autoleveling. I didn't particularly like the 4 corner auto leveling mechanism because I've noticed my glass can bow in the middle when it is heated. I added a simple capacitive Z probe with the following parts: http://www.amazon.com/uxcell-1-10mm-Capacitance-Proximity-Sensor/dp/B00542U3M4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage and http://www.amazon.com/Numato-Lab-Opto-Isolator-Breakout/dp/B00N0TKYOK?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage
I modified the stock Marlin v1.1 firmware to match my specifications of my printer. Note: my printer may not have the same parts as yours, so use at your own risk! In particular, not many people have the 1mm pitch lead screws I received on my TAZ when I bought it. You may need to change a few parameters in Marlin for it to work on your printer. That is why I am not providing a compiled firmware, so you change the values to suit your printer before you upload it. You can find the source code at https://github.com/keithjjones/Marlin/tree/TAZ6
I used a PEI sheet from http://www.amazon.com/Polyetherimide-Standard-Tolerance-PEI0113-Thickness/dp/B0013HQ7B0?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage to cover a spot on my glass that delaminated. You could probably use a thinner sheet if you do not have any problems with your bed glass. I used http://www.amazon.com/TapeCase-squares-Converted-Adhesive-Transfer/dp/B007Y7D5NQ?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage to stick the PEI to the glass.
As you can see, I am a sucker for Amazon Prime shipping when it is available, so I try to get all my parts off of Amazon.
I used Fusion360 (free for hobbyists!) to modify the parts.
You should need to print the modified parts for this thing, any additional parts from devel.lulzbot.com, and install the newest Marlin firmware to get started.
I also lowered the ABS bed temperature from 110C to 95C as it was burning the ABS before long prints finished. I think that is also why some prints would warp.
My results? My prints are looking 100% better than before. I am extremely impressed with the results from these modifications. Some of my ABS parts are better than PLA. ABS has always been problematic for me. I added my Cura profiles for ABS that I tweaked slightly from Lulzbot's versions.
All objects and data from Lulzbot or Marlin carry their license agreements. I just modified them for my purposes and am giving them back to the community in case anyone finds them useful.
Update 4/24/2016: I added a capacitive sensor and changed everything accordingly. This seems to work really well. This let me ditch the touch sensor technology.
Update 4/19/2016: I added the Step files in case you want to remix my work.