There is a running theory that the heater being on will cause the sensing distance to be inconsistant. On the proximity type sensors i always felt it was minimal but may be greater on the inductive type
infact thats why the heating while calibrating wasnt available until over a year after release
at one point some of the tech guys around here were talking about modifying the firmware to shut the heater off and on between probes but it never ended up happening
I know that FiFix mod and this capacitive proximity probe are working good. Granted some issue may be with fifix being wide surface area touching the bed and capacitive probe should be up to specs described on the purchase site.
I came across the EUCLID PROBE™️ | Euclid Probe the highly accurate detachable Z-probe for your 3D printer, laser and CNC, it seems like good option too, according to Euclid probe: Light, robust, mechanical ABL for your 3D printer - YouTube
A fancy mount for simple snap action SPTD switch.
Adopting a quality switch to the board shouldn’t be too hard. I think I’ve seen some research by @brent113 on how the probe logic is wired but can’t find it now.
So the controller uses NPN (sinking) inputs. I believe the existing sensor was normally open. The filament runout may have been normally closed.
Most dry switches can be wired for either NO or NC, so that parts a bit easier to deal with. The main trick is to know that the switch common needs to go to 24VDC negative (24vdc-) for it to register as an input.
That looks like an interesting device
No, 24v is going to be 24vdc+, which would be the correct pin if the inputs were sourcing / pnp. the input needs 24vdc-, which they have labeled as GND (ground).
If that i/o pin is the correct input, which i dont remember if it is or not, you would need to use that and GND.
I can take mine apart tomorrow to double check.
Switch actuation force is 70gr., the Fan shroud side would have to be removed to clear the switch, but it’s not used for airflow anyway.
Well, I am unfortunately back to manual levelling. This mod worked for a while, but I think my capacitance sensor has been permanently damaged by the radiant heat from the bed. I print PETG filament more than anything else on my A350, and have needed my bed to run at around 80C for that. My best guess is that running the bed that hot put the ambient temp just above the bed to be outside the operating temp range of the sensor (65C), and with the sensor in such close proximity for extended periods, it overheated and is no longer functioning properly. No doubt a higher quality sensor with a higher operating temp or farther sensing distance would probably work better.
I was afraid of the exact issue you describing, and went with mechanical probe instead.
Thank you for updating! Sorry to hear it gave up so soon.
