Paste extrusion with pressure regulation

thingiverse

This set-up prints highly viscous fluids or pastes by using compressed air from a central supply. Air passes through pressure regulators, 3/2-way valves, and syringes via this system. A solid-state circuit regulates these valves using electrical signals generated by an unused Arduino port (powered by Marlin firmware). To implement the signal for these switches, I utilized Python to insert Gcode commands before and after travel moves within a script designed to process Slic3r output. The set-up relies on spare, programmable ports available on most printer mainboards. My specific model is an Arduino Mega 2560 running Marlin/Sprinter firmware. Within this framework, 'M42 Pxxx Syyy' commands switch the status of a General-Purpose I/O pin (designated by 'xxx' as the corresponding pin number and 'yyyy' representing activation levels between 0 to 255). Power from an Arduino board enables a solid-state relay (model Sharp S202 S02) that controls the valve for a solenoid using alternating current.