For best results, it is important to PID tune your Revo HotEnd. PID tuning your Heater will ensure you maintain a more consistent temperature at your HotEnd which will result in better print quality.
It can also have the added benefit of improving heat-up times.
A PID tune can be carried out in a number of ways and will vary depending on your choice of Firmware. This guide follows the process of PID tuning a 3D Printer running RepRap Firmware.
At E3D we recommend that you PID tune for the temperature that you will most commonly be printing at.
If you plan to print mostly PLA, PID tuning at 200°C should give you good results. However, if you plan to print at a wide range of temperatures, say between 200 and 280 degrees, you might want to PID tune at 240°C to limit potential inaccuracy.
PID tuning through the Duet Interface:
1. Turn on your printer and open up your Duet Interface webpage.
2. Click on console in the menu on the left. We will be using the 'Send code...' box to complete the PID tune.
RepRap Firmware 3.2 and Later
From Reprap Firmware 3.2 onwards, a new heater tuning algorithm was introduced. It is more accurate, completes faster and allows you to tune a whole tool rather than just the heater.
To check what version of firmware you are using, go to Settings > General in the left hand menu.
If you are using an earlier version of RepRap Firmware, click HERE.
Use the M303 command to run a PID auto tune. Send it using the 'Send code...' bar in console.
M303 T0 S205
M303 - PID auto tune command
T0 - Which Tool? - Remember to cross check this to ensure you are tuning the right tool!
S205 - What Temperature? (205°C)
Wait for the auto tuning to finish before doing anything else. Once it is complete, your console should look like this. As it should state in your console, the old M307 command must be replaced by this new one. To do this, you must copy the entire M307 command over to your config.g.
Go to System > config.g.
Find the line beginning with M307 and replace it with the copied values from the PID autotune.
Remember to click the save icon and not the X when leaving config.g.
For RepRap Firmware 3.1 and earlier
Use the M303 command to run a PID auto tune. Send it using the 'Send code...' bar in console.
For most accurate results, you should set your part cooling fan speed to your most commonly used fan speed. Between 75% and 100% is a good value for PLA.
M303 H1 S205
M303 - PID auto tune command
H1 - Which Heater? - Remember to cross check this to ensure you are tuning the right heater!
S205 - What Temperature? (205°C)
When the PID tune is complete, send an M500 to save the new parameters.
If you run into the following error message when sending M500, "M501 was not executed in config.g" you need to add an M501 to the very end of your config.g.
You can also make a note of the outputted PID parameters and manually change these values in config.g if M500 isn't working for you.