Tag Archives: 3D Printed

DGT-3000 Raspberry Pi Connector

PicoChess is a software developed by Jean-Francois Romang that brings several chess engines to a DGT board and allow full control via the second queen (i.e. no cpmputer required!. It works with a Raspberry Pi and a DGT-3000 chess clock.

DGT offers an all-in-one solution (DGT-3000 with a Raspi) for £280. The DGT-3000 alone sells £50, so quite an up-mark for a £28 Pi!

Based on the work others have done, I developed a board that allows you to connect a Raspberry Pi to the DGT-3000 without too much hassle. You need a soldering iron for the power cable (from the Pi to the DGT-3000).

IMG_8930

The solution consists of the following components:

  • A DGT-3000
  • Raspberry Pi (a Raspi 3 will work best with the PicoChess engines, though a Zero W cor an older Pi can be used as well)
  • The connector cable (Pi-Hat with molex and power connector for the clock)
  • a 5-pin Molex connector cable
  • A Case that serves as a base for the clock and houses the Pi and the connector board

You remove the small board that holds the 3.5mm connector and instead the board will be connected directly to the RasPi via USB (I added a magnetic USB-C connector to easily hook up the board and the RasPi.
Just to clarify: After this conversion, you will no longer have the 3.5mm connector (and a little hole on the side of your DGt-3000).

Layout of the molex connector:

DGT-3000 3.5mm to Molex Picoblade Small

This is the layout of the board that connects the RasPi with the mainboard of the DGT-3000. The “Batt.” connector is optional. At some point I envisioned adding batteries to the case, but instead I just use a power bank to power the RasPi, which in turn powers the DGT-3000 clock and the DGT board (via USB).Screen Shot 2018-05-08 at 09.30.34 DGT-3000 Raspi Schematics Gerber Eagle Files


Case

In principle, you can mount the molex and battery connectors on either side of the board (rotate the connectors around the long side of the board, so they still connect to the same pads).

[5.Oct2019 correction:] The power cable that ships with the  connector set that I offer on eBay requires you to mount the connector the other way around (nudge facing the 40-pin connector, second picture below). As a rule, always ensure that the red cable (+) is the one closest to the corner of the board.
A big thank you to Simon for making me aware.

IMG_9567

Correct positioning of the connector/cable:

If someone manages to fit a rechargeable battery inside the case, please give me a shout:IMG_3988 IMG_9250 IMG_0946

Resources:

Description (RS-Components) Brand Distributor Part No. Price [£]
Molex PicoBlade 15134 Series Number Wire to Board Cable Assembly 1 Row, 5 Way 1 Row 5 Way, 300mm Molex RS Components  15134-0503 3.74
Molex PICOBLADE 53047, 1.25mm Pitch, 5 Way, 1 Row, Straight PCB Header, Through Hole Molex RS Components  53047-0510 0.4
250mm, 20 AWG, red, black
M2.2x20mm 304 Stainless Steel Phillips Countersunk Head Self Tapping Screw

I had a batch of the PCBs produced and am happy to sell them.
Search on eBay UK for DGT3000 PCB or the DGT3000 PicoChess Conversion Kit (Includes board, bottom case and cables. Not always available, contact me if you cannot find it).
Please note 75% of the proceeds go directly to Save the Cildren

Files: Eagle FilesDGT-3000 CaseGerberpicochess.ini

Micron 3DP Metal Extruder

Adding an all-metal extruder to a Prusa i3.

The Wade extruder on my i3 started to slip and not enough filament was extruded, so the prints started to look flakier and flakier. I checked the extruder, refurbished the hobbled bolt, but the problem came quickly back. Only once I increased temperature to over 230C (for PLA!) it completed prints – of course the result looked like roasted marshmallows.

So I ordered a new J-Head hot end (0.4mm) and a new all-metal extruder. Price on ebay was $175 plus $20 shipping. Quite steep, but I have no regrets! Build quality is excellent and the Nema 11 stepper has plenty of power thanks to the gearbox (at first, I used same driver setting as for my Wade extruder’s Nema 17 and subsequently the stepper would become very hot. Adjusting the reference voltage of the driver board to 0.45V solved the problem).

I had to print a new mount to fit the extruder. That was a bit of a challenge, given I own only one 3D printer, and that one was broken. I managed to get one decent print: enough to mount hold the new extruder in place. Once I had the printer re-adjusted (M92 X80.00 Y80.00 Z4000.00 E1333.33), the first task was to print a better mount.

Result is attached below.

Metal Extruder
Metal Extruder

 

Not sure if it’s the new extruder or the recalibration of the machine (incl. resetting x and z end stops), but now I am finally able to print straight onto glass (using a watered down PVA solution to improve stickyness).

Details for the mount are attached. I had to move the extruder a bit further out, so the Nema 11 motor would not crash into the right Z-thread.

Printing a fan mount is next. The extruder has two M3 holes at the front, that can be used to attach a fan (surely they were put there for something else, but they work just fine).

Screen Shot 2014-06-19 at 23.13.48

 

Metal extruder mount details (for prusa i3):

STL file: metal extruder mount (repaired).stl
Sketchup file:metal extruder mount.skp

Marlin configuration file (RAMPS 1.4): Marlin 1.0 config (EEPROM)

3D printed Nema 23 mount

Print you own Nema 23 motor mount. A low cost alternative to aluminium mounts and more accurate than most wooden constructions.

Nema motor mounts are usually quite expensive. The quality of the mount does very little to a CNC machine’s accuracy. So I decided to print one. It raises the motor about 2mm above ground. My motors fit snug into the mount hole.

Screen Shot 2014-03-26 at 22.41.04

The mount is relatively sturdy. I had a bit trouble with warping, since my heated bed didn’t work properly. Thickness of the base can be increased to improve rigidness. For the particular machine I built, 2 mm was al I could afford.

Nema23-Mount.skp
Nema23Mount.stl