This is a collection of resources for Sunlu's S8 owners in hope they can keep their printers supported and shugging on!
The Sunlu S8 follows the design (same kinematics) as the Ender 3 and CR-10S printers, size wise the S8 is like an CR10S.
The printer uses a MKS like board. When it comes to asthetics and layout the board is mostly a cross-over with of Creality Ender 3/CR10 boards, MKS Base 1.X and SKR.
For more details on the pinout check my RAMPS Pinout Page.
The board has a EXP1 connector for the Smart Controller LCD, the following image has its pinout:
Like most of the 8Bit boards out there, this is in escence is just a RAMPS 1.4 board with an integrated Arduino 2560 all in one board. The main differances are:
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The board uses a L5970D power regulator allowing it to operate at 24V. Operating at 24V allows the hot-end and bed heater to use less current (about .25 less).
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This board only has support for one extruder.
References:
MKS GEN at GitHub
MKS GEN V1.4
The pin configuration for this board is the same as the RAMPS 1.4 in the Marlin Firmware.
The board uses Pololu A4988 drivers. They are non replacable soldered in the board.
The S8 uses for NEMA-17 bi-polar stepper motors. Since the S8 is based on a RAMPS 1.4 controller board any motor that works with RAMPS works on the S8.
The extruder in the S8 is called a bowden extrusion (vs direct drive extrusion). In bowden extrusion the extruder pushes the filament through a PTFE Bowden tube into the MK8 nozzle. The extruder is mounted in the side of the printer. directly into the nozzle. In direct drive extrusion the extruder is mounted with the nozzle and the filament is pushed directly into the nozzle.
The extruder in the S8 is called a "MK8 extruder drive". It uses a 40 teeth gear attached to the motor shaft to push the filament. Any MK8 extruder drive meant for Ender 3/3Pro CR-10, CR-10 S4 or CR-10 S5 will fit the S8.
This is my guide on upgrading to a Micro Swiss Direct Drive extruder.
The hotend is a MK8. The stock hotend has an aluminum cooling block. One good design choice in the S8 is that the throut into the heating block is a PTFE lined screw that goes from the top directly to the heating block, this helps avoid leaks and clogging.
The heater block is also aluminum with a standrad 4.0mm brass plated noozle.
The Cooling Fan on the S8 is a 40mm x 40mm x 10mm fan. It is a 24V and should be rated around 0.6A.
The S8 uses a standard 24V power supply found in many 3D printers. The power supply is rated at 360W and delivers from to 14.6A to 15A depending in the model that came in your printer.
To find a replacement just search for "360w 24v 3d printer power supply" you will find a lot of options. The case is around 4.52in x 8.64in which is the common dimensions for a 3D printer power supply. The amperage of your power supply may be higher than 15A and thats ok. For better performance check that the replacement has a fan and even better if the fan is automatic (is off by default and turn-on only when the power supply is hot).
I created a guide of how I got my S8's bed level. It includes some pointer on how to handle the captchas. The guide is available here.
The basic steps to level the bed on your Sunlu S8 are available here in a YouTube video form Sunlu, you may also want to watch other videos on YouTube that cover more details. Also the steps to level the bed in the S8 are the same for Ender 3 and CR10 printers.
I like this video in particular:
The Sunlu S8 is an affordable printer, yet some units come with issues that you need to look out for.
Make sure all the axis are thight and there is no wiggle.
Check your noozle carriage and if it has an up and down wiggle, thight the ecentric nut at the bottom using the wrench provided, turn clockwise to tighten it.
Check the bed to see if there is wiggle to the sides, if so under you will find two ecentric nuts one on each of the plates holding the bed, the ecentric nuts are the ones in the inside. Start by tighting one and checking before tightening the other one.
Do the same with the Y axis.
When you put together the printer make sure that your X-Z gantry is square. I used a carpenter square to ensure the vertical t-2040 slots are square with the base.
In my case a limit switch had the paddle loose. Check your limit switches to ensure the metal paddle sits properly in the slot. You also have a spare switch that came with the printer.
Springs in the bed do NOT offer enough tension which makes it difficult to level the bed and to keep the bed leveled. Putting one or more nuts (or washers) allows a temporary fix to give you more tension to level the bed. By my experience and comments of others this is the first thing you need to replace if you want a happy relationship with this printer. Get some sturdy 20mm or 25mm springs, same as the ones used on CR10 and Ender3 printers.
Like we mentioned before your Sunlu S8 stock mainboard is a RAMPS 1.4 clone. All your firmware settings are simply RAMPS settings.
On Marlin Firmware 1.x the mainboard is defined as BOARD_MKS_BASE in your Configuration.h file:
#ifndef MOTHERBOARD
#define MOTHERBOARD BOARD_MKS_BASE
#endifThe MKS Base mainboard is a single pcb that integrates the RAMPS 1.4 and the Arduino MEGA 2560.
The pin configuration for an MKS Base is loaded from the file pins_MKS_BASE.h which in turns just loads the file pins_RAMPS.h. There is actually nothing applicable to the Sunlu S8 mainboard in the pins_MKS_BASE.h, all the fun is at pins_RAMPS.h.
We can actually define our board as BOARD_RAMPS_14_EFB in our Configuration.h file for either the 1.x or 2.x firmware and everything will work just fine.
#ifndef MOTHERBOARD
#define MOTHERBOARD BOARD_RAMPS_14_EFB
#endifNOTE: The MKS Base mainboard is Note: A MKS Gen L V1 and similar clones like Sunlu S8 mainboard are basically RAMPS 1.4/1.6 boards where the ATMEGA 2560 is bundle in a single board.
In Marlin Firmware 1.x the filepins_MKS_BASE.hall it does is include thepins_RAMPS.hfile. Actual pins will be defined insidepins_RAMPS.h.
In Marlin Firmware 2.x the board
BOARD_RAMPS_14_EFBwill loadramps/pins_RAMPS.h.
Important: Read my wiki page at RepRap to learn more about endstops.
Sunlu uses common MakerBot V1.2 Endstops which have a resistor-capacitor circuit and a Pull-up Resistor.
Nevertheless this endstops are wired as plain mechanical switches. That is the input (Common) is wired to ground and the output (the signal) is wired to the NC (Normally Closed) pin.
That is the S pin is connected to the NC/VCC (NC, last pin on the endstop) and the G pin is connected to the S (first pin on the endstop).
This means that when the endstop is not depressed a 5V (HIGH) will be seeing in the S pin and when the switch is pressed the S will go to 0V (LOW).
In the Marline firmware we set X_MIN_ENDSTOP_INVERTING, Y_MIN_ENDSTOP_INVERTING and Z_MIN_ENDSTOP_INVERTING to true.
The filament runout sensor in Sunlu's S8 is just a plain switch (same as the one used for end stops) that is normally closed (NC). While there is filament the switch is depressed indicating that we have filament (high signal). When the filament runs out the switch is released and the signal goes low indicating that we ran out of filament.
In RAMPS boards the runout sensor is connected to pin D4 (know as SERVO3_PIN) or to pin D2 (know as Z_MAX_PIN).
The Sunlu S8 mainboard has the plug "MT DET" (Material Breakage Detection) to connect the runout sensor. This plug is connected to pin D2 in RAMPS. The pin D2 is actually Z-Max Endstop.
The actual pin is defined with FIL_RUNOUT_PIN in the firmware.
//#define FILAMENT_RUNOUT_SENSOR
#if ENABLED(FILAMENT_RUNOUT_SENSOR)
#define NUM_RUNOUT_SENSORS 1 // Number of sensors.
#define FIL_RUNOUT_PULLUP // Use internal pullup for filament runout pins.
#define FIL_RUNOUT_PIN 2 //connected to Z-Max endstop
// Set one or more commands to execute on filament runout.
// (After 'M412 H' Marlin will ask the host to handle the process.)
#define FILAMENT_RUNOUT_SCRIPT "M600"
//By default the firmware assumes HIGH=FILAMENT PRESENT.
#define FIL_RUNOUT_INVERTING false // set to true to invert the logic of the sensor.
#endif#if ENABLED(FILAMENT_RUNOUT_SENSOR)
#define NUM_RUNOUT_SENSORS 1 // Number of sensors.
#define FIL_RUNOUT_PULLUP // Use internal pullup for filament runout pins.
#define FIL_RUNOUT_PIN 2 //connected to Z-Max endstop
// Set one or more commands to execute on filament runout.
// (After 'M412 H' Marlin will ask the host to handle the process.)
#define FILAMENT_RUNOUT_SCRIPT "M600"
//By default the firmware assumes HIGH=FILAMENT PRESENT.
#define FIL_RUNOUT_STATE LOW // Pin state indicating that filament is NOT present.
#define FIL_RUNOUT_ENABLED_DEFAULT true // Enable the sensor on startup.
#endif