Printrbot Talk Forum

by **plexus** » 2013-Mar-Thu-20-Mar

Placeholder for a thread for posting firmware files.

**Sponsor**

by **Michael@Oz** » 2013-Mar-Thu-21-Mar

The hex file with the build limit change commands, ie what they did for the big Z mod, is all I'm after.
I've got longer rods and want a larger Z to start.
I've also got a 8" heated bed so I can expand X & Y too, but that doesn't need the firmware.
Also considering a double deep Y with two beds.

by **PxT** » 2013-Mar-Fri-10-Mar

I have posted the firmware for the PB Jr which Brook provided to me.
See my github at https://github.com/PxT/Marlin or direct link: https://raw.github.com/PxT/Marlin/maste ... re.cpp.hex

I am working on getting the corresponding source branch as well and I will post it when I have it.

by **PxT** » 2013-Mar-Fri-10-Mar

Michael@Oz wrote:The hex file with the build limit change commands, ie what they did for the big Z mod, is all I'm after.
I've got longer rods and want a larger Z to start.
I've also got a 8" heated bed so I can expand X & Y too, but that doesn't need the firmware.
Also considering a double deep Y with two beds.

Not a hex file but if you are able to compile the firmware then check Laine's branch here:
https://github.com/lwalkera/Marlin/tree/limitsaving
That one adds the ability to use M210 and M211 to control the min/max positions. There is a pending request to add these to the main Marlin tree: https://github.com/ErikZalm/Marlin/pull/406

by **Michael@Oz** » 2013-Jun-Thu-21-Jun

A while ago lwalkera produced a few iterations of the firmware which I tested for him.

He got to one which I thought had the right settings for the printrbot and with the new G codes to set the build limits. e.g. for extended Z axis

I was hoping it would get posted on the printrbot.com site, but... <stops holding breath>

So, see attached Zipped .hex file. Insert NOT-My-Fault Legal waiver here...

To load:

Download and install FLIP with JRE (http://www.atmel.com/tools/FLIP.aspx)
Connect Printrboard USB (Windows [at least my W7/64] will not find a driver)
Remove Bootloader Jumper in centre of board (for Rev A-C, for Rev D add jumper)
Push Reset
Windows will fail to load a driver
Use Device Manager to load drivers from Program Files(x86)\AMTEL\Flip 3.4.7\usb (took longer than I expected)
Windows recognises board
Run Flip
Device/Select AT90USB1286
Setting/Communication/USB - Click Open
Check Blank Check box (Erase, Program, Verify should already be checked)
Click Run
(a few dialogue boxes later)
Close FLIP
Replace Boot Jumper (or remove for Rev D)
Press Reset

by **drawcut** » 2013-Jun-Fri-17-Jun

Glad to see people are still working on the firmware. I was going to try compiling Laine's limitsaving source but I wasn't so sure when I looked at one of the source files it had the board type set for something other than the Printrboard. Since I wasn't sure what else might be different, I decided to edit the default Printrboard source for larger build area and compile and flash that. It worked fine (after a couple of stumbles with the instructions).

Michael@oz: does your .hex file have the board type set for Printrboard or does that even matter?

ETA:
And to be clear: in Laine's limitsaving firmware: M210 sets the minimum axis values and M211 set the maximum axis values in the same format as M208 in standard (non-Marlin) G-code works? Right? http://reprap.org/wiki/G-code#M208:_set_axis_max_travel I've never seen that directly stated but I think that's how it works from looking a Laine's source code.

by **Michael@Oz** » 2013-Jun-Sun-01-Jun

drawcut wrote:Glad to see people are still working on the firmware. I was going to try compiling Laine's limitsaving source but I wasn't so sure when I looked at one of the source files it had the board type set for something other than the Printrboard.

Yeh that was why I kept hassling re an 'official' version and didn't want to fiddle. As it was I went thru 4 itterations with Laine until he got the configs right.

drawcut wrote:Michael@oz: does your .hex file have the board type set for Printrboard or does that even matter?

Probably, Laine compiled it. I've been trying to get the config files he used...

drawcut wrote:
And to be clear: in Laine's limitsaving firmware: M210 sets the minimum axis values and M211 set the maximum axis values in the same format as M208 in standard (non-Marlin) G-code works? Right? http://reprap.org/wiki/G-code#M208:_set_axis_max_travel I've never seen that directly stated but I think that's how it works from looking a Laine's source code.

That was how I assumed it worked. Haven't done it yet (when I stuck my 60cm rods on the Z I discovered how out of vertical the bases were - V shaped LOL - so went back to stock rods to contemplate for a bit).

by **FherraZ** » 2013-Jul-Mon-22-Jul

Hi there guys, I did a self made Z tall mod and loaded this firmware, but Z does not go beyond it's original limit and now my X does not work right, it does not home or goes left, it only goes right.

Any advice?

by **Michael@Oz** » 2013-Jul-Mon-22-Jul

FherraZ wrote:Hi there guys, I did a self made Z tall mod and loaded this firmware, but Z does not go beyond it's original limit and now my X does not work right, it does not home or goes left, it only goes right.

Any advice?

Note the firmware is for Printrbot Original/LC/Plus, not Jr (or I imaging Simple). What bot do you have?

If you have the right bot, (I have yet to do this) you need to enter the M210/M211 codes with the new settings, and save to EEPROM.

by **Michael@Oz** » 2013-Jul-Mon-22-Jul

also, was your Printrboard from printbot.com or elsewhere?

by **FherraZ** » 2013-Jul-Mon-22-Jul

Michael@Oz wrote:
FherraZ wrote:Hi there guys, I did a self made Z tall mod and loaded this firmware, but Z does not go beyond it's original limit and now my X does not work right, it does not home or goes left, it only goes right.

Any advice?

Note the firmware is for Printrbot Original/LC/Plus, not Jr (or I imaging Simple). What bot do you have?

If you have the right bot, (I have yet to do this) you need to enter the M210/M211 codes with the new settings, and save to EEPROM.

Well, I can confirm the M211 command worked, just took my Printrbot to 600mm height, I don't know what to do with the M210 command?

EDIT: Nevermind about the X axis, I accidentally cut the pin from the end stop connector while resetting the Printrboard, it is all good now, but still I don't know what to do with the M210 command, any help will be appreciated.

Thank you.

by **Michael@Oz** » 2013-Jul-Tue-02-Jul

That is the file I have on my Printboard and it works OK.

Did you unplug stuff to load the firmware? Check plugs/polarity.

Try resetting the board after manually homing (or unhoming?) the Y-axis, I seem to recall some issues there (but not for me).

Also you may need to re-do the steps/mm calibration g-codes if you don't have that in g-code in your slicer.

The old Firmware is on the printrbot.com support page if you want to revert.

by **Michael@Oz** » 2013-Jul-Tue-02-Jul

Oops overlap with your last post.

M210 AFAIK should not be needed if you home to 0,0,0.
I think some people have a purge cutout for extruding pre-printing (eg reprap mendal), hence want the printable area to be > 0 home spot, (I think...)

by **FherraZ** » 2013-Jul-Tue-12-Jul

OK, thank you for clarifying that, about the steps, I changed the original threaded rods for 5mm ones, so I don't have to make so much calculations

by **JonS** » 2013-Jul-Tue-14-Jul

Michael@Oz wrote:Note the firmware is for Printrbot Original/LC/Plus, not Jr (or I imaging Simple). What bot do you have?

Michael, are you able to create a version for the Jr?

There's several of us (see: http://www.printrbottalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=4381) trying to extend the Z axis on the Jr. There seems to be a 100mm firmware limit.

It would be wonderful if you could help us bypass this limit.

Thanks,

Jon

by **Michael@Oz** » 2013-Jul-Tue-22-Jul

PM I sent to Laine & David@printrbot

Hi Laine & David,

There are some Jr owners wanting firmware with the g-codes (M210/211) allowing for longer Z-axis.

Any chance of cutting a hex file with the Jr config and the new G-codes?

Alternatively, are the configuration.h (& _adv if needed) and pins.h for the Jr available somewhere? I can try building it if the info is available. Ditto for the Simple, some are expanding it too, I wonder of it has different settings?

I'll ask again whether the above files for the Original/LC/Plus build that Laine did for me a while back can be made available (as I believe that is the same as what you are shipping for Super-Z), then the community can do builds from a consistent starting position.

David, it would help Printrbot's Open Source creds to be complying with the GPL licence (see *) to attribute and publish derivatives.

Michael

*
"Does the GPL require that source code of modified versions be posted to the public? (#GPLRequireSourcePostedPublic)
The GPL does not require you to release your modified version, or any part of it. You are free to make modifications and use them privately, without ever releasing them. This applies to organizations (including companies), too; an organization can make a modified version and use it internally without ever releasing it outside the organization.
But if you release the modified version to the public in some way, the GPL requires you to make the modified source code available to the program's users, under the GPL.
Thus, the GPL gives permission to release the modified program in certain ways, and not in other ways; but the decision of whether to release it is up to you." gnu.org

It is a shame printbot seems to have walked away from Open Source and the community. A quick look at printrbot.com shows no recognition, apart from the printrboard, of the reprap & open underpinnings. They even copied (IMO) the direct drive extruder designs (but in laser cut) without any attribution...

by **lwalkera** » 2013-Jul-Tue-23-Jul

Those of us who mainly work on the firmware (myself, PxT, and Caleb) all have day jobs or school to contend with. We don't work for PB full time, and would appreciate a little understanding before bringing out the pitch-forks and torches.

We're working on it as fast as we can and should have something out soon that should support all bots and accessories like the LCD and Extrudrboard. We wanted to fix some of the bugs and get everything at least a little tested before putting it all out there so that we minimize the chance the firmware will cause your bot to burst into flames. Over the past two to three weeks, I've probably exchanged 20 or 30 e-mails between Brook and Caleb trying to get the firmware situation situated. It may not look like anything is happening, but it is.
The hex files I've been sending out have been a courtesy to get some of the less technical people printing with their bots. Posts like the previous make me want to revisit that decision.

by **Michael@Oz** » 2013-Jul-Tue-23-Jul

Laine's reply

From: lwalkera
Subject: Re: hex file with new commands ie Super-Z
Message:
We're in the process of making a unified firmware for all bots that includes all my changes and has support for both the LCD and Extrudrboard.
You can see the progress on my github. We were working out a major bug over the past week or so, but it appears to be fixed. Expect something soon.

so, deep breath....hold....

by **Michael@Oz** » 2013-Jul-Tue-23-Jul

lwalkera wrote:Posts like the previous make me want to revisit that decision.

Hey, I did mention "apart from the printrboard" above which was generally aimed at printrbot...

lwalkera wrote:Those of us who mainly work on the firmware (myself, PxT, and Caleb) all have day jobs or school to contend with. We don't work for PB full time, and would appreciate a little understanding before bringing out the pitch-forks and torches.

That was why I was after a clean set of the config files, so that the community can help. I can build firmware, but I can't invent the right configs without a whole lot of trial and error (and as I don't have a Jr/Simple I couldn't do that for those bots)

Anyway good to see something is developing; PM me if you want a beta tested on an Original.

by **Michael@Oz** » 2013-Jul-Wed-00-Jul

From: lwalkera
You can see the progress on my github.

I'm probably blind, but I can't see anything here or here. Somewhere else?

by **Michael@Oz** » 2013-Jul-Wed-20-Jul

Did we all get the email, including the reference to firmware? It points to here.

Printrbot firmware is available to download for all models including LCD with multiple extrudrs.

Jr_FW.cpp.hex
Simple_FW.cpp.hex
Plus+_FW.cpp.hex
LC_FW.cpp.hex
LCD-Extrudr.cpp.hex

I presume LC_FW is also for Original?
Anyone want to guess what LCD-Extrudr is for? (as dual struders are for Plus or LC from what I read)

by **rswarner** » 2013-Jul-Wed-22-Jul

Well, I am unable to make the new LCD-Extrudr f/w work. I am using Flip in Windows 7. I can get the LCD to display the menu. From the LCD and from Repetier Host, I can command temperatures and the X axis, but the Y and Z axes are unresponsive. Once I try to home either Y or Z, the commands stack up in Repetier, and then Repetier becomes unresponsive. I have flashed back to the Plus+ f/w from the same list on today's News item, and I'm back to full function.

This is with a Plus V1 kit, Printrboard Rev D, only one extruder installed.

by **lwalkera** » 2013-Jul-Thu-00-Jul

Here's a draft of the unified firmware that I've been working on. It should have support for the LCD, Extrudrboard, and EEPROM limit saving. Let me know if there are any issues and I'll try to fix them before I push them up to Github. The hex is at: https://www.dropbox.com/s/i49obd1d99ka7 ... ied-v1.hex The files used for this hex are here: https://github.com/Printrbot/Marlin

by **drawcut** » 2013-Jul-Thu-17-Jul

Glad to see the updates. Thanks.

by **Michael@Oz** » 2013-Jul-Thu-20-Jul

lwalkera wrote:Here's a draft of the unified firmware that I've been working on. It should have support for the LCD, Extrudrboard, and EEPROM limit saving. Let me know if there are any issues and I'll try to fix them before I push them up to Github. The hex is at: https://www.dropbox.com/s/i49obd1d99ka7 ... ied-v1.hex The files used for this hex are here: https://github.com/Printrbot/Marlin

I'll give that a try today

by **rswarner** » 2013-Jul-Thu-21-Jul

Yes, thank you! I'll give it a try tonight as well.

by **Michael@Oz** » 2013-Jul-Thu-21-Jul

Results - for Printrbot Original

edit/

moved here to keep this thread a bit pure to topic.

/edit

by **Michael@Oz** » 2013-Jul-Fri-16-Jul

Anyone@printbot.com

rswarner wrote:Well, I am unable to make the new LCD-Extrudr f/w work. ... but the Y and Z axes are unresponsive. Once I try to home either Y or Z, the commands stack up in Repetier, and then Repetier becomes unresponsive. ... with a Plus V1 kit, Printrboard Rev D, only one extruder installed.

As that is the same symptom as the Marlin-unified-v1.hex issue I & Silverfingers found, I presume the other firmwarz here may have the problem too? If so, given Brooke broadcast it to the winds, you probably want to take them down or post a warning, saving lots of people from grief.

by **Makenificent** » 2013-Jul-Fri-19-Jul

Hello,

I've had great success using the Marlin-Limitsave-v4 posted by Michael with my Printrbot Jr. I modded my jr to increase the x axis by another 30mm or so, but was unable to move beyond 145mm.

The only issue was the Y-axis was inverted. So, I simply switched the wiring to reverse step a/b order. (orange,black,red,yellow ---> yellow, red, black,orange). The forum won't let me post urls yet, but you can search for Teensylu-0.6.pdf to find the pinout.

Everything else was in order. Thanks so much for posting this hex. I think my printer works better than ever!

by **Marco L** » 2013-Jul-Mon-14-Jul

Hi i'm quite new to 3d printing but not to SW engineering (15yrs). I have been fooling around with the firmware for my "auto bed leveling" hack on my JR.
But I have some questions to the developers in this thread like lwalkera.
Why is it that in every firmware out there I see the "DISABLE_Z = true" is there a specific reason? Because my gut feeling says that would actually be a bad
idea but, maybe i'm missing something?
And did i read correctly that you said there is a mayor problem in the printrboard firmware? Can you please tell me what the problem is, maybe i can help...
I am quite experienced in trouble shooting i work on embedded hard-realtime systems (i'm not trying to imply i can fix anything

.

by **Michael@Oz** » 2013-Jul-Mon-17-Jul

Marco L wrote:Why is it that in every firmware out there I see the "DISABLE_Z = true" is there a specific reason?

Designs which have two steppers wired in parallel tend to strain the stepper drivers. Given that they are sitting on a screw and that (if you don't use Z lift - which lifts when moving to the next position) the z-axis is pretty much static for the whole layer print, Z is not going to move, so someone decided it would be good to have the option to disable them when not moving.
Also, as a side effect, I find it handy to manually move the Z rods to fine tune the first layer (technically not good, but I find minor variations in height depending on how long my machine has been hot, some thing expands at a different rate).

Marco L wrote:And did i read correctly that you said there is a mayor problem in the printrboard firmware? Can you please tell me what the problem is, maybe i can help...
I am quite experienced in trouble shooting i work on embedded hard-realtime systems (i'm not trying to imply i can fix anything .

Not that I can recall, but others may be better to comment. Everything has bugs, I haven't found a place to report them...(like the PITA thing where if you pause a print, mostly on resume it crawls for a looong time then speeds up (I imagine acceleration is lost??) ... pet hate - but not enough for me to allocate time to look at it ;/ )

by **Michael@Oz** » 2013-Jul-Mon-17-Jul

Michael@Oz wrote: I haven't found a place to report them...

but if I looked...Github Issues

by **Marco L** » 2013-Jul-Mon-18-Jul

Thanks Micheal for the info. I read the following from lwalkera:

"Over the past two to three weeks, I've probably exchanged 20 or 30 e-mails between Brook and Caleb
trying to get the firmware situation situated. It may not look like anything is happening, but it is.The hex files I've been sending out have been a courtesy to get some
of the less technical people printing with their bots.

Maybe i interpreted it incorrectly, but i thought maybe there is some problem thats why they where mailing so much. But okay then lets drop the subject...

by **Michael@Oz** » 2013-Jul-Mon-19-Jul

"Over the past two to three weeks, I've probably exchanged 20 or 30 e-mails between Brook and Caleb trying to get the firmware situation situated.

I would think that is partially organising stuff, and arranging the incorporation of the new LCD panel, dual struder and its Extruderboard rather than major issues. But they can shout-out if they need help I imagine.

by **elkniwt** » 2013-Jul-Wed-14-Jul

I've been unable to work the kinks out of the limitsaving firmware, plus I've noticed that it seems based on an older version of the main firmware. Instead, I forked the official (as of 7/31/13) printrbot firmware here: https://github.com/Elkniwt/Marlin

and have recompiled a modded version (here: https://github.com/Elkniwt/Marlin/blob/ ... wt.cpp.hex ) that adds the M208 command (set axis max travel), as opposed to the M210 and M211 commands that limitsaving had. The limits should save and restore from EEPROM properly. I've seen some quirks using repetierHost's GUI option for saving to EEPROM, but I think its mostly usable.

Don't forget to record the results of M503 before flashing firmware, to save all your calibration preferences (which can then be written back later once you reapply them manually and do a M500).

The format of the M208 command is (e.g.,):

M208 X392 Y92 Z75

where the X, Y, and Z arguments are all optional.

by **bjao1** » 2013-Aug-Mon-20-Aug

hello elkniwt

I have a simple prinrboard rev D. I was wondering if your recompiled modded version that adds the M208 command, will work on my board. I have built a printer that has 16"x16"x16", and just found out the my simple printrboard will not go more the 100mm in all directions. I surely hope you can help me in this.

Thank you,
Robert

by **bjao1** » 2013-Aug-Tue-01-Aug

hello elkniwt

thank you
i loaded your mod hex file into my printrboard and it works

sincerly,
robert

by **IanY57** » 2013-Aug-Wed-20-Aug

PxT wrote:I have posted the firmware for the PB Jr which Brook provided to me.

I am working on getting the corresponding source branch as well and I will post it when I have it.

Many Thanks
Fixed my JR homing issue

Ian

by **REPRAP SQUAD** » 2013-Aug-Fri-18-Aug

Just marking for updates. Good stuff.

by **elkniwt** » 2013-Aug-Sun-16-Aug

bjao1 wrote:hello elkniwt

thank you
i loaded your mod hex file into my printrboard and it works

sincerly,
robert

Sorry for the late response, but yes it should work (as you have already discovered). You should be able to set all three bounds to any valid floating point number. Even if the floating point is single-precision, I believe that gives you potential printing volumes larger than the known universe.

One point of interest: when I try t update the EEPROM settings using repetier's GUI dialog box, it seems to clear the print ranges to all zeros(!). I don't know why this happens or how to fix it. To work around this, go to repetier's manual control section and issue the M208 and M500 (store settings) commands manually.

by **JonS** » 2013-Aug-Mon-00-Aug

Basic question: how to I derive the values for the M208 command (convert from mm, or whatever)?

by **elkniwt** » 2013-Aug-Thu-09-Aug

JonS wrote:Basic question: how to I derive the values for the M208 command (convert from mm, or whatever)?

The values in the M208 command are floating point numbers that represent how far you want software to think it is moving in the three axes. Nominally, these values are in millimeters, though I imagine there's nothing keeping people from configuring every number in their system as inches... but that would have to be every number... nozzle diameter... steps/inch... coordinates in the STL. Stick with mm.

by **JonS** » 2013-Aug-Thu-11-Aug

Strange. It's not doing anything. Even when I put it silly values like Y0.01 I still get unbounded movement.

by **satovey** » 2013-Dec-Mon-23-Dec

I would like to know the following regarding this discussion:

1. Which of the two links to the firmware update on this thread is the correct one?
There is one to printrbot/marlin and one to just marlin.

2. What language is the firmware written in?

3. Considering the fact that flashing a bios can kill a motherboard: does your firmware download contain sufficient instructions to insure I don't do something wrong and cause my printrbot to need a new board or is the board designed with a fail safe so this doesn't happen?

For the life of me, I can not figure out why anyone would design and sell a board that can be killed from a power outage during a firmware update. (input Homer Simpsons favorite exclamation here)

4. Does the firmware upgrade the file format from 8.3 to long file names?

I was seriously upset when I discovered that if I use longer file names than 8 characters the characters are truncated with the traditional tilde. Seriously, in the age long file names some genious and I use that term with extreme light headednes, decided to go to the old dos 8.3 standard and no one, not the geeks who designed the printrbot and sold it or anyone else bothered the mention that little tidbit of need to know information.

Thanks for the respose.

by **PxT** » 2013-Dec-Tue-16-Dec

There are lots of different firmwares floating around. The latest official Printrbot-supported one can always be found at https://github.com/Printrbot/Marlin/releases/latest

The firmware is primarily in C/C++. You can find the source at https://github.com/Printrbot/Marlin

Flashing the firmware is pretty safe, I've done it a bunch of times and have yet to have a problem. The flash software does some verifications to prevent writing a bad image. If for some strange reason it does get corrupted, it's still possible to recover with an ISP programming cable which you can buy for a few dollars.

I don't use an SD card for printing so I don't know for sure but from a quick glance at the source it looks like long file names are supported. Did you format your card as FAT32?

by **satovey** » 2013-Dec-Wed-15-Dec

Thanks for responding.

Just checked the micro SD card and yes, it is formated as FAT32.
If I remember correctly, what was and is the required drive format for the original firmware.
It (the firmware) just doesn't read more than the 8.3 format. Even odder, if more than 3
characters are entered as the file extention, it will truncate the file name.

The problem is in the firmware not the drive format which is why I would like to update the firmware.

Thanks for reposting the correct links, I'll bookmark them so I don't get confused again.

by **thawkins** » 2013-Dec-Thu-01-Dec

PxT wrote:There are lots of different firmwares floating around. The latest official Printrbot-supported one can always be found at https://github.com/Printrbot/Marlin/releases/latest

The firmware is primarily in C/C++. You can find the source at https://github.com/Printrbot/Marlin

Flashing the firmware is pretty safe, I've done it a bunch of times and have yet to have a problem. The flash software does some verifications to prevent writing a bad image. If for some strange reason it does get corrupted, it's still possible to recover with an ISP programming cable which you can buy for a few dollars.

I don't use an SD card for printing so I don't know for sure but from a quick glance at the source it looks like long file names are supported. Did you format your card as FAT32?

There is a known issue on all boards prior to the unreleased version F, where the ystop and sdcard interface are using the same pin. This can cause problems with the sd card operation when the y carriage is in the home position.

One solution is to move the ystop plug to the "estop" connector, and recompile the firmware to use the pin assigned to estop for ystop operation.

by **daewootech** » 2014-Feb-Wed-03-Feb

I did everything successful, firmware update with unified V3, sent the code "M211 X130 Y219 Z200" to my printrbot LCv2 and X works, Y works but Z is capped out at 150, anyone get around this?

by **elkniwt** » 2014-Mar-Wed-12-Mar

daewootech wrote:I did everything successful, firmware update with unified V3, sent the code "M211 X130 Y219 Z200" to my printrbot LCv2 and X works, Y works but Z is capped out at 150, anyone get around this?

I'm unfamiliar with the M211 command. I don't see it in the firmware. Can you show the output from the M503 command, so we can help you diagnose the issue?

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