7.8 beta

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Stephen Tyldesley

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Jan 2, 2019, 7:08:04 AM1/2/19
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I have FFCP 2016. using RepG 40r34. Files-preferences-advanced tab. Firmware update : 
Then, machine-upload new firmware. Select new firmware: Flashforge creator pro and X with ATmega …  Select sailfish 7.8 (r1682). No reset button used. re set on control panel. My question is, is this 7.8 beta. I have now on control panel menu LED colour, however this does not appear to work. Also new is cooling fan power (control panel), however this does not appear to work. ATmega 2560 16/11/24 r1682M. Also wondering what override GcTemp is, Check SD Reads is ? Thank you

Jetguy

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Jan 2, 2019, 3:44:00 PM1/2/19
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Forgive me, I'm just grumpy today so don't take this personal- just see this too often and I am trying to help so don't take it personal- just a nudge in the direction to get you printing and learning.

Specifically this which you did not mention doing http://www.sailfishfirmware.com/doc/install-configuring.html#x36-960006.4
Again, this is all too common- user flashes firmware, and assumes OK I flashed firmware, I'm ready to print. No, no you're not.

have now on control panel menu LED colour, however this does not appear to work.- Only Makerbot mainboards included RGB LED strips and hardware, you have a knockoff brand copy of that printer (FFCP) it doesn't have the hardware no obviously the function cannot control hardware that doesn't exist.

Also new is cooling fan power (control panel), however this does not appear to work. Once again, know your hardware. You have a FFCP. Things like knowing that the 2 fans on the heatsinks of the cooling bar of your extruder are NOT the print layer cooling fans, and this is talking about print layer cooling fan control- so again, likely hardware you have not added or installed and so no- firmware does not turn on a fan you don't have.

Also covered in the manual:
Override gcode temp means literally what it says. You put in the preheat settings in firmware for temps. If you enable this function- then no matter what temp in set in the print file- the preheat temp setting in firmware is used. Now in saying that, the other things that users trip themselves up on. It's an override value. That means if your file has NO heated bed or nozzle temps, then the override doesn't replace the value so print file didn't contain a setting- the firmware doesn't automagically guess you really wanted to set the temp. Again, what this means and what this is used for is a workflow.
The old way- you make a different print file with different temps for ABS or PLA or whatever print. The new smarter way- you turn on gcode override and since you preheat to load the filament into the printer- you know what plastic you are using and the ideal temp for it. As such, when loading plastic, you set the correct temp at the printer in firmware. Now your print file for ABS or PLA doesn't matter, you can switch materials willy nilly just change the temp for the material loaded and print the same file.

Check SD card reads- again, pretty much what it says. SD card reads are critical to printing operation. Since the hardware cables and general electrical design is subject to a host of less than ideal issues (let's be honest, an Arduino reading an SD card is not exactly the best and robust it can be- further hampered by typical cable and EMI/RFI issues, cable reflections and just bad design)- so SD card checking takes more processing power, more cycles, more time, but attempts to catch these bad SD card data read errors and better handle them (read again until we get the right data if possible), but again, it's actually a slight performance hit to enable this function, and the tradeoff is a little more robust error handling and hopes of lesser mid print bad data reads on some machines. Logically, it's off by default since firmware is performance oriented and users having problems with bad card reads can turn it on if they have bad cards reads but let's be honest, that's amateur hour and a crutch to actually learning about your printer and fixing the problem (EMI/RFI bad cables, bad flaky SD cards, damaged sockets or dozens of other common causes) is the right way of fixing the problem as a hardware problem cannot be fixed by firmware alone.

Bottom line,
Sailfish firmware was derived and created as an improvement to Makerbot printers. As the open source community this is a good thing for everyone. FlashForge, Wanhao, and dozens of others took that design, derived it, made copies, made some changes, some good, some sloppy. You bought "the copy" not the original and as such, you have some tradeoffs:
#1 lack of documentation- reason why you are here asking these questions. Flash forge doesn't tell you your hardware, you bought the printer and it's best of luck. Like, the design supports RGB LEDS but we left that off the hardware. The design supports a layer cooling fan, but since even Makerbot did not include it in the original hardware design, we didn't copy it- so you lack the additional layer cooling fan. The mainboard does support it, but again, unless you add it and the required wiring from the mainboard- firmware control is doing nothing more than turning on a MOSFET that has nothing attached to it.

Example cooling fan addition (not endorsing this one, just saying, this is the first one that hit on a search) https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1675208

Jetguy

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Jan 2, 2019, 4:22:53 PM1/2/19
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Section on LED lighting

3.7.4.9 Check SD Reads

This allows you to check for errors when reading or writing to the SD card. Typically, with this feature disabled, errors in reading or writing to the SD card may make the printer do something unexpected. With this feature enabled, if an error is detected, the operation will be reattempted up to five times, at which point the print will be canceled. Note that, enabling this feature this can affect performance when printing fine detail at high speeds. By default, this feature is disabled.

pict

Figure 3.33: General Settings — Third Screen


Related to Gcode temp override, first know where the preheat setting is before using override

Also, the menu options page
3.7.4.2 Override GcTemp

When enabled, this option allows you to override the non-zero temperatures in a print file. These temperatures will be replaced by the preheat temperature for the given heater. This is useful for experimentation or for switching plastics without reslicing. By default, this feature is disabled.

3.7.4.3 Pause with Heat

Stephen Tyldesley

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Jan 3, 2019, 6:18:10 AM1/3/19
to Jetty Firmware

Thank you Jetguy for helping me!





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