5D Firmware that works with Gen4?

[Joel Chia]

HI all,

I haven't been printing much lately with my cupcake and have kinda lost touch with what's happening with it.

Does anyone know if there's a 5D firmware that'll work with Gen4 electronics?

Cheers,
-Joel

[Whosawhatsis]

You'll probably have to do all the pin configuration and maybe modify
the compile target check code, but the "official" reprap 5d should
work on it, and I think Teacup also supports using a separate extruder
controller, so it should work too.

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[Rob Giseburt]

Or, with a different machines.xml, the standard Makerbot firmware will do 5D. 

  -Rob

--

[The Ruttmeister]

> Or, with a different machines.xml, the standard Makerbot firmware will do
> 5D.
>
>   -Rob

Wuh?

Please explain!
I'm very confused.

[Aaron Double]

Heh, Rob did a modification to skeinforge that is already in sf 40 that allows you to use dimension with makerbot. requires a different tool profile in your machine xml file but that's it.

Here's what my tool file is, I've been using it since March, it's awesome. The only change you need to do to a profile to go from 20mm/s to 45mm/s is to change the speed, the software volumetrically figures out the rest.

Warning, this is for 16th steppers on all motors, including the extruder

<machine>
<name>MutantMakerbot 4G</name>
<geometry type="cartesian">
<!-- different pulleys on X and Y axii -->
<axis id="x" length="100" maxfeedrate="5000" scale="94.1397046"/> <!-- sixteenth-step driver -->
<axis id="y" length="100" maxfeedrate="5000" scale="94.1397046"/> <!-- sixteenth-step driver -->
<axis id="z" length="140" maxfeedrate="200" scale="2560"/> <!-- sixteenth-step driver -->
<axis id="a" length="1000000" maxfeedrate="5000" scale="100.470957613814818"/> <!-- sixteenth-step driver -->
<axis id="b" length="1000000" maxfeedrate="5000" scale="251.17739403"/>
</geometry>
<tools>
<tool name="Mk6" type="extruder" material="abs" motor="true" floodcoolant="false" mistcoolant="false" fan="true" valve="false" collet="false" heater="true" heatedplatform="true" motor_steps="400"/>

</tools>
<clamps></clamps>
<driver name="makerbot4g">
<!-- optional, defaults to first serial port found. <portname>COM1</portname> -->
<!-- required: we need 8 bit and 38400 baud. -->
<rate>115200</rate>
<!-- <parity>8</parity> -->
<!-- optional, defaults to 1. <databits>1</databits> -->
<!-- optional, defaults to N. <stopbits>N</stopbits> -->
<!--<debuglevel>5</debuglevel>-->
</driver>
<warmup>
</warmup>
<cooldown>
(Turn off steppers after a build.)
M18
</cooldown>
</machine>

[Aaron Double]

Here is my base skeinforge profile.

NOTE: this will only work with a stepper extruder!

You should be able to drop it into your sf40 directory and go to town. (hopefully)

Rob, if you don't mind, I can take your instructions that you originally gave me and update them and post them.

Aaron

[Rob Giseburt]

And don't forget, with Dimension the flow rate should always be set to
the feed rate. Flow rate scales/ratios should be the same as their
corresponding feed rate ratios. (I don't like it that way, but that's
the way it is. I coded it so that flow rate was always 1.)

The flow rate is just relative to the feed rate. The only place that
those aren't the same is in Raft, and that is so that it can put out
really fat and deep tracks.

-Rob

[Rob Giseburt]

Aaron: That would be very cool.

-Rob

> On Aug 20, 2011, at 2:05 PM, The Ruttmeister wrote:
>

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> <ABS MB .3x.5@30mm.zip>

[Rob Giseburt]

To give a little more detail:

Gen4 Makerbot firmware does all moment on the 5 possible steppers the same, as a dimension to move from point A to point B. Not in RPM.

The RPM comes from ReplicatorG. If you use the "makerbot4ga" driver choice (note the "a", for alternate) driver, which is the default and only one used in the stock profiles, will take any tool entry with the stepper_axis entry and use it for that tool number, converting RPM to movement along that axis using the motor_steps entry to convert RPM to steps.

<tool name="Stepstruder MK6" type="extruder" ... motor_steps="1600" default_rpm="1.98" stepper_axis="a"/>

That is "5D," but masked over with old-style RPM controls. The Reversal plugin in Skeinforge then converts the flow rate settings to RPM settings.

However, you can get rid of those extra layers by changing the driver to "makerbot4g" (without the "a") and removing the stepper_axis key from the tools.

Then you turn off Reversal and turn on Dimension. Dimension makes movents on the extruder stepper directly, based on filament size. Much like the Profilemakers do, but directly in skeinforge.

  -Rob

[Joheinz]

And would that also work with gen3 electronics (Motherboard), 3 Pololu drivers for the axis and the Gen4 board for the stepper extruder?

Markus

2011/8/20 Rob Giseburt <gise...@gmail.com>

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[Rob Giseburt]

I'm working on that configuration. I'm hoping to have it working soon. In the next couple of weeks, with my current workload. 

  -Rob

[Joel Chia]

Didn't realise the default firmware already had the capability for 5d.

Thanks Rob! I'll give that a shot later.

Cheers,
-Joel

[Jeremy Green]

Hello all,

I've been trying to get this working on my T-O-M.  I switched to the experimental driver.  Skeinforge is generating the filament moves on the E axis while the machine definition refers to the A axis.  Is this correct?  When I run a g-code file it does the moves in the X,Y and Z but the extruder doesn't run at all.

                  -Jeremy

[Aaron Double]

Hey Jeremy,

The problem has come up over here in relation to RepG25 (works on 24) and is being looked over.

Aaron

[Joel Chia]

I noticed that too when I was trying it yesterday.

In the mean time, I think it *should* be safe to use the replace plugin to replace "E" with "A".

Cheers,
-Joel

[Rob Giseburt]

Yeah, it looks like RepG25 broke it. I’m looking for a proper fix or workaround. In the mean time, 24 works fine.

  -Rob

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[Jeremy Green]

Thanks Aaron. Nice to know I'm not just missing something. 

[Rob Giseburt]

I found the problem. The tool setting isn’t being saved in RepG 25. It was broken in 25.

I’m going to submit a pull-request of a fix tonight. In the mean time, you can use 24.

If you feel very adventurous, you could use a text editor to change (REPG_FOLDER)/skein_engines/skeinforge-40/skeinforge_application/skeinforge_plugins/craft_plugins/dimension.py

Line 412-415 should read:

if self.repository.relativeExtrusionDistance.value:

return ' E' + self.distanceFeedRate.getRounded( extrusionDistance )

self.totalExtrusionDistance += extrusionDistance

return ' E' + self.distanceFeedRate.getRounded( self.totalExtrusionDistance )

Change those Es to As:

if self.repository.relativeExtrusionDistance.value:

return ' A' + self.distanceFeedRate.getRounded( extrusionDistance )

self.totalExtrusionDistance += extrusionDistance

return ' A' + self.distanceFeedRate.getRounded( self.totalExtrusionDistance )

Be very careful not to change the tabs at the beginning of the lines. I don’t recommend copying and pasting from this email. Also: make a copy first!

That should make is create working gcode for RepG25 until this is fixed. That change will probably work for future versions too, btw. 

  -Rob

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[Len Trigg]

Is that a change specific to the version bundled directly with repg?
(i.e. do people using skeinforge 40/41 downloaded directly from
Enrique's site still need to make the change?)

Cheers,
Len.

[Joel Chia]

Yes. for extrusion to work in RepG 25, your extrusion should be done on the "A" axis (or B if you hooked up your extruder to that).

Cheers,
-Joel