Is there a fast way to load a file to the SD card through USB?

[Misha]

I ordered an SDRAMPS and it is working fine except for one thing that is really bothering me.  If I try to write a gcode file to the SD card through Pronterface it takes forever, like it is writing the file one command at a time.  Takes a few minutes even for the simplest files.

Right now I just take out the micro SD and put it directly in my computer to transfer the file and then put it back in the SDRAMPS, but I would like to avid having to reach into the printer for the SD card every time.

Is there a faster way to load the file onto the SD card through RAMPS?

[Triffid Hunter]

On Mon, Oct 22, 2012 at 10:30 AM, Misha <mbt...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Is there a faster way to load the file onto the SD card through RAMPS?

No.

The speed is primarily limited by the serial section between the
usb-serial chip and the main chip.

At 250kbaud, the top speed is about 25k/s which is fine for printing
but pretty abysmal for a disk.

The speed is further limited because the host requires an 'ok'
response for every line that it sends, which due to how USB works has
significant latency.

For faster SD card access without having to switch the card back and
forth, you'll want to investigate some of the new cortex-m3 boards
appearing such as Smoothie or 4pi

[UK Chris]

Misha,

...or perhaps one of these may help
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SD-Card-Slot-Extension-Cable-New-Compact-Size-32GB-SDHC-Raspberry-Pi-/170918380244?pt=UK_Photography_MemoryCardReaders_RL&hash=item27cb8782d4

Regards

[Gert van den Berg (MoHaG)]

The Raspberry Pi uses a full size SD card while the SDRAMPS uses a MicroSD... Something similar might work though... (for making the card easier to reach...)

On that topic, I'm considering putting a Raspberry Pi in my printer, connecting the serial from the RPi's GPIO (through the right level converters) to the Arduino. Ethernet should at least allow the file to be transferred to the RasPi almost instantly... Just need ethernet-capable host software... (Printrun's CLI version should work for now, or possibly the web interface from the experimental branch)

Gert

[Misha]

Good idea Chris! Simple and effective solution.

[Henrique Rossi Altero]

Hey guys what about the new Arduino Due? It has the same size an pin layout that the Mega, so with a new firmware all RAMPS boards would work, and there's native USB right???

[Gert van den Berg (MoHaG)]

On Monday, October 22, 2012 8:57:47 PM UTC+2, Henrique Rossi Altero wrote:

Hey guys what about the new Arduino Due? It has the same size an pin layout that the Mega, so with a new firmware all RAMPS boards would work, and there's native USB right???

That should work... Not that simple though...

The  Due runs at 3.3V and can't handle 5V inputs. See http://forums.reprap.org/read.php?219,161986,162048

Gert

[UK Chris]

Gert,

Good spot Sir...this then:
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-shipping-micro-sd-card-extension-cable-SD-to-TF-cable-for-car-GPS-and-DVD/552590609.html

Regards

[Triffid Hunter]

On Tue, Oct 23, 2012 at 6:09 AM, Gert van den Berg (MoHaG)
<ger...@gmail.com> wrote:
> The Due runs at 3.3V and can't handle 5V inputs. See
> http://forums.reprap.org/read.php?219,161986,162048

that's pretty pathetic, NXP's LPC series (as used on Smoothie) have 5v
compatible digital inputs despite running at 3.3v.. I think analog
inputs and a few of the special features may not share 5v
compatibility, check the datasheet.

[AnWe79]

I'm running my mendelmax off a rasberry pi. I run pronterface over wifi (X forwarding over ssh) and have the pi connected to ramps over usb. The response of the gui is a bit sluggish but it's workable for occasional prints. The setup could probably be improved a lot by not running the gui on the pi.