Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Hardware Done, Time for Firmware and Software

So all this blogging about the hardware might lead you to think I was really patient about waiting until it was all finalized before loading up the brains with some code to make it actually move. Well, I may have left out a little bit. I loaded Tonokip's firmware once I had all three movement related axes ready and made sure they were moving using Repsnapper for manual control. I was floored that they not only moved, but in the proper directions. A big thanks to all the RepRappers who took the time to document various pieces of the puzzle.

While getting the extruder all put together, I did some more research on firmware and software on the RepRap site, various blogs, and by lurking on IRC for a while as well.  This is probably one of the hardest parts of the whole process. A thread in the forums had just spawned a new page on the wiki that was intended to list computer OS/printer electronics/firmware/host software combinations that were known to be working. I just rechecked and it appears this never really got off the ground. I'll add to it once I feel my combination is worthy. The best options for you depend on many things. The wiki has a decent rundown of the various tool chains that might work for you.

I was looking for firmware that worked easily with my RAMPS setup. Initially I looked at the Teacup firmware but found it too confusing for my first attempt. I found the Tonokip firmware much easier to understand and configure for my setup. I later changed to Klimentkip and will probably move further up the evolutionary ladder to sprinter in the near future. All I needed to do was copy the RAMPS config file, check the pins and end stop settings (I used mechanical end-stops), and uncomment the include statement for the correct thermistor table.

For host software I decided to use Repsnapper just for control and sending the G-code to my printer. From my research, I gathered that Skeinforge offered the most advanced options for G-code generation and also a proportionally steep learning curve. I decided not to try printing with Repsnapper directly fearing that I would just be disappointed with the results anyway. Probably an unfounded decision as I've since seen some pretty good results from other RepRappers. Skeinforge is really a bear to learn, but I'm making progress.

Nothing left to do but print stuff.

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