Sanguinololu electronics - i need help !

Hello,

I have a Longboat Prusa bought from www.thereprapkitstore.com. It comes with pre-assembled electronics and it looks like the bootloader and Sprinter have been pre-installed. My prusa is built and the motors, endstops etc are connected to the electronics. I have the power supply in (12V) and it is connected to a Windows XP computer. On the computer I have downloaded Arduino, Sanguino and the standard RepRap software. I have opened the software and tried to move the motors on the XYZ tab. However nothing happens, the LED is on but no movements.

I am new to RepRap and so do not really know what to do. I have probably missed something out or I am not doing the right thing. Can somebody tell me (simply!) how to get the machine to word.

Thanks,

Simon

Not familiar with that kit, but Sprinter will print a message "start" over the serial port once started. You can use Arduino IDE that includes a serial terminal to see if it works (it is the rightmost button of the arduino IDE). Remember to adjust the baudrate on the terminal, usually to 115200 bps. If the message "start" pops up it confirms your assumption that Sprint is installed.

Once you are sure firmware is installed we can move on.

Try the precompiled pronterface. It should have everything ready to go in an easy to use package.

If/when you want the newest version of prontertface, download it from github and follow the readme to install the needed dependencies.

Suddenly I can't remember, so please correct me if I'm wrong (been a few years since I did it on windows, and it was not needed on xubuntu), but I would assume you also need to install the FTDI/serial driver to be able to connect to the electronics, by following this guide. You need the driver to be able to upload firmware anyway.

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-Nudel
Blog with RepRap Comic

yes you do need the ftdi driver on windows and you don't need arduino open or connected to make pronterface work, I had someone I was helping doing that this week, no wonder nothing was working, I had to reinstall Sprinter for them because they had screwed it up so badly

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/23/2012 07:32PM by NelsonRap.

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__________________________________________________________________________
Experimenting in 3D in New Zealand

I have gone onto the serial monitor in Arduino and there is nothing. However nothing at all happens when I plus the board in.

I am also certain the printer has got Sprinter - another person who bought the kit said this also.

Do you have any ideas?

Ok, a couple of details

1) First plug the USB of the board in ¿do you get the usual sound on your PC?
2) Start Arduino IDE after previous step. It should auto-detect the serial port connecting to the Sanguinololu (mine was COM8 but yours may be different)

It may well happened that your Arduino IDE was not using the right serial port to your Sanguinololu, if that were the case it is normal not to see anything.

Once you see "start" on the terminal window then it is ok to assume Sprint is installed in your Sanguinololu.

As Nudel and NelsonRap mention, you might need to install the FTDI driver if you have never installed before and/or your system did not autoinstall it the first time you plugged Sanginololu in.
[www.ftdichip.com]

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/24/2012 02:44PM by misan.

Hi Simon,

If you have the USB/Serial driver correctly installed then the COM port should appear in the list
provided by the applications below....

If you are trying using the Arduino IDE, then you should see the COM port under
Tools -> Serial Port

And in the serial window, the baud rate should be 115200, and you should
select the Carriage Return option for the line feeds.


If it's still not showing up, you can try a dedicated serial terminal like Termite.

The settings should be, 115200, 8 data, 1 stop, no parity, no flow control, Append LF, Local Echo

If you don't see the start message after pressing the reset button, try typing a G-Code like M115
and you it should return with the firmware version.
e.g. FIRMWARE_NAME: Sprinter FIRMWARE_URL:http%%3A/github.com/kliment/Sprinter/ PROTOCOL_VERSION:1.0 MACHINE_TYPE:Mendel EXTRUDER_COUNT:1 UUID:00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000


I'm using Pronterface to control the machine, and it should just work straight away if you have the correct COM settings as above. I use ActivePython on my windows machine,
but it should work with the normal version.

-Mark

When you plug it into your USB port, does Windows make a noise or notify that it detects something? The LED can go on with power from the 12V or power from the USB, so, disconnect the 12V input and see if it can power itself from the USB port. If not, there might be something wrong in that connection: try another USB port to see whether it's the computer or the Sanguinololu connection.

If you can rule out the connection, check the Device Manager and see if you see anything there. I personally find it easier to View | Devices by Connection and search for your USB Host (you'll probably have several) and see if you have Unknown Device or something else in there. If you don't, try checking View | Show Hidden Devices.

Do you have any other devices using an FTDI bridge? If so, you might need to be careful, but right click the one most likely to be associated with the Sanguinololu and go to Properties and under the Driver tab, hit Uninstall. Disconnect the board and wait a minute. Then follow the directions linked by Nudel to install, and Windows should act like it's the first time it's ever seen it attached.

Thanks for everyones help so far...

I have unplugged the 12v power and when i plug the board into the computer, the LED appears. My speakers dont work at the moment. I looked in the device manager and under the other devices tab, there is the following:

FT232R USB UART

Does anyone know what this is?

Simon

Hi Simon,

That's the correct device driver.
You should see a 'USB Serial Converter' and a 'USB Serial Port' in the properties when the Arduino is connected.

-Mark

I have tried Termite as suggested but no "start" is coming up, and typing M115 does nothing

Any ideas?

If you connect the RX and TX pins on the FTDI chip or header in the Sanguinololu like it says in the Sanguinololu wiki you can check if the chip is working. (end of this section [reprap.org] )

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FFF Settings Calculator	Gcode post processors	Geometric Object Deposition Tool Blog
Tantillus.org	Mini Printable Lathe	How NOT to install a Pololu driver

I have looked in the proporties window. It says that the manufacturer and the device type are unknown.

Any ideas?

I have plugged the board into my mac. There is no sound and nothing happens.

Pronterface is suggesting bluetooth ports. The prusa is connected via a usb. What is its name?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/24/2012 05:34PM by simonhoughton.

Sounds like the FTDI chip is soldered incorrectly (bridged connections) or is bad.

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FFF Settings Calculator	Gcode post processors	Geometric Object Deposition Tool Blog
Tantillus.org	Mini Printable Lathe	How NOT to install a Pololu driver

Hi Simon,

I just tried it on my Mac....

By default the Mac completely ignores it, so I needed to install the FTDI driver.

I then downloaded CoolTerm, and the serial device shows up as usbserial-A1015N48

If you still don't get anything, then unfortunately it does sound like Sublime is correct, and it's probably a bad board.

-Mark

THANKS VERY MUCH MARK AND EVERYONE ELSE WHO HAS HELPED!!!

It is now working on Pronterface for Mac.





Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/25/2012 05:56AM by simonhoughton.

Hello again....

Sorry for all of the questions but i am a complete beginner.

So the reprap is all wired up now and everything moving but the Sanguinololu is generating a lot of heat. Is this normal? Should I add a fan or something? The power input is the 12v with 6A.

THANKS
simon

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/25/2012 05:59AM by simonhoughton.

You are not saying what is the part where the heat is coming from. But if heat is caused by the Pololus you may want to adjust the current on each one, so motors get only the current they need to move ok but not more. Extra current causes additional heat. The small potentiometer in each Pololu can be adjusted (counterclockwise is less current).

Thanks - it was the Pololus but i have twisted it so its not as hot anymore! -

If you want to run your motors >~1A, you should put heatsinks on the A4988 chips in the Pololus.
Otherwise, you'll get thermal shutdown, and the motors will stutter.