Software stack for newbies

I'm building my first printer and have been trying to research the needed software elements and I'm getting a bit lost. Let me list off the different levels I know about and hopefully you can help me fill in the levels I'm missing.

CAD- this is the sw where you make the designs. Autocad or openscad. This should produce an stl file.

Stl fixer? This is one I just heard about but it's still unclear. Apparently some stl files have issues and this can help fix it up (don't recall the name of the program)

Slicer- this takes the stl file and slices it into gcode which the printer follows to do the print. Slic3r and kisslicer are examples.

Print controller- I'm not clear on this one, but I think you need something else to send the gcode to the printer and control setup and stuff. I think pronterface is an example and maybe something called reprap.

Firmware- marlin and sprinter are examples but there are many

Boot loader? I know the electronics need a boot loader, but I do t know how to get this on or if it needs ipdating.

Firmware updated? I'm assuming that you need something on the host system to help you upload firmware onto the printer electronics. But I don't know what will do this.


Am I missing sw levels? Is there some doc that would help me understand this? I looked but couldn't find anything that help understand the whole stack.
Thanks!

Netfabb for fixing dodgy STL's

You need Arduino s/w ( arduino.cc) to upload the firmware (e.g. Sprinter) to the arduino board.

I suggest you download the following all-in-one package to get started- either Widows or Mac. You should replace the included Slic3r file with a newer version (slic3r.org) - link below


[koti.kapsi.fi]

Thanks waitaki. That is nice that it has all the files in one bundle, but I don't see much of an explaination of the different programs. What does plater do? What about pronsole? And how is that different from pronterface?

Seems like someone would've put together some kind of "howto" or "faq" on the subject, but I haven't been able to locate one that covers the SW stack well (maybe certain pieces like "slicers", but nothing that covers how all the piece play together).

Thanks,
Bret

Don't worry about pronsole or plater (parts of pronterface) - just copy a shortcut of "pronterface.exe" to your PC's desktop. Everything will fall into place.

As you probably noticed, there are several different software and firmware packages out there - you just choose which you prefer. I do agree though that its a bit of a minefield for people new to Reprap,- it took me weeks to get some sense out of it!


Anyway, here's what you need...at least this is the setup I have:

An Arduino Mega 2560 controller
A Ramps driver board with 4 pololu style driver chips.

For that I need the following software and firmware..,

Arduino software (version 0023)
Sprinter firmware
Pronterface software (Printrun) - you already have it!
Slic3r, software
(Optionally) Sketchup for design.

Method
Make a folder and name it say, "My 3D software". Put the "Arduino s/w", "sprinter f/w" and "printrun" package in that folder.
1) Connect PC to Ramps board with USB cable and install the Arduino driver and set the COM port. See below

2) Fire up the Arduino.exe program and load "sprinter.pde" from the sprinter directory. Select "configuration H" from the menu field and input the relevant settings, e.g. 33 for Ramps, 1 for 100k thermistor, etc. When finished, click "Sketch", "compile" to update settings. When done, upload it by selecting the "right arrow" (below the Help button) to flash the arduino controller.

3) Thats it really!

I put a shortcut to Slic3r on my desktop to create gcode.
I then fire up the pronterface icon, load the gcode and its ready to print.

Note:
When installing the Arduino driver, the messages that appear will depend on your OS. Basically, do not allow Windows to install the driver automatically, just click "let me choose". Browse to the Arduino directory to find the driver.

Hope that helps

Some of those programs are useful. Pronsole is a command line printer host, useful when printing has become routine and you don't want the GUI app running all the time. Plater combines multiple stl into a single stl, allowing you to print a plate of parts in one go. Most of the others are run by pronterface rather than being run directly.

Thanks Waitaki, Andrew. Great tips and info on your setups. That really helped me understand the main layers of SW and some of the tools. Let me ask a couple follow ups which will help me understand my setup.

I have a Sanguinololu board with Pololu boards for the stepper drivers. I assume this still uses the Arduino driver and the same firmware seteup as your Arduino + Ramps?

I believe the board already has an old verion of Marlin firmware and I think I want to update with the latest Marlin. I think this should be the same as your sprinter instructions just with the Marlin files.

I've heard both pronterface and printrun. It sounds like these are really the same thing just two different ways to refer to the same program, right?

I've heard a lot about "repitier". Is this just another pinter controller similar to printrun/pronterface? Is the reprap program also the same?

Thanks for all the help for an old HW guy :-).

Well, hopefully someone with the Sang' setup can give you some info - I have no experience of that board so it would be unfair to comment but you seem to be right in your assumptions.

In some other searches I found a page which helps understanding at a higher level and has many good links for software/firmware pages:
[reprap.org]

Thanks for all the help.