Are there Marlin updates since 1.0.0 release worth checking out?

Hello.

I'm running a pretty-much-vanilla i3 with RAMPS 1.4 and the June 1.0.0 Marlin release. I saw some posts recently suggesting that I could improve the performance of my printer by changing the firmware code. This got me to thinking that perhaps a reasonably tested set of such updates can be found in an updated version of Marlin.

I took a look at the github, and there's a lot of activity on it. Poking around a little bit, it seems that most of the new features are for deltas, or for doubled x and y motors, or something called "babystepping." This is great, but it's not a reason for me and my printer to upgrade.

That said, I did see one change dedicated the easier Arduino processing, and there could easily be others. Does anyone out there know about any, and have they incorporated any of these changes on top of the 1.0.0 release?

improved performance, better lcd support, support for bt, and better memory utilization, as strings are stored in eprom, and no longer stored in precious ram. (this may have been around a while)

for example i have used this to use bt, and increase my buffer size.

I am assuming you mean why i would want the most current builds. marlin development is still very active.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/07/2014 06:30AM by jamesdanielv.

Thanks for the reply, you are indeed interpreting my question correctly.

I did see robust activity on github, which I interpreted as a risky thing to port over to my machine. And because the version number in the code hadn't been incremented, I took this as a clue that the Marlin Poobahs didn't necessarily recommend grabbing the current version just yet. And given that merging configuration.h settings and some custom menu changes is non-trivial, I thought I'd ask before just diving in. It sounds you'd recommend that I make the jump, and I'll do it. I'd like to compare before-and-after prints.

And I'd like to know if there is anyone out there willing to go into more detail on the "improved performance" part. Where should I look in the code, and how did your printer's performance improve?

I've been motivated to switch to the new version in order to do automatic bed leveling once I implement the HW changes in my printers.

Automatic bed leveling is the number one reason you should upgrade. I did it recently and I am certainly glad I did.

Hmmm. I have to say I'm a little surprised by the outpouring of support for the automatic bed leveling feature. Instinctively, this feels like a very clever and impressive solution whose drawbacks (additional complexity and carriage weight) allow it to lose out to the boring, obvious solution (build a stable and level bed.) I would feel differently if I was still working with my dual-plate i2, but my i3 is solid. And I've spent so many hours becoming a bed-leveling pro, this might also be a solution arrived too late.

But I don't want to hijack my own thread. I'm still looking for examples in the Marlin code of performance improvements made since the June 2013 1.0.0 release.

Every time I have upgraded my FW I have found some improvements. Most of them have been cosmetic (lcd display) but some are functional. There is no reason not to update your firmware. The biggest PIA is that you can't just copy your config.h file over. You have to go in and manually set all the settings. It would be nice if someone wrote a program that stored your basic printer settings and modified the firmware for you.

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WWW.ZATOPA.COM - Your Place for high quality 3D Printing Filament and accessories

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Karmavore
Hmmm. I have to say I'm a little surprised by the outpouring of support for the automatic bed leveling feature. Instinctively, this feels like a very clever and impressive solution whose drawbacks (additional complexity and carriage weight) allow it to lose out to the boring, obvious solution (build a stable and level bed.) I would feel differently if I was still working with my dual-plate i2, but my i3 is solid. And I've spent so many hours becoming a bed-leveling pro, this might also be a solution arrived too late.

But I don't want to hijack my own thread. I'm still looking for examples in the Marlin code of performance improvements made since the June 2013 1.0.0 release.

I agree it's always better to fix the real problem or the root of the problem and not use something else to go around it to make it work

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jzatopa
It would be nice if someone wrote a program that stored your basic printer settings and modified the firmware for you.

Do you mean something like the Repetier 0.91 auto-configuration web tool, where you can upload your last configuration.h file as a base for your new build?????

Is there any news about E-stop or really working Pause buttom?

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vreihen

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jzatopa
It would be nice if someone wrote a program that stored your basic printer settings and modified the firmware for you.

Do you mean something like the Repetier 0.91 auto-configuration web tool, where you can upload your last configuration.h file as a base for your new build?????

I have not seen that so the answer is, possibly, yes.

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WWW.ZATOPA.COM - Your Place for high quality 3D Printing Filament and accessories

Feel free to take it for a test drive:

http://www.repetier.com/firmware/v091/

Not promoting one firmware over another, just pointing out that the Repetier web config tool does take your current config file as a base for building a new one.....

if it was made from the tool previously.