Tonokip/RAMPS question

I'm just getting my RAMPS (v1.2 board) going (total noob here), and I'm trying to sort out firmware. Tesla893 or johnnyr seem to be the standards - teacup seems experimental.

A have a couple questions:

according to the RAMPS page the following is needed in pins assignments:

#define EXTRUDER_0_STEP_PIN (byte)32
#define EXTRUDER_0_DIR_PIN (byte)34
#define EXTRUDER_0_ENABLE_PIN (byte)30
#define EXTRUDER_0_HEATER_PIN (byte)10
#define EXTRUDER_0_TEMPERATURE_PIN (byte)2

#define EXTRUDER_1_STEP_PIN (byte)23
#define EXTRUDER_1_DIR_PIN (byte)25
#define EXTRUDER_1_ENABLE_PIN (byte)27
#define EXTRUDER_1_HEATER_PIN (byte)9
#define EXTRUDER_1_TEMPERATURE_PIN (byte)8

but in the telsa pins.h, pin 10 is the FAN_PIN and HEATER_0_PIN seems to be the name used, not EXTRUDER_0_HEATER_PIN? Looking at the firmware code, EXTRUDER_0_* deosn't seem to appear anywhere?

Does the RAMPS v1.2 even have a fan pin? It seems to have dissappeared from the board (to make room for the onboard motor connections?)

Why are endstops not used as travel limits any more in Tesla983? This would make installing min/max switches pointless?

What is configuration.h.dist compared to configuration.h? the .dist seems to have the right (in theory) calibration for my machine, .h seems odd.

Why do both firmwares diable the Z axis when not moving (const bool DISABLE_Z = true)? It seems to me that you'd want those motors powered to keep the z-axis from drifting? granted, the back drive on a 1.25 mm pitch leadscrew is very small, but Z is very sensitive, isn't it?


I think Basic Starter Working Configurations is an awesome idea, and I can't wait until it's populated!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/01/2011 03:02PM by epengr.

I've been experimenting. I can't get mechanical endstops to work with Tesla893, but by following the instructions on the RAMPS page I can get the min stops to work with johnnyr - no luck with the max stops though. It'll move freely and ignores the switches...

both of those versions work, tesla seems to have made changes to his own configuration and made some variable name changes, nothing to worry about. You can change the pin assignments around to suit your own needs, the fan can be on pins 8 through to 10 but for standards sake i suggest you setup your pins so that it looks like this

#define FAN_PIN            9
#define HEATER_0_PIN       10 
#define TEMP_0_PIN          2   
#define BED_TEMP_0_PIN		1
#define BED_HEATER_0_PIN	8

this is for tesla version and there are some other bits in there that should remain the same. The fan just connects to one of the 3 outputs, the other two drive the heaters or relays for extruder and heated bed. For mechanical end stops in this version make sure you have //#define USE_INTERNAL_PULLUPS uncommented if you are not using pullup resistors already. Also, and i have no idea why both these versions will allow operations past your min and max endstops unless you send a G28, check the start and end of your gcode to make sure that all minus based homing commands have been removed, just replace the whole line with G28. and Most important make sure you tern off the temp monitoring before you start a print- wacky things happen otherwise.

also make sure you uncomment these lines as well
//#define LINENUM
//#define CHECKSUM

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/05/2011 08:06PM by hexitex.

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Also, and i have no idea why both these versions will allow operations past your min and max endstops unless you send a G28,

Not sure how non-Teacup firmwares handle it, but Teacup firmware ignores endstops on normal movements intentionally.

The problem is, endstops sometimes/rarely trigger due to some electrical noise in the air and you don't want this to ruin a build each time.

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Generation 7 Electronics	Teacup Firmware	RepRap DIY

I think a messed up print is better than a messed up printer, when cgode generates/sends z-250 for homing operations it breaks the printer in so many ways due to the gearing being so high, I have already had to replace my bed, xstage and y stage bars due to them being buckled. Detecting endstops and shielding of the cables has to be a better way.

I completely agree - that's why I was so surprised to see this "feature". I've worked with motion control systems enough to know that at some point I WILL tell it to do something stupid and I want it to smart enough to not destroy itself.

I'm no coder, but I may look at trying to figure out how to re-enable endstops and make it work with 2 per axis (I bought the switches).

I'd guess that this is more of a problem with opto endstops than swiches anyways - I'd take some wacky noise to make it think that a closed switch was open. Unless the endstop lines are run in parallel to the motor wires, I wouldn't expect that to be the problem for the optos either, but light can be tricky, and it's EVERYWEHERE, so erroneous trips wouldn't surprise me.

Not monitoring the temp worrie some too - in fact I was thinking of trying to make it a bit more fail safe if I did in fact delve into the code. If the thermister is disconnected the temp seems to read 3, which turns the heater on! Since I don't use my printer outside I'd like anything below 10 to be an error state that stops it. I'd rather ruin a print than ignite my printer...
However, is turning this off (using repsnapper) just a matter of clicking the enable button on the print screen, or do I need to change gcode too?

I'm using internal pullups, and the min's are working fine now. Max seems to be disabled in the firmware.

Thanks for the LINENUM/CHECKSUM tip - as you may have noticed I tend to error on the side of caution - uncomment them I will.

Is G28 the "Home All" command that Tonokip doesn't support? I'll try it but one of my Z-axis couplers just broke so I'm waiting for a new one...

Thanks.

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when cgode generates/sends z-250 for homing operations

Homing is done with G28, G161 or G162. Using G1 for homing is just misuse.

Future plans for Teacup even include to recover an axis having run into the endstop, keeping the coordinate system the best way possible. Attempts to Home with G1 will (hopefully) have no influence on the machine's origin, then.

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Generation 7 Electronics	Teacup Firmware	RepRap DIY