Unable to update firmware

Hello,

New to 3D printers, a nice offer passed by from RS so decided to buy the Ormerod.
Assambly was not so difficult, if you have build some IKEA furniture then you know you should look at the details in the instructions.

Got all replies from the machine as stated but firmware was strongly recommended, OK...

But I got stuck when I tried to update it's firmware.

I downloaded latest firmware software
Installed the Arduino software (only used it for the serial monitor)
Decided to go the easy way and installed the BOSSA software in a directory called C:\BOSSA
Copied the firmware in the same directory
Checked the Bossa COMPort (COM6)
OS is Windows (tried it on two PC's, one with Windows XP, the other with Windows 7)

Following exact instrucion "bossac --port=COM6 -U true -e -w -v -b RepRapFirmware-057a-16-01-2014.bin -R" replies with:
"bosac: invalid option --U"

So switched the caps to small letters:
"bossac --port=COM6 -u true -e -w -v -b RepRapFirmware-057a-16-01-2014.bin -r" replies with
"bossac: read option is exclusive of write or verify"

Removed true out of the command line:
"bossac --port=COM6 -u -e -w -v -b RepRapFirmware-057a-16-01-2014.bin -r" but again
"bossac: read option is exclusive of write or verify"

OK, this looks to become a game of trial and game.
Returned the true but skipped the -r
"bossac --port=COM6 -u true -e -w -v -b RepRapFirmware-057a-16-01-2014.bin" I get a new message:
"bossac: extra arguments found"

So let's remove the true again:
"bossac --port=COM6 -u -e -w -v -b RepRapFirmware-057a-16-01-2014.bin" replied:
"No device found on ort=COM6" (indeed it said ort, not port)

OK, rechecked the COM port in the device manager and it still was there: "Bossa Program Port:COM6"
The thing with com ports is that they can only be opened by one single application so I checked the Arduino software and opened the serial monitor and it opened without an error so the COM port was there and available for use!

Also the Windows BOSAC version does not detect any device on the COM ports.

Checked various things like renaming the .bin file, tried it on a different computer pressed Erase+Reset simolanious, tried various waiting times but somehow I get stuck :-(

What am I missing?

Thanks for your time and replies.

Can you try it without the -U / -U true option?

bossac --port=COM6 -e -w -v -b RepRapFirmware-057a-16-01-2014.bin -R

Edit: You say you installed Bossac to C:\ ...

I never installed this command from anywhere, it probably came with the Arduino software!?
There is a bossac.exe in the "Arduino\hardware\tools" folder...

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/24/2014 04:46AM by 3D-ES.

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RS-Online Ormerod #263, Kossel mini with Minitronics, Prusa i3 MK2

Hi Marc

Sorry you are having difficulty with the firmware upload. The BOSSA GUI program does not work with the Duet; I think this is because the Arduino Due [arduino.cc] (on which the Duet is based) has two USB ports, and one of them is a programming port, which the BOSSA GUI expects to see . The Duet has only the one native USB port.

Are you using the bossac version bundled with Arduino 1.5.5? I don't know if this has been modified for the Duet, but I haven't had the problems you describe with it.

Finally, the command does need to be as shown in the instructions: "bossac --port=[COM#] -U true -e -w -v -b [RepRapFirmware-XXX-DD-MM-YYYY.bin] -R"
The capitalisation, single or double hyphens, and spaces are important.

Here's the manual page from my Ubuntu system, so you can see all the switches:

support@support-Desktop:~/arduino-1.5.5/hardware/tools$ ./bossac -h
Usage: bossac [OPTION...] [FILE]
Basic Open Source SAM-BA Application (BOSSA) Version 1.3a
Flash programmer for Atmel SAM devices.
Copyright (c) 2011-2012 ShumaTech (http://www.shumatech.com)

Examples:
  bossac -e -w -v -b image.bin   # Erase flash, write flash with image.bin,
                                 # verify the write, and set boot from flash
  bossac -r0x10000 image.bin     # Read 64KB from flash and store in image.bin

Options:
  -e, --erase           erase the entire flash
  -w, --write           write FILE to the flash; accelerated when
                        combined with erase option
  -r, --read[=SIZE]     read SIZE from flash and store in FILE;
                        read entire flash if SIZE not specified
  -v, --verify          verify FILE matches flash contents
  -p, --port=PORT       use serial PORT to communicate to device;
                        default behavior is to auto-scan all serial ports
  -b, --boot[=BOOL]     boot from ROM if BOOL is 0;
                        boot from FLASH if BOOL is 1 [default];
                        option is ignored on unsupported devices
  -c, --bod[=BOOL]      no brownout detection if BOOL is 0;
                        brownout detection is on if BOOL is 1 [default]
  -t, --bor[=BOOL]      no brownout reset if BOOL is 0;
                        brownout reset is on if BOOL is 1 [default]
  -l, --lock[=REGION]   lock the flash REGION as a comma-separated list;
                        lock all if not given [default]
  -u, --unlock[=REGION] unlock the flash REGION as a comma-separated list;
                        unlock all if not given [default]
  -s, --security        set the flash security flag
  -i, --info            display device information
  -d, --debug           print debug messages
  -h, --help            display this help text
  -U, --force_usb_port=true/false override USB port autodetection
  -R, --reset           reset CPU (if supported)

Report bugs to 
support@support-Desktop:~/arduino-1.5.5/hardware/tools$

If you do the same thing for the version of bossac you have, you may not see the -U (upper case) flag.

Ian
RepRapPro tech support

This works for me:

C:\Arduino-1.5.4\hardware\tools\bossac.exe --port=COM12 -U true -e -w -v -b C:\Users\David\Eclipse\RepRapFirmware\Release\RepRapFirmware.bin -R

So I believe the command line given in the instructions is correct. Some suggestions:

1. Are there any other files in C:\Arduino-1.5.4\hardware\tools\ or related directories that bossac might be using, and that you have not copied to c:\bossac?

2. Use Device Manager to check which COM port you should use. There are two different COM port numbers, the one you get normally (as used by Arduino serial monitor and Pronterface), and the one you get after you press the Erase button on the board (which Device Manager lists as "bossa port" or something like that).

---

Large delta printer [miscsolutions.wordpress.com], E3D tool changer, Robotdigg SCARA printer, Crane Quad and Ormerod

Disclosure: I design Duet electronics and work on RepRapFirmware, [duet3d.com].

I find that the com port error "No device found on port=COMx" can be fixed if i reboot before trying to run bossac.

Possibles something to do with that a different Com Port number is used for the flashing, however i usually follow this order.

1. Press Erase button on the duet.
2. Wait for a count of 5s
3. Press the Reset button on the Duet.
4. Wait for a count of 5s
5. Disconnect and switch off the Duet & Ormerod power
6. Reboot PC
7. After boot up has completed - Connect Duet USB
8. Copy the new Firmware into "C:\Program Files (x86)\Arduino\hardware\tools"
9. Start Command Prompt
10. cd C:\Program Files (x86)\Arduino\hardware\tools
11. listComPorts.exe (in the same directory as bossac.exe on my PC)
12. bossac --port=COM2 -U true -e -w -v -b RepRapFirmware.bin -R
13. Wait for flash to finish and reset the duet.
14. Disconnect Duet USB
15. Power on and print =)

Hope this help

Matt

---

Limited Edition Red RS Ormerod 1 #144 of 200 - RRP 1.09fw
iamburnys Ormerod Upgrades Github
Follow me on ThingiVerse My Designs

Thanks dc42 and droftarts for the feedback.

It's working thanks to your support.
I had downloaded the Windows Installer from Arduino, however that one did not include the bossac tools. So I downloaded the bossac tools directly from schumatech.com (link was supplied in the documentation).

I downloaded the Arduino software as zip file and indeed an other bossac version was downloaded. That's where the main problem started since there appeared to be a version difference in bossac.exe (212kB in stead of 805 kB...)

Trying to run the exact command as described:
"bossac --port=COM6 -U true -e -w -v -b RepRapFirmware-057a-16-01-2014.bin -R" replied with:
"No device found on ort=COM6".....
ort=COM6 fascinated me...

Two other attempts made the following work:
bossac --pCOM6 -U true -e -w -v -b RepRapFirmware-057a-16-01-2014.bin -R

So --port=COM6 changed to --pCOM6 was the final step

Thanks for your help, hope the info will be helpfull for others too

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/24/2014 05:17AM by Marc van Beelen.

Further to Ian's reply, I've tried BOSSA on the Mac and PC (I much prefer GUIs to command lines!) but can't get it to recognise the duet (it sees the port on both) - it looks like the bossac distributed with arduino is different from the one that you get with BOSSA - I tried using the arduino bossac and shell with BOSSA on the mac too and that didn't seem to work either, but might do if done properly...)

Using the arduino boosac on windows xp is 100% reliable for me though (and I haven't retried it on mac since updating to OSX10.9, but there was a usb issue with OS X10.6.8 that made it hard to do), using the command line arguments Ian has posted (as in the commissioning instructions) - I've save a text file with a line similar to that posted by DC42 on the pc so I can copy and paste it into the DOS box (after editing the COM port to the right number, which tends to vary). Note also if you plug it into a different USB socket, on my PC anyway, the PC has to reinstall the driver before the duet appears as a BOSSA device in the device manager.

Ray

Hi Marc, thanks for letting me know about the difference between the Windows installer and zip versions of Arduino.

With the version of bossac According to the man page I listed above:

The following combinations *should* work:

bossac --port=COM6 -U true -e ...
bossac -p COM6 -U true -e ...

The following *shouldn't* work:

bossac -port=COM6 -U true -e ...  ("No device found on ort=COM6")
bossac --port=COM6 -U -e ...  (no 'true' following -U)

The following *might* work:

bossac -pCOM6 -U true -e...
bossac --p COM6 -U true -e ...
bossac --pCOM6 -U true -e ...

However, other people have experienced some difficulty with this, so when I get a chance, I will review it and update the instructions.

Ian
RepRapPro tech support

I've had an email, and I need someone to test it's contents, because I am unable to. It says:

Quote
Jan
Another thing, that is quite important is the use of the Bossac tool in order to upgrade the firmware on the controller board. In your documentation online, you write this COMMAND line:

"bossac --port=COM4 -U true -e -w -v -b RepRapFirmware-XXX-DD-MM-YYYY.bin -R"

On my WIN XP-PRO computer I get a constant error message "USB PORT ERROR" and I checked the documentation on Bossa´s website and you can omit the "--port=COMx -U" suffix. In that case the upgrader finds the correct USB port itself and then the upgrade will work perfect.

That means the command line should look like this:

"bossac -e -w -v -b RepRapFirmware-XXX-DD-MM-YYYY.bin -R"

Can someone please try this out? It may save a lot of pain!

Ian
RepRapPro tech support

For Win7 64bit:

OK: bossac --port=COMx -U true -e -w -v -b RepRapFirmware-XXX-DD-MM-YYYY.bin -R

OK: bossac -e -w -v -b RepRapFirmware-XXX-DD-MM-YYYY.bin -R (finds the correct USB port itself)
OK: bossac -p COMx -U true -e -w -v -b RepRapFirmware-XXX-DD-MM-YYYY.bin -R
OK: bossac -pCOMx -U true -e -w -v -b RepRapFirmware-XXX-DD-MM-YYYY.bin -R
OK: bossac --p COMx -U true -e -w -v -b RepRapFirmware-XXX-DD-MM-YYYY.bin -R

NO: bossac -port=COMx -U true -e -w -v -b RepRapFirmware-XXX-DD-MM-YYYY.bin -R ("No device found on ort=COMx")
NO: bossac --port=COMx -U -e -w -v -b RepRapFirmware-XXX-DD-MM-YYYY.bin -R ("Invalid USB value: -e")
NO: bossac --pCOMx -U true -e -w -v -b RepRapFirmware-XXX-DD-MM-YYYY.bin -R ("Try 'bossac -h' or ...")

Hi people,

I just used the above "bossac --port=COMx -U true -e -w -v -b RepRapFirmware-XXX-DD-MM-YYYY.bin -R" which I hope has worked for me.

I got a message saying:-

"Erase flash

No such file or directory"

Is this what I should hope to happen?

Is the next step to load the SD card with the 3 files and plug in the USB again?

Cheers,

Tom

Quote
Tommy1
Hi people,

I just used the above "bossac --port=COMx -U true -e -w -v -b RepRapFirmware-XXX-DD-MM-YYYY.bin -R" which I hope has worked for me.
I got a message saying:-
"Erase flash
No such file or directory"
Tom

You should enter the path and filename of the actual firmware update file that you want to install, which is in the "release" directory of the RepRapFirmware-Master directory

So (for example):
"bossac --port=COMx -U true -e -w -v -b C:\Ormerod\RepRapFirmware-Master\Release\RepRapFirmware-057a-16-01-2014.bin -R"

(Substitute the path to wherever you downloaded the update file and the name of that file).
Or you can copy the file to your bossac directory, in which case no need to include a path.

Dave
(#106)

Likewise, you need to replace COMx by the actual COM port that the Duet appears as after you have pressed the Erase button and then the Reset button. Use Device Manager to see which COM port number it is.

---

Large delta printer [miscsolutions.wordpress.com], E3D tool changer, Robotdigg SCARA printer, Crane Quad and Ormerod

Disclosure: I design Duet electronics and work on RepRapFirmware, [duet3d.com].

Did Arduino stop including Bossa with it's downloadables? Because I downloaded the installer and the zip and neither gave me Bossa...

did you check C:\Program Files (x86)\Arduino\hardware\tools?
Edit: nevermind i downloaded latest arduino software and it wasnt included -.-

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/05/2015 03:12PM by Darathy.

Quote
vonTugboat
Did Arduino stop including Bossa with it's downloadables? Because I downloaded the installer and the zip and neither gave me Bossa...

Attached the version that works for me

Erik

Quote
ormerod168

Quote
vonTugboat
Did Arduino stop including Bossa with it's downloadables? Because I downloaded the installer and the zip and neither gave me Bossa...

Attached the version that works for me

Erik

I'm commissioning my Huxley Duo and I have the same issue than vonTugboat: no bossac.exe in the Arduino folders, either the installer or the zip file. Having looked around and found the issues others are having updating the firmware I am uncertain whether to risk it or wait a bit... Especially since the file provided by ormerod168 is 805kB in size, the same as the file Marc van Beelen mentioned in his post on January 24, 2014 02:15AM had created problems for him:

Quote
Marc van Beelen
I downloaded the Arduino software as zip file and indeed an other bossac version was downloaded. That's where the main problem started since there appeared to be a version difference in bossac.exe (212kB in stead of 805 kB...)

I realise the firmware update is strongly recommended, can anyone give any advice and/or confirm the exe file provided by ormerod168 works with Arduino 1.6.3 for Windows?

Thanks!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/07/2015 08:53AM by Will_Keiz.

The attached works for me. "listComPorts" (open in a command window) will help you to identify the COM port the Duet is using, and the cmd file makes uploading easy - first edit the cmd file in a text editor (e.g. "Notepad") and change the COM port number to the one your Duet uses. After saving the edited file, simply drag & drop the firmware you wish to install onto the icon of that cmd file, and it will upload it to the Duet. Note that the COM port will change after you have erased the old firmware (using the erase button on the Duet), so find out the COM port number only after you have erased the old firmware. The COM port number will also change if you plug into a different USB port

Quote
dmould
The attached works for me.

same file size and timestamp as the one I posted, nicked from Arduino IDE ver. 1.5.5

Have not downloaded later versions but notice there is two "tools" directories in the Arduino downloaded archive

\Arduino IDE 1.5.5\tools
\Arduino IDE 1.5.5\hardware\tools\bossac.exe

Erik

dmould, Erik,

Thanks for your replies. I will try to implement this tomorrow or as soon as I get the chance, I can't look into it today unfortunately... I am however still wary of upgrading to 1.04 just yet. I am reading about the dc42 fork too. In any case, do you know where could I find the files for the firmware 0.78c, specifically the SD Card files? The RRP Github repository doesn't seem to have them anymore.

Will

Any version of Bossac should be suitable for uploading the firmware, however the official release from [www.shumatech.com] doesn't support the "-U true" option (which is supposed to scan the COM ports looking for the right one).

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/07/2015 05:42PM by dc42.

---

Large delta printer [miscsolutions.wordpress.com], E3D tool changer, Robotdigg SCARA printer, Crane Quad and Ormerod

Disclosure: I design Duet electronics and work on RepRapFirmware, [duet3d.com].

We just found out about bossac missing from Arduino IDE 1.6.2 onward. See: [arduino.cc]

They've changed how the boards and cores work. You can install support for the Arduino SAM-based boards ( menu Tools > Board > Boards Manager ), but doing this still doesn't seem to install bossac. While we try and find a work around, download any version of Arduino IDE prior to 1.6.2, from [arduino.cc]

For older firmware files, you can go back in the github commit history. Here's a link to the last 0.78c firmware commit: [github.com]

Ian
RepRapPro tech support

Thanks all.

Ian I had encountered the issue of having to go to the Boards Manager for the Arduino Due to appear and work - sorry I had found/solved it relatively fast when looking in the software and had forgotten to mention it.

Since I have already installed Arduino 1.6.3 and it seems to work fine (other than not being able to update the firmware as before), I will try to carry on using this version. I may run into issues if I try to uninstall it and install a previous version since my computer may remember my printer drivers (just a guess, I'm completely new with this so I'm trying to minimise risks).

I will try to use the files for 0.78c firmware (thanks a lot for pointing out where to find them, I am also new to github ), since this means I do not have to update the firmware just yet, which deals with the issue of the missing bossac temporarily. When a workaround has been found then I will update the firmware straightaway, I do realise it is highly recommended.

I will report on any issues / successes to help others in the same situation.

Will

Okay, we've worked out where Arduino IDE 1.6.2 installs. Bossac IS installed, but you have to jump through a few hoops first, and then find it...

1. Install Arduino IDE 1.6.2 or later
2. Open Arduino IDE, install support for the Arduino SAM-based boards by going to menu option Tools > Board > Boards Manager, then follow the on-screen instructions
3. This should install bossac in C:\Users[username]\AppData\Roaming\Arduino15\packages\arduino\tools\bossac\1.3a-arduino

'AppData' is a hidden folder, so to see this you will need to 'show hidden files, folders and drives' in the Windows Explorer > Tools > Folder options > Views > Advanced settings. This was tested on Windows 7, with Arduino 1.6.3, .exe installer version.
Under Ubuntu, an invisible '.Arduino15' folder is created in your user 'home' folder.

Ian
RepRapPro tech support

Thanks, Erik! New firmware is uploaded with Bossak

And thanks, Ian for the efforts

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/12/2015 03:17PM by vonTugboat.

Hi all, apologies for the long delay in the reply.

Thanks Ian for the help to find Bossac with the new versions of Arduino. Just to report on what I did: I initially started using the 0.78c firmware, it printed the calibration pieces well. However when I added the axes calibration command M556, the z-axis would go crazy (a problem reported by others, see for instance [forums.reprap.org]). Since this problem seemed to be present in the firmware 1.04 too, I decided to use the dc42 fork. I flashed it with the bossac that I found following Ian's instructions, and it worked fine.

Just a thought: the instructions/manual to build, commission, etc the Huxley Duo are good, but sometimes it can get confusing and frustrating due to bits having been copied + pasted from the manual for the Ormerod. I don't know if RRP's plan moving forward is to phase out the Huxley (I hope not, it's a good little printer) and this is why it seems to be receiving less support. I understand supplying complete instructions and gcode files for the different printers is a huge burden, but perhaps as a minimum you could add a clear disclaimer in the pages telling Huxley users to be extra careful as some values are taken from the Ormerod. I have noted you're updating the instructions online and sections will be removed, the new ones might be better, but it seems the commissioning-calibration-printing-maintenance parts have been combined so the same danger of mixing values for different printers is possibly still there.

Will

Hi Will

The update to the original Huxley, the Huxley Duo has only recently been released, and we plan to produce and support it for a long time. We're working to integrate the commissioning for all Duet-based printers into one section, so it's easier to update - I have been updating 4 sections (Ormerod 1, Ormerod 2, Huxley Duo and Mendel 3), and they are getting out of step with each other. However, it's been a busy few months, with launches of the Huxley Duo, Mendel 3, and all the dual nozzle parts, so this section has not fully been updated. The recent firmware update, though, did include proper setups for all the printers - the Huxley and Mendel had not been properly served by previous firmware versions. Now I can concentrate on updating the instructions...

Ian
RepRapPro tech support

PS Finally found bossac on Apple Mac version of Arduino IDE 1.6.2 and later: /Users/{username}/Library/Arduino15/packages/arduino/tools/bossac/1.3a-arduino
The easiest way to get to it, as the Library folder in Users is usually hidden, is to click on the Finder 'Go > Go to folder...' menu option, then type '~/Library/', then follow the above path.

Ian, instead of constantly chasing different versions of Arduino to find out where they have hidden Bossac, why doesn't RRP release a version of Bossac built from the dev branch of shumatech's github repository? As far as I can see, it includes the changes needed to support the atsam3x8e. It would make firmware updates easier for Ormerod users, because it provides a graphical user interface which makes selection of the correct file and port easier.

---

Large delta printer [miscsolutions.wordpress.com], E3D tool changer, Robotdigg SCARA printer, Crane Quad and Ormerod

Disclosure: I design Duet electronics and work on RepRapFirmware, [duet3d.com].

Hi dc42

They've only changed the location of bossac once... It's just taken a while to find it in the new version! Though they have made it more obscure in the new Arduino IDE version. The commissioning instructions currently say to use the older v1.6.1 of Arduino IDE, so all the firmware updating instructions are still the same.

We are looking at other ways to update the firmware. We need to check that bossac is freely distributable, then we have to bundle three versions of bossac (Win/Mac/Linux), and three scripts/apps/whatever, and test it, if we go that way. And time is rather precious at the moment...

I added the PS about bossac for Mac here, because it's relevant to the thread, and I wanted to note it somewhere I could refer to, because someone was asking about it the other day.

Ian
RepRapPro tech support

Another possible way to go would be to modify the firmware so that it looks for a firmware update file on the SD card. During initialisation, if it finds a firmware update file on the SD card that is a different version to the one installed, it updates its firmware from the file on the SD card. So long as all new Duets sold contain firmware with such a feature, uses will be able to update their firmware simply by copying the firmware update file onto the SD card and power-cycling the Duet. A network based update method could also be implemented provided the Duet has sufficient RAM to store the entire firmware image (so it can download to RAM and verify the checksum etc. before flashing).

If such methods are adopted, the "erase" button could be replaced by a jumper as it would only be needed for disaster recovery.

Dave.