Can I Connect the Printer Using Pronterface over Ethernet?

It seems that when connecting to the printer over Ethernet, we can only use the web interface. But we cannot do the printing work automacally in that way. For example, we cannot using a task planning node to control all the printers using TCP commands, we have to click the bottons on the web interface to control the printers.
Although we can do this work using the serial port, but if we can use the Ethernet to connect, it will make the system structure simpler.
And since the original Pronterface from Printrun is able to connect the printer using TCP commands, does Ormerod support this way?

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Versia
It seems that when connecting to the printer over Ethernet, we can only use the web interface.

That is not correct. FTP and Telnet are supported, too.

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Versia
But we cannot do the printing work automacally in that way. For example, we cannot using a task planning node to control all the printers using TCP commands, we have to click the bottons on the web interface to control the printers.
Although we can do this work using the serial port, but if we can use the Ethernet to connect, it will make the system structure simpler.
And since the original Pronterface from Printrun is able to connect the printer using TCP commands, does Ormerod support this way?

You can use Telnet to control your printer, however Telnet does not fully emulate Marlin (yet). So even if Pronterface is able to communicate TCP/IP, it will be somewhat experimental since this functionality has not been officially tested.

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zombiepantslol

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Versia
It seems that when connecting to the printer over Ethernet, we can only use the web interface.

That is not correct. FTP and Telnet are supported, too.

Quote
Versia
But we cannot do the printing work automacally in that way. For example, we cannot using a task planning node to control all the printers using TCP commands, we have to click the bottons on the web interface to control the printers.
Although we can do this work using the serial port, but if we can use the Ethernet to connect, it will make the system structure simpler.
And since the original Pronterface from Printrun is able to connect the printer using TCP commands, does Ormerod support this way?

You can use Telnet to control your printer, however Telnet does not fully emulate Marlin (yet). So even if Pronterface is able to communicate TCP/IP, it will be somewhat experimental since this functionality has not been officially tested.

Thank you! But could you tell me how to use the telnet to connect it? If I just use

telnet [The printer IP address]

Then it told me that the connection is refused.

Which firmware are you using? You need the latest version (1.09) to use this feature.

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zombiepantslol
Which firmware are you using? You need the latest version (1.09) to use this feature.

Thank you! After upgrading to 1.09, I can use the telnet now.
However, there's a problem with the temperature it sent now.
The temperature before should be something like that:

T:23.2 B:24.7

However, after upgrading, the temperature is something like that:

T: B:24.7 H0:24.7/-273.0 H1:23.2/-273.0

I think that the H0 means the bed temperature and H1 means the tool temperature. However, the firmware cannot recognize the tool temperature and thus the printer cannot work.

I'm using the firmware 1.09 now and the SD image files are the newest ones from your github.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/19/2015 10:40AM by Versia.

No big deal, you need to send T0 to activate the first tool. Then the temperature should be reported.

Out of curiosity, why don't you use the web interface instead?

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zombiepantslol
No big deal, you need to send T0 to activate the first tool. Then the temperature should be reported.

Out of curiosity, why don't you use the web interface instead?

Thank you! It works. But why it didn't work by adding T0 to the last line of config.g (I have added T0 to the last line of config.g, but it still responds with something like T: B:24.7 H0:24.7/-273.0 H1:23.2/-273.0)? I think it should work same as I send it manually.

I prefer to use the command because I want to make multiple printers to work at the same time to print a product, and the web interface cannot do that work.

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Versia
But why it didn't work by adding T0 to the last line of config.g (I have added T0 to the last line of config.g, but it still responds with something like T: B:24.7 H0:24.7/-273.0 H1:23.2/-273.0)? I think it should work same as I send it manually.

Yes that's right, it should work, although it is not officially supported either. It's best to run T0 in your start G-code instead. Nonetheless, I'll check if I can reproduce that on my machine and fix it if anything is wrong in the firmware.

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Versia
I prefer to use the command because I want to make multiple printers to work at the same time to print a product, and the web interface cannot do that work.

Yes, you can do that with a web interface. Each machine must have a different MAC address and IP address in their config.g files, so you need to change those two lines for each printer.

e.g.
Machine 1 ...
M540 P0xBE:0xEF:0xDE:0xAD:0xFE:0x00 ; Set the MAC address
M552 P192.168.1.50; Set the IP address

Machine 2 ...
M540 P0xBE:0xEF:0xDE:0xAD:0xFE:0x01 ; Set the MAC address
M552 P192.168.1.51; Set the IP address

Machine 3 ...
M540 P0xBE:0xEF:0xDE:0xAD:0xFE:0x02 ; Set the MAC address
M552 P192.168.1.52; Set the IP address

etc. (The first 3 digits of the IP addresses should suit your network).

You can then open a separate browser window or tab for each printer by typing its IP address into the browser's address bar and control as many printers as you like from one PC.

The MAC addresses are 6 byte hexadecimal numbers and can be almost anything you like so long as they are different - although there are restrictions regarding the first byte so it's safest to leave that as the default of 0xBE

Dave

Btw my next web interface version will also change the page title to the machine's name, that should make it a bit easier if you're working with multiple machines.

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dmould
You can then open a separate browser window or tab for each printer by typing its IP address into the browser's address bar and control as many printers as you like from one PC.

Yes, I know that I can control multiple printers in that way. In fact, I want to print an object with 3~4 parts, and each part can be customized (e.g. the color or the shape). Then I want to make a web interface to do the customization. And after I press the "Print" button in the webpage, the corresponding printers will start to print. So I think the web interface in the printer cannot meet my need.

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Versia

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dmould
You can then open a separate browser window or tab for each printer by typing its IP address into the browser's address bar and control as many printers as you like from one PC.

Yes, I know that I can control multiple printers in that way. In fact, I want to print an object with 3~4 parts, and each part can be customized (e.g. the color or the shape). Then I want to make a web interface to do the customization. And after I press the "Print" button in the webpage, the corresponding printers will start to print. So I think the web interface in the printer cannot meet my need.

Fascinating idea,
so you have a bank of printers each loaded with a different color.... and you are planning to make some sort of GUI set up to select colors and it slices and directs the gcode to the proper printer?
I'll assume this is a commercial operation of some kind..... but I could see the usefulness of this in a RepRap Farm etc... Not so much for a hobbyist as myself who can only afford the one printer
Also be interesting if you could have the server/interface 'collect' jobs for the same printer until there's enough to fill the entire build plate and then print all the items at once.... depends how quickly you'd want stuff after pressing print I suppose.

I assume you'd still be printing from the SD card one the printers get going, or you could have ooze problems if there is a communication lag

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/20/2015 01:07AM by shadow651.

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Versia

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dmould
You can then open a separate browser window or tab for each printer by typing its IP address into the browser's address bar and control as many printers as you like from one PC.

Yes, I know that I can control multiple printers in that way. In fact, I want to print an object with 3~4 parts, and each part can be customized (e.g. the color or the shape). Then I want to make a web interface to do the customization. And after I press the "Print" button in the webpage, the corresponding printers will start to print. So I think the web interface in the printer cannot meet my need.

Yes, a remarkable idea. I am however still not sure why a web interface (or at least a TCP/IP connection) could not be used. It would be just as much programming work to open a USB connection to a specific printer as it would to open a TCP/IP connection. In the former case the variable is the COM port number, in the latter case it is the IP address. And while the IP address will always refer to a particular printer, the COM port number can change if you plug the printers into a different USB port - or even after a reboot of the PC. Added to which I would have thought it would be more convenient to site at least some of the printers further away from the PC than the max. USB cable length (5m without repeaters). IIUC Zombie's firmware will allow you to use a Telnet connection in the same way as a pseudo-serial USB connection.

Dave

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dmould

Yes, a remarkable idea. I am however still not sure why a web interface (or at least a TCP/IP connection) could not be used. It would be just as much programming work to open a USB connection to a specific printer as it would to open a TCP/IP connection. In the former case the variable is the COM port number, in the latter case it is the IP address. And while the IP address will always refer to a particular printer, the COM port number can change if you plug the printers into a different USB port - or even after a reboot of the PC. Added to which I would have thought it would be more convenient to site at least some of the printers further away from the PC than the max. USB cable length (5m without repeaters). IIUC Zombie's firmware will allow you to use a Telnet connection in the same way as a pseudo-serial USB connection.

Dave

Yes. I am trying to use the TCP/IP connection. That's exactly why I posted this thread.
I've recognized the drawbacks of connecting mutiple printers using the USB cable, so I want to use the TCP/IP to control it (As I have said, the web interface is not enough for my work). However, I can't find the document about how to use TCP/IP to control it, so I posted this thread for help. And hopefully, zombiepantslol helped me to solve this problem by updating the firmware and using telnet.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/20/2015 10:43AM by Versia.

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zombiepantslol

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Versia
But why it didn't work by adding T0 to the last line of config.g (I have added T0 to the last line of config.g, but it still responds with something like T: B:24.7 H0:24.7/-273.0 H1:23.2/-273.0)? I think it should work same as I send it manually.

Yes that's right, it should work, although it is not officially supported either. It's best to run T0 in your start G-code instead. Nonetheless, I'll check if I can reproduce that on my machine and fix it if anything is wrong in the firmware.

Besides, I found that if I add the "T0" to the last line of the config.g, I will be unable to connect the printer using the Ethernet (neither through web interface nor telnet).

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Versia
Besides, I found that if I add the "T0" to the last line of the config.g, I will be unable to connect the printer using the Ethernet (neither through web interface nor telnet).

It works in 1.09a-dc42, I just tested it. Perhaps it is because in my fork, I have code that skips running the tool change files if the printer has not been homed yet.

---

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].

That sounds reasonable, I may adopt your changes in my next firmware release. I'll investigate this problem once I've managed to get the firmware to compile again with Arduino 1.6.4 - the board files are ready and work, but Lwip's directory structure is too complex for Arduino's build system, which is why I'm considering to move away entirely from Eclipse/Arduino IDE for compilation and to use qmake or cmake instead.

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zombiepantslol
... which is why I'm considering to move away entirely from Eclipse/Arduino IDE for compilation and to use qmake or cmake instead.

I've been looking at moving away from the Arduino build system and also the Arduino core for a while. All the useful functions are in the ARM core libraries, and the Arduino core adds very little value to them IMO except for novice developers. We've already had to bypass the Arduino core in several places. It would also save us from having to keep chasing new Arduino versions. But I'd stick with Eclipse, because it is a decent IDE for C++. The IDE I use for PanelDue and my hot end boards is Atmel Studio, which I find easier to configure than Eclipse; but moving to that would probably upset the Linux folks.

---

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].

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dc42

It works in 1.09a-dc42, I just tested it. Perhaps it is because in my fork, I have code that skips running the tool change files if the printer has not been homed yet.

Yes, your firmware works. But I found another problem. Everytime I heat the tool to about 100 ℃, it stops heating and sends the message:

Temperature fault on heater 1, T = -273.1

And this problem also exists in the official firmware 1.09. So do you know what's wrong with my printer?

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Versia
Everytime I heat the tool to about 100 ℃, it stops heating and sends the message:

Temperature fault on heater 1, T = -273.1

And this problem also exists in the official firmware 1.09. So do you know what's wrong with my printer?

You have an intermittent connection in the wiring between the hot end thermistor and the Duet.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/22/2015 03:21AM 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].

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dc42
You have an intermittent connection in the wiring between the hot end thermistor and the Duet.

Thank you! The problem was solved after I changed the hot end.

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dc42

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Versia
Besides, I found that if I add the "T0" to the last line of the config.g, I will be unable to connect the printer using the Ethernet (neither through web interface nor telnet).

It works in 1.09a-dc42, I just tested it. Perhaps it is because in my fork, I have code that skips running the tool change files if the printer has not been homed yet.

As you may remember I had the same problem as I tested RRP 1.09.