corexy printer with ramps + mega + full graphic lcd

hi,

I having some problems printing some more complex objects. The problem is the print is not fluid and was some micro stops, was result the print was tiny blob and the walls are not uniform.
I have read this problem is common with deltas printer that use 8 bit board with lcd, because the lack of power of the ramps.

My configuration: last version of repetier, ramps, mega, 1/16 steppers and full graphic lcd, raspberry with octoprint connected by usb.

Is there a way to print without this issue and with the lcd?

I not sure what is the best move to solve this...
Maybe replacing the full graphic lcd to an 4x20 lines?
replace the ramps to an 32 bit board? something like ramps-fd or radds?
Try to optimize the repetier firmware?
use 1/8 steppers in the extruder and z?

If you have an corexy printer I would to know what configuration you have?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/21/2015 06:02AM by filipeCampos.

I don't have a CoreXY machine, however your post reminds me of another recent post in which the someone reported that the print went OK when he printed direct from SD card, but took much longer and had much worse print quality when he printed via USB from Octoprint.

It is an established fact that some host program/operating system combinations struggle to send data over the USB port fast enough to keep up with the printer. The underlying cause is that most 8-bit boards (including Arduino Mega) don't have a true USB port, they have a USB-to-serial converter with no flow control over the serial link. This is not the way any competent systems engineer would design a system that needs to feed data over a USB link quite quickly, because it forces the host program to wait for an "OK" response after sending each command. While it is waiting for the "OK", the host operating system is likely to decide that the host program is idle and suspend it so it can use the CPU to do more useful things.

The problem is at its worst when the host operating system is running a lot of other tasks, e.g. Windows being used to surf the web while printing, and maybe doing a scheduled backup, indexing files, or checking for updates to Windows at the same time. An RPi dedicated to running Octoprint should be less badly affected, if at all. However, that other post and your own suggest to me that RPi/Octoprint can suffer from this problem too, at least in some configurations.

To determine whether this is the cause of your problem, I suggest you remove the SD card from your printer, copy the gcode file to it using a PC, put it back in the printer, and use the LCD control panel to print it. If the problem goes away, then we can conclude that Octoprint is not feeding data to the printer fast enough. If the problem remains, then your theory about the GLCD using too much CPU time for an 8-bit processor may be valid.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/21/2015 06:52AM by dc42.

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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 using octoprint only to start the print from the sd card inserted in the lcd. The problem i reported is printing directly from the lcd and not octoprint.
Printing using octoprint by usb is simply to slow.

Quote
filipeCampos
I using octoprint only to start the print from the sd card inserted in the lcd. The problem i reported is printing directly from the lcd and not octoprint.
Printing using octoprint by usb is simply to slow.

In that case, the micropauses might indeed be caused by lack of CPU power when driving the GLCD. Can you rebuild or reconfigure your firmware without GLCD support, and try the print again?

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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].

Recompiled repetier firmware without GLCD and with SD card support, made several prints and everthing is very fluid and no micro stop.
I have an lcd 4x20, i have recompiled the repetier with this lcd and same result, print without any issue.

This 2 test prove that the GLCD do not work well with an corexy printer and an 16 bit board.

I think i will upgrade my ramps to an 32 bit board that support my 12864 GLCD.
I was thinking to buy and arduino due + radds 1.5. I have read a lot o people to recommend an smoothieboard or smoothie clone, but i not sure if it will work with my GLCD and octoprint.

Any sugestion?

You might want to consider 32-bit Duet electronics. It has an Ethernet port and runs its own web server, so no need for Octoprint unless you want a camera too. It doesn't support your 12864 LCD, instead it supports a colour touch screen (PanelDue) that I developed. However, most people using Duets don't bother with an LCD screen, instead they upload files to the built-in SD card through the web interface and control the printer using the web interface from a PC, tablet or smartphone.

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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].

Already checked the duet board, is look to be a very nice all in one board solution and the 0.6 version is a great value for is price.

But i not sure if is an valid option for me because I have already lots of hardware that i want the reuse.
- not work with my glcd. Already have 2 lcd, i do not want to buy one more...
- Already have an raspberry with camera, usb wifi and octoprint. Octoprint with repetier is a great combination, and for i have see octoprint is one of the best web interface out there. Will the duet firmware work with octoprint?
- i do not know reprapfirmware, not sure if is was the features i need. Already used marlin and is a big mess. I changed to repetier an for me is far better and easy to configure.
- To have my printer wireless with duet is necessary to buy an router.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/22/2015 05:49AM by filipeCampos.

Felipe Campos:

I currently use the Duet via the web interface on my CoreXY printer. It works quite well. I have also used another printer, a Simple, that was set up with Octoprint.

My observation is this: I found it convenient to use the slicer built into octoprint, as I could then upload STL files even from my phone and Octoprint would slice and then upload to the printer. Seeing the printer operate on my phone via Octoprint webcam was also cool. These two functions were the only real advantages over the Duet web interface, and really end up not that important. Here is why:

I have found that I ALMOST NEVER print an object that I have not edited first, usually with tinkercad.com. My phone or tablets are AWFUL for using tinkercad or other editor, so I use a regular computer to edit files -- SO since I already always use a computer, I use my computer to slice too and upload to Duet - and don't need Octoprint to slice for me or upload. Once you already have a file in the Duet, if you need to kick off another copy, you can easily do that from any phone or tablet.

I find that I really don't need to see the print over the internet either, as I have to be nearby to abort a bad print I might see via the webcam anyway.

The web interface on Duet does a fine job of everything else I want to do with the printer. I can use the interface from my phones and tablets for simple controlling on long prints, after the upload from my pc.

The only thing I might use sometimes is the video from octoprint so I can watch a movie in the living room and not walk 20 feet to look at print progress for very long prints..but this is not a very common occurrence and since I live in a rabbit hutch in New York City instead of a real house, it isn't like I need to weed the garden and the printer is never very far away from me while printing. If you want to watch the video feed remotely though, that is pretty easy and cheap to set up with your existing raspberry pi & camera, or any other webcam with ethernet support. Then you could still easily weed YOUR garden while monitoring a long print on your telephone.....

I highly recommend the Duet. It is is the cheapest 32 bit controller for a single extruder printer that you can buy now and it works really well for CoreXY. I expect it will work even better for me when I get auto leveling up and running!!!

I think you can use several LCD options on Duet, but I find that I really don't miss an LCD with it. The web interface from my phone is great.

I guess that if you do not have a good place to connect your printer to a wired connection and really need USB wifi, that could be a deal breaker though.

I do not use octoprint to slide for the same reason you have indicated, normally is necessary to change to position of the object or change some details.

I have read more about the duet 0.6 board and i read only good things.

I need to have webcam to check the print and really like to have an lcd to make quick changes. I think is possible to use my raspberry was an router and stream the webcam, but i will have 2 web site. One site to control the printer an another to the webcam. The lcd is an deal break, the colour lcd of the duet is really nice but way too expensive. I do not like to have 1/16 steppers, already have 5 1/32 and want the reuses.

At the end i still think radds 1.5 is my best option, support 5 motors, really well made, i can reuse my 1/32 steppers, glcd, repetier, raspberry. Was the price is 55 euro + 14 euro for arduino clone. The duet is 60 euro, less 9 euros but lots of opened questions about if some functionality will work and if it will be necessary to buy more hardware.
If i was starting from scratch and not upgrading from an ramps solution, then almost sure i choose duet 0.6.

I found a board called "smart ramps" for arduino due, anyone have tested this board? is this a new board?

[forums.reprap.org]

[it.aliexpress.com]

The price for the Duet is lower from Replikeo.com:
Duet 44,82 €
shipping 8,52 €
Total 53,34

currently I think this ends up being the lowest price for a 32 bit board, drivers, and control interface (web page) combo available. It may even be the cheapest option for full function CoreXY since the 8 bit ramps options may have trouble keeping up once you add all the bells and whistles.

You are correct that you might get some more functionality from the Due/Ramps combo if you already have a lot of the parts. HOWEVER, I think the duet might still be cheaper and setup is probably simpler.

Another thing that might be important is that DC42 seems to be EXTREMELY invested in making sure his firmware and SD card files work really well. I found an error that caused my printer to do something weird (an obscure glitch I found because of my unusual end stop and print combo) DC42 had a firmware fix up in 24 hours.

Everything works REALLY well for me even with the 1/16 drivers... but then I also have 400 step per revolution motors. I do not have any experience with Due/Ramps and Repetier, so I can't compare. Maybe I will see one at Maker Faire NYC this weekend?????

I check the web site for the price of the duet 0.6 and i get 44,82 + 16,31 shipping = 61,13
Replikeo.com is shipping from an country in Europe? if not is necessary to add something like +30 to 40% in the total price because of Portugal tax.

Replikeo ships from China. as for the different shipping cost, Maybe the website can recognize where you are websurfing from and automatically changes shipping charges??? I am in New York City

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/23/2015 12:00PM by patrickrio.