Hi Chris I have your host running but only jogging at the moment. If I change the jog increment to 5mm the jog fails to complete. The button stays greyed out and in the comms window a single k appears and scrolls off the screen. I have to restart the software to gain control again. Other odd things happen but this is the most obvious. Could the problem be register size as my drives are micro stby emt - RepRap Host
Hi Is this using original electronics or Arduino electronics?by emt - Controllers
Hi Perhaps it might be easier to stick to G code G2 & G3 for arcs and parse them in the firmware. That way you maintain G code standard which may become important in the future as people build hybrid machines i.e. Milling and extruding.by emt - RepRap Host
Hi If there is an intermediate file I presume the programme that spools the data to the machine will still use the preferences file or something similar. I assume it will also have a means of homing. Can I suggest that the Z home uses the other switch as far away from the table as possible and the actual table surface to home distance is stored in the preferences as an offset from the switch. Iby emt - RepRap Host
Hi Certainly gets my voteby emt - RepRap Host
Hi Answering my own question. The switches are correct but I had the axis travelling the wrong way. I read the cartesian instructions forgetting that the equivilant to my head lowering is the Darwin table rising. I was expecting the Z home to be at the top of slide travel i.e. as far away from the table as possible as this is the norm for CNC machines.by emt - RepRap Host
Hi Using single Arduino electronics I am hoping to use an existing CNC mill with an extruder mounted. I am currently setting it up. Which is the Z min position? Is this at the top of Z the stroke? I have it set this way but when I home using stepper excerciser it ignores the upper microswitch but stops if I press the lower switch. It may be I have the switches the wrong way round. All swiby emt - RepRap Host
Hi I have built an Arduino shield that has 2 25 way D type sockets mimicking 2 LPTS. Still testing with standard hardware that accepts MACH3 CNC commands. So far so good and very simple. I believe Ian Adkins (Bits from Bytes) is working on something similar that may be availableby emt - Controllers
Hi This was posted By Dan Putnam and is what I used to get going under Windows Here is a start at a step by step install of reprap-host-0.8.1 for windows Step by step install for Windows XP Install jre1.5.11 Accept the license Window platform J2SE check the check box for windows offline installation, multilanguage download Click the orange box "Download selected with sun download manager Hopby emt - RepRap Host
Hi I have great big Estop button on the machine. It is industry practice and it must open a holding circuit that kills all motors on a machine so if for instance the wire drops off or breaks it fails safe. In fact the latest Estop regulations are quite complex (self testing is involved) and is one of the reasons I no longer retrofit machine tools which until recently was my day job. Unfortunateby emt - RepRap Host
Hi I would like to see a PC screen button (plus hot key) that stops all movement of axes and extruder no matter what function is currently running (Build, Stepper exerciser, whatever). I believe if servo drives are ever used it could well be essential as they don't stall if you run the extruder into the table. A quick answer would quite fairly be "Well add one". Unfortunately I know next to noby emt - RepRap Host
Hi I have the same situation with the PC some distance away from the machine that does have an Estop button. I was sitting at the PC when I initiated the crash (with stepper exerciser) and did not get to the machine panel in time. So an Estop or panic button on the screen might have saved me. If I understood Java and the Host commands I would have a go at adding a button myself.by emt - RepRap Host
Hi Zach I realised the quickest solution was to do a hardware invert so it matches the existing firmware. Like you I am keen to get the thing working. Perhaps I will look at a common set up file if I really find G code is better than the normal host. One thing I would like to see in the Host is a big button you can hit that will stop all current movements and kill any pending movements. Don't aby emt - RepRap Host
Hi Zach I have at last connected Z axis to the Arduino. This has bought up a small issue. The Drive requires the quiescent state to be HIGH going LOW to issue a pulse. This in itself is not a problem as I can edit RepStepper.cpp. Unfortunately my X axis drive is in the other state i.e quiescent LOW going HIGH for a step. I could make a custom RepStepper.cpp and I will if necessary. However I mby emt - RepRap Host
Hi Nophead Most CNC machines have PLC interfaces these days. M functions can be trapped & acted on in the PLC. I have a small machine that will shortly have a common interface to both the single Arduino and a PC based CNC using 2 parallel ports. I believe I can set up the CNC to provide temperature control using a spare analogue or PWM output. The advantage to me is I can use a single 3 axiby emt - RepRap Host
Hi Running GcodeWriter I see the following message frequently repeated:- RrHalfPlane.find(): plane not found! Also what controls the speed as it seems to run at actual extrusion speed? Presumably it could run a lot faster when it is only producing a file. If a real running file is to be produced a method of setting will be needed. This could be G28 homing followed by an absolute move to a suby emt - RepRap Host
Hi Many thanks once again, I can now create a working executable. All I have to do now is learn Java !!!! I now have several reprap.jars on my PC. Is it possible to add the version number somewhere so it appears on the top of the GUI?by emt - RepRap Host
Hi Well I can now get an error free build using Eclipse with the older host and including the GcodeWriter. The very last thing I need to know is how to produce a Reprap.jar as an executable. I tried export guessing the options but I get a huge file compared to the Reprap.jar supplied in the host packages and of course it does not work. Can some one point me in the right direction? A screen shotby emt - RepRap Host
Hi Zach That works, thanks.by emt - RepRap Host
Hi I have compiled and uploaded GCode_Interpreter.pde to the Arduino. Do you then have to load & compile GCode_Host.pde? If I do I get an error:- error: 'String' does not name a type In function 'void setup()': In function 'void draw()': At global scope: Am I doing something wrong?by emt - RepRap Host
Hi Blerik I think I see where I went wrong. Clicking the link on your post I got Revision 1369: /tags/host/0.8.1 Which I think is very the latest version and I checked that into Eclipse. The O.8.1 fooled me. What is the revision number of the version 0.8.1 you are using? I will try importing the version 0.8.1.zip later when I figure out how to do it.by emt - RepRap Host
Many thanks for the help. I have learned a lot the last couple of days. I think I have done everything correctly but I now get build errors:- The method setLowerShell(BranchGroup) in the type Previewer is not applicable for the arguments (Shape3D) The method setMaterial(int, double, double) is undefined for the type Previewer The type GCodeWriter must implement the inherited abstract methodby emt - RepRap Host
Hi Blerik Many thanks, I now get an error free build selecting Head Revision in SVN. In the SVN how do you identify RepRap host 0.8.1.? This all started so I could try your Gcodewriter so where do you place GCodeWriter.java so it is included in the build? I kind of understand how a Digf file works. Is patch an executable and is it available in Windows? Sorry for all these questions but Javby emt - RepRap Host
Hi Thanks Blerik I have Eclipse installed in Windows and got the SVN working. To start with I had about 600 errors but after sorting out the java3D and RTX libraries and getting them in the correct place I am down to 3 errors STLLoader cannot be resolved to a type Reprap/src/org/reprap/gui STLLoader cannot be resolved to a type Reprap/src/org/reprap/gui The import org.j3d cannot be resby emt - RepRap Host
Hi Can anyone point me to any documentation on using Eclipse on a Windows PC to build the rerap project. The website seems to only have information on using Linux. I seem to remember at one time there were some instructions on using Windows as well but it seems to have been removed.by emt - RepRap Host
Hi Can someone supply a REPRAP.JAR file with Blerik's patches to version 0.8.1 for the Java challenged who also work only in Windows?by emt - RepRap Host
Hi Ian The latest Arduino firmare is in an attachment from Zach on this thread in this forum:- "How does Stepper Excerciser work" The problems I have found are listed in the same thread. I am still trying to get my head round how it all works in the hope I can trace the bug.by emt - RepRap Host
Hi Zach I have just studied the debug window and worked out partly what it means. When you move the X axis slider The X axis seem to always be returning 0. DEBUG: X axis - getting position. It is... [699.313s/203ms] comms: tx 0->2: 4 [699.313s/0ms] comms: rx: 54 52 30 0 2 bd [699.313s/0ms] comms: rx: 54 51 33 0 2 4 0 0 2c [699.329s/16ms] DEBUG: ...0 [699.329s/0ms] DEBUG: X axis - gettiby emt - RepRap Host
Hi Zach I may not have explained the bug clearly. This is a single Arduino if it makes a difference (I believe you are using a dual setup). It now seems 100% solid without any hardware connected to the Arduino. Start the software and the stepper excerciser. All actual postions show 20000. Move the X stepper slider to the right and the and The actual X position readout goes to 0 and stays thby emt - RepRap Host
Hi Zach I just realised that I had an original Comms PCB and a universal controller that I was going to use before the Arduino became available with an easier interface to step and direction drives. So... I tried that on the stepper exerciser. That works exactly as I expected. So the Arduino is different to the PIC. I may not have a problem with the Direction signal. It may be that the Arduiby emt - RepRap Host