nophead Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Zach, > So what does making the comms to the machine G > code actually achieve? You still can't drive an > existing CNC with RepRap without replacing the > electronics. You can't drive RepRap with an > existing CNC control program because they accept G > code and output it on a parallel port, they don'by ZachHoeken - RepRap Host
seeing as how i'm both a reprapper as well as involved in the fablab stuff, i'd have to say that we are in a unique position to take part in exactly what he's preaching. to put it metaphorically, RepRap could be the engine in the FabLab racecar.by ZachHoeken - General
1. if you're using 1 board, the powercomms is unneccesary. the arduino essentially contains the usb cable + serial converter onboard. if you're using 2 arduinos you need it because you need to reroute the signals around the arduino's onboard controller. 2. yeah, until its working properly i'd prefer not to confuse people. the easiest way to get up and running is with the single-arduino firmwaby ZachHoeken - Controllers
blerik: i'll add that in for sure. good work. ian: thanks for the suggestions, i'll try and implement them nophead: they'd have to figure that out themselves. one easy solution is to use the arduino electronics with their existing CNC machine. nobody has done it yet, so we cant give you an exact example, but the potential exists. also, its important to implement them as custom commands, soby ZachHoeken - RepRap Host
interesting. are there any of those mid-high level boards available as DIP? what about open source development tools? finally, does anyone have experience with smaller, single board computers? i was reading an article on that and they seem pretty rad as well.by ZachHoeken - Controllers
awesome. i'm looking forward to playing with this. yay!by ZachHoeken - RepRap Host
Adrian, the current heavyweight champion of slice/dice has fixed the host software! The current subversion build successfully handles the minimug file. I'm putting the povray stuff on hold and admitting defeat. Yay! blerik: lets take the gcodewriter stuff and get it into the current subversion. i'd like to start using that and making it my primary print output format.by ZachHoeken - RepRap Host
you know, i've never actually gotten the dual arduino setup to work properly. i could never get the rs232 stuff to work well. it should work in theory, but i've been too busy to buckle down and fully debug it when there is a working way that is cheaper/easier. thankfully, you can run everything off a single arduino. infact, i would strongly suggest you do that. you'll have to rewire, but it wby ZachHoeken - Controllers
side note: i have a design for an arduino breakout shield with screw-terminals for each pin. works great for all sorts of wires! no more broken pins in your arduino. yay!by ZachHoeken - Controllers
the reason for a micro on each one isnt to solve the 3-axis dda Bresenham stuff. like nophead said, thats already solved. infact, thats how both the arduino does it. that stuff works great, and if you want to print stuff now, its easy! however, what happens when you want to step outside that nice little box? what if you want to do a polar printer where the bed is at a constant rotation, theby ZachHoeken - Controllers
its not really a backwards step. let me break it down: the L297 costs $10. the atmega168 costs $5. of course, the drivers cost more, but you could also theoretically still use L298s. i'd rather go with these h-bridges for various reasons, but i will stay on topic. the benefits of using a reprogrammable microcontroller based stepper driver are huge: * microstepping. - up to 16 steps! * youby ZachHoeken - Controllers
check out this stepper driver: i want to buy one and build it. i have a feeling something like this could be a very nice addition to our arsenal. it has lots of potential.. especially if we update it to the atmega168 and make it compatible with arduino.by ZachHoeken - Controllers
yeah, although its a bummer that we cant use any of these 'standard' gcodes.by ZachHoeken - RepRap Host
i'm okay with gcode. its clunky and old, but its used everywhere and imho that makes up for most of its failings. not only that, but its plaintext with human units which means people can easily write gcode by hand, or use a gcode generator. next?by ZachHoeken - RepRap Host
yo. okay, first off... GCode_Host.pde is a Processing sketch. Processing is sort of a father project to Arduino. the use a similar interface. Processing is for building host side apps. Download the latest copy of processing from processing.org secondly, once you compile it, this is seriously the most basic app ever. no joke. processing doesnt support file dialogs or anything yet, so it loby ZachHoeken - RepRap Host
the SLA7062M says its for driving unipolar steppers... is it possible to drive bipolar ones as well, or will people have to re-wire?by ZachHoeken - Controllers
i updated the documentation page on the wiki: please let me know if there are any errors. i'm looking forward to doing some drawing with GCode later this week.by ZachHoeken - RepRap Host
andy: checkout mcmaster.com they have a great part selector.by ZachHoeken - Polymer Working Group
cool, good luck with your program!by ZachHoeken - Controllers
good news! 1. sqrt() is a function in the arduino environment (or part of avr-gcc most likely) 2. i've got a 'first-shot' feedrate implementation that seems to work! (i timed it an it works like a charm.) check it out via subversion. yay!by ZachHoeken - RepRap Host
basically your program was making the stepper go forward and backward one step over and over (and not moving). let us know how it goes!by ZachHoeken - Controllers
once you attach them as a file, theres a 'place inline' button. steve, i'll email you a button.by ZachHoeken - Controllers
which bearings? the roller bearings are fairly crucial to keep everything orthogonal. the PTFE bearings are also rather crucial, unless you want to replace your acrylic stages ($100+) every few hundred hours instead of some PTFE strips ($5) the fact that they also make things much smoother is just icing on the cake.by ZachHoeken - Mechanics
its not required, but i certainly dont want someone to fry their computer on my recommendation. get one with opto isolation if you value your computer.by ZachHoeken - Controllers
well, i would love you to order from the RRRF. every order we get helps out tremendously and will go towards improving the RepRap project in general.by ZachHoeken - Controllers
> It's a shame that rrrf don't seem to stock the > opto isolators and steppers anymore otherwise I > would actually have the right parts. sorry. i'm trying my hardest, but having everything in stock at the same time requires money. seeing as how the RRRF doesnt have enough if it, its a balancing game. donations are always welcome.by ZachHoeken - Controllers
hello, without knowing exactly how you have the circuit setup, i cant tell you *exactly* what your problem is. however, there is one thing that sticks out: in order to drive a stepper motor you need to send a specific sequence of step signals. for the most straightforward mode, 'full step' there is a 4-signal sequence that is repeated. see this page for more info: good luck!by ZachHoeken - Controllers
yay! i was right in reading the datasheet =) if you're using the arduino based stepper motor driver, you'll probably be fine. it uses current chopping so you can adjust the current that goes through it. adding some car lights in series would not be a bad idea though.by ZachHoeken - Controllers
Enrique Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I'm working on Export Slices; which is at: > . > bsh awesome! how do i run that?? > > I have a few questions about the reprap GCode. > > Is absolute positioning available? If so what is > an example absolute positioning code? yes, its easy. you may want to refer directly to the source code. thby ZachHoeken - RepRap Host
reece.arnott Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > OK, I've been looking over some of the sequence of > things and heres what I've come up with... > > 1. slice STL into 2D images based on layer height. > (ideally PNG) > > This actually breaks down into 2 stages if we > follow the Mad Scientist approach: > a. stl -> povray .inc file >by ZachHoeken - RepRap Host