Duet Firmware Update
Contents
- 1 Updating Duet firmware
Updating Duet firmware
Get the firmware file
You shall first get the firmware version file needed for the firmware update. There are multiple forks, so have a look [| here]. Check first that you still have the file of the actual firmware version in case you need to revert to it. Only DC42 (and ZPL) forks manage Delta and CoreXY printers. These two forks are the only being still in development and there are exchanges between them. File name structure is : RepRapFirmware-XXX-DD-MM-YYYY.bin, where XXX is the version, and DD-MM-YYYY is the date of the firmware.
How it works
To update the Duet Firmware, you need to connect the Duet to your PC via an USB cable. During the update, the transmission speed is low (1200 bauds), so you can use a relatively long USB cable, if needed.
The firmware is transferred to the board via a program named Bossac, as found on an old version of Arduino development environment (IDE) , the version of IDE to get it is the 1.5.5. (in C:\Arduino-1.5.4\hardware\tools\bossac.exe ) Note that there is a GUI Bossa program which does not work on the Duet. Use only the command line program version 1.3a.
Plug the USB cable
Plug the USB cable. The 5V supplied by USB may be sufficient to power the board if there is no accessories attached to the 5V supply. You may also power normally the board if there are others 5V consumers (e.g. fans) or if the 5V of your computer is weak (portable computers).
Erase existing firmware
Prior updating, the board firmware shall be erased and the board re-initialized.
- On the Duet 0.6, the erase and reset buttons are on the face of the board, the erase button between Ethernet connector and SD card slot, the reset button aside the USB connector.
- On the Duet 0.8.5, these two buttons are on the side of the board beside the connectors, so there is no need to open the printer or board cover.
Press the erase button, wait at least 5 seconds then press the reset button and wait 15 seconds for the board to restart.
Erasing the firmware place the board in a special communication mode and it became a serial peripheral visible by the computer under name 'BOSSA'.
Check proper communication with PC
On Windows
Check first that the board is in communication with the computer and is ready for update by checking in the Windows 'Device manager' that the board is shown as a COM port (e.g. COM5) under the name 'Bossa'. If it is shown as an Arduino Due, the erase had not worked and shall be redone.
On MAC
On Linux
Transfer
Install the bossac.exe program and the firmware file in a temporary directory (e.g. c:\mytmp) Then open a command prompt window and go to the temporary directory (e.g. type: cd c:\mytmp) Then type :
bossac.exe -e -w -v -b RepRapFirmware-XXX-DD-MM-YYYY.bin
with the '.bin' file corresponding to your firmware update version file. There are messages during the update, which is checked after the upload.
Check update is properly done
To check the version, you have to unpower/repower (or reset) the board, and you can check the version on the web interface, in the window 'configuration'. Beware the board does not start instantly, neither the web interface communication and you may wait a few seconds to see the version.
Update configuration and image
You may need to modify the config file and/or modify the SD card files (SD “image”). Check the release notes of the uploaded version and ALL the releases notes of the intermediate version between your former and actual version.
Use FTP to transfer new files on the SD card
The simplest way to transfer files between your computer and the Duet is to use an FTP file transfer program (e.g. file management program 'Total Commander' which incorporate a FTP module). To connect to the board, use any login you want (e.g. 'admin') and the password as it is recorded in your config file (e.g. 'M551 Pmypassword') The first 'P' define following letters as a parameter and is not part of the password. Default password is 'reprap'. Password is case sensitive. The password is also defined in the web interface 'www\js\interface.js' file and this file shall be modified accordingly for a new password.
