RepRap Firmware release notes

RepRap Firmware release notes

DC42 Fork

DC42 1.12

Features :

• PT100 and other RTD sensors are now supported. See Using_PT100_temperature_sensors_with_the_Duet_and_RepRapFirmware for more details.
• When a print is paused and then cancelled, the firmware now attempts to run file sys/cancel.g. It only turns the heaters off if that file is not found.
• The file upload speed over the web interface has been increased. Those who were getting slow file upload speeds are likely to see the most benefit.
• If a chamber heater is configured, it is now exempted from the heater timeout, just like the bed heater
• Two changes have been made to improve print quality when printing at high speeds. First, enabling extruder pressure advance is less likely to result in sequences of short moves having sawtooth velocity profiles. Second, a "Maximum average printing acceleration" can now be configured (M201 P parameter). Using this to restrict average acceleration will flatten out any remaining sawtooth velocity profiles.
• The firmware now reports itself to the USB subsystem as "Duet 3D printer control electronics",instead of as an Arduino Due. A Windows driver file is provided.
• The default maximum hot end temperature is reduced to 260C.

Bug fixes:

• The USB interface exposed by firmware version 1.11 was not recognised by some versions of Windows on some computers, resulting in a driver installation error
• Simulation mode (M37) did not work
• Setting the motor current on the non-existent 9th driver on a Duet 0.6 might have undesirable side-effects

Please note the following when upgrading to version 1.12: 1. If you are using Windows, please install the driver at [1]. This driver does not install any new binaries, it simply tells Windows to use its usbser.sys driver to communicate with a Duet. If you are using Windows 10 then you don't need to install the driver if you don't want to, but then the Duet will show up as "USB Serial Device". 2. If you are using Linux or Mac OS, be prepared to revert to earlier firmware (e.g. 1.10+4-dc42) in case your operating system does not recognise the Duet, and please let me know whether or not it did. 3. If you print with hot end temperatures above 260°C then you will need to add a M143 command in config.g, for example M143 S280 will increase the temperature limit to 280°C.

In other respects, you can continue to use existing config.g and homing files. The recommended web interface is DWC 1.11.

DC42 1.11

The changes in this release are:

• Switched to a new core based on ASF 3.31. This core features an interrupt and DMA-driven USB interface, hardware-scheduled ADC conversions, and supports not only the SAM3X processor used on the Duet but also the SAM4E processor on the next-generation Duet (which for now I am referring to as the DuetNG).
• Implemented Chrishamm's network and webserver module improvements including Telnet streaming, and some other improvements from his fork (thanks, Chris!)
• Added a build configuration for the DuetNG. The DuetNG-specific code is not published yet.

DC42 1.10

Chrishamm and I agreed yesterday that it was time to move the version number of RRF on from 1.09. Accordingly, I am pleased to announce release 1.10 of my fork of RepRapFirmware.

The changes since my last official release (1.09x-dc42) are:

• Added support for firmware retraction (G10 with no parameters, G11, and M207). This is mainly to better support mixing extruders. To use it, configure "Firmware retraction" in slic3r, then set up your retraction parameters in config.g or in your slicer start gcode using the M207 command, see [reprap.org]. When using a mixing extruder, all extruders associated with the current tool will be retracted by the amount configured, regardless of the current mix ratio. Retraction speed and length are not affected by the M220 or M221 commands.
• Merged in Chrishamm's 1.09z networking, webserver, print monitor and iap.bin changes (thanks Chrishamm)
• Fixed a bug that sometimes caused auto-IP address allocation via DHCP to fail at startup (thanks Chrishamm)

The recommended web interface is DuetWebControl 1.11, available in the SD-Image folder of my repo or direct from Chrishamm's repo at [2] (download the zip and upload it on the Settings page of the web interface).

If you are already using a recent version of my or Chrishamm's 1.09 series firmware, there is no need to change your config.g or homing files.

DC42 1.09x

The main changes in this release are:

• New build system to make it easier for developers to set up the build system and to support a different hardware abstraction layer for the next-generation Duet board. The Arduino plugin for Eclipse is no longer required and the Eclipse project is much more portable. A separate hardware support project (CoreDuet) replaces the Arduino core.
• Over-the-web firmware updates are supported. A very big thank-you to Chrishamm for implementing this.
• Network changes to improve connection stability. Thanks again to Chrishamm.
• Web interface in SD card image updated to DWC 1.10 (thanks Chrishamm)
• Print monitor improvements and bug fixes, mostly by Chrishamm
• Support for an optional external stepper driver support module, primarily for the next-generation Duet.
• Implemented M143 (set temperature limit)
• Implemented M350 (set microstepping - when supported by the external driver module, because the Duet does not support variable microstepping using the on-board drivers)
• Reduced the number of places where the code assumes there are exactly 3 axes, to make it easier for developers to add additional axes

Bug fixes:

• When there is a heater fault, display the correct error message
• Extrusion was often prevented if extruders and heaters were shared between multiple tools (e.g. tool 127) unless cold extrusion prevention was disabled
• Following a temperature measurement fault, extrusion could be prevented without a warning message being displayed
• When a corrupted input line with a failed checksum was received, a spurious error message was sometimes generated

DC42 1.09r

Changes in this release compared to 1.09m are:

• Implemented F, H and R parameters to M106 command. The second fan output on a Duet 0.8.5 now defaults to being a thermostatic fan at power up.
• Improved speed of file upload to SD card
• G32 is now allowed if the printer has not been homed, if there is a bed.g file
• G30 commands are no longer allowed on a delta that has not been homed
• M572 parameter P (drive number) replaced by parameter D (extruder number)
• Up to 4 thermocouple temperature sensors are now supported using readily-available MAX31855 boards (thanks dnewman).
• New output buffering system to handle larger responses (thanks chrishamm). This includes fixes to the buffer starvation problem that caused me to withdraw 1.09o and reinstatement of the USB timeout code to handle loss of USB connection smoothly during a print.
• Compatibility with DuetWebControl 1.08 (thanks chrishamm)
• Support for M577 (thanks chrishamm)
• File info requests are now processed in stages to reduce impact on printing (thanks chrishamm)
• Use latest network stack and webserver modules from chrishamm (thanks chrishamm)
• Added Roland mill support (thanks RRP/chrishamm), but it is disabled by default in favour of more thermocouple channels
• Added inkjet support (thanks RRP/chrishamm) but it is disabled by default
• Added S parameter (idle timeout) to M18 and M84 commands (thanks chrishamm)
• Moved I/O pin assignments to separate Pins.h file to more easily support alternative hardware (thanks dnewman)
• Corrected a problem whereby if the Z probe type was set to 4 on a Duet 0.8.5, thermistor temperature readings were too high
• Bug fix: filament usage and % print complete figures were incorrect when absolute extruder coordinates were used
• Bug fix: file-based print estimate was occasionally returned as 'inf' which caused the web interface to disconnect
• Bug fix: M666 now flags all towers as not homed
• Bug fixes to extruder pressure compensation (M572 command).
• Added no-cache pragmas to web responses to better support Edge browser (thanks wrangellboy)

This release will work with DuetWebControl versions 1.07 and 1.08, but not 1.06.

I have documented the thermocouple support for Duet electronics at [reprap.org].

DC42 1.09o

Changes in this release compared to 1.09m are:

• Implemented F, H and R parameters to M106 command. The second fan output on a Duet 0.8.5 now defaults to being a thermostatic fan at power up.
• Improved speed of file upload to SD card, by about 30% in my tests
• G32 is now allowed if the printer has not been homed, if there is a bed.g file,- so if your bed.g file starts with G28 then you don't need to home the printer before running G32
• G30 commands are no longer allowed on a delta that has not been homed
• M572 parameter P (drive number) replaced by parameter D (extruder number)
• Up to 4 thermocouple temperature sensors are now supported using readily-available MAX31855 boards (thanks Dnewman).
• New output buffering system to handle larger responses (thanks Chrishamm). This includes fixes to the buffer starvation problem that caused me to withdraw 1.09o and reinstatement of the USB timeout code to handle loss of USB connection smoothly during a print.
• Compatibility with DuetWebControl 1.08 (thanks Chrishamm)
• Support for M577 (thanks Chrishamm)
• File info requests are now processed in stages to reduce impact on printing (thanks chrishamm)
• Use latest network stack and webserver modules from Chrishamm (thanks Chrishamm)
• Added Roland mill support (thanks RRP/chrishamm), but it is disabled by default in favour of more thermocouple channels
• Added inkjet support (thanks RRP/Chrishamm) but it is disabled by default
• Added S parameter (idle timeout) to M18 and M84 commands (thanks Chrishamm)
• Moved I/O pin assignments to separate Pins.h file to more easily support alternative hardware (thanks Dnewman)

Bug fixes:

• Corrected a problem whereby if the Z probe type was set to 4 on a Duet 0.8.5, thermistor temperature readings were too high
• Bug fix: filament usage and % print complete figures were incorrect when absolute extruder coordinates were used
• Bug fix: file-based print estimate was occasionally returned as 'inf' which caused the web interface to disconnect
• Bug fix: M666 now flags all towers as not homed
• Bug fixes to extruder pressure compensation (M572 command) when enabled occasionally caused spurious extruder reversals on some prints.
• Added no-cache pragmas to web responses to better support Edge browser (thanks wrangellboy)

This release will work with DuetWebControl versions 1.07 and 1.08, but not 1.06.

I have documented the thermocouple support for Duet electronics at Using_thermocouples_with_the_Duet_and_RepRapFirmware.

DC42 1.09m

I am pleased to announce a new release of my fork of RepRapFirmware.

Apart from some code tidying up, the changes in this release are as follows (unfortunately I have not yet had time to integrate some changes from Dcnewman's fork and Chrishamm's fork):

New features

• The PWM frequency for the heated bed and for any heater used as a chamber heater is now 10Hz for better compatibility with DC-AC SSRs.
• The PWM frequency for fans is now configurable using the F parameter on the M106 command. The default is 500Hz, which gives reasonable control of fans not designed for PWM. Increase it to 25000Hz when using 4-wire PWM fans.
• When a Duet 0.8.5 board is configured or detected, the fan control is now automatically inverted. If you previously used M106 P0 I1 in config.g to invert it, you will need to remove that.
• M579 (scale Cartesian axes) is now implemented (thanks Chrishamm).
• M27, M114, M119 and M573 commands can now be executed concurrently with other commands.
• When DDA debugging is enabled, the debug output now includes all active extruders instead of just the first two.
• M408 S0 now includes the fan speeds (for PanelDue).
• M119 now reports the Z probe as well as the endstop switch states.
• A tool can now be defined even if a tool with the same tool number exists already. The existing tool will be shut down and deleted.
• The bed heater can now be disabled using M140 S-1 (thanks Chrishamm).
• The chamber heater (if present) and the endstop switch states are now reported to the web interface (thanks Chrishamm).
• Increased default Z prove dive height to 5mm.
• Increased default PID Ki to 0.2

Bug fixes

• On a CoreXY machine, XY speeds were too low by a factor of sqrt(2).
• On a delta machine, after running auto calibration the Z=0 height could be slightly inaccurate, depending on the difference between the X and Z endstop corrections
• When using a non-intelligent modulated Z probe on a Duet 0.8.5, the modulation pin number was incorrect.
• The M27 (Report SD card print status) response was inverted compared to what it should be. When in Marlin emulation mode it now includes the "byte n/m" field that some versions of Pronterface expect.
• Cold extrusion prevention did not work - an error message was generated, but the extruder was driven anyway.
• M999 PERASE is now more reliable (thanks Chrishamm), but still not completely reliable.
• M23, M30 and M32 commands did not work when the filename parameter passed included an absolute path.
• A memory leak occurred when a tool was deleted.
• All moves are now completed before switching to CoreXY mode.
• Polling requests from PanelDue were not replied to while a macro was being executed.
• M667 with no parameters returned an incorrect string.

DC42 1.09k

The changes since 1.09j-dc42 are:

• Added F (probing speed) and T (travel speed) parameters to M558 command
• Removed M210 command because home feed rates are defined in the homing files and the M210 Z parameter no longer defines the Z probing speed
• Increased UART interrupt priority to avoid dropping characters sent by PanelDue
• Implemented M42 command, see [reprap.org] for supported pins

Bug fixes

• Bug fix: M558 P3 did not leave the Z probe control pin high
• Bug fix: in version 1.09j only, moves surrounding a G92 E0 command were sometimes executed incorrectly (this affected printing of gcode files that use absolute extruder coordinates)
• Bug fix: G4 dwell commands were sometimes executed before the previous move was complete
• Fixed driver bugs to allow multiple sector reads/writes from/to the SD card
• Increased SD card upload speed
• Updated to latest Atmel HSMCI driver
• Moved FileStore, MassStorage and Line classes into separate source files

The compatible web interface is still DuetWebControl 1.06.

DC42 1.09i

Improvements in this release:

• Added support for second extruder and cooling fan on Duet 0.8.5 (thanks T3P3)
• Added auto detection between 0.6 and 0.85 Duet revisions
• Added optional P parameter to M115 command to select board type between Duet 0.6, 0.7 and 0.85
• Changed M115 output to report the board type that was configured or auto-detected
• Improved the step ISR and step pulse generation efficiency to allow higher movement speeds, especially when using 0.9deg/step motors on delta printers
• Added XYZE parameters to M569 command to allow stepper driver remapping (e.g. to use external stepper drivers connected to the expansion connector)
• Added R parameter to M569 command to allow enable signal to be reversed when using external drivers (thanks dnewman)
• Removed R parameter from M558 command, This is no longer needed, because board type Duet 0.7 can now be set via M115 instead.
• Moved Fan0 RPM sense pin to expansion connector pin PA14 to avoid conflict with Duet 0.8.5 FAN1 pin
• M408 poll command (used by latest PanelDue firmware) can now be handled concurrently with other commands

See ?? and ?? for details of the new M115 and M569 parameters supported.

DC42 1.09g

• Fixed print quality problems that mostly affected delta printers e.g. on spiral vase cylinder
• When reconnecting a browser, cancel any file upload from the same IP address
• M111 now prints the number of each module with debugging enabled or disabled
• In special moves on delta printers, the F parameter is now interpreted as the speed of the tower that moves the most
• M114 now reports stepper positions as well as head position Default to output in Marlin mode
• M104 command defaults to the only tool if there is only one tool and it is not selected
• Trying different code for M999PERASE command to see if we can get it to unlock flash and reset more reliably
• When step errors are logged, report them immediately if Move debugging is enabled. Also reports the total number of step errors in M122.
• Changed interrupt priority to make tick interrupt higher priority than step interrupt, because we rely on the tick interrupt to check for over temperature conditions and kick the watchdog

DC42 1.09e

• Added H (height correction) parameter to G30 command, to allow for the Z probe trigger height varying with XY position
• G30 S-1 now reports trigger height without changing the Z origin
• Changed interrupt priorities to make step pulse timing interrupt higher priority than Ethernet (thanks Chrishamm)

DC42 1.09d

I have released a new version of my fork of RepRapFirmware. For users of delta printers, the main improvement is that you can now include the X and Y tower position corrections in the M665 command in config.g.