MPCNC Firmware Knowledge - January 3, 2019
Got around to working on the MPCNC a bit. I wanted to test out the Rambo 1.4 board, a Stepper and an End Stop and see if it would all work. Also the LCD. Hooked everything up and, crap, LCD is giving what I call a Click Blink. It deos exactly as it sounds, Clicks and Blinks the power over and over again. This is due to the cables not being plugged in properly. Unfortunately, there is no way of knowing the correct orientation of the cables (EXP1 and EXP2) on the RepRapDiscount Full Graphic Smart Controller. The person who puts them together in china, may turn the plugs around the wrong way. So, it's a gamble on which plug goes where and which way it is turned. NOTE: typically, you won't damage anything by plugging the LCD in the wrong way. Unplugging the power to the whole board is essential. However, don't just unplug it from the wall and back in over and over again, use a Power Strip with an on/off switch. Unplugging and plugging back into the wall will create a power surge/spike that can damage the board itself, wether that is a Rambo, Ramps, or other type board. Use a power strip, you will be glad you did. So, the next thing I did is reflash the Rambo 1.4, and bummer, nothing works anymore. Did I kill the board? The motor? uhg, pita. This is the fail. I failed. Not the board, not the firmware. Lack of knowledge failed me. So I posted on the MPCNC Forums for help. Yea! Help Arrived. Pretty quickly too. Go to this link https://github.com/Allted/Marlin Click on the Branch
for testing purposes I chose MPCNC_Rambo_T8_16T_LCD
I thought I had to compile this using something like cMake or PlatformIO or some other pita thing.
I didn't think Arduino would do it on it's own.
The reason is, I think I tried it and something failed the first time.
But I might have downloaded the incorrect firmware. I forget now.
Extract the Zip File somewhere. Into it's own folder.
Arduino Setup:
This is crucial, and will fail if not done correctly.
Go here https://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Software.
Scroll down to Beta Builds, NOT Hourly Builds.
Download the correct version for your OS.
Make a donation, or click Just Download.
If you already have Arduino Installed, and it is not arduino-PR-beta1.9-BUILD-95 (95 is just a build number, any number is fine),
Uninstall it and/or clean it up by going to
C:\Users\YOUR PROFILE\AppData\Local\
Delete Arduino15 folder.
Yes, you will be starting over from scratch with Arduino, but it's not that big a deal.
Extract arduino-PR-beta1.9-BUILD-XX to it's own folder.
When completed, run arduino.exe
and follow these instructions https://www.v1engineering.com/marlin-firmware/
You will need to scroll down till you find "How to flash..."section based on the Controller Board you are using.
Find the location of where you extracted Marlin-MPCNC_Rambo_T8_16T_LCD
Drill down to the Marlin Folder
for example: D:\MPCNC\Firmware\Marlin-MPCNC_Rambo_T8_16T_LCD\Marlin
Open the Marlin.ino in Arduino 1.9.0-beta IDE
Click the Check to Verify, not the Arrow to Verify and Upload yet.
See if you get any errors first.
If no errors, then Verify and Upload.
Test using Repetier or some other software. Preferrably Repetier for now.
If the motors are working, we are ready to move forward.
If not, then repeat this process, you made a mistake somewhere.
Note: If you are setting up for Dual End Stops then you need
MPCNC_Rambo_T8_16T_LCD_DualEndstop Branch
Next step is the build of the gantry and wiring. Woo hoo and shit.