traumflug/generation_7_electronics

This is part of the RepRap project, see http://www.reprap.org. Gen7 is the next generation of electronics meant to drive a RepRap machine. Focus on this generation is to allow for better replicatability while not standing back behind industry products.

generation_7_electronics's Issues

NTC Epcos M87 5k as thermistor?

Question:

Is it possible to use a 5kOhm (NTC) Typ M87 Epcos M87 = G 350 5 K -55 - +300 ºC

on the Gen7 Board? Can I leave the onboard resistors (4.7k) as they are or do I have to make some modifications? The reason is that conrad electronics discontinued my previous thermistor "Epcos M87 10k"...

Thank you for your help...

Consider increasing value of motor decoupling capacitors

To prevent dangerously high LC spikes, Pololu recommends placing a 100uF capacitor across the rails of each driver, as outlined here.

Currently, a single 100uF capacitor decouples all four (or 5 if you have two z-axis motors) stepper motors, and it may be wise to spec for a much larger capacitor with +1000uF, such as this one. While a high value cap is more expensive, this should attenuate LC spikes and provide sufficient instantaneous current for the motors.

My Gen7 is being powered by a standard 500W ATX power supply and my average power draw is below the power supply maximum specs. Using an oscilloscope, I found that my 12V rail was frequently dipping below 11.2V when my printer was moving. This was also introducing noise to the 5V rail, which would dip below 4.5V during movements.

After replacing the capacitors on my Gen7 board with 3300uF capacitors, the 12V rail now dips to 11.7V under load, and the 5V rail does not dip at all (±5mV). To my surprise, the motors are also noticeably quieter now, and I cannot explain why this has reduced audible noise.

Of course, my power supply is partially to blame for these issues, but it still might be a good idea to increase the value of the motor decoupling capacitors (and perhaps heaters).

5V Temperature Power

It would be nice if the power for the temperature sensors be moved to the standby rail,
this would allow for reading when sitting idle and would stop confusing me when the power turns off :)

Thanks for your work on this..

Cheers

Arduino IDE Support Package - Not compatible with latest version

The Gen7 Arduino IDE Support package doesn't work with the new version of Arduino V1.0
Workaround for now, Use Arduino 0023 or eairler..

Cannot connect after programming.

I've successfully programmed my gen 7 board as shown on the wiki, but now when I try to connect from repetier host I get no response, but a communication timeout... I'm not sure what to do. I can't get any response really. I don't know how to troubleshoot this. Thanks.

Unable to open pcb files.

Hi,
this is my first time using Github, etc.
I installed GIT, opened git gui and cloned this repository. when i go to open the .pcb file (PCBwizard) it tells me that the file is either corrupt or not supported. So i tried using Eagle on the .sch file, and was told that there was no start tag (or something similar). I've tried everything i can think of (recloning the repository into a different directory, etc) and have still been unsuccessful. This issue occurs on Gen7Board-AVR, ExtenstionBoard, OptoEndstop and SevenSwitch Any ideas of what to try?
many thanks

Consume on 5v With bed

Hello i don t understand why when i turn on my heated bed i have 1.5A on 5v.
Sorry for my english

My awesome journey ends here

Folks, Github is about to enforce 2FA (Two Factor Authentification). That's IMHO a pretty pointless burden. Quality control in Open Source isn't established by some door lock, but by eyeballs looking at the code. Git commit IDs are enough of a verification, same ID gives always the exactly same code (and even the very same commit message). And yes, Git has also a mechanism to sign tags and commits with a GPG signature. That's as safe as public code can be.

I'm not going to mess with my phone (only way to give a second factor) when doing development, so I'll lose control over this repository in a couple of days. For this reason, this repository will be archived in a minute. All my Github activities requiring 2FA will chease for the same reason.

Should I happen to pick up development on this project again, it'll appear on GitLab, or some other appropriate public Git server. Archived repositories stay readable, and I also have my local copy.

Traumflug

Could someone help me get mcp2200-forwarder to work on an Atmega32u4 microcontroller?

Hi,

I'm attempting to use mcp2200-forwarder.c on my PowerPC Mac Mini OS X 10.5.8 (Leopard) to talk to a BlinkyTape device that has a Atmega32u4 microcontroller. I changed mcp2200-forwarder.c to have the correct hardcoded USB vendor and product ID (1d50 and 605e respectively).

When I run the compiled mcp2200-forwarder, I get the following results:

$ ./mcp2200-forwarder -vvv -l /tmp/ACM0
device_added()
Device added.
find_interfaces()
Scanning interfaces ...
Interface 0x00001703.
Interface class 2, subclass 2.
Interface has 1 endpoints.
PipeRef 1: direction in, transfer type interrupt, maxPacketSize 16.
Choosing this interface as Interrupt.
Interface 0x00001A03.
Interface class 10, subclass 0.
Interface has 2 endpoints.
PipeRef 1: direction out, transfer type bulk, maxPacketSize 64.
PipeRef 2: direction in, transfer type bulk, maxPacketSize 64.
Choosing this interface as Bulk.
... interface scan done.
send_bridge_setup()
Failed to take down DTE & RTS. Ignoring. (e000404f)
Failed to set baud rate & co. Ignoring. (e000404f)
Failed to raise DTE & RTS. Ignoring. (e000404f)
Unable to set up USB-UART bridge. (e000404f)
close_interface()
device_removed()
pty_open()
Terminal name: /dev/ttys002
Created symlink to /tmp/ACM0

When I start a second shell session and run a perl script to use /tmp/ACM0, nothing happens on the BlinkyTape device and there's no error displayed. The perl script acts like it is happily sending the data to the BlinkyTape device because it takes a few seconds to do so, just like would happen if it was working correctly.

When I return to the first shell session running mcp2200-forwarder, it shows only one new line:

pty_read(), event 0x0002

When I contacted the BlinkyTape development team, I got these responses (edited for brevity):

It's a little hard to tell from the source code, but a potential issue is that the BlinkyTape is actually a composite USB device, meaning that it supports a few other interfaces besides TTY-ACM (this was to make it compatible with the default Arduino Leonardo firmware). It looks like that code is ... finding the right interfaces, however I'm not sure how to interpret the addresses '0x00001703' or '0x00001A03'. [The output from USB Prober] shows that the computer is seeing the USB device just fine, so I think you're on the right track.

Output from USB Prober (starting at highlighed line 81) on my Mac: http://pastebin.com/Br0najQt
Output from 'lsusb' from BlinkyTape developer's Linux machine: http://pastebin.com/xjL1jZLR

I think I'm close to getting mcp2200-forwarder to work. Can anyone help?

Extra chip on board?

Hi,
Having finally (thanks, Traumflug) got the PCB open, i was reading through the wiki when i noticed that there was a chip on the pcb file which was not shown on the installation walkthrough, and which did not have any mounting holes visible in the walkthrough? The chip was just 'under' the 14 pin socket, and next to what appears to be the USB connector. it looks like its the chip to control the USB port, but would just like to double check?
Thanks, and sorry to be such a nuisance
Era

Gen7 1.3board with marlin 2.x firmware trying to update (is there a way?)

This is partly a question , partly a tribute and a thank you :)

I have a Gen7 1.3 board with 644p@20Mhz repetier firmware and I was trying to update to marlin 2.x . Marlin still supports our boards , but platformIO and sanguinoglu (which also has 644p) seem to give an uploading error.

I then tried arduino 1.0.5 where we have the relative board files for gen7 but this old IDE doesn't seem compatible with new marlin firmware.

So my question is , is there a path/way to upgrade to marlin 2.x , or am I banging my head to a wall?
Has anyone done it?

The board belongs to a self made PRUSA 2 that still works flawlessly :)

SevenSwitch source files

None of gsch2pcb/sch/pcb files for SevenSwitch exists in the repository, only the release documents.

Shorted: net31 and net32

Opening Gen7Board PCB, and doing rats nest, a shorted is found:

Warning! Net "unnamed_net31" is shorted to net "unnamed_net32"
Warning! Net "unnamed_net32" is shorted to net "unnamed_net31"
1 rat line remaining

The layout in release_documents seems to be correct, but not in Gen7Board.pcb.

PS. [OT] Any deadline to see v1.5 in this repo? :D

Misc Header / Extension Board / Feature Request

Hi,
I'd like to upgrade my Mendel with an additional extruder. I guess this is something that should plugin to the misc header.

I would like to start working on that, but before wasting my time in duplicate work I have the following questions:

Is there already some work that exists that use the misc header? Could you put me on the right posts/files? What are your plans regarding the integration of multiple extruders?

As far as I could figure out, the toolchain (RepG + Skeinforge) supports e.g. changing tools via support.gcode commands. I would therefore hook in the second extruder as a selectable tool.

As a second extension in mind I would like to have the ability to upload complete gcode programs to onboard memory. The idea is that one can turnoff the PC while printing complex parts. I could imagine having an SD Card or an on board extended memory that would also somehow connect to the misc header...

As far as I could figure out, it seems that the misc header interface somehow implements a serial bus. Therefore I guess it would be possible to have multiple components on that bus, right?

Thank you for your comments,

Cheers

Consider adding a 5V zener diode as shunt regulator

My Gen7 board is currently being powered by an ATX power supply. Using an oscilloscope, I've noticed my power supply has been introducing high frequency noise into my 5V rail. It's possible this noise is the culprit behind the occasional USB communication error that I've encountered.

Nophead points out in this thread:

One of the problems with Gen7 is it uses the PC 5V rail, which is noisy and
unstable, whereas other reprap electronics regulate the 12V down to 5V
locally. That is much more stable and clean and is referenced to the local
ground.

In the case of the Gen7, it would be impractical to replace the 5V rail with a linear regulator like the LM7805. Instead, I recommend adding a single 5.0-5.5V zener diode across the 5V rail as a shunt regulator. This will also provide over-voltage protection for the micro-controller. A zener diode will only add about 20 cents to price of the Gen7.

using a hard drive connector for heater/bed could be dangerous switch for atx +4 12 connector

the one wire that carries 12V is too much constant current to be safe I already burned the wire twice lost one connector on both the psu and board, if you replace the hd connector with the 12V cpu 4 pin connector you halve the current per wire and hence ensure the wire does not burn up and the atx +4 cpu connector is made to handle quite a bit more that 10A @12v it actually can handle a max of around 12A per contact, and if you can find gold plated ones even 13A per contact. using the hard disk connector in future will cause problems not just for me. it can cause a fire hazard for anyone. should be a 5 min job to change the connector on the pcb layout they connector has a 4.2 mm pitch and it would solve alot of problems
terramir

Brownout

After uploading sprinter firmware to the gen7 board I was having constant issues with it restarting,
it wasn't until I changed the brownout fuse to 2.4V that I started to get solid results..

Adding more capacitors around the Chip should fix this..

Cheers

Arduino 1.0 problems

Hi,

also your dist seems to work with Arduino 1.0 it has some incompatibilities.

1. SPI library needs some definitions in pins_arduino.h. Fix:

if defined(ARDUINO) && ARDUINO >= 100

static const uint8_t SS = 14;
static const uint8_t MOSI = 5;
static const uint8_t MISO = 6;
static const uint8_t SCK = 7;

endif

Pin ids are untestet - i have no gen7!

1. The Print class has a small but important change making all classes deriving it fail if made for Arduino 1. The function

virtual void write(uint8_t);

in Print.h is now

virtual size_t write(uint8_t);

You could use the ARDUINO test from above to make 2 version, where the second returns 1 on success.

Power selection jumper header

It's possible to join the two separated power selection 2-pin jumper header in one single 3-pin jumper header?

MCP2200 Resets on power surge

I have a gen7 1.5 board with all the default setup. One peculiar thing I noticed yesterday while printing. The print was going on, and the doorbell rang.

1)The computer beeped of a USB port being ejected.
2) The mega ofcourse had in its cache some instructions to execute and it happily did for the next 10 seconds.
3) Print head stopped, but none of the fans or LED's blinked.

Is this a problem of the MCP2200 being reset because of a surge? Anyone noticed this?

Add a wall wart power supply connector

Tony Buser wrote:

I used this panel mounted DC power connector on my Mendel:
mouser.com
(using this modified XLR bracket http://reprap.org/wiki/Mendel_Power_Bracket) in order to connect a standard 12v/5A wall wart. You should be able to find equivalent PCB mountable ones based on that.

Arduino IDE Gen7 round macro vs. math.h compilation issue

Hi,

after upgrading my system to Ubuntu Ocelot 11.10 I realized that the firmware (Teacup) doesn't compile anymore. The problem shows up as an eventually missleading error...

In file included from /usr/lib/gcc/avr/4.5.3/../../../avr/include/util/delay.h:44:0,
from /usr/lib/gcc/avr/4.5.3/../../../avr/include/avr/delay.h:37,
from /home/scott/Arduino Sketches/hardware/tiny/cores/tiny/wiring_private.h:32,
from /home/scott/Arduino Sketches/hardware/tiny/cores/tiny/WInterrupts.c:37:
/usr/lib/gcc/avr/4.5.3/../../../avr/include/math.h:426:15: error: expected identifier or ‘(’ before ‘double’
/usr/lib/gcc/avr/4.5.3/../../../avr/include/math.h:426:15: error: expected ‘)’ before ‘>=’ token

´The problem is due to a redefinition of the round macro in wiring.h. This has been already fixed in latest arduino IDE releases, however, as the Gen7 ships also an arduino IDE support, you need to comment out the round macro found in your hardware/cores / arduino/wiring.h as well.

Further information can be found by searching for the above error message.

PCB Layout is not mirrored

I was trying to make this board and while making the board using toner transfer method, i realized that the pcb layout given in the pdf for the main board is not mirrored thought at the bottom it says it is.
Can you update it?

Analog pin numbering

https://github.com/Traumflug/Generation_7_Electronics/blob/master/arduino%20support/Gen7-dist/variants/gen7/pins_arduino.h#L37 and https://github.com/Traumflug/Generation_7_Electronics/blob/master/arduino%20support/Gen7-dist/variants/gen7/pins_arduino.h#L50 conflict with the diagram at https://github.com/Traumflug/Generation_7_Electronics/blob/master/arduino%20support/Gen7-dist/variants/gen7/pins_arduino.h#L73

Should the analog pins number upwards from digital 24 or downwards from Digital 31 like from http://sanguino.cc/hardware ?

Onboard FTDI

Hello,
Really like the simplicity of this design, so i want to contribute.
But there are a few questions:
As the design should be based on DIP package parts the FT232R isn't an option. But there several breakout boards with this chip:
http://www.watterott.com/de/Arduino-USB-Serial-Adapter
or
http://parts.digikey.com/1/parts/1501998-module-usb-ser-uart-ft232-24-dip-um232r.html

What are your ideas about the onboard ftdi solution?