Greetings from Greensboro, NC

[skillbilly]

Hello all!
Glad to be a part of the forum and hoping to learn a lot. I have a background in custom metal fabrication and moved into woodwork and other materials during grad school. For better or worse, I was just given a 'largely assembled' older (I believe) Rostock Max and have several Q's regarding the LCD screen, or rather the lack of one. Namely, I'm trying to determine if it's required to operate the machine or can I interface purely through a USB-connected PC.

Naturally, I want to respect the etiquette of the forum and not post Q's in the wrong place, so any direction on where to appropriately post would be greatly appreciated. For that matter, any info I can gather regarded the actual vintage of this machine would be awesome. The RAMBo is pictured below; sorry if out of focus (kinda new to forums). The SN# on the connector block is 10001619.

Thank you all in advance for any input!

SB

[Xenocrates]

That, if it's birch like It looks like, is probably an original V1 from the indigogo (I think they mostly didn't do bare birch after a short period)

Welcome to the forums, and good luck with finishing such an old beauty

[Eaglezsoar]

Welcome to the Forum!
You have the version one of the Rostock Max.
The LCD display can be added by going to seemecnc.com and ordering this part number: 26770-RAMBO - UPC:
The cost of the LCD and adapter included in this kit is $52 plus shipping.
You should also download the version one assembly manual and it will tell you how to mount the LCD etc. it can be
found here: http://download.seemecnc.com/rostockmax ... -Guide.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Page 146 of the guide is where it starts to talk about the lcd.

We are here if you have additional questions!

[ccavanaugh]

You don't need the LCD to get started... Just use the USB connection and print from a PC to get your feet wet.

You have an older Rambo board with 1/8th stepping. The newer manual will refer to everything as 1/16 stepping. Keep that in mind when you are are adjusting the firmware and steps / millimeter.

[skillbilly]

Thank you all for the info! I kinda expected this to be a bit older (when it's free, don't expect the newest:-). I've been referring to an online PDF manual for a few days and noticed a few differences between mine and the one in the PDF. I'm hoping the V1 manual might explain away a few of the differences.

My other major question is: where do I get software to run it? The V2 PDF indicated Repetier and something else but to be perfectly honest, I'm flying blind with this machine and how to get it running. Not really sure what the diff is between 1/8 and 1/16 stepping; I'm 'assuming' that this is the increment level that the board tells the stepper motors to move within? I have extensive experience 'operating' both CNC water-jet and precision plasma cutting systems on the industrial operator level, but I never had to deal with fine-tuning, accuracy or set-up issues; boss just said "keep them cutting all shift".

Eaglezsoar: I'll look through the manual link for the V1 before I ask anymore silly or redundant Q's. To that end, I had several weapons instructors in the Marines who often and emphatically stated "the only stupid question is the one you didn't ask"

Thanks!
SB

[Xenocrates]

The majority of the software is available on SeemeCNC's downloads tab. Mattercontrol should mostly work, but the Repetier firmware will need several tweaks before it will work properly. I got into this recently, so while I know some of them, I don't know nearly all of them. I wish you the best of luck with it.

[Eaglezsoar]

skillbilly, the assembly manual should help you understand the software and start out with Repetier Host to communicate with your printer.
As you gain more experience there are multiple software packages that you can use. Let's learn what is in the manual first and see if you can
talk to your printer. One caution, if you are using a laptop the power settings in the laptop will disconnect you from the printer when the laptop
decides that it is time to sleep, or hibernate etc. The fix is to modify the power settings in control panel.

[skillbilly]

Eaglezsoar: will do. Thank you!

[geneb]

That's not a machine cut by SeeMeCNC. They never produced a v1 in anything other than melamine or acrylic.

g.