H-1 build finished - firmware/host Q's

All about the retired, first generation H-1 3D printers
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TomCircuit
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H-1 build finished - firmware/host Q's

Post by TomCircuit »

I finally, after several months, got a chance to assemble my H-1 (family/life intruded).

I'm using the RAMPS 1.4 controller supplied with my kit, and I'm pretty sure all is "working" - the RAMPS test program worked. I've brailed my way through the sprinter configuration, adapted for my endstops, etc.

I read a lot on this formum about repetier - should I be using that instead of sprinter? The reason I ask is that Repetier seems to have a nice host program (Repetier Host).

Then again, there's pronterface, but I haven't really done much with that.

A friend of mine who has a makerbot at work likes ReplicatorG a lot. I tried that with my H-1, and it "sort of" worked - X/Y/Z/heat all fine, but no extruder control.

I guess I'm a bit confused as to where f/w and host to start with - what's a good "newbie" configuration, and what things to try out first to get the hang of working with my H-1.

Any help is much appreciated - this forum ROCKS - I've been lurking here for a long time and really appreciate all the good advice and collective wisdom here!

-tom
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mhackney
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Re: H-1 build finished - firmware/host Q's

Post by mhackney »

The interest here for repetier firmware is primarily for the Rostock. It is only one of 2 firmwares that support the delta format.

I run sprinter on my H-1s and use pronterface. It's a proven combo in the reprap world so you can't really go wrong, it's simple and well supported.

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TomCircuit
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Re: H-1 build finished - firmware/host Q's

Post by TomCircuit »

Thank you for the quick reply! IN the meantime, I was experimenting with sprinter+pronterface. Fun to watch the head move around :-)

First off - I think my steps/mm are wonky - things are much larger than I think they should be.

For the H-1 with RAMPS jumpered for 1/16 step, what are proper number of the steps/axis in the configuration.h file? I kept it at sprinter 'default' which I suspect is wrong:

// X, Y, Z, E steps per unit - Metric Prusa Mendel with Wade extruder:
#define _AXIS_STEP_PER_UNIT {80, 80, 3200/1.25,700}

I've hunted a bit on the forum here, but cannot seem to search for what I need - the search engine complains that my terms are not unique enough - frustrating.

I am battling the hotend temp with pronterface, also - I set to 230C (ABS), and I reach temp, but as soon as I start printing it dumps the target to 200C, which is too cold, and wont start printing until 200C is reached. I can then poke the "set" button again to try to bring it up to 230C again, at which point the ABS starts flowing. Is there some setting I'm missing here, that keeps wanting this thing to print at 200C? (something in the STL file? Is that even possible?)

Thanks in advance!

-tom
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mhackney
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Re: H-1 build finished - firmware/host Q's

Post by mhackney »

The best thing to do is to measure it for your specific machine. You'll need a measuring tool - dial indicator or even a digital caliper.

Then, tell the machine to move a specific distance in 1 dimension, say 10.00cm in +X. Measure the length and divide 10.00 cm by the measured value. Multiply this ratio with the steps per for X in your firmware. So, for example:

You told it to move 10.00mm in +X and measured 15.53mm, so:

10.00/15.53 = .6439

Now, lets say you have 80 steps per as you show below. That is 80 steps per mm. In 10.00 mm you would have expected 800steps to get there but in 800 steps, you only traveled 15.53mm. So, multiply 80 * .6439 to get 51.51 steps per. Set that in the firmware and retest. You may need to repeat a couple of times as the steps per are refined. Do this for the Y and Z axis too and the extruder. The most difficult part of this is figuring out how to actually measure the movement!

Take a look at http://www.reprap.org/wiki/Commissioning for more info and an online calculator.

And, just to get you in the ballpark, here are the settings for my H-1.1 which is mechanically the same as the H-1. I am running a Gen6 which is 8 micro steps so these will be off by a factor of 2 for you:

float axis_steps_per_unit[] = {31.67, 32.07, 2582.16,320};

The reason the temp is dropping to 200° is that is what you have configured in your slicer and will appear in the gcode. The gcode drives the machine once you start the program. Look at the Slic3r settings you will find the extruder temp settings.

The STL file is "dumb" - there is no information other than spatial geometry. The slicer converts this into machine specific code called gcode, which is the program that actually runs to control movement, temps, extrusion, fans, etc.

Here is my H-1.1 Configuration.h (sprinter) with a gen6 board:
Configuration.h
(9.53 KiB) Downloaded 266 times

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Start Here:
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TomCircuit
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Re: H-1 build finished - firmware/host Q's

Post by TomCircuit »

Thank you, thank you!

I'm (reasonably) calibrated now - getting as close to 10mm/10mm as I can measure with my calipers. Your comment about measuring the movement was right on - I had to get quite creative to measure Z in particular.

I'll follow the commissioning steps - that seems to be the (large) missing piece that had me all befuddled.

-tom
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