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Well, I'm trying to make a final push to get my Kraken upgrade finished. I made a lot of progress on wiring and getting ready for the swap to the new Azteeg X3 Pro - and that is where the pain began!

I finished soldering the connectors on the X3 pro, checked my work under a magnifier and then installed the 8 stepper drivers. At this point, I wanted to upload Repetier and start testing.

Problem 1: the Repetier .91 release that we've all been using does not compile if you set the board type to either RAMPS (board 33) or Azteeg X3 (board 34). You get some odd errors:
Nowhere does DIOHEATER_BED_PIN... appear anywhere in the sources?! I've looked several times. Anyway, I fetched the latest point release .91.7 and it compiles just fine with board type #34. Progress, almost...

Problem 2: I've been having issues connecting to my RAMBo via USB since upgrading to Mac OSX Mavericks. There are so many problems with Mavericks in odd areas. Turns out Apple changed the USB drivers and that is causing all sorts of problems. But there is a published work around.

After disabling the Apple driver and reinstalling the virtual driver, I rebooted. I was able to connect to RAMBo but I almost always could after a reboot so it is too early to tell if it will work long term.

Problem 3: Now with the usbmodem serial port working again, I connected the X3Pro and attempted to upload the firmware... And immediately ran into a timeout problem uploading: avrdude: stk500v2_ReceiveMessage(): timeout A google search turned up a lot of info that this might be caused by sequences of "!!!" (there ! marks) in the source code. Go figure, this sequence was used in the Arduino boot loader to enable the monitor or something. Silly. There is an updated boot loader (this looks like a several year old problem) or you can remove the "!!!". Turns out the Repetier source has quite a few places where the developer gets overly excited and has sequences like "!!!!!!!". So I removed them all and tried again. Things looked a little better, the Tx/Rx LEDs on the X3 flashed quickly for a few seconds then went dim a another timeout error appeared. I found a couple of posts on the Arduino forums about turning on verbose upload logging and checking it for sequences of "!". I did that and found no sequences, just connection failures and time outs.

That's where I am now. I've emailed Roy at Panucatt to see if he has any information. It may be a boot loader problem or a USB hardware issue that Mavericks doesn't like or handle. Tomorrow, when I'm a little calmer, I'm going to set up one of my XT PCs with Arduino and see if I can get things to work on Windows.

I should note that during these issues, I did swap out the X3 with my spare RAMBo and had no problems connecting and uploading the firmware to it. So there is something with the X3 that is an issue, either an actual problem or hardware that Apple is not supporting properly.

All in all, quite a few hours of frustration today. I feel better now writing this down.

Michael

Hey mhackney. I use RAMPs on my MAX and forked the SeeMeCNC fork of repetier 0.91. It compiles to RAMPS and I've been using it without fault since.

You can find it here: https://github.com/gjorban/Repetier-091-ROSTOCKMAX

Thanks GeraldO - I literally did this: downloaded the source from your link, changed the board type from 301 to 33 (RAMPs) and compiled in Arduino 1.0.5 and got the same errors. I've uploaded a screen shot. I then immediately changed to board 301 and it compiles fine.

The board type in Arduino is "Arduino Mega 2560 or Mega ADK"

Oh crap. I forgot that I was working on a branch: https://github.com/gjorban/Repetier-091 ... 91.ramps14

Sorry for the confusion

Odd that no one has experienced this compile issue on .91 for RAMPS considering how popular it is.

Roy emailed me back and asked that I try the Marlin firmware to eliminate a variable. I did (the latest) and it time-out too. It will be interesting to see if my XP box works tomorrow.

Anyone can try this - simply set the board type to 34 and compile (DON'T UPLOAD!). I'd be curious to see if this happens to anyone else and/or on Windows.

When I made the fix to it, I assumed that it was due to SeeMeCNC's extensive modifications of the UI and possibly some Rambo dependent changes to the firmware. I haven't had the time to actually find the errant commit which causes the compiler error for RAMPS boards though so there's no finger pointing

i see your problem...you have a mac

mhackney wrote:
Problem 2: I've been having issues connecting to my RAMBo via USB since upgrading to Mac OSX Mavericks. There are so many problems with Mavericks in odd areas. Turns out Apple changed the USB drivers and that is causing all sorts of problems. But there is a published work around.

**windows high five**

jk. i don't know how to help

Yeah, yeah, yeah. But in 30 years I've NEVER had a virus or malware on my Macs whereas my PCs have been a disaster.

Anyway, Roy had me do some tests that led to a discovery!

He wanted me to try the blink sketch. Which I did and it failed. But, I disconnect the USB and restarted Arduino and tried again. This time it worked! I then tried Marlin and it worked. I then tried Repetier .91.7 and it timed out on upload. Long story short - and through a series of tests I discovered that if I either disable the LCD or keep it at the reprapdiscount display and NOT set to the Viki display, Repetier will upload too. Marlin mentions Viki but doesn't appear to have a way to enable it (that I've seen yet). I am not sure why enabling the Viki display should cause an upload time out but it does. Now to figure out what is going on and hopefully fix it.

GeraldO, as I mentioned, I've searched ALL of the Repetier code and can not find that define: DIOHEATER_BED_PIN...

Interestingly, google it and you'll see one hit: https://github.com/repetier/Repetier-Firmware/issues/94 from 11 months ago.

Well, it turns out part of this may be an arduino / firmware issue too. I posted my problem on repetier's github and got a response that if the firmware exceeds 128kb bank, the compiler inserts bad code (i.e. "!!!" sequences).

https://github.com/repetier/Repetier-Fi ... t-37719880

Cool, looks like a fix was found and I just tested the latest as of 1 hr ago and I can upload now. My viki less flashed once and I have no display but that is likely a pin misconfiguration I can chase down.

Spoke too soon! I just hit the reset button on the X3 Pro and the Viki sprang to life!

mhackney wrote:Spoke too soon! I just hit the reset button on the X3 Pro and the Viki sprang to life!

Was there a particular site you used for the Viki to X3 connections or did you do your usual and figured it out yourself?

I figured them out from the Viki circuit and X3 Pro circuit diagrams. But I am documenting and photographing it so I can pst here. Right now, the Viki display and menus all work but the SD card is not connected. Roy recommended waiting to get the rest working first. I need to chase down 3 pins on the X3 board to connect it.

mhackney wrote:I figured them out from the Viki circuit and X3 Pro circuit diagrams. But I am documenting and photographing it so I can pst here. Right now, the Viki display and menus all work but the SD card is not connected. Roy recommended waiting to get the rest working first. I need to chase down 3 pins on the X3 board to connect it.

Thanks! You are the Man!

Now that I am using 2 of the 4 hot ends on RAMBo (with my Kraken) I had to sacrifice my part cooling fan. I also needed to figure out how to mount a fan with the Kraken setup. I have 2 RAMBos and was looking at the spare tonight and noticed that the replacement board they sent me has a new connector labeled FAN 2 right below the hot end connectors at the "top" of the board. You can see it here:

[img]http://reprap.org/mediawiki/images/b/ba ... n-main.jpg[/img]

This is the layout for the RAMB rev 1.2 board but BOTH of my rev 1.1b boards have this connector. If you have it, you can use it to power a fan to cool your PLA and control it from your host with M106 (on) and M107 (off). Here's how:

Firstly, the connector on the board is not marked for (+) and (-) so I had to figure that out. Turns out the left side is (+) the opposite of the hot end connectors above it. Now that you have it plugged into your fan correctly, you need to tweak Repetier firmware. Close to the top of Configuration.h you will see:
Yours may be commented out and set to the default "4". Simply uncomment, change to 2 (FAN 2 is on digital pin 2 on RAMBo as per: http://reprap.org/wiki/Rambo_development (search for Fan 2). Recompile and upload Repetier and you should be good to go. You can test by connecting from Repetier Host and clicking the Fan on button and controlling the speed with the slider.

So now I have two hot ends AND fan control. (Of course you could use Fan 1 on hot end 1 but where's the fun in that!)

cheers,
Michael

I don't get it, if you use HEAT_0 and HEAT_1 for your Extruder 0 and 1, then you still have FAN_0 and FAN_1... to control the pump, and a layer fan.

Do you have a need for more ?

Me, I believe I will use HEAT_0, HEAT_1 and FAN_0 to control 3 hot ends, FAN_1 for the pump and FAN_2 for 2 layer fans.
I will use a protoboard to extend EXTRUDER 2 STEPPER, And I will be good to go with 3 extrudders.

If it works well, I will then make PCB to try adding a 4th Extruder as I described in my other thread.

No and yes. In my case I am using FAN_0 to control the water pump for the Kraken cooling and FAN_1 to control a "PEEK FAN" when I switch the Kraken over to my E3D or JHead. I don't want to have to swap connectors all the time or put in a splitter since FAN_2 is available. If you don't have a setup like mine, then you are correct that you don't need to use it.

My Rostock MAX has been operational for slightly over a year. There have been LOTS of changes from SeeMeCNC over the year and great upgrades from the community (you guys and gals). There have also been many advances in the personal 3D printing world. The most important Rostock enhancements IMO have been the EZStruder from SeeMeCNC, Xnaron's printable magnetic u-joint upgrade (although SeeMeCNC's new delta arms are very nice too) and Gene's amazing assembly manual. I know the basic kit has undergone a lot of tweaks too but even my fairly early kit has been extremely reliable and trouble free (for a 3D printer!). I wanted to share some metrics on what these machines are capable of and what my machine has done, but first, here is a high level overview of how my Rostock is currently configured (you can see all of this in this thread or on my photo build log link):

Basic Rostock MAX kit, Xnaron magnetic arm upgrade, after market 12V and 24V power supplies mounted in base (where original PS was located). The 24V powers my Onyx. My original aluminum heat dissipator on top of the Onyx. It not only dissipates heat but constrains Onyx warpage. I really wish this upgrade had worked out commercially as it has been rock solid for me. I run a borosilicate plate covered with .03" PEI taped on with 3M tape on one side. (PEI is an amazing print surface.) I run the machine with a RAMBo v1.1b with the LCD display. I mounted my RAMBo differently for accessibility. It is also cooled with a fan to prevent stepper driver overheating. The business end is a 4 nozzle Kraken hot end driven by 4 EZStruders. It is water cooled and an amazing device. This is still a work in progress but coming along nicely. I'll be moving to an Azteeg X3 Pro controller to drive all 4 extruders, it's configured for 2 at this time with RAMBo. I've been running the threaded themistors in the E3D and Kraken exclusively and am completely sold on these as an upgrade. Two of the EZStruders are top mounted on printed mounts, the other two are on SeeMeCNC's "side arms". I have a part fan on the effector, used primarily for PLA parts. My hot bed reaches 80°C in less than 2 minutes with the 24V supply and 3 minutes to 100°C. And here are some metrics on what I've done with this machine:

• I've printed well over 1000 parts of all sizes. You've seen some of them in the "What are YOU making?" topic. I've printed some amazingly tall and fat vases (one of my personal favorite items) that took over 12 hours to print down to a little gizmo that is less than 1cm^3 with lots of intricate features. Many of these 1000 parts have been the tenkara line holders that I now manufacture and sell.
• I've printed LOTS of PLA, LOTS of ABS and a fair amount of Taulman Nylon (3 types), polycarbonate, NinjaFlex, Laywood, several soluble support filaments, and a few others I've forgotten about. I estimate that I've consumed about 18 1Kg spools of ABS and PLA.
• I've been running my machine around 8 hrs a day most days for the last 3 months producing commercial parts. That's over 700 hours just for this period. Prior to that I had about 500 hours on the machine. I've not really had to do any maintenance to the mechanics of the machine. I do keep the Cheapskate bearing covers clean (isopropyl alcohol on a Q-tip does a great job).
• There were some early reports last year on pre-mature belt wear, broken belt teeth, etc. During this time I've not had a single issue with belt wear. Until Tuesday, I had not touched my belts at all in over a year. Earlier this week I started to notice a little "part offset" at high print speeds that turned out to be a loose belt on my Y tower. A quick adjustment fixed that (the tensioning adjustment screw at the top of the tower was very loose. I do not have any special tension adjustment mods, just the original SeeMeCNC setup. Given that I've only had to adjust 1 belt re-tension in over a year, it doesn't seem like a mod is necessary. My MAX has the original small 15 tooth pulleys that were suspects for poor belt wear.
• I've done a lot of experimenting with hot ends. I've installed and used several J-Heads, a E3D v5 hot end, a self-designed all stainless hot end and now, the 4 nozzle Kraken. the E3D and Kraken are my favorite by far (they share a common design) with the Kraken's water cooling edging out the E3D air cooling by a bit. I'm a big proponent of water cooling now. I've had no trouble printing PLA, ABS, Nylon or polycarbonate with these two extruders. The J-Head is also a very nice extruder. And the updated SeeMeCNC extruder with the new(isn) nozzle design is quite competent too. I've also tried a few other "exotics" like a direct drive Q3BD hot end/

So there you have it, a year in review for my Rostock MAX. I can only imagine what the next year will be like!

cheers,
Michael

I just read all that and now I think I need to take a nap. Reading about all that work made me tired.
Thanks for writing it though, it is a good testimonial to the reliability and durability of the Rostock Max.
You'll probably get over 1000 hours in the next year.

Thanks for that , really good info for us new owners to know how well it holds up over time. I was thinking the belts would stretch and would eventually need trimmed or replaced.

The GT2 belts actually have fiber strings embedded in them so they won't really stretch. Kind of like how a "V" belt for a car is made.

g.

Awesome to know how well these things hold up. Thanks for the write up!