1 (edited by lawsy 2012-09-13 07:03:24)

Topic: Panelolu Complete Guide

I've started a new thread to keep everything neat..

Firstly, the instructions I was following are here:

http://blog.think3dprint3d.com/2012/06/ … depth.html

I consider my instructions a lot more detailed and user friendly, but the original reference might come in handy.

One of the first things I did was alter their schematic drawing so that the ribbon pin numbers were marked next to their final destination (yellow numbers), and highlight and label where additional wires needed to added (A-F).

http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/6654/00annotatedschematic.jpg

Step 0: Prepare

Check for all components. My kit has:

  • 1x Ribbon cable

  • 1x 10pin connector

  • 1x 24pin connector

  • 3x 6pin connectors

  • 1x 2 pin connector

  • 5x 6pin header

  • 1x 2pin header

  • 1x PCB with LCD panel

  • 1x SDSL sd card reader PCB

  • 1x bag of screws, nuts, bolts

  • 1x bag crimp connectors (~22)

  • 1x presoldered PCB with rotary encoder, reset switch and trim pots (option)

  • 1x 1284P microcontroller (option)

Required Tools:

  • Soldering iron and solder

  • Wire stripper

  • Curved needle nose pliers

  • Masking tape and a pen

  • Heat shrink and a lighter (optional)

  • Scissors

  • Small vice

http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/738/01ingredients.jpg

Step 1: Narrow the Ribbon Cable

Count pins on ribbon cable. If you were supplied with a 24pin cable, split and remove two pins from the non-red side to make it a 22pin cable. Keep the leftover wires for later.

Step 2: Solder LCD PCB headers

Solder on two of the 6pin headers to the large PCB. They should be at either end leaving 4 holes in the middle. Facing them as shown will make the installation neater later on.

http://img802.imageshack.us/img802/8254/02headerssoldered.jpg

Step 3: Add SDSL 10pin connector

Counting from red side as pin1, locate pins 13-22. They should be the 10 pins furthest away. Split and separate about 10cm (4 inches). At this stage it’s a good idea to get some tape and start labeling everything.

http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/2499/03ribbonlabelling.jpg

Locate the grey 10pin connector and orient it as shown the on the original instructions:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kM3IpN5oPKE/T-zacQxfbaI/AAAAAAAAAHs/0DIbDvCn850/s640/3.jpg

Press the large end of the grey connector against pins 13-22, where you will see the sharp metal teeth ready to penetrate the rubber insulation. When in position, use a small vice to evenly apply pressure until the small grey cap has clipped into place. Note the position of the connector along the ribbon cable.

http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/2163/0410pinconnector.jpg

http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/9529/0510pinconnector2.jpg

Step 5: Separate and Label Wires

Time to separate all of the wires ready for the fun part. Have tape ready to label each as you go.
Start by splitting away pins 1(red stripe) and 2. These supply 12V and will not be used in this installation, but now are wired in for something else. Label with tape neatly.

http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/7583/06pins12separated.jpg

Split and label wires 3-12 individually:

http://img838.imageshack.us/img838/1750/07pinslabelled.jpg

From pins 13-22 that have already been grasped by the connector, pins 14 and 18 need to be split, separated and labeled. The other pins can be taped off together out of the way.

http://img545.imageshack.us/img545/3441/08pinslabelled2.jpg

Step 6: Crimping Wires with Connectors


We are up to adding crimp connectors to the individual wires. Most will just have their own connector, but others will have extra bits of wires spliced between them. We’ll do the easy ones first which is every wire except pin3 and pin4.

Strip back some rubber from the end, twist the exposed wiring into a single strand and then fold in half. Now place in the crimp connector. Of the two sections that fold over to grasp the wire, the larger should be squeezing the rubber insulation and the smaller should be squeezing the stripped wire. The video below demonstrates how to do this with just pliers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEm2PuHBt4Y

http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/1794/09connectorscrimped.jpg


Step 6: Creating and Crimping Additional Wires

Time to add in some spare bits of wire. We will need 6, and we will label them A-F. We will make them using the spare wire from pins 23-24 we split from the ribbon cable at the start.

Prepare and label 6 wires, 20cm (8 inches) long each. Both ends of each can be stripped and twisted ready for a connector.

http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/4817/10wiresafcutandstripped.jpg

Wires A and C can simply have connectors added to both ends:

http://img593.imageshack.us/img593/7346/11aandccrimped.jpg

Wire B can have one end twisted together with pin4 from the main ribbon cable. I used a little bit of heat shrink over the insulation to help hold the two wires together.

http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/354/12pin4wirebcrimped.jpg

Crimp a connector onto one end of wire D. Now take the other end and twist it together with one of the ends of wire E. Crimp a connector to the junction.

http://img826.imageshack.us/img826/4696/13wiredwireecrimped.jpg

Now take one end of wire F and twist it with the open end of wire E. Crimp them together with a connector.

http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/4767/14wiredwireewirefcrimpe.jpg

Finally, twist together the open end of wire F with pin3 from the main ribbon cable and crimp them together in a connector. There should be a daisy chain from pin3 to F to E to D.

http://img832.imageshack.us/img832/6753/15wiredwireewirefpin3cr.jpg

Step 7: Connecting it All Together

We are ready to start plugging in all of the connectors into the plugs.
Take one of the 6pin black connectors, and starting at the arrow end, plug in:

-one end of wire C
-one end of wire A
-the single end of wire D
-pin 14
-pin 10
-pin 8

Each one needs to be pushed in far enough that the little tab appears in the little matching hole.

http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/993/161st6pinconnector.jpg

Each one needs to be pushed in far enough that the little tab appears in the little matching hole.
Take the 2pin connector and plug in:

-pin18 to the hole with the arrow
-the open end of wire B

These two plugs now go into the small PCB with the rotary encoder. The arrows face the reset switch side.

http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/7061/17rotaryencoderconnecte.jpg

Now we will organise the other two 6pin connectors, which go into the large LCD panel PCB.

Take a connector, and starting with the arrow end, plug in:

-the pin3/wireF combo
-the pin4/wireB combo
-free end of wire C
-pin6
-the wire E /wire F combo
-pin 12

Take the last 6pin connector and starting with the arrow end, plug in:

-pin11
-pin9
-pin7
-pin5
-wire A
-wire D /wire E combo

There should be no wires left except the unused pins 1-2 from the ribbon cable. Insulate these with tape to prevent disaster.

The first connector goes in the corner header, with the arrow facing the corner.
The second connector goes in the last header with the arrow facing the first connector.
The SDSL plugs in so the words TP3P are close to the arrow on the grey connector.

http://img832.imageshack.us/img832/7138/18sdslandlcdpcbconnecte.jpg

Step 8: Adding the Connector For the Solidoodle End

Now we will add the connector to the other end of the ribbon cable. You may like to cut the cable down to a shorter length first.

This is a 24pin connector for only a 22pin cable, so make sure the red striped pin1 is near the small arrow on the connector. Use a small vice to again push the cap on the plug, trapping the ribbon cable.

http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/3701/1924pinconnector.jpg

Step 9: Solder the Header Pins to the Solidoodle Board

The Solidoodle only ships with a certain amount of headers, so we must solder in enough for our ribbon cable to connect. You will need to release the electronics from the frame by undoing the four hex screws in the corner.

http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/6884/20sanguinololu.jpg

For this step you have two options. The headers that come with the kit have a 90 degree bend so you can either bend them straight, or buy straight headers. I chose to simply bend the headers straight with some needle nose pliers.

http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/2791/21bentheaders.jpg

Now comes the hard part. Ideally you will have a soldering iron AND solder braid on hand. The holes in the PCB where the header pins need to be inserted already have solder in them. Placing the pins will be a lot easier if the solder is removed to leave empty holes.

Solder braid can be used to suck up the existing solder like a sponge, as demonstrated in this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hpHez1I2rc

Push the headers into place and solder the pins neatly on the underside of the PCB.

http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/3636/22headerssoldered.jpg

Step 10: Change Microcontroller and Flash Firmware

Replace the standard 644P microcontroller with the new 1284P from the kit. It actually has Marlin on it already, but the configuration is not set up for Solidoodle. Please note the direction of the notch on the 1284P. Be careful not to bend the pins sideways when removing the 644P and inserting the microcontroller.

http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/9973/231284pinserted.jpg

Connect the ribbon cable to the headers with the red stripe for pin1 facing towards the centre of the PCB. Take extra care to  line up the connector with the correct pins.

http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/6702/24ribboncable.jpg

Powering on the printer yields instant results. The Panelolu will come to life immediately because Marlin is already installed on the 1284P. The configuration, however, is not suited to the Solidoodle so we still have to update the firmware. Note the 'Mendel' wording on the LCD.

http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/7431/25initialpowerup.jpg

I have previously set up the required firmware with the help of others on this board. The files and step by instructions are available here:

https://github.com/mlaws/solidoodle2-marlin

Once the firmware has been updated successfully, we are ready to test! After uploading the new firmware, you will need to disconnect and reconnect the power to see the changes. If the update was successful, 'Mendel' should be replaced by 'Solidoodle' on the main LCD screen:

http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/6250/26firmwareupdated.jpg

Step 11: Printing a Case and Mount

A case needs to be printed to hold the new hardware. Such cases already exist on Thingiverse, but I found some of the parts weren't quite right. The other problem was that the official case was designed for mounting onto a Mendel printer, not a Solidoodle.

Therefore I decided to design a custom mounting solution that used new parts with the two main pieces of the official case. The design utilises the metal case of the Solidoodle, and left over magnets from making Ian's dial indicator mount. If you don't have a case, then get one. It makes the bed heat faster, prevents the edges of prints cooling and lifting, and looks professional.

If there is enough demand, I'll design a magnet mount for the bare frame version.

All of the files are on thingiverse:

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:30049

Print the front and back cases, as well as the new knob file.

Use the screws from the Panelolu kit to secure the SD card reader and rotary encoder PCB. I had to modify two parts post printing as pictured. One part had to be snapped off as it fouled the ribbon cable, and the other needed filing as it was too tall.

http://img577.imageshack.us/img577/5401/27casemounting.jpg

Push on the knob. This should be a tight fit and may require trimming with a sharp knife to the opening to get the right balance between fitting and tight.

http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/661/28customknobmounting.jpg

Print the magnet base mount and use a small vice to push in 7 rare earth magnets (1/4inch x 1/4inch). Rotate the stl so the flat side is down. Select whether you are mounting your Panelolu on the side or the top of the case and print the appropriate adapter piece. Rotate the stl so the flat side is down.

Print the locking pin and use it to hold the two mount pieces together. This image shows the side mount assembly:

http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/7042/29sidemountassembled.jpg

Use the hex bolts, washers and nuts to close the front and back case pieces together. Fix the top/side mount adapter in place behind the rotary encoder with the hex screw and a (longer) self tapping screw.

http://img854.imageshack.us/img854/2066/29sidemountattached.jpg

Due to an error early on in my wiring, my ribbon cable is a bit shorter than ideal. Others following this guide should have more ribbon cable length and hence more flexibility in mounting position.

Here is the Panelolu mounted with the side mount piece:

http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/3390/29sidemountexample.jpg

And in this example the top mount piece:

http://img577.imageshack.us/img577/1378/30topmountexample.jpg

Step 12: Demonstration

2

Re: Panelolu Complete Guide

Lawsy- you are awesome!!! Thank you for taking this project forward- this is a huge help for everyone!

Grand Rapids, Michigan
SD2 with Sanguinololu board, glass bed mod, E3d_v5 bowden version hotend (currently direct drive), Lawsy Mk5 jigsaw replacement, octopi printserver, drv8825(tiny troubles)

3

Re: Panelolu Complete Guide

Awesome!
Thanks for this detailed description.
Regards
wolfi

I placed my order 08-18-2012, ID: 3676, it's hard to wait!

4

Re: Panelolu Complete Guide

Great job Lawsy.
Have never picked up a soldering iron in my life, the thought of doing this scares the hell out of me, haha. Hopefully this guide makes the whole process alot easier. Ive got everything on order, cant wait to get it all.

1 question I do have, what sort of solder should i use? diameter? type? etc...never purchased it before and I know there is alot to choose from.

Cheers
Dale

5

Re: Panelolu Complete Guide

Honestly there is very little soldering to do for this kit. You won't need a particularly fine tip or anything special. Solder can be 0.7-1mm diameter. Anything like this will be fine:

http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=NS3010

Most of the working is in the wire separating/crimping/plugging. Not difficult, just time consuming.

I'm not sure what the deal is but my printer has been sitting, processing at the New York end for five days now, hopefully I'll have it soon and be able to test this.

6

Re: Panelolu Complete Guide

Thanks for that.
Good news for me about the soldering! haha
ill have to make sure i dont get impatient, thats what will be my down fall :-)

must be frustrating checking the progress of the parcel to see it still sitting there, hope you get it sooner rather than later!

7

Re: Panelolu Complete Guide

Update (!!!)

My printer has arrived and I've completed the installation. The Panelolu is working 100%.

So far I've used it to monitor prints, increase/decrease speed on the fly (which worked fine) and also printed a test file straight from the SD card.

I've been tweaking the firmware too and will update this on Github soon. I've changed nice little things like the default preheat values (when preheating from the Panelolu) and having Solidoodle instead of Mendel come up on the screen.

I will update the original post with pics and videos in the next day or so.

8 (edited by IanJohnson 2012-09-04 15:49:50)

Re: Panelolu Complete Guide

Did you solder the headers on the Sanguinololu before you printed everything, ot did you do some test prints, like the case, before you took it apart?

9 (edited by Rondavouz 2012-09-04 16:38:26)

Re: Panelolu Complete Guide

Here is as far as I have gotten.
Didn´t use the Panelolu since me and soldering dont match...

youtube.com/watch?v=8BsKT_-9RyA&feature=youtu.be

Why cant I add a link...

10 (edited by lawsy 2012-09-05 09:54:00)

Re: Panelolu Complete Guide

IanJohnson wrote:

Did you solder the headers on the Sanguinololu before you printed everything, ot did you do some test prints, like the case, before you took it apart?

I only did one print using without the Panelolu before I soldered on the headers. Because the 1284P had Marlin firmware on it, the screen worked immediately when the printer was powered up. Obviously the configuration is not set up for a Solidoodle so printing would have been a disaster. After I uploaded the Solidoodle firmware everything has worked first go.

As I previously posted, going through the menus has put me on to tweaking the firmware a bit more to suit.

Next up is further printer calibrations, printing the case to hold the electronics, and more testing/exploring menus.

11

Re: Panelolu Complete Guide

The install guide has been updated.

Right now I'm going to finish the calibrations as explained on Ian's blog and then print the case from Thingiverse.

12

Re: Panelolu Complete Guide

Great update man! Can't wait to see how your case comes out

13

Re: Panelolu Complete Guide

Another big update. I have designed and printed some new parts for the mounting of the case. See updated first post.

Very happy with how this has turned out, and hopefully the guide will make life easy for others in the future.

Video to come.

14

Re: Panelolu Complete Guide

Final update. Got around to shooting and uploading the video demonstrating the features.

15

Re: Panelolu Complete Guide

I went to check on a print at hour 7 of 9 and found the printer stopped, for no apparent reason, while Pronterface seemed to think it was still printing.  Pronterface couldn't talk to the printer again until I pulled and replugged the USB.  I hadn't been using Repetier because it was a big gcode and Repetier had been a little unstable with large files.  This print was the latest of several attempts and it looked like it was going to go through until it froze.  I also won't have enough ABS left for another try until Mon.

I hadn't been in a hurry to get the Panelolu set up since I have a dedicated computer which is very convenient.   After this last failed print I'm going to get off my butt and put it together.  I already got the board off and changed out the chip.  I had to go get some desoldering braid at lunchtime, so tonight I can clear out the holes and get the headers put in.  I've already printed the case in green, but I'll reprint it in white (which I have on order) so it matches the cover, should one ever get shipped to me.

16

Re: Panelolu Complete Guide

Ian,

I had the same thing happen this week. When I checked pronterface, the last few statements told me it prevented cold extrusion. I didn't change the temp so something in my Goode told it to shut off. I printed the same Goode later without issue. I had to reboot the printer as well to get it to respond.

SD2
E3D V6
MK5 V6

17

Re: Panelolu Complete Guide

IanJohnson wrote:

I had to go get some desoldering braid at lunchtime, so tonight I can clear out the holes and get the headers put in.

When I did it I didn't have any solder braid on me so putting in the headers was a nightmare. Should be quite straightforward with it though.

By the way it's not a bad idea to remove the micro controller while doing the soldering.

18

Re: Panelolu Complete Guide

I got the headers put in, and it was a big pain in the ass since the board comes with solder plugging the holes where the headers go.  I had the braid, but apparently a solder sucker is the appropriate tool for getting the existing solder out of the holes.  I didn't have one, so I stuck with the braid.  By the last couple of headers I was getting the hang of it however.

The usual directions for using braid to clean up solder don't really work for this purpose.  Normally you are supposed to lay the braid over the solder, then heat the braid with the iron from the other side until the solder melts and wicks into the braid.  It didn't work here, because the solder would never melt when trying to heat it indirectly through the braid. 

Instead, use a tip on the soldering iron that is small enough to go through the holes.  Hold it against the solder on one side of the board, and hold the braid against it on the other side.  When the solder melts, use the tip of the iron to push the solder through the hole and into the braid.  Do this a couple of times from both directions until the hole is clear enough to push the header through.

A couple of times I managed to heat the solder in both holes of a pair at the same time enough to push the header in through the melted solder.  This was great, because the solder would then cool and hold the header in place.  Unfortunately I had a really hard time reproducing this.  The solder tends to go solid the instant you take the iron away, so it was really hard to get two holes to stay melted at the same time for more than about a half second.

19

Re: Panelolu Complete Guide

A scribe is a good way to get those holes cleared too, heat the solder and poke a scribe through, and the solder tends not to stick to the scribe (a really old, or non-stainless might not be so lucky).

Occasionally you can just poke it through with a scribe as well, if it is thin enough.

20

Re: Panelolu Complete Guide

Radio Shack carries desoldering tools. I have the handheld spring loaded plunger type that creates a one shot vacuum and it works great removing solder from via holes. Under $20.

21

Re: Panelolu Complete Guide

Speaking of tools I recently purchased the proper crimping tool for the princely sum of $18. Much, much easier now.

22

Re: Panelolu Complete Guide

Fantastic writeup (makes me want my printer that much more).

I think I'm going to pre-order a panelolu kit... I'm assuming I need all the options (microprocessor, the sd card reader, etc.).  Should I get it pre-soldered?  I can solder just fine, but if it's a lot of smc or something, I'll let them do it.

Thanks!

23

Re: Panelolu Complete Guide

The pre-soldered option only concerns the small PCB with the rotary encoder and brightness/contrast trim pots. Unless you love soldering, I think for a couple of dollars extra, the pre-soldered option speeds things up.

24

Re: Panelolu Complete Guide

Good deal.  Thanks!

25

Re: Panelolu Complete Guide

Got mine on order. I really like the SD card option.

SD2 - Glass Bed, Fans on PCB and Y motor, Custom enclosure
Slicer - Simplify3D