1 Topic by davidhk129 (edited by davidhk129 2019-07-12 01:14:20)

  • davidhk129
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2019-07-12
  • Posts: 15

Topic: Newbie desperate for help.....

Monoprice Select Mini V2. 2 days old.

Installed : Cura 3.4.1 and Cura 15.04.6 Which comes with the printer in the sd card.

I tried to use the downloaded Thingiverse files in my printer but failed.
The Thingiverse files are of stl extension.
Printer did not recognise the file although the file had  .gcode extension at the end.

I did not do any "slicing". I don't know how to.
I opened Cura 3.4.1> loaded the 3d file > made sure the object was squarely inside the box > waited till the screen on the right side said it's ready to be saved > I saved it to a sd card > took it to my printer > Print would not see the gcode file.

Would someone please teach me how ?

2 Reply by carl_m1968

  • carl_m1968
  • carl_m1968
  • Member
  • Offline
  • From: Far North almost not Dallas
  • Registered: 2014-10-17
  • Posts: 6,512

Re: Newbie desperate for help.....

I believe you export the file as code from the file menu once the file is loaded and viewable. If you just save it is saved as an stl.

Printing since 2009 and still love it!
Anycubic 4MAX best $225 ever invested.
Voxelabs Proxima SLA. 6 inch 2k Mono LCD.
Anycubic Predator, massive Delta machine. 450 x 370 print envelope.

3 Reply by davidhk129 (edited by davidhk129 2019-07-12 20:43:40)

  • davidhk129
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2019-07-12
  • Posts: 15

Re: Newbie desperate for help.....

carl_m1968 wrote:

I believe you export the file as code from the file menu once the file is loaded and viewable. If you just save it is saved as an stl.

But there is no such option as Export.
Not in both of my Cura versions.

Post's attachments

Save 3d file.jpg 268.43 kb, file has never been downloaded. 

You don't have the permssions to download the attachments of this post.

4 Reply by carl_m1968 (edited by carl_m1968 2019-07-12 21:23:45)

  • carl_m1968
  • carl_m1968
  • Member
  • Offline
  • From: Far North almost not Dallas
  • Registered: 2014-10-17
  • Posts: 6,512

Re: Newbie desperate for help.....

davidhk129 wrote:
carl_m1968 wrote:

I believe you export the file as code from the file menu once the file is loaded and viewable. If you just save it is saved as an stl.

But there is no such option as Export.
Not in both of my Cura versions.

I am using the Cura version which is 15.04.06. It looks like you are using a gimped version.  My screen look like this.

http://soliforum.com/i/?crpnrYq.jpg

I installed your version and as you can see it saved the file to the sdcard I normally use for my printer. Are you sure the card is formatted and you are selecting the correct drive to save the file to?

http://soliforum.com/i/?kwV9pf0.jpg

Unless you set up your slicing parameters and click SLICE it will not generate a gcode file for you to save. The slicing is what creates the gcode file.

Printing since 2009 and still love it!
Anycubic 4MAX best $225 ever invested.
Voxelabs Proxima SLA. 6 inch 2k Mono LCD.
Anycubic Predator, massive Delta machine. 450 x 370 print envelope.

5 Reply by davidhk129 (edited by davidhk129 2019-07-13 05:28:51)

  • davidhk129
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2019-07-12
  • Posts: 15

Re: Newbie desperate for help.....

I also have Cura 15.04.6 installed. In fact, the printer comes with a sd card in which 15.04.6 is pre-installed. A cat.gcode also preinstalled and I had printed it with different colours. No problem.

I have tried both versions a few days ago before I posted here.
The results are the same..... printer found " no files".

As to the question about whether my sd card was formated. Yes, it is. Fat32.
I had tried to save the ponyxpress.gcode to the original sd card that comes with the printer. After that, when I plugged it back to the printer and clicked Print, the printer could not find anything from the card.
I had to delete the ponyxpress from the card before the printer could see the pre-installed files in the card.

As to the question if I had performed Slice. Yes. I had.

6 Reply by davidhk129 (edited by davidhk129 2019-07-13 05:36:14)

  • davidhk129
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2019-07-12
  • Posts: 15

Re: Newbie desperate for help.....

Adding...…………

I did not set up the slicing parameters. I just used the "default" settings.
Under the heading Ready to slice, I clicked Prepare. When done, I was given the options of saving to a removable drive or Save to File.
I chose the drive my sd card was inserted.
I saw your screen shot showing Save to File. Why you did that ?
Is that where I did it wrong ?

7 Reply by davidhk129

  • davidhk129
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2019-07-12
  • Posts: 15

Re: Newbie desperate for help.....

Screenshot of File Saved using Cura 3.4.1
It shows that the file saved is a gcode file.

http://soliforum.com/i/?cAHyhwf.jpg

8 Reply by davidhk129

  • davidhk129
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2019-07-12
  • Posts: 15

Re: Newbie desperate for help.....

Somehow I have managed to do the 3D printing use the gcode files.
Next thing I need to learn/understand is ….. How to shrink a model that is too large for Cura. I need to know how to put the object within the box.
Sorry for not using the correct terminology.

9 Reply by carl_m1968

  • carl_m1968
  • carl_m1968
  • Member
  • Offline
  • From: Far North almost not Dallas
  • Registered: 2014-10-17
  • Posts: 6,512

Re: Newbie desperate for help.....

davidhk129 wrote:

Somehow I have managed to do the 3D printing use the gcode files.
Next thing I need to learn/understand is ….. How to shrink a model that is too large for Cura. I need to know how to put the object within the box.
Sorry for not using the correct terminology.


On the left the black toolbar has a scaling function. The icon is the larger object and smaller object. That will allow you to change the objects size to fit the bed.  However if you need the object to actually remain the size you want and to fit the bed you may need to break up the object into smaller sections then rejoin them by glue or other method.

Printing since 2009 and still love it!
Anycubic 4MAX best $225 ever invested.
Voxelabs Proxima SLA. 6 inch 2k Mono LCD.
Anycubic Predator, massive Delta machine. 450 x 370 print envelope.

10 Reply by davidhk129

  • davidhk129
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2019-07-12
  • Posts: 15

Re: Newbie desperate for help.....

Yes. Thank you.
I have managed to resize the models now.

There is one perplexing situation.
The sd card that comes with the printer is in Fat(default) format.
The sd card I used to store the gcode files is Fat32(Default).

Now the printer will not recognize the Fat32 card. So any gcode files in the card are unusable.
HOWEVER, if I copy the gcode files to the "come with the printer" sd card, the printer will see them.
Why is that ?????

11 Reply by carl_m1968

  • carl_m1968
  • carl_m1968
  • Member
  • Offline
  • From: Far North almost not Dallas
  • Registered: 2014-10-17
  • Posts: 6,512

Re: Newbie desperate for help.....

davidhk129 wrote:

Yes. Thank you.
I have managed to resize the models now.

There is one perplexing situation.
The sd card that comes with the printer is in Fat(default) format.
The sd card I used to store the gcode files is Fat32(Default).

Now the printer will not recognize the Fat32 card. So any gcode files in the card are unusable.
HOWEVER, if I copy the gcode files to the "come with the printer" sd card, the printer will see them.
Why is that ?????


The card needs to be FAT16 for the printer controller to be able to read. Current PC's only format in FAT32. You will need to get a formatting program where you can select the format you want the card to be or use an older system like 7 so it can be formatted in FAT16.

Printing since 2009 and still love it!
Anycubic 4MAX best $225 ever invested.
Voxelabs Proxima SLA. 6 inch 2k Mono LCD.
Anycubic Predator, massive Delta machine. 450 x 370 print envelope.

12 Reply by davidhk129

  • davidhk129
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2019-07-12
  • Posts: 15

Re: Newbie desperate for help.....

That's something I never knew.
Thanks for the heads up.

13 Reply by davidhk129

  • davidhk129
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2019-07-12
  • Posts: 15

Re: Newbie desperate for help.....

carl_m1968 wrote:
davidhk129 wrote:

Yes. Thank you.
I have managed to resize the models now.

There is one perplexing situation.
The sd card that comes with the printer is in Fat(default) format.
The sd card I used to store the gcode files is Fat32(Default).

Now the printer will not recognize the Fat32 card. So any gcode files in the card are unusable.
HOWEVER, if I copy the gcode files to the "come with the printer" sd card, the printer will see them.
Why is that ?????


The card needs to be FAT16 for the printer controller to be able to read. Current PC's only format in FAT32. You will need to get a formatting program where you can select the format you want the card to be or use an older system like 7 so it can be formatted in FAT16.


I am unable to google for a program to do that.
Would you mind provide me a link ?
Thank you.

14 Reply by carl_m1968

  • carl_m1968
  • carl_m1968
  • Member
  • Offline
  • From: Far North almost not Dallas
  • Registered: 2014-10-17
  • Posts: 6,512

Re: Newbie desperate for help.....

Confused as to why you can't Google "formatting tool", but here you go.

https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/format … index.html

Printing since 2009 and still love it!
Anycubic 4MAX best $225 ever invested.
Voxelabs Proxima SLA. 6 inch 2k Mono LCD.
Anycubic Predator, massive Delta machine. 450 x 370 print envelope.

15 Reply by davidhk129 (edited by davidhk129 2019-07-13 23:44:48)

  • davidhk129
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2019-07-12
  • Posts: 15

Re: Newbie desperate for help.....

I did google that before I asked you.
I had tried that. It does not help me formatting Fat32 to Fat16.
It said when hitting the Format, choose Fat, which would be the same as Fat16.
The trouble is, I got the option to choose exFat or NTFS or Fat32.
That is no Fat to choose for.

That is why I came back and asked you for help.

is exFat same as Fat, same as Fat16 ?

16 Reply by carl_m1968 (edited by carl_m1968 2019-07-14 00:26:32)

  • carl_m1968
  • carl_m1968
  • Member
  • Offline
  • From: Far North almost not Dallas
  • Registered: 2014-10-17
  • Posts: 6,512

Re: Newbie desperate for help.....

davidhk129 wrote:

I did google that before I asked you.
I had tried that. It does not help me formatting Fat32 to Fat16.
It said when hitting the Format, choose Fat, which would be the same as Fat16.
The trouble is, I got the option to choose exFat or NTFS or Fat32.
That is no Fat to choose for.

That is why I came back and asked you for help.

is exFat same as Fat, same as Fat16 ?

Ok then lets start with basics. The card that came with the unit works? The extra one you have does not.

So first are they the same size? Some devices like printers are limited on how big of a card they can use.

Can you load the original card in a PC and check properties to see what format it actually is?

If the card that came with the unit works then just get on ebay or amazon or aliexpress and order the same brand and size. Should come formatted as it needs to be.

ExFAt is extended FAT and used for systems like linux.

There is also a small chance the card could be bad, or even locked. But if locked it should give you a write protection warning.


Did some reading and seems you are not the only one with this issue. It seems the fix is getting a 2GB card made by Kingston. Why? Who knows. I had a Chinese printer once that would only work with Windows 7 so go figure.

https://www.reddit.com/r/MPSelectMiniOw … _no_files/

Also FAT32 should  work but it seems the printer cannot recognize a file that has a name with more that 8 characters when using FAT32. The controller in that printer apparently has a very basic processor and can only read vary basic file names and Formats.

Printing since 2009 and still love it!
Anycubic 4MAX best $225 ever invested.
Voxelabs Proxima SLA. 6 inch 2k Mono LCD.
Anycubic Predator, massive Delta machine. 450 x 370 print envelope.

17 Reply by davidhk129

  • davidhk129
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2019-07-12
  • Posts: 15

Re: Newbie desperate for help.....

1.The card that came with the unit works?
Yes.
2.The extra one you have does not.
Correct.
3.So first are they the same size?
The one that comes with the printer is in use now. I am printing a model from the card. So I cannot tell you its size. My recollection is in MB. Not in GB. That indicates it is a small size card.
The one that does not work is 8GB
4.order the same brand and size
No go. The card does not bear any brand name nor size. It's blank on both sides.
5. a small chance the card could be bad
No. That's not it. This sd card is good.

18 Reply by davidhk129

  • davidhk129
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2019-07-12
  • Posts: 15

Re: Newbie desperate for help.....

RE : It seems the fix is getting a 2GB card made by Kingston

It has to be by Kingston ?

19 Reply by carl_m1968 (edited by carl_m1968 2019-07-14 00:31:36)

  • carl_m1968
  • carl_m1968
  • Member
  • Offline
  • From: Far North almost not Dallas
  • Registered: 2014-10-17
  • Posts: 6,512

Re: Newbie desperate for help.....

davidhk129 wrote:

RE : It seems the fix is getting a 2GB card made by Kingston

It has to be by Kingston ?

Try reading the links I supplied if they work.  They tell you what I know. They all say a Kingston 2GB card and keeping the names at 8 characters or less.


I don't use that printer as I prefer a kit so I know it is assembled well and a very large build area. Mine uses a controller with no limitations so I just use cards I can find. But like I said some Chinese printers have very strange hardware and firmware and can have limitations dues to this.

If you Google your problem you will see there are hundred if not thousands with similar issues and complaints.

Printing since 2009 and still love it!
Anycubic 4MAX best $225 ever invested.
Voxelabs Proxima SLA. 6 inch 2k Mono LCD.
Anycubic Predator, massive Delta machine. 450 x 370 print envelope.

20 Reply by davidhk129

  • davidhk129
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2019-07-12
  • Posts: 15

Re: Newbie desperate for help.....

Thank you very much for your patience and assistance.

Have a good day, or night.

21 Reply by davidhk129 (edited by davidhk129 2019-07-18 16:07:01)

  • davidhk129
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2019-07-12
  • Posts: 15

Re: Newbie desperate for help.....

carl_m1968 wrote:
davidhk129 wrote:

RE : It seems the fix is getting a 2GB card made by Kingston

It has to be by Kingston ?

They all say a Kingston 2GB card and keeping the names at 8 characters or less.

Update …….. don't have to have a Kingston sd card. Any 2GB micro sd card will do.
I bought a generic one for $14.99 CDN (Kinston would have been $30 +) > copied a gcode file to it > copied the printer's driver file to it > inserted the card >  printer recognized the card and its contents. It's printing as I speak.