You need to go to master: https://github.com/solidoodle/Marlin/tree/master/Marlin
I haven't gone through deleting the removing the other branches yet.

My apologies. I checked the primary branch and didn't check the master. There is still the small problem that the firmware is not SD3-ready but it's minor in comparison. Can you please spend some time pruning the unused branches, implementing useful things (like the SOLIDOODLE_VERSION define) and giving us some policies on using your github (e.g. provide us an "experimental" branch where we can make pull requests with a reasonable chance of having them pulled)? I'm sure that also Lawsy would be happy to contribute to the official repository if this makes things easier for everyone.

And to all: may I ask to go back on track of the Z-Wobble compensation for this thread? I know I myself added to the noise, and I apologize. We can still open a new one for the github issue, and I'm sure we can all find plenty of other threads where we can complain about SD development

wilheldp wrote:

solidoodlesupport wrote:

As far a cover for the Solidoodle 3: We have always maintained that if a significant number of customers requested it, we would provide it. However, since Solidoodle 3 first shipped, we have received less than a dozen requests for an outer cover. Remember, we have to order industrial quantities of these things if we want to sell them. I'm sure that if a large number of folks contacted us about this desire, we'd sell it.

You designed the SD3 for a factory-option cover, though, didn't you?  There are holes with nuts attached to the outer frame where hinges would go for the front door, and since the SD3 frame is a different size than the SD2, I don't think they are just leftovers from the old case design.

We designed the SD3 frame so that we could add the outer cover if it ever became necessary. I think if we made them on a one off basis, the price would be pretty significant - it would involve someone dropping their rhythm to make something custom.

We try not to do custom stuff, as a general rule. It would make sense to do custom orders if there wasn't a huge backlog, but right now keeping everything humming along seems like the wiser choice. as it stand, we've only had a handful of requests for an outer cover.

It might actually be easier to offer a set of acrylic sheets to replicate Ian's case. This would be very simple for us to order and place in the store. Same question always applies though: Will enough people buy it?

Are you guys observing a large number of people asking for the covers?

There would be an SD3 sitting on my desk right now if you guys had offered a cover for it.

solidoodlesupport wrote:

As far a cover for the Solidoodle 3: We have always maintained that if a significant number of customers requested it, we would provide it. However, since Solidoodle 3 first shipped, we have received less than a dozen requests for an outer cover. Remember, we have to order industrial quantities of these things if we want to sell them. I'm sure that if a large number of folks contacted us about this desire, we'd sell it.

You designed the SD3 for a factory-option cover, though, didn't you?  There are holes with nuts attached to the outer frame where hinges would go for the front door, and since the SD3 frame is a different size than the SD2, I don't think they are just leftovers from the old case design.

We designed the SD3 frame so that we could add the outer cover if it ever became necessary. I think if we made them on a one off basis, the price would be pretty significant - it would involve someone dropping their rhythm to make something custom.

We try not to do custom stuff, as a general rule. It would make sense to do custom orders if there wasn't a huge backlog, but right now keeping everything humming along seems like the wiser choice. as it stand, we've only had a handful of requests for an outer cover.

It might actually be easier to offer a set of acrylic sheets to replicate Ian's case. This would be very simple for us to order and place in the store. Same question always applies though: Will enough people buy it?

Are you guys observing a large number of people asking for the covers?

As far a cover for the Solidoodle 3: We have always maintained that if a significant number of customers requested it, we would provide it. However, since Solidoodle 3 first shipped, we have received less than a dozen requests for an outer cover. Remember, we have to order industrial quantities of these things if we want to sell them. I'm sure that if a large number of folks contacted us about this desire, we'd sell it.

You designed the SD3 for a factory-option cover, though, didn't you?  There are holes with nuts attached to the outer frame where hinges would go for the front door, and since the SD3 frame is a different size than the SD2, I don't think they are just leftovers from the old case design.

As far a cover for the Solidoodle 3: We have always maintained that if a significant number of customers requested it, we would provide it. However, since Solidoodle 3 first shipped, we have received less than a dozen requests for an outer cover. Remember, we have to order industrial quantities of these things if we want to sell them. I'm sure that if a large number of folks contacted us about this desire, we'd sell it.

Why not just make them in house on an as needed basis?

At my work we have three different email addresses we are expected to track. This is inefficient as different people focus on different ones to communicate. Mail is lost and/or not read.

Running different flavours of firmware sounds like this approach. Support the most up to date one, and as you say the average user will never know the difference. For users who come to this site and want to play, you avoid confusion over them trying to enable features which aren't in your version.

+1

solidoodlesupport wrote:

The github exists so someone could propose a change to the official firmware. Remember that the current github page is what we ship, as opposed to your repo which is the current community/modder favorite. We don't mind that those are separate things, as not every customer needs the same kind of features that a hard core enthusiast might.

Uh? This is news, since your current github page is a 1:1 clone of an old version of the official Marlin. For example, Configuration.h has this:

#define X_HOME_DIR -1
#define Y_HOME_DIR -1
#define Z_HOME_DIR -1

which is NOT a solidoodle setting.

I appreciate your effort of opening the software/firmware development, in principle, but I don't see the point of your github. If you actually had a version of the firmware that could be used on a solidoodle, then we could discuss. Then of course there would be the point of maintaining it, tracking bugs, processing pull requests, keeping it up-to-date with base... And make it easy for the community to add features to an experimental branch, that you will test and slowly include new features into the stable version. Do all of this, and we would be happy to contribute to your "official" firmware. Until then, I stay with our "community" github.

You need to go to master: https://github.com/solidoodle/Marlin/tree/master/Marlin
I haven't gone through deleting the removing the other branches yet.

For the record ours says:

What you see if what you get on the Solidoodle if you buy a new one. So, it would be a stretch to say it doesn't work on a Solidoodle. Again, the vast majority of our customers do not modify the firmware, or the hardware of the printer.

Solidoodle is in no way reticent to make changes to the printer. As you have seen with the changes to the hardware. We can only do so much at a time however, and changes on the ground do influence our decisions on what to develop. What we do respond to is direct requests to Solidoodle to make changes. I don't think we have ever said anything like "No, we wont fix the Z-wobble problem." We've been working on it for quite some time. However, we cannot say much about it until there is an official solution. I know that's not a very satisfying answer.

For instance, one of our major goals was to reduce shipping damage to the printer. As you can see, the new metal Z platform has completely eliminated the issue of broken Z-platforms on arrival.

Another goal was to eliminate the rash of hot-end burnouts we had been experiencing. We are happy to report that it appears to have ended.

Another major goal, has been to reduce the lead time for everything. We've been having great success with that, but we still haven't gotten things where we need it to be (no lead time!)

As far a cover for the Solidoodle 3: We have always maintained that if a significant number of customers requested it, we would provide it. However, since Solidoodle 3 first shipped, we have received less than a dozen requests for an outer cover. Remember, we have to order industrial quantities of these things if we want to sell them. I'm sure that if a large number of folks contacted us about this desire, we'd sell it.

What we would like is more customer interaction with what we provide on the machine, and more feedback from the community in terms of what you like and don't like in the official firmware.

The more I read your posts on this forum, the less I believe this.  Every time something is suggested, you get very defensive about your current practices (such as saying that most people don't want a z-axis that doesn't wobble...or at least they are willing to wait for us to fix it with hardware, then buy another $500 machine to get it).  I don't consider what I had to do to my Solidoodle out of the box to be "modding" or "hacking."  You have an x-axis motor and electronics system that are prone to overheating.  You have a z-axis rod that is prone to wobble and backlash.  You ship the printer with an extruder that over-extrudes.  You use a very flimsy heated bed that takes ages to reach temperature, and parts will still fail to stick unless you enclose the machine (and there isn't an option for an enclosure on the SD3).  These things could be fixed with the solutions already posted on this forum.  In fact, they already have been by us "hard core enthusiasts."

I appreciate your effort of opening the software/firmware development, in principle, but I don't see the point of your github. If you actually had a version of the firmware that could be used on a solidoodle, then we could discuss. Then of course there would be the point of maintaining it, tracking bugs, processing pull requests, keeping it up-to-date with base... And make it easy for the community to add features to an experimental branch, that you will test and slowly include new features into the stable version. Do all of this, and we would be happy to contribute to your "official" firmware. Until then, I stay with our "community" github.

Thank you for summing it up.

I didn't want to say there was no point in it existing because I run the 'rival' product and it would be pretentious, but I agree with Rincewind completely.

I only ever started mine because I was sick of waiting for Solidoodle to bring it up to date, but now I'm glad I did because members of the community like Rincewind and Neil Martin have contributed so strongly.

The github exists so someone could propose a change to the official firmware. Remember that the current github page is what we ship, as opposed to your repo which is the current community/modder favorite. We don't mind that those are separate things, as not every customer needs the same kind of features that a hard core enthusiast might.

Uh? This is news, since your current github page is a 1:1 clone of an old version of the official Marlin. For example, Configuration.h has this:

#define X_HOME_DIR -1
#define Y_HOME_DIR -1
#define Z_HOME_DIR -1

which is NOT a solidoodle setting.

I appreciate your effort of opening the software/firmware development, in principle, but I don't see the point of your github. If you actually had a version of the firmware that could be used on a solidoodle, then we could discuss. Then of course there would be the point of maintaining it, tracking bugs, processing pull requests, keeping it up-to-date with base... And make it easy for the community to add features to an experimental branch, that you will test and slowly include new features into the stable version. Do all of this, and we would be happy to contribute to your "official" firmware. Until then, I stay with our "community" github.

- Users wouldn't bother asking you guys to fix it because the community is more likely to fix or add features (and do it in a reasonable amount of time). They also wouldn't say there was a problem with the firmware because we (the community) fixed the ones in your initial version (homing issues for one).

- I can't understand why you would play with Panelolu features on the firmware when by default they aren't compiled. If it ain't broke then don't fix it.

At my work we have three different email addresses we are expected to track. This is inefficient as different people focus on different ones to communicate. Mail is lost and/or not read.

Running different flavours of firmware sounds like this approach. Support the most up to date one, and as you say the average user will never know the difference. For users who come to this site and want to play, you avoid confusion over them trying to enable features which aren't in your version.

The fact that yours even exists and is a less up to date version than mine will cause you grief. Many people are interested in Z wobble firmware fixes, and already people have been confused by trying to use the compensation features in your version (where they don't exist) instead of mine.

One user even tried to manually add the changes to your version, and got themselves in a mess. This type of activity will only increase your customer service load.

We've never been approached by a single person with a problem like "I downloaded the wrong firmware, how do I get the wobble fix firmware?" Our sites pretty clear on what the official firmware is. So, this isn't a support issue per se. The vast majority of Solidoodle customers never update their firmware. So, no there is no grief being caused on our own end. What we would like is more customer interaction with what we provide on the machine, and more feedback from the community in terms of what you like and don't like in the official firmware.

The github exists so someone could propose a change to the official firmware. Remember that the current github page is what we ship, as opposed to your repo which is the current community/modder favorite. We don't mind that those are separate things, as not every customer needs the same kind of features that a hard core enthusiast might.

As the Solidoodle lineup expands, it will be important to maintain the distinctions between various flavors of firmware. We are still working out ways to support both the community as well as the more casual Solidoodle user in this dimension.

I don't think anyone in recent memory has approached us and said "There's a problem with the firmware." This user community is about the only place it's talked about. However, if you ever want to make a change to the firmware that is distributed with the Solidoodle, then our repo would be the place to do it. 

In other words, if someone would like add their new feature, or a bug fix to our official copy we'd be happy to look in to it, but it would be awesome if you contacted/asked us directly via e-mail, github etc. We love hearing what you guys have to say about our current software / firmware page, so please let us know how we can improve things in the future.

One thing we might try look into for the future, is paring down the firmware so that it is more specific to the Solidoodle. We are curious at this point how as to how many people are using the Panelolu features. It seems they are less used than they were before.

As a final note, we are continuing to work on Z-wobble fixes on the hardware side of things. We'll let you know the moment there is something we are able to report.