1 Topic by kinflute

  • kinflute
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Topic: Reset cartridge & downgrade struggles

My purpose for buying a resetter was
to be prepared just in case XYZprinting will become bancrupt which would turn the printer very soon in a piece of scrapmetal.

So I bought a resetter from wctek.com. Now I would like to share my experiance. But first I would like to recommend some following steps before you even think about buying a resetter from any company! The first issues are already well known, just for the complete picture.

(1) XYZprinting don't want their cartridges to be resetted...so they press the firmware 1.2.3 into your printer via internet without your permission.
=> you MUST block XYZware to communicate with their home server with a firewall!

(2) if it is too late, and you have already1.2.3 Firmware on your printer, it will not accept resetted cartridges.

(3) so before buying a resetter, you MUST confirm if your are able to downgrade to firmware 1.1.J:

- download Arduino 1.5.8 and check
if the connected printer is recogniced
for example at Port COM5 beside standart PORT3. If you only can see a PORT3 and no OTHER Port which appears and disappears corresponding with connect/disconnect the Printer, you cannot downgrade and cannot use a resetter! DON'T BRAINWASH THE PRINTER WITH SHORTCUTTING JUMPER JP1 WITHOUT ASSURING THAT YOU CAN COMMUNICATE WITH THE PRINTER USING THE COMMANDS DAVLCB_1 / DAVLCB_0, you will not be able to recover/downgrade the Printer firmware => scrapmetal !!!

(4) now I only can talk about XYZPRO, I don't know the others!
In my case with my Win7 Laptop I was unable to get Arduino 1.5.8 to communicate with
the printer neither the XYZPRO . So I used my old EeePC / XP Professional to downgrade the printer. Unfortunatly I downgraded before I checked full functionality of XYZPRO
I should have proceeded in this way

- check if Arduino 1.5.8 can see plug and unplug of XYZPRO connected to the filament cartridge
- than use XYZPRO Terminal if it can read out the cartridge. You should not downgrade the printer before you are able to read out the cartridge with XZYPRO Terminal! If you can read out the cartridge you already can change&rewrite the cartridge settings.
- Last but not least try to use the XYZPRO Monitor Display, in my case I was unable to get it to read out and rewrite the cartridge, whatever I tried.
Doesn't matter, if you can use XZYPRO Terminal. It just don't give you a Plug & Play feeling...

After you were able to rewrite the cartridge (remark: it seems to be that the printer does not accept counter values bigger 240 Meter) you can go on to downgrade the Printer to firmware 1.1.J.

In my case it was not flawless, two trials failed during confirmation read out after flashing with bossac.exe. I did again the jumper trick, don't know  if that helped, but the third trial was succesfull and the printer awoke with firmware 1.1.J
Be aware that now probably the printer bed is too high, you will recognice if the printer nozzle presses on the glassplate, the filament will not leave the nozzle and it makes a sound like "tock tock tock..." In this case you need to screw it down and
level it with your smartphone (with cold printer bed!!!), for example "clinometer", you can call it "calibration"....

Good luck, than enjoy it

2 Reply by carl_m1968

  • carl_m1968
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Re: Reset cartridge & downgrade struggles

kinflute wrote:

My purpose for buying a resetter was
to be prepared just in case XYZprinting will become bancrupt which would turn the printer very soon in a piece of scrapmetal.

So I bought a resetter from wctek.com. Now I would like to share my experiance. But first I would like to recommend some following steps before you even think about buying a resetter from any company! The first issues are already well known, just for the complete picture.

(1) XYZprinting don't want their cartridges to be resetted...so they press the firmware 1.2.3 into your printer via internet without your permission.
=> you MUST block XYZware to communicate with their home server with a firewall!

(2) if it is too late, and you have already1.2.3 Firmware on your printer, it will not accept resetted cartridges.

(3) so before buying a resetter, you MUST confirm if your are able to downgrade to firmware 1.1.J:

- download Arduino 1.5.8 and check
if the connected printer is recogniced
for example at Port COM5 beside standart PORT3. If you only can see a PORT3 and no OTHER Port which appears and disappears corresponding with connect/disconnect the Printer, you cannot downgrade and cannot use a resetter! DON'T BRAINWASH THE PRINTER WITH SHORTCUTTING JUMPER JP1 WITHOUT ASSURING THAT YOU CAN COMMUNICATE WITH THE PRINTER USING THE COMMANDS DAVLCB_1 / DAVLCB_0, you will not be able to recover/downgrade the Printer firmware => scrapmetal !!!

(4) now I only can talk about XYZPRO, I don't know the others!
In my case with my Win7 Laptop I was unable to get Arduino 1.5.8 to communicate with
the printer neither the XYZPRO . So I used my old EeePC / XP Professional to downgrade the printer. Unfortunatly I downgraded before I checked full functionality of XYZPRO
I should have proceeded in this way

- check if Arduino 1.5.8 can see plug and unplug of XYZPRO connected to the filament cartridge
- than use XYZPRO Terminal if it can read out the cartridge. You should not downgrade the printer before you are able to read out the cartridge with XZYPRO Terminal! If you can read out the cartridge you already can change&rewrite the cartridge settings.
- Last but not least try to use the XYZPRO Monitor Display, in my case I was unable to get it to read out and rewrite the cartridge, whatever I tried.
Doesn't matter, if you can use XZYPRO Terminal. It just don't give you a Plug & Play feeling...

After you were able to rewrite the cartridge (remark: it seems to be that the printer does not accept counter values bigger 240 Meter) you can go on to downgrade the Printer to firmware 1.1.J.

In my case it was not flawless, two trials failed during confirmation read out after flashing with bossac.exe. I did again the jumper trick, don't know  if that helped, but the third trial was succesfull and the printer awoke with firmware 1.1.J
Be aware that now probably the printer bed is too high, you will recognice if the printer nozzle presses on the glassplate, the filament will not leave the nozzle and it makes a sound like "tock tock tock..." In this case you need to screw it down and
level it with your smartphone (with cold printer bed!!!), for example "clinometer", you can call it "calibration"....

Good luck, than enjoy it


There is an issue if you level with a cold bed. Your bed height will be wrong when it is hot due to thermal expansion of all the parts. Your first layer will actually thinner then it should. Of course after a cold level you can run the autocal, but as we all know it does not work and the values it comes up with as passing are wrong for actual printing.

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 mpoffo

  • mpoffo
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Re: Reset cartridge & downgrade struggles

I can add that the XYZZEROCART from WCTEK works well with the newest Da Vinci (1.0A -1.0.3 firmware).  I had no issues as long as you block XYZware in your firewall.

DaVinci 1.0A with Repetier .92
Simplify 3D
E3DV6

4 Reply by erickamsky

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Re: Reset cartridge & downgrade struggles

mpoffo wrote:

I can add that the XYZZEROCART from WCTEK works well with the newest Da Vinci (1.0A -1.0.3 firmware).  I had no issues as long as you block XYZware in your firewall.

Would this allow me to print PLA properly or should I wait for the official ones to be released?

5 Reply by mpoffo (edited by mpoffo 2015-01-07 03:58:22)

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Re: Reset cartridge & downgrade struggles

erickamsky wrote:
mpoffo wrote:

I can add that the XYZZEROCART from WCTEK works well with the newest Da Vinci (1.0A -1.0.3 firmware).  I had no issues as long as you block XYZware in your firewall.

Would this allow me to print PLA properly or should I wait for the official ones to be released?

It would allow you to change the extruder temp and bed temp which is important for PLA.  I have not printed PLA yet but will be getting some Hatchbox PLA to try. Temps will vary of course for filament.  One person recommended a print temp of 225 for hatchbox.

On the XYZ site they indicate their PLA will print at 190 with a bed temp of 45.

http://us.xyzprinting.com/us_en/Product/filament

The main benefit of the XYZZEROCART and other "resetters" is they allow you to print many other non-proprietary ABS and PLA filament.

The XYZ carts will be programmed to work with their filament.  In a way they are easier.  Some have said the XYZ filament is not as good.  I have not had that experience really but do enjoy the freedom of not having to rely on it. 

I am new to the 3D Printing World so my experience is more limited than some when it comes to filament.

DaVinci 1.0A with Repetier .92
Simplify 3D
E3DV6

6 Reply by carl_m1968

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Re: Reset cartridge & downgrade struggles

mpoffo wrote:
erickamsky wrote:
mpoffo wrote:

I can add that the XYZZEROCART from WCTEK works well with the newest Da Vinci (1.0A -1.0.3 firmware).  I had no issues as long as you block XYZware in your firewall.

Would this allow me to print PLA properly or should I wait for the official ones to be released?

It would allow you to change the extruder temp and bed temp which is important for PLA.  I have not printed PLA yet but will be getting some Hatchbox PLA to try. Temps will vary of course for filament.  One person recommended a print temp of 225 for hatchbox.

On the XYZ site they indicate their PLA will print at 190 with a bed temp of 45.

http://us.xyzprinting.com/us_en/Product/filament

The main benefit of the XYZZEROCART and other "resetters" is they allow you to print many other non-proprietary ABS and PLA filament.

The XYZ carts will be programmed to work with their filament.  In a way they are easier.  Some have said the XYZ filament is not as good.  I have not had that experience really but do enjoy the freedom of not having to rely on it. 

I am new to the 3D Printing World so my experience is more limited than some when it comes to filament.

Just a word of caution. The 1.0 has never been able to print PLA. One person did it but I suspect he had the 1.0A extruder and did not know it. Sadly there is no way to tell if you have the correct one or not. The extruder has an issue where the heat creeps up into the throat and causes the PLA to expand and jam in the feed tube. It is then a major hassle to clean out as Acetone has no affect on PLA. The 1.0A may have an updated extruder that can do it. The DUO and Aoi are supposed to be able to do it.

Just keep in mind that PLA is also biodegradable so you can't use it for anything that will be exposed to sunlight or strong ultraviolet light or the elements. It would also not work for anything that would be used inside of a vehicle as the temps would get high enough to make it soften and warp.

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.

7 Reply by mpoffo

  • mpoffo
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Re: Reset cartridge & downgrade struggles

carl_m1968 wrote:
mpoffo wrote:
erickamsky wrote:

Would this allow me to print PLA properly or should I wait for the official ones to be released?

It would allow you to change the extruder temp and bed temp which is important for PLA.  I have not printed PLA yet but will be getting some Hatchbox PLA to try. Temps will vary of course for filament.  One person recommended a print temp of 225 for hatchbox.

On the XYZ site they indicate their PLA will print at 190 with a bed temp of 45.

http://us.xyzprinting.com/us_en/Product/filament

The main benefit of the XYZZEROCART and other "resetters" is they allow you to print many other non-proprietary ABS and PLA filament.

The XYZ carts will be programmed to work with their filament.  In a way they are easier.  Some have said the XYZ filament is not as good.  I have not had that experience really but do enjoy the freedom of not having to rely on it. 

I am new to the 3D Printing World so my experience is more limited than some when it comes to filament.

Just a word of caution. The 1.0 has never been able to print PLA. One person did it but I suspect he had the 1.0A extruder and did not know it. Sadly there is no way to tell if you have the correct one or not. The extruder has an issue where the heat creeps up into the throat and causes the PLA to expand and jam in the feed tube. It is then a major hassle to clean out as Acetone has no affect on PLA. The 1.0A may have an updated extruder that can do it. The DUO and Aoi are supposed to be able to do it.

Just keep in mind that PLA is also biodegradable so you can't use it for anything that will be exposed to sunlight or strong ultraviolet light or the elements. It would also not work for anything that would be used inside of a vehicle as the temps would get high enough to make it soften and warp.

Good advice.  I have the newer one (1.0A) and XYZ said my version should be fine with PLA.  That being said I will have to try it.  I have corresponded with several folks on different forums and there has been some success but like you said who know which version they have. 

I would hope that XYZ makes it clear which versions work well with PLA and which do not since they will be selling it as well.  I can't imagine their PLA would be substantially different than other PLA filament.  I know one forum post indicated that someone at XYZ stated they may need to upgrade the hot end to the new version to work with PLA for the older model.

I suppose we shall find out soon.

DaVinci 1.0A with Repetier .92
Simplify 3D
E3DV6

8 Reply by pricecg44 (edited by pricecg44 2015-01-07 15:21:53)

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Re: Reset cartridge & downgrade struggles

Please tell us how xyz detect a resetted cartridge.  How do they can differentiate a swapped out one? Are you speculating or have you test results? A unique ID on each chip?, easily countered by creating random ID.
With the latest 1.0A the cartridge filament length can be changed- you need a arduino uno or a arduino board that delivers 5 volts, not 4 volts, I have not tested which causes the eeprom i/o protocol to not work (use of an external 5v, rather than the boards).  A true chip hacking deterrence is to replace the eeprom with tech that can stop bits being flipped, Maxum something the chip makers have this tech for consumerables such as ink print cartridges. I presume HP use this.

9 Reply by carl_m1968

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Re: Reset cartridge & downgrade struggles

pricecg44 wrote:

Please tell us how xyz detect a resetted cartridge.  How do they can differentiate a swapped out one? Are you speculating or have you test results? A unique ID on each chip?, easily countered by creating random ID.
With the latest 1.0A the cartridge filament length can be changed- you need a arduino uno or a arduino board that delivers 5 volts, not 4 volts, I have not tested which causes the eeprom i/o protocol to not work (use of an external 5v, rather than the boards).  A true chip hacking deterrence is to replace the eeprom with tech that can stop bits being flipped, Maxum something the chip makers have this tech for consumerables such as ink print cartridges. I presume HP use this.


They now keep track of the serial number sold in a database. When you start a print the software on the printer will poll the server and confirm that the serial number you are using on the cart is in the database of carts sold. If it is not the software will disable your printer until a cart that is in the database has been installed. The issue is that they only started tracking carts recently. So even older carts that you may have bought when you first got your printer could fail the verify step. There is also a checksum that is stored on that database as well for each serial number. If any data is altered on the chip it will change the checksum and again cause the cart to fail validation.

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.