1 Topic by android78 (edited by android78 2015-03-03 08:07:53)

  • android78
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Topic: Octoprint Raspbery Pi Upgrade

After seeing someone else post with regards to the Raspberry Pi mounts, I decided to do an OctoPrint mod. 
I only had a Pi 2, so this doesn't fit the mounts exactly, so I 3D printed (on the press) an adapter that screws onto the existing mounts.  This works ok, but lifts the board up about 8mm. 
http://www.soliforum.com/misc.php?action=pun_attachment&item=8114

There is access to the USB from a header just inside of where the External USB plugs in, but this doesn't work unless you use the pin from the jumper beside the USB socket (highlighted in Red in pic below) for +ve.  I assume that the jumper that I am connecting the USB +ve to is actually there to select internal USB over external.  I stole the power for the PI from another socket as highlighted in blue in pic below.   The power can probably be taken directly from the USB interface for this.
http://www.soliforum.com/misc.php?action=pun_attachment&item=8115

I've also 3D printed a mount for the Pi Camera that fits into the inside corner of the case.  You align the direction you want it to point by moving it laterally around the curve of the corner and it has an adjustable tilt.
http://www.soliforum.com/misc.php?action=pun_attachment&item=8116

There is an LCD screen for the Pi that I've tried to get working, but, unfortunately, it appears the current driver is only compatible with the Pi version 1B (+) and not the version 2, so I may have to actually downgrade to get that working.  On the plus side, then it should fit the bracket in the solidoodle without modification.

So far, the octoprint is working as well as running from repetier host directly, even if the printing progress is only a 2D representation.  The Camera works well, but is about 15 seconds lag.  I'm not sure if there is a way to reduce the camera lag as that seems far to long for my liking.

If anyone else is interested in doing this, I can provide STL's for the camera mount and Pi-Pi2 bracket.  Just let me know.

I'll post any updates here.

Here is a link to the STL's for the camera mount:
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:706387

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2 Reply by Fredjikrang

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Re: Octoprint Raspbery Pi Upgrade

That is really cool! Keep us up to date!

3 Reply by grob

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Re: Octoprint Raspbery Pi Upgrade

Nice work! I found on mine the bottleneck with the camera lag was the wifi dongle - the usb wifi dongle's throughput is not good enough to handle the video, and it chokes up. Try a wired connection and see if that improves the camera performance.

I prepare my models in RH on the laptop, slice there, and then upload the gcode to the server to print, so the lack of real-time path simulation is not such a problem. This workflow works well so far, but I'm keen on getting some basic settings into the integrated Cura so for lazy days I can just drag the STL in and get a basic slice (e.g. for decorative pieces!).

I'd love to grab that camera bracket STL, looks much simpler than many I've come across, and your corner location for the camera is great.

SD3. Mk2b + glass, heated enclosure, GT2 belts, direct drive y shaft, linear bearings, bowden-feed E3D v5 w/ 0.9° stepper
Smoothieboard via Octoprint on RPi

4 Reply by MacGyverX

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Re: Octoprint Raspbery Pi Upgrade

That jumper you are using is for the BOOT pin for the Controller.  And the 6 pin header is the ICSP header. You may want to find another source for power.

Cool Mod. I was going to do the same thing. But decided not to cause of temps in that area of the printer. I ended up mounting it to the rear of the printer.

SD Press - v1 (Pre-order) / RAMPs /w DRV8825's / Cyclops (25w) / Dual Bowden / Mk8 Gear / MK2b PCB Heat bed /w custom replacement Z / PEI Bed
SD2 / E3D v6 / Direct Drive / Mk8 Gear / RAMBo v1.3 / PEI Bed / Anti Z backlash mod / Ikea Expedite enclosure.
Both Driven by Octoprint (devel) via a RPi B+ / Neopixel status alerts / GPIO Controlled SSR / (SD2) 450 Watt PSU for remote power-up/shutdown.

5 Reply by android78

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Re: Octoprint Raspbery Pi Upgrade

MacGyver, thanks for the information.  I was certainly thinking about moving the power to the USB port anyway, but just hadn't got round to it.  Regarding the Jumper, I found that the pin that I've got the USB +ve connected to is connected directly with the external USB +ve.  For some reason just using the +5V in the same header as the other USB pins fails to work.  It seems like there's something funny going on with that header.  There actually appear to be another couple of USB interface headers on the other side of the board, near where the motor connection headers are, but I suspect they will have the same issue.

I haven't tried tracing the circuit for this, but do you know if the other unused headers near where the fans are connected are appropriate to use for additional case fans?  I'm thinking of taking out the existing fan from the bottom and putting in properly ducted blower in, but also want to put a couple of temperature controlled fans in the top so that the printer can be run with the case closed.

6 Reply by android78

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Re: Octoprint Raspbery Pi Upgrade

@grop - I've added the STLs to thingiverse in case you want to give it a try.

7 Reply by Fredjikrang

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Re: Octoprint Raspbery Pi Upgrade

Did you have to make any changes to get it working on the Pi 2? Or does Octopi work fine on the Pi 2?

8 Reply by android78

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Re: Octoprint Raspbery Pi Upgrade

Octopi worked fine on pi 2.  The only problem is that the lcd driver I have is incompatible. Haven't had a chance to work out what's going on with that yet.