FolgerTech Kossel (Rev B) - Firmware help? (Page 1 of 2)

umm, yeah... no such creature in the file I got. one zip file named: KosselRevB Firmware
extract the zip file and there are 2 folders as follows:
KosselRevB
KosselRevBPE
Looking at them both in Arduino, I don't really see any differences in the configuration.h file - there may be things in other places however. The other half was told the 2nd one is for a new model revision that hasn't been released yet (so why have the firmware out there to confuse people?)

This is what is currently available on their google drive.
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id= … =drive_web

The rev b build instructions say nothing about setting up/installing the firmware. I don't have a clue when it comes to setting up firmware for a Delta style printer - never done it before, not really sure where to even begin aside from setting the correct board....and the calibration guide says nothing about installing the firmware either - it just assumes you have done so.

I know there are a bunch of measurements that are needed, but no idea what each refers to, or how to obtain them correctly.

I guess what I need/am asking for, are PROPER instructions on what I need to do to set up the firmware so I am at least close to what I need...
as in - measure this item here, input that measurement here in firmware - Then upload to board, then proceed with calibrations to fine tune things.

All the calibration guides I have seen assume you have already done the needed basic measurements and uploaded the firmware to the printer...and this is where I am lost...

Even the guide linked to starts out...

      1- Enter starting values into the firmware.

      With your endstop screws about halfway into the carriage (allowing for adjustability in either direction (which this particular kit does not include, btw)), click the HOME on Pronterface or RepetierHost, and measure the distance from the tip of your extruder to the build surface.

I am no where near ready to send this thing to "home" - and just where is "home" on a delta?? at the top? at the bottom? I have no clue.

and then there is a the (not so) small issue of which motor is supposed to be which axis - one will say that X is left front, while another says X is right front (FT doesn't seem to say at all in the Rev B build guide) - the only thing everyone seems to agree on is that Z is rear middle.

Arrrgghhh - I am soo confused...

Their product page's linked Google drive also has a file Calibration-Guide-Folger.docx with apparently better information than the previous version that I built from, too.

I see what you mean about the firmware too - that's completely different from the packages I got from them. I don't see the difference in a quick skimming.

ok - not sure what I did, but it now moves! LOL in the downward direction only?

if I click on the "home" button it wants to go down... that isnt correct, is it?

OK... I have made some progress on this, but now have a new issue...

the calibration guide states:
     Use the G1 YXX command to move the Y axis towards the front of the printer

an input of G1 Y50 moves the print head towards the Z tower (rear) not the front...

confused again?

OK,

so which lines in the firmware need to be changed to get this thing to work correctly?? I can swap the plugs back, but I dont want the printhead crashing into the bed.

so the "Y" tower is the one with the Z motor on it? ugh.... more confusion....

and again I ask, which motor is supposed to be X? front right or left?
I decided which one is Z - say that one is a given - and it IS plugged into the correct spot on the board,
but not being familiar with how these things are supposed to move, or which of the "front" motors is supposed to be which...

do you understand why I am confused?

Carl,

First, thank you for the help.
I am just kind of frustrated right now, so please forgive any "snappiness" in my posts - it is not personal (not at you anyway - maybe at FT for not being on the ball with their build instructions).
I will power down, find those lines and make the changes in the firmware, and then swap the motor plugs back...

BTW - which version of the firmware are you looking at?

Ok, X, Y, & Z are the most common designators, and are what the board uses as designators for plugging things in, so let's stick with that, shall we?

Now, back to my previous question - which of the motors is supposed to be which?
If I place the assembled tower with the one I have designated as Z pointing away from me, which one should be X, and which should be Y?
There has to be some kind of logic involved here to get things moving in the appropriate, expected directions, and I have yet to find anything that tells me "label the motors in this fashion" - do I label in a clockwise fashion, or counter-clockwise?
FT seems to have conveniently left that bit of information out...

Just to identify everything (and this is all just as I built it, as Carl said above, deltas are all a little flexible on this):

Power supply is on a rail between Z (back tower) and Y (Front right). USB cable exits mine from the rail counterclockwise from the power supply, between Z and X (Front Left). Unused rail is the one I wanted to call "front" since it was unobstructed for a later LCD panel (and of course is between X and Y motors).

Hope that helps some.

Well, some progress, i think.

I have center set perfectly according to the paper test.
at the towers however, I have the following
1 is perfect
1 is a hair to high
and 1 is a hair too low

is this an end-stop adjustment? or what do I need to do to fix it?

Actually, no, it doesnt 'explain the options' for when the 3 tower locations are different heights... in fact, that one says pretty much nothing about that particular aspect of tuning. it only covers how to get the actual build radius...

FWIW - this model does not use the servo switch, either, it has an inductive sensor - so things are a bit different in that arena as well (not that I have even attempted to use that yet)

the calibration guide from the Rev B google drive claims for the outer edges being off - all being either too high or too low:
     1. Increasing DELTA_SMOOTH_ROD_OFFSET lowers the hotend.
     2. Decreasing DELTA_SMOOTH_ROD_OFFSET raises the hotend.

When in fact, I found the opposite to be true.
I started out with a DELTA_SMOOTH_ROD_OFFSET of 197 - center was set, outer edges were all initially too high.

tried increasing the DELTA_SMOOTH_ROD_OFFSET, and it made things even higher...

decreasing DELTA_SMOOTH_ROD_OFFSET is what got me to where I am right now. DELTA_SMOOTH_ROD_OFFSET is currently set to 193.75 which makes one tower edge location perfect, one slightly too high, and one now slightly too low...

Because the "build" coordinates are based off of the "home" location, I am guessing that I need to adjust end-stops ever so slightly to get those edges corrected, and then rework the calibrations to get things leveled out..
I thought I had each tower offset measured & calibrated pretty well, but being off a fraction of a mm i guess can have a pretty big impact on where the hotend nozzle actually ends up...

And it is ALIVE!!

a couple of shots of it's first ever print - a basic calibration cube of 25mm x 25mm...

I am quite impressed with how well this thing prints first time...
but after spending most of last night and all of this morning getting things calibrated correctly(around 10 hours of tweaking firmware numbers), it just outta! LOL

I am stoked now! hehe

Thanks, Leghk.

still have a little bit of tweaking to do (working on it) and have discovered that the inductive sensor will not work with the mirror on the bed (it wont trigger and I am not giving up my glass!) so will probably go the springs under the bed route eventually. For now, It works! LOL and I am a very happy camper right now.

Thanks to both you and Carl for the assistance - even if you don't think you did much, every little bit helps - even if it is just encouragement.

Now that I have this one up and running, I will tinker with the Sintron version some more later and see if I can get it to function as well.