I hit a brick wall. And turned my esp32 board into one as well. I tried to replace the config.yaml file on it to the one by design8studios. I want my X to be the long way. And I wanted to add the pendant. I thought I was doing everything right. I deleted the config file. But I’m running into issues putting the new one back on. I kept getting a “write fail” error. No matter what I tried. So I tried to connect the board to my internet router. Now I have no way back in. I downloaded the usb driver and installed it. But I’m not having any luck connecting that way either. I used chrome to go to the ip address but it won’t connect that way either. Here’s my questions:
How do I access the board again?
How do I reinstall the config. yaml file to the correct one?
I just want to be able to run the machine. I have the esp32 board off of the jackpot board so I can work on it in the house. The machine is in an unheated shed. I want to put the connection back to the hotspot on the board. Not my wifi.
Any help would be really great. So I don’t have to buy another one. Although I’m to that point right now.
The easiest way is to connect the esp with a cable to your pc. Make sure to have the correct drivers installed which are available from the link above. Then go the the fluidnc web installer. Connect to the board and select version 3.9.1, then fresh install.
Wait for it to be done. Download the config files from Ryan over at GitHub, also link above. Then in the webinstaller drag the files inside the folder you just downloaded. You will need the lowrider web ui 2 files. Wait for them to upload. Now you should be able to connect again
Re. ESP32
You can definitely connect the ESP32 to a laptop or other computer via USB, directly, and once that is connected, there are at least a couple of ways of putting the firmware onto it again from scratch. One way is to use the web browser based firmware installer tool, and the other is to use Visual Studio Code, with a build of the firmware that you downloaded from GitHub. The easier way is the browser method. I think a post above by @vSeccelen linked to what you need.
Re. M5 Dial
There’s a little button on the back of the M5 dial that you have to hold down while you connect the USB cord to it.
I think it’s advisable to use Ryan’s latest config.YAML file, build your system as “stock” first, get everything running, and you know it’s all working, and then make small changes to your config file after which you test, and if it doesn’t work, you can go back to how it was before. And this way you can tweak your file to how you want it. I don’t think just replacing a whole file with someone else’s whole file is advisable — if for no other reason than the one that you’re using (from someone else) could be from an earlier version and if Ryan has made improvements over time then you’re not getting those.
If I somewhere previously recommended to someone to swap my entire file for theirs, then please let me know where, so I can edit that. Also, if that is the case, forgive me for having a lesser understanding then than I do now. Someone sharing their whole config file probably should be viewed more as an example for you to look at and compare with rather than just swap in for your system.
@Build1 take comfort. Earlier, I once thought I had bricked mine, but I was able to get firmware reinstalled on it from scratch, and it was fine. It may take you a little bit of trial and error, but you can get there!
Extract the .zip file for your operating system (e.g. for Windows it would be fluidnc-v3.9.1-win64.zip )
From within that set of files, run erase, install-wifi, then install-fs. (e.g. on windows you’d run erase.bat, then install-wifi.bat, then install-fs.bat)
Once that’s done, disconnect the USB cable and power back up the jackpot. It should now be in its’ stock configuration where you can connect to it over WiFi.
Re-upload the stock config.yaml and other V1 files.
We’ll need to get more details from you about your machine layout and what exact configuration of pendant you’re trying to use.
Finally, we advise against flipping machine axis or doing anything else besides building stock until you have everything running. Otherwise, troubleshooting gets really hard for you and for us.
I now have access to the board again. But I still don’t have a Config folder on it. I’ve tried several times and I keep getting a “write fail” error. I watched a couple of videos this morning and I’m going to give it another try.
I had the LR working when I had the SKR board on it. But I didn’t like using estlcam and marlin software. The jackpot board looked like what I was hoping the machine would run like. My hot wire cnc runs off of grbl. Now that I have the jackpot board on it I thought it would be easy to change the X and Y.
Do I need to upload software onto the M5 pendant? Or will that be good to go once I label the pins to run it?
OK please keep us updated. I’m assuming that you meant config file instead of config folder. The write error is a little bit disconcerting, but hopefully you can get past it. If you try again, and are unable, then document what you did, and let us know so we can try to suggest a workaround or another approach.
Swapping X and Y is not hard. I think the way I did it was to swap the wires where they connect into the board, on both the drivers for the steppers and the limit switch pins that need to match them. In my case I also needed to edit the travel distance in millimeters in my config file to swap them there.
Yes, the M5 dial is blank slate, and will need firmware uploaded onto it to function as a the pendant. How to get that done is explained in the wiki and in my build log. I started off trying to use the Arduino environment, but eventually I switched, and I did it using the Visual Studio Code environment. I found that to be the easiest for me.
This is from the thread right above where you started to try to implement these changes on your own board:
And was confirmed to work
It’s a simple change that anyone can do. It’s probably dangerous to have a year old config file hanging around for a custom wired board, for something that is very easy to explain if someone happens to want to do it.
I am going to edit that post to delete the file, that is extremely old.
Can you elaborate on this a bit please. This is going to cause a lot of confusion for you versus the instructions and any advice any of use give you, just to change the point of view of you the user. I highly suggest using the machine as is, it really does not matter one little bit where the machine 0,0 is you can use it just the same not matter where it is but it is very well-designed to be where I put it from a software/firmware/cam/mechanical point of view.
I think the reason for my confusion, and making both statements in my case (that I did it by swapping wires and did it by swapping axes letters) is because both may be accurate. I indeed did the swap twice, first on SKR board, then on Jackpot. Again, my memory is not what it once was, but I think I saw evidence that my first swap was accomplished by wire swapping, and my second was accomplished via virtual swapping of axes letters!
My current cnc uses Aspire and Mach3 software. And my previous job I ran both a cnc laser and plasma cutter. All of which have the X axis on the long side. So nesting my parts is more natural that way. It’s less confusion on my part to run the machine that way.
I officially surrender. I just checked the V1 store. I have spent the last 2 days trying to get my config.yaml file back on the board. Not to mention the other times I was working on it. For $22 I’m just going to buy a new esp. I hope Ryan has the software loaded on it.
I think the reason I was getting the file write fail error is because I opened fluidnc and went to update. And I tried to update the file that way. I tried to use fluidterm today. Control U and I get an error 9 code. Something about not being able to load gcode. And the machine being locked. I wasn’t trying to load any gcodes.
Thank you guys for all the help you gave me to try and straighten me out. I may have to wait for the new esp to show up in the mail. But I can use my time for other projects that aren’t getting done around her. Such as some laser work I need out before the weekend. I can work on this esp in January when it’s 20 below and I want to try and stay warm.
Thanks again. I can’t say it enough. I need to get this one going so I can upgrade to the v4. That thing impressed me.
FluidNC 3.9.1
Run erase.bat
install-fs.bat
install-wifi.bat
Then use the webinstaller to load all my files (config, macros, everything for V2) or you can use the fluid term and do it one file at a time.
You are not clear on exactly what you did, it seems you might have tried to skip steps. You also loaded a config that has not been tested by me and for an unknow version of the firmware…they do need to match for the most part.
I tried that. When I tried that it doesn’t work for me. I ran through the first three steps. When I use fluidterm control U. Then clicking on the config.yaml folder it runs and I get an error code 9 error. gcode can not be executed in lock or alarm state. When I use the web installer. It runs for a couple of hours and nothing happens. I’m at my wits end.
