Makerbase MKS Sbase

remon_v · July 4, 2020, 2:06pm

Hi Jeffe,

I did another test, this time to try Repetier. Everything works fine except 1 thing (in both Repetier and Pronterface):
The, in this case, drawing comes out half the size in both directions.
Does this maybe have something to do with the 1/32 microstepping?

jeffeb3 · July 4, 2020, 2:18pm

Yep. Start by just moving it 10mm or 100mm with the manual movement buttons and measuring how far it goes.

You can change the steps with M92:

M92 X200 Y200 Z800

And if that works, save it with M500. I also make a point to go edit my firmwares default steps/mm, even if I don’t reflash it. Just to make sure I don’t forget the change in 6 months when I flash it for some other reason.

remon_v · July 4, 2020, 3:41pm

I will try that…
Those ‘M’ commands change the firmware?
Then it’s good to change it PlatformIO too indeed, good idea.

Btw why Z800 and not 200?

jeffeb3 · July 4, 2020, 4:26pm

The Z has a screw not a belt. So it has a different ratio of steps to mm.

remon_v · July 6, 2020, 2:14pm

Hi Jeffe,

This works! I haven’t measured anything yet but looking at the drawing the size is correct.
How should I change this in PlatformIO?

I also downloaded the Fusion360 PostProcessor from guffy’s Github.

jeffeb3 · July 6, 2020, 2:29pm

If I were you, I would take a note as to which firmware you flashed it with, and maybe even zip that up with a name like “Marlin - Flashed to MPCNC July 2020”. In 8 months, you might want to poke around with new features, or try a new version of the firmware, and knowing exactly what was on it in case you want to go back is really helpful.

You can change that setting here:

github.com

Allted/Marlin/blob/V1CNC_Rambo_Dual/Marlin/Configuration.h#L733


* following movement settings. If fewer factors are given than the
* total number of extruders, the last value applies to the rest.
*/
//#define DISTINCT_E_FACTORS

/**
* Default Axis Steps Per Unit (steps/mm)
* Override with M92
*                                      X, Y, Z, E0 [, E1[, E2...]]
*/
#define DEFAULT_AXIS_STEPS_PER_UNIT   { 100, 100, 400, 100 }

/**
* Default Max Feed Rate (mm/s)
* Override with M203
*                                      X, Y, Z, E0 [, E1[, E2...]]
*/
#define DEFAULT_MAX_FEEDRATE          { 50, 50, 15, 25 }

//#define LIMITED_MAX_FR_EDITING        // Limit edit via M203 or LCD to DEFAULT_MAX_FEEDRATE * 2
#if ENABLED(LIMITED_MAX_FR_EDITING)

If you do change that, then if you ever flash it again, that will be the new default.

remon_v · July 6, 2020, 2:36pm

Thanks Jeffe!

Now with the drawings I’m pretty confident. I can set my start positions and it does excactly what I want.
But in a few days I want to try to CNC with my router on some wood. I think I will test it on MDF.
But I have no clue where to start, what settings I should use.
My router is a Makita RT0700C and I have a 6mm bit with 2 flutes.

jeffeb3 · July 6, 2020, 2:42pm

Sounds good. Get it dirty.

You can definitely go in full steam ahead, and just be OK with making funny looking firewood (it’s inevitable, there will be mistakes). But you might also enjoy the confidence that comes from cutting some HD purple foam first. It has absolutely no load on the bit, so you should not have to worry about depth of cuts or feedrates. When you’ve done a couple of jobs and you have a decent checklist, start easy in wood, and then dial up the settings until you hit problems, and dial them back. You’ll get a good feel for your machine this way, and you’ll understand a lot about which things are tricky and which things are NBD.

Take a look at the milling basics page. Those settings are pretty conservative, but they are for an 1/8" bit, not a 6mm. Especially when plunging and slotting, your bit will have more load. I still think those settings are a good starting place. Every type of wood and bit is going to be different. So it might be a good time to start a log of sorts to record what you tried and what happened. Get it dirty!

remon_v · July 6, 2020, 2:54pm

I could try milling some foam first.
I’ve got some left over pieces of PUR, from insulation our roof. This is 8cm thick.
That would be a good material to start right?

jeffeb3 · July 6, 2020, 2:56pm

Sure.

remon_v · July 10, 2020, 5:32pm

Hey Jeffe,

I just recieved my TFT screen and connected it, but I wasn’t able to control the MPCNCN from it.
Do I need to enable it somehow?

jeffeb3 · July 10, 2020, 5:57pm

First, check the baud rate on the screen. It should be 250k.

After that, the serial port probably isn’t enabled in the firmware. Does the port you’re connecting it to have a number, like tx1? If so, set SERIAL_PORT_2 to that number (1, in my example).

remon_v · July 10, 2020, 6:16pm

I can’t find the baud rate in the settings.

The port is called aux1 on both the board and the screen.

jeffeb3 · July 10, 2020, 6:20pm

On the tfts I played with, there was a button in the settings to change the baud rate and it started at 115.2k.

Can you post a pic of the port you’re plugged into on the mks? I will have a minute at a keyboard in a little while and I can look at the schematic to guess which port it is on.

You could also just try 1 and set the baud to 250k and try it.

remon_v · July 10, 2020, 6:28pm

Maybe the baud rate need to be changed in the firmware?

Here’s the TFT with the schematic:

Here’s the board with the schematic:

Where can I set the port?

jeffeb3 · July 10, 2020, 6:35pm

github.com

Allted/Marlin/blob/V1CNC_Rambo_Dual/Marlin/Configuration.h#L113


      
          * Note: The first serial port (-1 or 0) will always be used by the Arduino bootloader.
          *
          * :[-1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]
          */
          #define SERIAL_PORT 0
          
          /**
          * Select a secondary serial port on the board to use for communication with the host.
          * :[-1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]
          */
          //#define SERIAL_PORT_2 -1
          
          /**
          * This setting determines the communication speed of the printer.
          *
          * 250000 works in most cases, but you might try a lower speed if
          * you commonly experience drop-outs during host printing.
          * You may try up to 1000000 to speed up SD file transfer.
          *
          * :[2400, 9600, 19200, 38400, 57600, 115200, 250000, 500000, 1000000]
          */

remon_v · July 10, 2020, 6:37pm

Is there a ‘M’ code for it or do I need to do this in PlatformIO and re-build it?

jeffeb3 · July 10, 2020, 6:39pm

You need to rebuild it.

remon_v · July 10, 2020, 6:42pm

Like this?:

#define SERIAL_PORT -1//0

/**

Select a secondary serial port on the board to use for communication with the host.
:[-1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]

*/

#define SERIAL_PORT_2 1

remon_v · July 10, 2020, 6:48pm

Marlin\src\HAL\LPC1768…/…/inc/…/HAL/LPC1768/inc/SanityCheck.h:112:8: error: #error “Serial port pins (1) conflict with LCD pins!”

I’m trying port ‘0’ now as my main port is ‘-1’

Edit: Yes! it works with Port “0”
I flashed again and not even connected my laptop, just straight with the TFT.`

Again thanks for the help Jeffe!