Although I have been using Blender for several years, I only got my first 3D printer last weekend, and after struggling a bit with RepG and noting that the community behind it don't seem to be actively working on new versions, I bought Simplify 3D a couple of days ago to replace RepG.
I was having a seriously confusing time trying to get anything to print successfully and being new, did not know if it was my error (seemed likely), a hardware issue, or my software setup. Each print would start, lay down a partial raft and then the head would stop and deposit a huge blob of goo. It was happening on multiple models.
My set-up: A beefy i7 64bit workstation with 32Gb RAM, Windows 10 (upgraded before I got the printer) and a FlashForge Creator Pro. I was using the configuration assistant to set up for my printer model, and the printer was still at factory presets.
After a bit (actually a lot) of experimentation, I think I have narrowed the issue down to really bad comms over the USB. I am still unable to print anything over the USB link, but transferring the files via SD card works fine. I also noticed in S3D that temperature plots freeze after a period of approx 10 minutes, and updates seen in the "Communication" tab also stop. Each time, the last transaction is a SENT: message from S3D.
Even if the comms are poor, it shouldn't just hang waiting. Are others seeing this issue?
Re: Connect via USB issues
Yup, that sounds like bad USB communication. And unfortunately, because these printers all use a back-and-forth (ping-pong) communication style, if the software doesn't receive responses back from the printer, it causes issues.
Everyone will tell you printing from the SD card is recommended. It is always going to be more reliable since you don't have to deal with USB communication, which is always much less reliable and slower. If you really need to use USB communication, I would recommend getting a better USB cable, ideally one with a ferrite collar to reduce noise. You could also try isolating the printer with a UPS power supply to prevent voltage spikes.
But really, you should just be using SD card for best reliability
Everyone will tell you printing from the SD card is recommended. It is always going to be more reliable since you don't have to deal with USB communication, which is always much less reliable and slower. If you really need to use USB communication, I would recommend getting a better USB cable, ideally one with a ferrite collar to reduce noise. You could also try isolating the printer with a UPS power supply to prevent voltage spikes.
But really, you should just be using SD card for best reliability
Re: Connect via USB issues
Thanks JoeJ,
I'll take your advice on using the SD card for transferring files.
I would like to get USB link to work better though, even if only for temperature monitoring or some of the other functionality in S3D. My USB already has a ferrous collar and I note that USB printing using the same cable works fine using RepG.
I'll take your advice on using the SD card for transferring files.
I would like to get USB link to work better though, even if only for temperature monitoring or some of the other functionality in S3D. My USB already has a ferrous collar and I note that USB printing using the same cable works fine using RepG.
Re: Connect via USB issues
I've been printing to USB using Windows 7 ever since I've had the software without any comms issues and I'm currently holding back from upgrading to Windows 10 as it is currently quite buggy as far as USB communication is concerned. I've tried upgrading my laptop to Win10 as a trial, but have restored back as I immediately had USB comms issues with my 3D printer.
Personally, I think your issues are Win10 related....and as to what you can do to get around things until Microsoft gets the bugs sorted, I would suggest you do what Joe has suggested.
Personally, I think your issues are Win10 related....and as to what you can do to get around things until Microsoft gets the bugs sorted, I would suggest you do what Joe has suggested.
Doug Kightley
Volunteer at the National Tramway Museum http://www.tramway.co.uk
Railway modeller and webmaster at http://www.talkingtgauge.net
Volunteer at the National Tramway Museum http://www.tramway.co.uk
Railway modeller and webmaster at http://www.talkingtgauge.net
Re: Connect via USB issues
Oh good point! I missed the sentence that said he was using Win10. There are many known issues with Windows 10 and USB serial com port communication. In fact many of them have been around since the earlier developer previews, but microsoft never fixed them. So if you're using Windows 10, that could easily be the source of your issues.
Re: Connect via USB issues
After further experimentation, I found that if I routed the USB cable round the left of the Creator Pro, rather than the right, keeping the USB cable away from the power supply unit, I no longer get the data issues.
The data flow for monitoring temperature etc, no longer freezes after 10 minutes.
Notwithstanding the issues being reported about poor USB support in Windows 10, I still think the software should do a better job of recovering from a blip in the comms connection.
The data flow for monitoring temperature etc, no longer freezes after 10 minutes.
Notwithstanding the issues being reported about poor USB support in Windows 10, I still think the software should do a better job of recovering from a blip in the comms connection.
Re: Connect via USB issues
It's actually the best one out there that I know of for recovering from those communication blips
It actually has a dedicated setting to do exactly that. If you go to Tools > Firmware Configuration, and click on the Communication tab, you can enable the "communication timeout" option. If the software detects a failed communication and the printer isn't able to resolve it in that many seconds, the software will automatically move on to the next command. I use 30 seconds for the timeout and it works great. Note that you can't use too small of a value because the firmware can sometimes take a while to respond, even during normal operation. So don't use something like 2 seconds for example, try to keep it around 15-30 sec.
Now, that being said, the software can't do anything if the serial port driver stalls (a common issue on Windows 10) or if a power fluctuation causes the board to reset and the serial connection to be terminated. So just be aware, that while it has many features built in to help with this, there are still plenty of causes that it can do nothing about.
It actually has a dedicated setting to do exactly that. If you go to Tools > Firmware Configuration, and click on the Communication tab, you can enable the "communication timeout" option. If the software detects a failed communication and the printer isn't able to resolve it in that many seconds, the software will automatically move on to the next command. I use 30 seconds for the timeout and it works great. Note that you can't use too small of a value because the firmware can sometimes take a while to respond, even during normal operation. So don't use something like 2 seconds for example, try to keep it around 15-30 sec.
Now, that being said, the software can't do anything if the serial port driver stalls (a common issue on Windows 10) or if a power fluctuation causes the board to reset and the serial connection to be terminated. So just be aware, that while it has many features built in to help with this, there are still plenty of causes that it can do nothing about.
Re: Connect via USB issues
Thanks for the information, I had not found those comm settings in S3D. Indeed, the timeout setting and the option to use hardware flow control (provided the printer supports it) should be enough to recover from blips.
I also uninstalled the unsigned USB driver and went with the default Microsoft driver, if all the USB driver is doing is providing serial comms over USB, I don't see any need to use a specific driver at the PC end. The default driver works fine.
I have been reading through the forums here and thanks to the tips and other threads, I am a little less bewildered than I was a week ago. I am even starting to get some successful prints out.
Thanks.
I also uninstalled the unsigned USB driver and went with the default Microsoft driver, if all the USB driver is doing is providing serial comms over USB, I don't see any need to use a specific driver at the PC end. The default driver works fine.
I have been reading through the forums here and thanks to the tips and other threads, I am a little less bewildered than I was a week ago. I am even starting to get some successful prints out.
Thanks.
