Simplify3D User Forum

I realize that only the VIP and Early Backers currently have Craftbots, so there is not a large installed base. I received my Craftbot yesterday and played with it for a bit using the "supplied" Craftware slicer. Not a bad "first effort", but being an ardent S3D user there were certainly a lot of things that I missed.... including print quality!

Getting S3D up and running on the Craftbot was pretty easy and in the near future I will post a profile for anybody that is interested. I'm still tweaking it and refining it at the moment.

The only real "issue" that I have run into appears to be communication. I can control most of the functions of the machine over USB with the machine control panel, but when it comes to actually running a print over USB it will fail. The printer will do the preheat sequence and then perform a number of unplanned moves and gyrations. I can take that same GCODE, open it in Craftware and then print over USB via Craftprint, so I don't think there is anything fundamentally wrong with the GCODE.

I have tried turning on hardware flow control, but that didn't appear to make any difference. I'm open to other suggestions.

It would be great to get CraftBot compatibility.

for printers not on the compatibility list (many of my reprap printers aren't, which is understandable considering the amount of variation from one reprap model to the next) you would simply go to Config Assistant and select other. See this thread:
http://forum.simplify3d.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2009

I tried that. The head moves to the print zone then stops before printing anything :/

As I mentioned, I configured a profile that works quite well. I can crank out GCODE that prints on the machine much better than the GCODE that comes from CraftWare.

My only stumbling block right now is USB communication. I can control the rudimentary functions of the bot via the machine control panel, but I can't stream a print to the machine via USB. I have to do that using CraftPrint (Craft Unique's USB printing program).

Scott - can you post your FFF profile? I wonder if the craftbot software is streaming the entire gcode file to the printer at the beginning instead of line-by-line. Is there a communication log in that software so that you can see what it's doing?

Sure, I can post the current profile that I am using and I will do so shortly (when I get home).

I spent a little time playing with USB communications the other day. Increased and decreased the baud rate. I could get the printer to start the print... but while it was moving the stepper sounded like a buzz saw... like the USB communication interrupt was hammering on the stepper motor driver interrupt.

CraftPrint (the program that lets you stream GCODE prints out to the printer over USB) doesn't have this problem... so there is some sort of workaround. But I have no idea what they are doing (buffer, handshake, whatever).

The only log that I know of is the S3D commo window....

I wonder if it's a buffering issue. Have you tried going to Tools --> Firmware Configuration, Communication tab, and disabling the "Allow command buffering" option?

Looking forward to seeing the FFF profile you are using!

Brilliant!

I disabled command buffering and I was able to print a test block over USB from S3D. I'm somewhat embarrassed that I hadn't already tried that! Thank you!

Attached is a Craftbot.fff. It's nothing magic or special. It is just a baseline configuration that allowed me to get up and running on the machine. It can certainly be tweaked!

Does the crafbot go to home at the end of the print with your profile?