Installing Sailfish Firmware on FF Creator Dual Extruder

Hello,

I am interested in benefitting from the features of the Sailfish firmware for my FF Creator. I ran into a bit of a snag and would like some direction please.

I am using ReplicatorG Sailfish - 0040r28 in a Mac (10.10.1).

I've tried RepG profile setup:

• Machine type - Replicator 2 w/ HBP (I've tried all of the Replicator profiles with no success).
• Connecting via USB
• Upload New Firmware/ FlashForge Creator 1,2, and X/ Sailfish 7.7 (r1432)

** ReplicatorG does recognize my bot**

I have a few issues when trying to install the firmware to my bot:

• Initially the upload will not initiate and a dialogue window says something along the lines of - need to reset bios on bot... I can't reproduce this result for an accurate description because I now keep getting the issue in bullet 2
• ReplicatorG will not fully launch unless I completely reboot my computer. The icon just bounces forever in the dock and I need to force quit
• or, I'll get this after I reboot and attempt again - After selecting "Upload," I get a spinning beachball, and I need to force-quit.

Has anyone had success getting this installed on their FF Creator? I've researched that this firmware is much better, but unfortunately it seems buggy and inconsistent just trying to install.

I've been through the install documentation here: http://www.makerbot.com/sailfish/setup/

Please help, or maybe redirect me to another thread where this has been addressed elsewhere.

Thanks,
WK

Now all I get in RepG is this when trying to connect to my printer:
"Connection error: Serial port '/dev/tty.usbmodem1421' already in use. Try quiting any programs that may be using it."

It does this whether I reboot or not.

Anyway, how do I reinstall the default firmware for my FF? I noticed that the firmware is now set to a single extruder bot now, which is confusing because in every attempt to update the firmware produced an error, crash or dialogue stating that I could not connect.

I've been at it all day and need to step away before I throw something :(

Thanks,
WK

"Try quitting any programs that may be using it...." - apparently means I need to reset the bot's computer. :confused:

I'd hop on Google Groups and look for the FlashForge forum. The developer of Sailfish hangs out there and will steer you in the right direction.

Hey J,

I just got my printer a few days ago, so I think I'm being over-ambitious with trying to upgrade to Sailfish already. I spent a day of crash-course on FF/MB firmware fundamentals though, which was good.

What I did find out about using Sailfish on some FF Creator models (from Dnewmans's posts on Google), is that it can be messy pending the board model that shipped with it. I will revisit this fw upgrade after I've learned more about operating this machine with the base firmware.

So the main issue that i am seeing now after installing MB firmware 7.5 (for Replicator Dual-Extruder), is that the heat bed turns off causing the temp to drop during the build. Any suggestions on resolving that would be wonderful. I'm printing from Makerware using PLA. When I select Settings/Temp/ check "Heat the Build Plate" and save.... When I go back into settings, it still shows unchecked. I'm not certain if that's what it is.

Thanks,
WK

Ya, you need to look up Dan Newman on Google Groups. He knows all regarding firmware versions for each machine. Each one has it's own nuances electronically due to the evolution of Flashforge away from an exact Makerbot Replicator clone. I would run the stock firmware for the creator instead of trying MB Firmware 7.5... If you go the Sailfish route, the install script has a pretty good description of each machine and different configurations.

Hope you got this resolved by now, but I wasted a lot of time on the 'USB in use' error on Windows 8 (not Mac). It was caused by me installing the makerbot software which runs a background service/process. It would grab the printer when the computer booted. Stopping it was necessary for Replicatorg to work. Did you have any other 3d printing programs running? HTH

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tl_dnp

Hope you got this resolved by now, but I wasted a lot of time on the 'USB in use' error on Windows 8 (not Mac). It was caused by me installing the makerbot software which runs a background service/process. It would grab the printer when the computer booted. Stopping it was necessary for Replicatorg to work. Did you have any other 3d printing programs running? HTH

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Same here. MakerBot desktop has a background service that owns that port even if you reboot. One solution:

• Start MakerBot desktop
• Click on "Services" on the menu bar
• Choose "Stop background service"

I can't remember if that sets the service to manual or if I went and did it to keep it from taking over. If I did then I used Windows Local Services manager "View local services" in the control panel to set the service to "Manual" so it doesn't start up on boot. The Mac may have something similar. The service is called "MakerBot Conveyor Service".

Quote:

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Originally Posted by warkmal

Same here. MakerBot desktop has a background service that owns that port even if you reboot. One solution:

• Start MakerBot desktop
• Click on "Services" on the menu bar
• Choose "Stop background service"

I can't remember if that sets the service to manual or if I went and did it to keep it from taking over. If I did then I used Windows Local Services manager "View local services" in the control panel to set the service to "Manual" so it doesn't start up on boot. The Mac may have something similar. The service is called "MakerBot Conveyor Service".

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Thank you very much! I've been battling w/this sucker for months now.

have to admit I'm running one printer with 7.6 sailfish and one with whatever 7.2 is called.
These are the firmwares they came with.
haven't noticed any difference in print, speed, program compatibility etc.
Basically there's no need to upgrade.

The X3G thing is a drag, I am contemplating putting Marlin on mine.

By the way, to upgrade sailfish you need a couple of other things after getting past the owned port bit. One is that you need a new version of RepG from the sailfish thing on thingiverse. As far as I know that's the only place to get it. Reason for that is that there were changes in the way the new firmware has to get fetched. RepG40r30: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:32084/#files

Also, you run RepG to download the firmware and install it on the bot, but do *not* connect RepG. That is, boot it, but don't click the "connect" button. Or if you have, click the "disconnect" button. The reason for that is that RepG boots up another program (avrdude) to talk to the bot and update the firmware. And that thing can't have the port if RepG has it.

A lot of the big stuff in newer versions of SailFish is to support new bots or bot mods. But there are some things for r1d clones like ours: LCD Monitoring is better. It shows current and target temp in more places than it used to. Build stats computes an estimated time to print. Plus some bug fixes.

But mostly I'm staying current because eventually there's a couple of firmware changes I'd like to make and I figure when I get around to it, it'll be better to do it off the new stuff. I've got one of the flashforges with extra memory (2560) so there will be room.

Which reminds me of another thing, you want to make sure you get the version of SailFish for your FlashForge because it has a turbo heating bed and the firmware PWM's it to reduce the voltage, otherwise it pulls too many amps.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mjolinor

The X3G thing is a drag, I am contemplating putting Marlin on mine.

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how will that make a difference, thought it ws the mightyboard itself that determined how it handled gcode ?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by curious aardvark

how will that make a difference, thought it ws the mightyboard itself that determined how it handled gcode ?

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With Marlin on it will not need X3g it will be able to decode Gcodes. The problem with doing it is that Marlin does not support I2C potentiometers which you need for stepper motor current control (G130) and adding it is somewhat complicated.

Does Sailfish work with Makerware generated files? Connect with Makerware Desktop?

yes that's way round isn't a problem :-)

Quote:

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With Marlin on it will not need X3g it will be able to decode Gcodes. The problem with doing it is that Marlin does not support I2C potentiometers which you need for stepper motor current control (G130) and adding it is somewhat complicated.

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why not simply change the board ?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by curious aardvark

yes that's way round isn't a problem :-)

why not simply change the board ?

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How would that solve the problem?

well geoff changed out his mighty board for a ramps, I think. Which doesn't use 3xg files.
So that problem goes away.
I have no idea what different problems it would generate - but it does solve the x3g file issue :-)

Kind ofa microsoft apporach. solve one problem while creating many others at the same time :-) Being a linux user, you wouldn't think along these lines ;-)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mjolinor

The X3G thing is a drag, I am contemplating putting Marlin on mine.

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Didn't even know that was an option. If you go ahead with it it would be great if you could keep us updated on your progress.

I like being able to control the stepper motor current. All ramps will do is have it on or off, a big loss in my opinion.