New Marlin firmware?

[tsteever]

I know there is a marlin fork specific to the makerfarm printers. Has this been updates with the newest release of the marlin firmware?

[Roxy]

No. It has not be updated to the newest software. But really... Most of the good stuff is in the older branch. The older branch you are looking for is here: https://github.com/beckdac/Marlin

[tsteever]

Yeah, I have that firmware running. I just noticed a while back a new release and wondered if it had been converted yet. The BecDac was updated in Dec from what I can see. I started to convert it over but ran out of time...and courage. I was getting a bit daunting and I was unsure I was getting everything.

Are you saying that at this time there isn't really any benefit to updating the firmware?

[Roxy]

Are you saying that at this time there isn't really any benefit to updating the firmware?

Well, it depends on what kind of printer you have and the things you do with it. But if you have a MakerFarm printer, the BeckDac fork does most of the good stuff and it is super stable with a lot of people using it.

[Carrot_or_Stick]

Well, it depends on what kind of printer you have and the things you do with it. But if you have a MakerFarm printer, the BeckDac fork does most of the good stuff and it is super stable with a lot of people using it.

Does that fork also contain all the safety enhancements in the newer versions of marlin? Such as watchdog and thermal runaway protection?

[Dustin B]

So is it recommended to use a different firmware than Colin links to from his build guides?

[tsteever]

I really appreciate all that Colin does for his customers. I would not be the printing community at all if it wasn't for him getting me going. The firmware and software he links is designed to get you printing. As you progress you will find little things can improve the quality of the prints you produce.

For me, I have modified my machine with custom parts and tweaked the code to get better prints. Run Th stock firmware for a while to get the hang of your printer. Then start to explore. I would recommend getting into the firmware and tweaking the extruded steps to suit your machine. Colin's numbers should be close.

[printbus]

So is it recommended to use a different firmware than Colin links to from his build guides?

You'll grow to realize that once Colin has something that works, he sticks with it rather than keep updating the baseline. I'm not sure what baseline MakerFarm is using for their current firmware, but I believe Colin is still distributing Slic3r v0.9.9 as a slicer and will tell you that is the ONLY version that will ever provide you with successful prints. v0.9.9 was obsolete when I built my printer in early 2014, what yet now.

I agree with tsteever that it's arguably better to start off with the MakerFarm build, and even suggest those new to 3d printing start with Slic3r v0.9.9 as a slicer. That way all the firmware is preconfigured for you, and you can run with MakerFarm-provided slicer configuration files that should get you up and running quickly. If you have issues, Colin will be able to help you with them. As you see things about prints you don't like, learn more about the hundreds (seriously, hundreds) of settings involved the firmware and slicer, want to add features like automatic print bed compensation to your printer, and no longer need to rely on Colin for tech support, then start to look into what other options are out there.

[Roxy]

Does that fork also contain all the safety enhancements in the newer versions of marlin? Such as watchdog and thermal runaway protection?

It is organized a little bit differently. The names are slightly different in the Configuration_adv.h file. But it has watchdog stuff.

If you want the absolutely latest features go get the Marlin Release Candidate (RC2). But if you want a very stable and usable firmware with lots of good features, BeckDac will give that to you.

[Carrot_or_Stick]

It is organized a little bit differently. The names are slightly different in the Configuration_adv.h file. But it has watchdog stuff.

If you want the absolutely latest features go get the Marlin Release Candidate (RC2). But if you want a very stable and usable firmware with lots of good features, BeckDac will give that to you.

Thanks for the info. I chose to go back to the beckdac version and its very nice. SD card works again too (was broken on RC1). You know of anyway of increasing the ABL grid points from 3x3? I've tried updating the variable in the config.h but it seems to ignore that. I'm interested in trying 4x4 since my sensor kinda kills the space to measure in.