Network Printers

[AutoWiz]

But if anyone has any idea how to proceed from here - I'd really like to know :-)

All the tft v3.0 screens from biqu or bigtreetech have built in 32 bit processors right on them. They are feature packed and you can just wire a filament runout switch into them and not have to make any firmware changes. You can send gcode to your mainboard from the tft v3.0. And they have a header on them for the wifi module. SO you might be able tu use one of these screens with a wifi module in the back of it to send a file to the tft's sd card slot and then command the print to start from there? And you could do that without any firmware changes or re wiring the printer for a new mainboard. The tft's are all plug n play because they communicate over that rx and tx serial connection. like a usb device.

[curious aardvark]

Robin nano boards and screens are a paired item. The card slot us on the board, not the screen.
So the WiFi router module goes on the board.

You have to upload a, basically a website, before you can do anything useful via ip access.
I'm looking for the html file.

It's the same way the Malayan WiFi works or more accurately: doesn't work.

[AutoWiz]

I am telling you that the v3.0 tft touchscreens will work with your robin nano board. You just need to either solder in a 4p header of some variety or just solder your 5v, gnd, tx, and rx wires directly to the pads in the circle below..

[AutoWiz]

The v3.0 touchscreen for the ender3 is still 3.5" but it is a few dollars cheaper and I think the cheapest entry into the v3.0 tft's. It is just under $30 here: BTT TFT35-E3 V3.0 Display Touch Screen Two Working Modes – Biqu Equipment . And the wifi module is under $4 here: ESP-01S WIFI Module ESP8266 For SKR PRO TFT35 – Biqu Equipment . Both of these together are under $35 and will empower you to send a file to the tft and then start the print from the wifi on the tft. It is a different path to take for sure but this path requires no mobo swapping or firmware fun. plug n play all the way. ...just let me verify sending a file to my tft via wifi first. I am on it right now. Stay tuned...

[AutoWiz]

Here is a link to a mini jst 4p connector set. You can put a permanenet connector on the board with this if you like: 10 Sets Mini JST 2.0mm PH 4-Pin Male Female Connector Plug Wires Cables | eBay . Maybe solder it to the underside so the option is still there to run the mks wifi module if you ever wanted to. Oh and watch this video on what we are doing here, please: Add wifi to your Bigtreetech mainboard/touchscreen - ESP-01S guide - YouTube

[curious aardvark]

You're really missing the point.
1) the robin has it's own propriatary 3.5 touch screen that connects with a ribbon cable. If you use this screen - great screen. Then the wifi module plugs into the board itself.
2) My module is connected and FULLY working - as is my 3.5 tft touchscreen.

3) when you connect to the router (which is what it basically is) this is the screen you get:

saphnet.JPG

And that's ALL you get.

So what I need is a 'website' or 'webview' html to upload to the router to actually make it useful.

IT IS CONNECTED AND WORKING (lol)

I just have no idea how to do anything useful with it.

I just can't find any literature on what you have to do next.
I do know that with the mini delta (malyan setup) you could change the webview by uploading html and that would give you a better interface.

I don't want to have to go thorugh a raspberry pi.

There really should bhe a way to just upload a file to the sdcard via the network.

4) I do not need any other hardware, the screen is great thje wifi and networking are WORKING.

So if you could step away from the 'must upgrade' impulse and have a think about what you do when you get to the point where it actually works. That would be great :-)

This is the module I have:

wifi module.JPG

As far as I can tell it's the latest version.

There are thousands of posts telling you how to connect the bloody thing. But absolutely nothing I can find that tells you what to do afterwards.

Oh yeah if i connect directly to the wifi network the module generates (use my phone) I get EXACTLY the same green screen.

Oh yeah - there is a phone app: mks cloud app.
You have to sideload it - BUT it is in CHINESE ONLY :-(
And i have to admit my written mandarin is a little sketchy.

[spegelius]

You're really missing the point.
1) the robin has it's own propriatary 3.5 touch screen that connects with a ribbon cable. If you use this screen - great screen. Then the wifi module plugs into the board itself.
2) My module is connected and FULLY working - as is my 3.5 tft touchscreen.

3) when you connect to the router (which is what it basically is) this is the screen you get:

saphnet.JPG

And that's ALL you get.

So what I need is a 'website' or 'webview' html to upload to the router to actually make it useful.

IT IS CONNECTED AND WORKING (lol)

I just have no idea how to do anything useful with it.

I just can't find any literature on what you have to do next.
I do know that with the mini delta (malyan setup) you could change the webview by uploading html and that would give you a better interface.

I don't want to have to go thorugh a raspberry pi.

There really should bhe a way to just upload a file to the sdcard via the network.

4) I do not need any other hardware, the screen is great thje wifi and networking are WORKING.

So if you could step away from the 'must upgrade' impulse and have a think about what you do when you get to the point where it actually works. That would be great :-)

This is the module I have:

wifi module.JPG

As far as I can tell it's the latest version.

There are thousands of posts telling you how to connect the bloody thing. But absolutely nothing I can find that tells you what to do afterwards.

Oh yeah if i connect directly to the wifi network the module generates (use my phone) I get EXACTLY the same green screen.

Oh yeah - there is a phone app: mks cloud app.
You have to sideload it - BUT it is in CHINESE ONLY :-(
And i have to admit my written mandarin is a little sketchy.

I hope I'm wrong but I think that page is only for uploading new firmware and that very html page you are looking at. That's the only function for it. I have a touchscreen with Wifi and have that same view, I didn't have enough interest to see if that's actually all it is so the screen is now unused as I use Octoprint.

Edit: well I went and did a search, turns out there's more to the wifi afterall: https://youtu.be/f651bIg4SCo?t=514. Apparently you can connect to the wifi using Pronterface and control the printer.

[curious aardvark]

yep so i read, there is also a cura module that lets you do other stuff.

I was hoping there were other ways to use it.

I do know that you CAN change the web code it uses when you access via the ip address. That's what the second uploas option is for.

But first I need some html to upload to it :-)

[AutoWiz]

The reality at the end of the day with ALL ESP modules is incredibly slow transfer rates. As the many youtube tutorials on these go. There is a software that you will use like pronterface and if you connect the module to the touchscreen you can only move files and see what the printer is doing but you will NOT be able to send a start command. So I am wrong but more to the point, this absolutely pales in comparison to the pi with octoprint. And that brings about the new direction I really want to steer this thread if at all possible. In the beginning of this thread I was trying to get a pi up and working with octoprint and ultimately failed miserably. These are new days. I have been printing for years now. And I would really like to take another whack at it. This time around with the 32 bit mainboard and a pi 4. My main goal here is octolapse videos of the extruder removed and the print seemingly building itself out of thin air. I need a walk through of how to make this happen. What is a good camera to use for this? It was a while ago now when I tried and I have since explored other ways and in the end they all end up being less than this path I never figured out. Do you CA or Spegelius have or had an octolapse setup working?

[curious aardvark]

I definitely read somewhere that yo8u could get 100mbs transfer rates over wifi. Given how small gcode files are - that would be more than enough.

It's weird - there are a LOT of wifi enabled printers around, plus it only costs a few quid to make most existing printers wifi capable and bugger all software to do anything with them.
Definitely a gap in the market for a useful app or program of some kind.
I'd pay a few quid for something useful that ran under windows.

Any idea what pi's octoprint runs on I've got a (goes to look) original pi 1 from 2012. Would that be any good ?
Never used it or found anything to use it for.
At the time it was cheap and interesting - like a lot of the 'techno junk' I seem to collect lol

By comparison the latest pi4 is pretty expensive - I can get a reasonable mini itx board, chip and ram for around £30 - pi4 with same spec runs at around £60.
Hell you can get a full android tablet with better spec than a pi4 for less than a pi4.

I guess they are useful - but no longer the miracle entry level project board they used to be.

So uses for a pi original :-)