MakerGear Forum

We are in the process of developing software to make the out of the box experience as smooth as possible. We are also in the process of making some changes to the M2. One of these changes is to put the Z endstop on the bottom of the z axis and use software to set the z offset (bed position relative to the nozzle). Existing M2s will be able to implement most of the changes but you may need to order some additional hardware.

We are posting here ( https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ifjfdfevbqcd ... 4vTaa?dl=0 ) an early version of the new MG Host software. Please download it and connect it to your machine. The graphics are just placeholder at the moment. We are just looking for basic feedback and if you have any problems getting it to connect. We'll continue to post newer versions as they are available. At the point the software is more complicated than intended but we are first getting the functionality to work, we'll refine/simplify the interface next.

The Z configuration tab steps the user through setting the z offset (this requires having the endstop at the bottom of Z and support for M206).

The manual controls, both in the "Movement Controls" and "Z Configuration" tabs are relative to the machine - the down arrows move the bed down, instead of decreasing Z in relation to the machine coordinate system (so moving the bed up, essentially moving the nozzle down closer to the bed/Z0); the X arrows are fine, as that axis is already intuitive; the Y arrows move the bed in the direction of the arrow, again no in relation to the nozzle.  The "Movement Controls" directions can be swapped in the "Options" tab, by unchecking the default "Flip Y and Z manual controls".

The "Options" tab also has an option to (attempt to) prevent the printer Resetting when you connect to it; it disables the specific serial port sequence that signals a reset, but cannot effect the host OS/hardware serial operations, so may not prevent reset in all cases/on all computers.

One specific note is that the "Movement Controls" arrows may not show up on all computers, as they use Unicode symbols to represent the glyphs - I've included two screenshots of what the tabs should look like in the Dropbox, so you can actually know what you're clicking on.

There are three versions in the Dropbox - Windows, Mac and Linux.  The Windows version has been tested fairly well, Mac run and checked out, and Linux run and checked out.  Please let us know if you run into any OS specific issues.

Please post or email your comments/questions/bug reports.

The program is written in Xojo, if you would like to contribute, email me (josh@makergear.com) for the source code.

Josh wrote:any OS specific issues

Xubuntu 14.04.2 LTS x86_64: Firing the Windows version in Wine wasn't productive (the Unicode button labels fell off), but gives the general idea.

Seeing as how MG Host looks a lot like Pronterface and must do exactly the same things, just reskin Pronterface to give it an MG-specific appearance, contribute your DTR-suppression hacks to that project, and produce an MG-specific set of documentation.

Working with an existing Free Software project frees you from designing and maintaining a lot of very very very tedious code that isn't Makergear's core competency (how does Xojo handle i18n, for example, and where will you get the strings?), gets you a ton of Free Software street cred, and, most importantly, ensures that the entire MG line of printers doesn't depend on One Guy who speaks Xojo. (Josh: you're essential. If you get run over, it'll hurt a lot.)

If the DTR reset problem is that severe, just cut the RAMBo PCB trace that enables USB resets and fix it permanently. That severely complicates installing firmware updates, but, for the users you're worried about, that would be a Very Good Thing.

Given that Microsoft wants to turn 3D printers into, well, printers, I think the days of separate printer front ends, at least for Windows, are numbered. For the rest of us, don't create any more work than you absolutely must.