Announcing ReplicatorG 0025
We’re excited to announce that the latest version of ReplicatorG is now available for download! This version includes a number of under-the-hood improvments, GUI improvements, and one major new feature: stored home positions for Thing-O-Matics. The Z height offset (as well as X and Y) are now stored in the machine’s EEPROM, which means you no longer need to edit your start.gcode whenever your machine height changes.
Here’s a full list of the changes in this release:
New features:
* Print-O-Matic integrated into the GCode generation engine
* Store/recall home position support: No more need to modify start.gcode when your Z height changes.
* Drag & Drop support: drop .stl or .gcode files into ReplicatorG to open them.
* Frostruder support for Thing-O-Matic
* Support for local firmware.xml files (file:// urls)
* Support for internet proxies, using the default Java proxy configuration.
* Added Skeinforge 40, for experimental purposes
* Updates to most core libraries
* Skeinforge 35 is now default
* Wipe commands removed from cupcake profiles
* HPB default temperature lowered to 110 degrees
Bug fixes:
* Rewritten gcode execution engine: fixes many bugs, such as ‘gcode parser is null’
* Homing feedrate specified in machine profile
* Numerous Ultimaker, RaMPS, and RepRap improvements
* Numerous UI tweaks to improve look&feel on OS X
There are a few known issues. In particular, the simulation feature is currently disabled (it’s being replaced with something more awesome), and there are reports that gen3 electronics with stepper extruders aren’t working. We’ll make a point release to address these issues shortly, and if you notice any other ones, please let us know.
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22 Comments so far
Will Jones
Aarrggh! I just started using the Beta of this yesterday!
Renosis
So… I’ve been looking around for instructions on how to set the Z max and X and Y settings in motherboard onboard preferences. There are no instructions on the ReplicatorG site or the MakerBot Wiki as of yet, that I could find anyway.
I assumed it would be simple. I see the new profiles have a different start.gcode file. So, I went into “Machine -> MotherBoard Onboard Preferences”. And I see a setting for X home offset, Y home offset, and Z home offset.
However, the default values for these are drastically different from what one would enter into his start.gcode. X and Y both default at 0.0. Where Z defaults to -0.0020 ?!?!?!
So, what values are we supposed to put in MotherBoard Onboard Preferences and why are the defaults so horribly off?
Michael Cook
I wondered about that, it looks like they’ve updated the calibration script so that you use it to get the values and then set them, but I haven’t had a chance to actually try it yet.
I’d like to know more about Print-O-Matic, it’d be a great subject for a blog post. It looks like it’s a new easy way to set a different layer height or infill solidity for a specific build without having to go edit the setting in Skeinforge.
Can’t wait to see what happens to simulate.
J_Hodgie
Yeah, the defaults make no sense. I set X to -53, Y to -50 and Z to 108.7 and that seems to work for me.
A problem I am having is the printer pauses every second. To see if it was the serial communication I printed from an SD card and nothing changed, suggesting it is the new firmware. Any ideas?
graphmastur
I just updated to the newest version. I’m on Mac OS X 10.5.8 currently.
First of all, I kinda like the new UI for the 3D shape, except I wish you could remove everything except just the model itself. It may have that option, and I just haven’t found it, though.
Looking forward to the “more awesome” simulator. Hopefully, it will allow control of the speed it draws it.
Matt Mets
@Renosis: Thanks for pointing that out, we should put up a tutorial. The easiest way to set values for it is to run the calibration script, which has been updated to automatically save those values. Otherwise, copying the values from a previous version’s start.gcode would be a reasonable starting point. The default settings actually come from the data in your motherboard’s eeprom, which should be near 0 (I believe that the weird number for z comes from the fact that ReplicatorG is representing them as floating point data).
Matt Mets
@graphmastur: Do you mean, hiding the build platform and bounding box? We haven’t done that in the past because the emphasis was on displaying the size and placement of the model relative to the machine platform, but it would be a reasonably straighforward feature to add.
Matt Mets
@J_Hodgie Hmm, I don’t think we’ve seen that before (and this release doesn’t include new device firmware). If you’d like to describe your problem over at the ReplicatorG issue tracking site (http://replicatorg.lighthouseapp.com/), I’d be glad to take a look at it for you.
Pieter Bos
Hmm i did run the new calibration script but it did not complete. Do the motherboard and extruder board need the latest firmware (i am at 2.7 for both)
Pieter Bos
Oke you do need the new motherboard firmware
I am now at
[11:27:40] Motherboard firmware v2.81 (
Carmiac
I’d like to see the option to add axis labels to the 3D preview of the build platform. It would make it so much easier to figure out how something is going to fit when you are really pushing the edges of your platform.
Bard Tordal
We’ve been messing about with the beta version for a week now, and it has worked beautifully for us! We bought the Thing-O-Matic one month ago and had problems with poor print quality and frustrating calibrating and leveling of the ABP.
We switched to HBP with the new aluminum plate + 120mm Kapton tape, and installed the new 0.4mm nozzle and the MK6+ heater upgrade. Ran the calibration script, used 30 seconds to set the Print-O-Matic settings and everything just worked. We’re finally getting fantastic prints, and for us (with no previous 3D-printing experience) the Print-O-Matic feature was a relief!
Great work, and many thanks from 3753% Tordal!
graphmastur
@Matt Mets: Yes, I can see where that would be a good feature. I mostly find the bounding box annoying, so an option to remove the build platform and/or the bounding box would be preferable. I can see where it would come in handy, though. Does it warn you if a part is too big?
Daniel Barrero
Has anyone got it to run on windows 7 x64? is there anything special that needs to be upgraded from what ReplicatorG 24 requires?
I’ve tried it on two different windows 7 x64 machines and while ReplicatorG-24 works flawlessly and loads with or without my Cupcake being on/connected to the PC, ReplicatorG-25 does nothing (with or without the Cupcake being on/off), The ReplicatorG.exe process does appear on the processes list on the task manager and it did load javaw, but shows no cpu usage, or displays anything on the screen or even appears on the applications list of the task manager after more than 15 minutes only the thing that can be done is killing the process directly.. Launching ReplicatorG-24 works without any problems on both systems.
Gian Pablo
This is great, but I notice one niggle on the Print-O-Matic:
As it stands, given layer height height and flow rate it will solve for thread width. What I’d really like is to be able to give it layer height and thread width, and have it solve for feed or flow rate.
The reason is that I like to make thread width exactly 0.5mm so that I can design in multiples of that in OpenSCAD, and get really solid parts, with no gaps.
MakerBlock
@Gian: Have you tried my ProfileMaker? http://www.makerblock.com/profilemaker/ You can specify the thread width and solve for the flowrate.
ProfileMaker and Profile-O-Matic are just two programs that use very similar math to solve for different things.
Todd Knapek
@Daniel – I am getting the exact same behavior in Windows 7 x64. I am having loads of problems with Repsnapper and RepRapHost, so I decided to give ReplicatorG a shot.
I’m experiencing the same. The program is visible in task manager, but no windows or anything else loads. I installed a copy of 24, and it works great. I would actually use it if I could get it to recognize my heated bed temperature from my RAMPS.
I saw over at the ticket repository that a couple of other folks had the same issue, but it was related to 25 trying to load a g-code file at startup. They disabled that, and were then able to have the program fire up. I can’t seem to find how to do that from outside the program in 25. Perhaps this could be the issue we’re experiencing as well, although I’ve never actually loaded anything as I have never run the program before.
bstott
Can we change the colors of the BP, part and background to the subtle, dull and classy old style from the gaudy, flashy, and harsh new style? The new looks – terrible!
bstott
I just opened the app again and noticed the gcode text doesn’t wrap to a smaller screen size.
J_Hodgie
@Matt Metts
I am currently running a dual extruder setup and after I downloaded the new replicatorG I also upgraded to the latest firmware. After some poking around it turns out the firmware was the issue, specifically the extruder firmware.
It seems it is impossible to have extruder firmware V2.8 with two extruders and have the machine work reliably. When I uploaded V2.7 to one extruder board it is mostly fixed and V2.7 on both boards works fine.
The behavior would suggest that there is more communication going on with V2.8 which takes more time than the main board has with two extruders.
mah_digilife
I don’t work this version on Windows 7(64bit).
The window is not displayed though it exists in the process.
Should I wait for a new version?
Brian
How do you change the – UGLY – colors? I’m not PC now because I keep asking along with at least one other user and the question keeps getting ignored.
How do I get rid of the black and yellow. It hurts the eyes and design senses. Go back to the grey with just a little more contrast. PLEASE.
I have posted to lighthouse…