Skip to content

Latest commit

 

History

History
80 lines (62 loc) · 2.87 KB

INSTRUCTIONS.md

File metadata and controls

80 lines (62 loc) · 2.87 KB
Raw

Printer setup

We'll be using some code to control the printer, taken from Printrun. Since we want direct control over the 3D printer or other CNC setup we will only use the core class.

For some additional instructions on setting up the science center 3D printer, see here.

Installation and Permissions

First we have to install a few packages. The code requires the use of Python 3!

sudo pip3 install pyserial dbus-python psutil

You'll also have to add your user into the permissions group for USB and serial devices, unless you want to run all of the scripts with root access (Protip: you don't).

# Command is sudo adduser <username> dialout
$ sudo adduser metamaterials dialout

YOU WILL HAVE TO RESTART FOR THE CHANGES TO TAKE EFFECT. If you're wondering why that didn't work, that is the reason most likely.

Finding the printer

The printer should have a USB connection to the computer. An easy way to see if it is connected is through the USB pipes in /dev. So unplug the USB connecting the computer to the 3D printer and check the list of USB devices added. There is a helpful script in the ./printer folder that displays the devices and the port is it connected to.

$ cd printer
$ bash searchusb.sh
/dev/input/event5 - PixArt_Dell_MS116_USB_Optical_Mouse
/dev/input/mouse0 - PixArt_Dell_MS116_USB_Optical_Mouse
/dev/input/event4 - 413c_Dell_KB216_Wired_Keyboard
/dev/input/event3 - 413c_Dell_KB216_Wired_Keyboard
/dev/input/event6 - 04b3_USB_Optical_Mouse
/dev/input/mouse1 - 04b3_USB_Optical_Mouse
/dev/ttyACM0 - UltiMachine__ultimachine.com__RAMBo_6403636363835120E062
/dev/sdb - Innostor_Innostor_1989192216-0:0
/dev/sdb1 - Innostor_Innostor_1989192216-0:0

In this case, our printer was UltiMachine__ultimachine.com__RAMBo_6403636363835120E062 with a device name /dev/ttyACM0. You will need the device name to connect later!

Testing

To test to see if the printer is connected, go to the top level directory and spin up a python interactive terminal. I recommend using ipython for convenience.

>>>from scanner import Scanner
>>>a = Scanner('/dev/ttyACM0')
ALSA lib pcm_dsnoop.c:618:(snd_pcm_dsnoop_open) unable to open slave
ALSA lib pcm_dmix.c:1052:(snd_pcm_dmix_open) unable to open slave
ALSA lib pcm.c:2495:(snd_pcm_open_noupdate) Unknown PCM cards.pcm.rear
ALSA lib pcm.c:2495:(snd_pcm_open_noupdate) Unknown PCM cards.pcm.center_lfe
ALSA lib pcm.c:2495:(snd_pcm_open_noupdate) Unknown PCM cards.pcm.side
ALSA lib pcm_dmix.c:1052:(snd_pcm_dmix_open) unable to open slave
Trying to connect printer through USB port /dev/ttyACM0
Attempting to look for connections on: /dev/ttyACM0
True

>>>a.p.move_coord(x=10)

If everything goes correctly, the CNC should move! Make sure to swap out the device location if it isn't /dev/ttyACM0 - use the previous script to find the device name you should use.