SMuFF-1.1/README.md

SMuFF-1.1

This is the latest version of the SMuFF firmware to be compiled using PlatformIO.

This is the software package for the Smart Multi Filament Feeder (SMuFF) project as published on Thingiverse.

You have to compile and install this firmware on the Wanhao i3 duplicator mini board (i.e. AliExpress Wanhao i3-Mini) or on the SKR mini V1.1 board AliExpress SKR mini.

The Wanhao i3 mini is a very small but powerful controller, usually used to drive a 3D printer. It can handle up to 4 stepper motors, has it's own LC display and SD-Card / rotary encoder and runs on 12V as well as on 24V, it's the ideal tool for this project.
The SKR mini v1.1 is also very small and yet more powerful because of the 32-Bit STM micro controller chip. On a downside, it comes with no display nor a rotary encoder but you can utilize any stepper drivers you like or have laying around.

This firmware can be adopted to run on other boards as well. Make sure your board of choice has all the components needed, then adopt the settings according to the hardware being used in your platformio.ini and pins.h files.

The basic configuration (SMuFF.cfg) must to be located on the SD-Card. Thus, changing parameters doesn't require recompiling the firmware. Just edit the configuration JSON file and reboot. From version 1.6 on, the firmware has been enhanced in order to enable you making changes directly from the UI, which means: No more fiddling in the JSON file. Also new in the 1.6 version is the option to run GCode scripts from the SD-Card for testing purposes. In the test folder you'll find some sample scripts. Copy those to your SD-Card and pick one from within the menu to start the test run. Once started, the test will run infinitelly and can be stopped by clicking the encoder button.

For more information head over to the SMuFF website.

What else?

If you like this project and find it useful, feel free to place a donation via PayPal.Me.

Recent changes

2.10 - A lot of changes, such as TMC driver support; Please read on

• finished the implementation of the Duet3D Laser Sensor (V2) which can be used as the Feeder endstop and is able to monitor filament jams.
• added GCode M412 which will switch on/off runout/jam detection or report its status, when using a Duet3D Laser Sensor.
• removed configuration file variants. There's only one general config file left.
• renamed configuration file from .CFG to .CFG.json. This makes it easier for some after market VS-Code extensions to validate and format its content. Please notice: This file is meant as a template for your initial configuration. Make sure you rename the template file to "SMuFF.CFG" after you've copied it onto the SMuFF's SD-Card.
• added GCode M17 which enables you to switch a relay in order to switch from external stepper (3D-Printer) to internal stepper (SMuFF). The parameter must either be E for the external or I for the internal stepper. The relay is controlled over the RELAIS_PIN in Pins.h. Read more about this new feature here.
• overhauled Settings Menu (moved additional settings into Options menu).
• added Serial0Baudrate (for USB port) to config files, renamed SerialDueBaudrate to Serial3Baudrate.
• fixed a bug for the old Revolver version where it refused to home correctly.
• added defines for SERVO_LID and SERVO_WIPER for better code readability.
• changed the behavior of boolean inputs (YES/NO and HI/LO) in the menus (they're single click now).
• changed the increments on all stepper speeds (they'll now increment/decrement by 50).
• moved some of the most common build flags (i.e. USE_xxx_DISPLAY) to the top of platformio.ini.
• moved all initializing functions into SetupInit.cpp. SMuFF.cpp and setup() got much more streamlined now.
• moved all periodical functions into Periodicals.cpp.
• periodicals are now called from within loop(), which makes them more stable when handling serial I/O.
• added the SKR mini E3 V1.2 and SKR mini E3 DIP V1.1 to the collection of usable boards.
• rewrote the timers code. Encoder, Servos and Fans are now being served by one general purpose timer only. Servos are far more stable now.
• added TMC-Stepper library for being able to support TMC2209 stepper drivers.
• added TMC-Params to the stepper menus. You'll need those settings at least on the SKR mini E3, on the SKR mini E3DIP when using TMC2209s.
• added GCodes M122, M350, M569, M906 and M914 for handling TMC stepper driver settings (see Marlin GCode what they're used for).
• got the USB port working on E3 and E3 DIP on Windows.
• added a couple of more parameters supported by the M205 GCode command.

2.09 - Bugfix for PMMU mode

• fixed the bug which didn't realize the A(bort) command comming from Marlins MMU code
• added SOFTRESET option for Marlin in MMU2 mode. This will not initiate a hard reset on the SMuFF, instead it'll pretend to have been resetted. This option is needed because some bootloaders will send various information at boot up and thus confuse the MMU2 code in Marlin.
• added build flag MARLIN2_ONLY to overcome incompatibilities between Marlin 2.0 and Prusa firmware. Remove this build flag only when you're intending to run the SMuFF on a Prusa MK2/3/S.

2.08 - Added Display menu in settings

• new menu "Display" in settings lets you define stuff as Power save timeout, LCD Contrast and Backlight color
• Backlight color of either RGB or NeoPixel displays will be saved to the SMuFF.CFG
• added M150 to set LED color (RGB or NeoPixel) via GCode. Parameters are same as on Marlin. Parameter Cx allows you to set all LEDs to one of the predefined color indices (Black, Red, Green, Blue, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, White) starting with 0 for Black (i.e. M150 C4 sets all LEDs to Cyan). Parameter Sn lets you define the LED index on NeoPixel LED stripes (starting at index 0 for first LED).

2.07 - Added FastLED to project

Since some displays nowadays come with an NeoPixel backlight, I've seen the urge to add the FastLED library, which controls NeoPixels in a very comfortable way. Though, on the STM32 Maple framework it will not compile right away, but there's a workaround. Please read the comments above the initFastLed() function carefully.

2.06 - Changes for USB connection

• made the USB serial port available for controlling the SMuFF. Comes in handy when operating on OctoPrint (Raspberry Pi), might not work on Windows though.
• added some more //action: commands for OctoPrint plugin

2.05 - Optimization for external control (i.e. OctoPrint plugin)

• added WipeSequence setting to SMuFF.CFG. This setting defines how the wiper servo will run. The sequence is a string in the format "Snn Inn Jnn Pnn Rnn". Where S defines the speed (wait in millis between each movement), I defines the angle of the first position while wiping, J the angle of the second position, P the angle of the released position and R the number of repeats between I and J. This sequence will be overridden if passed as paramters of the G12 GCode command.
• changed "Servo cycles" to "Servo 2 cycles" and added "Servo 1 cycles", so each servo has it's individual settings

2.04 - Optimization for OctoPrint plugin

• added option to continously send status informations (current tool, endstop states) every two seconds
• added option to engage/disengage 2nd servo via GCode (M280 P1 R0/1)
• added filter for printable characters only while receiving data
• added wrap for u8x8_byte_arduino_2nd_hw_spi in order to use SPI3 for the RepRap display on the SKR Mini V1.1
• added wrap for u8g2_UserInterfaceMessage in order to be able still receiving commands from the serial interfaces

2.03 - Minor changes

• maxed out the number of tools to 15.
• added option to build firmware to be flashed from the SD-Card for the SKR mini V1.1 in order to prevent the stock bootloader from being overwritten.
• fixed bug on ESP32 build in ZServo.cpp.

2.02 - Added more support for SMuFF V5

• changed some strings in the settings for V5.
• removed Revolver settings if compiled for SMuFF_V5.
• added Servo open/close in main menu.
• added Tool Maintanance in main menu - this one moves the selector carrier two tools either left or right, so you can easily access the current tool if needed.
• added Servo min. and max. PWM settings in the CFG file. These are representing the PWM signal length in microseconds. Usually set to 1000 (1ms) for 0 deg and 2000 (2ms) for 180 deg.
• added Servo_Test.gcode to the test folder. Run this to test the positioning of your Revolver-Servo. Make sure the servo is able to reach all positions between 0 and 180 deg before you execute this test run.
• added GCode command TM to the GCode-Parser whitch toggles the Tool Maintanance mode.
• reworked the ZServo library for STM32 to get a stable and clean 50 kHz signal for driving the servos. Please notice that some micro servos are not very good in handling 3.3V PWM signals. Hence, the servo pins on the SKR mini have moved to the control signals of the Y-Stepper driver (if compiled for SMuFF_V5), which allow 5V tolerance and Open-Drain mode. This comes in handy, as the output PWM signals then can be pulled up to 5V.

2.01 - Added support for a custom ESP32 controller board.

• Please notice that this board doesn't exist yet. If you're keen to build one, you'll find the circuit diagramm in the Schematics folder. The base for this controller board is a ESP32 "NodeMCU devkit1" which is easy to get.
• cleaned up platformio.ini. Be aware that from V2.xx on 8 bit controllers (such as the ATMega2560) will not be supported for this project anymore and the firmware code might not compile correctly.
• tested configurations for other boards like the SKR 1.3/1.4. Theses boards can't yet be used as controller boards for the SMuFF because the framework for LPC176x MCUs do not support the Arduino standard and compiling will fail without adding some sort of HAL to it. Though, as the development of these platforms improve rapidly, this might not be an issue in the future anymore.

1.67 - Bugfix for SKR in Duet3D mode

• fixed sending endstop states to wrong serial port for Duet3D. Please notice: In Duet3D mode you must use the Serial 1 (the one labeled TFT on the board). Serial 3 will not receive the endstop states, which are needed to make the scripts on the Duet3D work correctly.

1.66 - Buxfix for Wanhao i3 mini

• fixed compile time error in ZServo for Wanhao i3
• fixed compile time warnings for Wanhao i3

1.65 - Minor changes - mainly for servo variant

• changed the servo timing (duty cycle was twice as long as it's supposed to).
• added live position change while configuring the servo positions in the menu (opened/closed).
• added option to set up the servo pulse cycles (0 means: cycle forever, any value above 0: cycle only n times). Set this value to about 2-3 if you experiencing jitter on the servo.
• added "UseServo", "ServoOpened" and "ServoClosed" parameters to M205 GCode command.

1.64 - Minor changes

• reworked the acceleration/deceleration algorithm for the stepper motors.
• changed some default speed settings in the SMuFF.cfg file for SKR (due to the reworked acceleration/deceleration).
• modified some of the test scripts for automated testing.
• added M98 GCode to enable startig test runs from GCode (M98 P"filename" - omit the file extension ".gcode"). Please notice: Since serial communication is disabled during test runs, you'll have to stop them by pressing the encoder button.
• reworked timer usage on STM32.
• reworked servo library.

1.63 - Minor changes

• Wiggling the Revolver is now an option in the settings.
• Added Feed error count to test run info display.
• Added ok/missed feeds to test run. You'll need a 2nd endstop at the end of the bowden tube, which gets connected to the X+ endstop port on the SKR mini.
• On feed errors, firmware will now retry 4 times before giving up. On second retry it'll home and reset the Selector. On third retry it'll go through all tools and retract the filament a bit (to prevent other tools/filaments blocking the Selector), then reposition the Selector as well.
• Modified the servo module, so that it can handle more than one servo. Also, redefined the pins for the servo in the Pins.h. Servos are now driven by the endstops Y+ and Z+ ports.
• Added experimental code to replace the Revolver stepper motor with an standard sized servo. This is still work in progress.

1.62 - Not been published

1.61 - Not been published

1.60 - New enhancements

• restructured the Main Menu.
• added Settings Menu - now, almost all parameters can be changed comfortably through the UI and saved to the SD-Card..
• added long click to main screen for a quick access of the Settings Menu.
• added long click in each setting dialog to close the dialog and discard the changes made.
• added M500 (save to EEPROM) and M503 (read EEPROM) GCodes. Latter will give you a JSON format output, like the contents of the SMUFF.CFG file.
• dropped the Materials section from within the configuration file due to memory limitations on the ATMega (make sure you remove it completely from your config file, otherwise your controller might hang on startup).
• added Reset Feeder Jam to the Main Menu, dropped the double click action for this from last version.
• did some code clean up, extracted menu- and dialog functions into separate files.
• moved the ClickEncoder library source into the project since I needed some code enhancements (resetButton).
• added Testrun Menu - an integrated test function (SKR only) - place scripts with GCodes on the SD-Card which will get executed one by one in an continous loop.
• added some test scripts to the test folder - copy those onto your SD-Card o use them .

Please notice: This version will be the last one compatible with the Wanhao i3 mini (or 8-Bit in general)! With the development going on, the memory limitations on 8-Bit devices are a real deal breaker. For example: The only way to reach the Settings Menu screen is the long click on the main screen. The way it works on the SKR mini (through the Main Menu) crashes on the ATMega because of low working memory. For the same reason I've got to leave out the testrun option.

Hence, I've decided to focus on the 32-Bit devices in future versions. If you've already assembled your SMuFF with the Wanhao i3 mini controller, it's fine. There's no need to switch over to the SKR mini unless you really badly need some of the enhancements and extensions that may come in the future.

1.59 - Not been published

1.58 - Not been published

1.57 - Not been published

1.56 - Optimization

• added resetting the "Feder Jammed" state by double clicking the encoder button.
• removed the ZPwm.cpp / ZPwm.h since it's not needed.

1.55 - Optimization

• reworked Revolver movement - much smoother now.
• optimized stepper motor speeds for SKR in configuration file.
• Tools swapping is now being stored in the EEPROM.DAT file so that swaps will survive a reset.
• added Cancel / Retry option when loading fails.
• sound (beeper) now works flawlessly on SKR (STM32).
• SKR still has issues with the fan (it's either full speed or no speed).

1.54 - Not been published

1.53 - This version has got some major changes:

• Full integration of the SKR mini V1.1 controller board (STM32) completed.
• Prusa MMU2 Emulation mode improved even more.
• Heavy refactoring to make the code better readable.
• Optimized memory usage (all strings are now located in PROGMEM).
• replaced the Rotary Encoder library.
• Header files are now located in the include folder.
• Pins header file separated into subfolders for different devices (uses the -I compiler directive).
• Added Configs folder containing different configuration samples for the modes/controllers.
• Platformio.ini modified to allow different build environments.
• Moved datastore from EEPROM to SD-Card (mainly because of the STM32).
• Indexer for Materials in SMUFF.CFG renamed from Tool0..x to T0..x (because of memory issues).
• Added FeedChunks and EnableChunks settings to SMUFF.CFG. Those are needed since the communcation on the 2nd serial port tends to hand in long operations (such as feeding the filament to nozzle) and Prusa won't be able to abort the feed.
• Added StepDelay setting to SMUFF.CFG for the SKR Mini. This is needed because of the speed of an 32 bit board to keep the steppers from stalling.
• Added schematics of the SKR Mini LCD board.

1.52 - Not been published

1.51 - Not been published

1.50 - Not been published

1.4x - Not been published

1.4 - Major changes to gain better compatibility for Prusa Emulation Mode and setup for a different platform (STM32). Latter is unfinished yet. The configuration file (SMUFF.CFG) has got a new setting which defines the distance from the filament guide to the Selector (see SelectorDist setting).

1.3 - Some modifications to gain Prusa MMU2 compatibility

1.2 - Initial published version