Adrian's Pololu Electronics

Hello All,

I'm a RepRap builder in the Okanagan and I've just built my first RepRap using Adrian's Alternative Mendel electronics based on the Arduino Mega and the Pololu A4983 stepper controllers. I also went with Wade's geared extruder as It seemed to be the favorite when I started this project.

The mechanical parts are all done but I'm having trouble getting the software to work.

I downloaded the latest build from the repository, "20110509" and placed it in my downloads directory. I extracted all of the files into seperate folders and named each accordingly. I installed the RepRap Software and set the com port to 6 as it is in my device manager.

I am running a 32Bit version of Windows 7 and I have the Arduino drivers successfully installed. To check this, I compiled and ran the "Blink" example in the Arduino examples folder and the lights on the Arduino Mega board blinked so I am pretty sure the computer is talking to the Arduino Mega 2560 through the USB port.

Here's where things start to go wrong.
I am trying to use the Arduino software version 0022 to compile and upload the code to the board but it won't verify so I don't want to proceed until it does.

When I go to verify/compile the 5D_GCode_Interperter file I get an error saying "CPUTYPE" not declared in scope.
In the Arduino >Tools portion I have the" Arduino Mega 2560" selected and I used "//" to rem out the other options in the features file without success.

Does anyone have experience with Adrians electronics and know what I can do to get things working?
I have followed every thread I could find on Adrian's boards but there doesn't seem to be many step by step tutorials specifically for them.

I'm new to the whole C++ stuff so any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Copies of the actual error messages are always helpful.

---

Generation 7 Electronics	Teacup Firmware	RepRap DIY

Thanks for getting back to me Traumflug.

Since I posted last I have downloaded Sprinter and its related python prerequisits.

I modified the area labeled fix me in the pins.h file to look like this. (see attached word doc)
Please have a look and let me know if I did anything wrong. If I didn't, it may help some other Adrian's Pololu Electronics fans.
I think this is a great design because if you fry something you can fix it yourself.

I ran verify/compile in the Arduino software and it worked.
I uploaded it to my Ardino mega 2560 and it accepted the file.
I did not hit the reset button on the Arduino Mega though.
I don't think it's necessary on the 2560 after an upload. (please let me know if I'm wrong)

The next thing I did was download Ponterface and SFACT (thanks to the "Still Extruding" You Tube video this went well)
I tried to run the code and my pololus melted.

This was not due to the pinouts in the software though, it turns out I have the Opto end stops of the signal side wired wrong.
(See attached signal side board etch) this was Adrian's last posted board when he added an LED for the 12v side.

I obviously made a mistake in the way I wired these up to my version 2.1 opto end stops.
I don't know how to wire them up correctly and all I can find are schematics that show RJ45 wires with only 3 of the connector pins being used.
I have 4 pins and an LED and something is wrong because the led never comes on under 5v power or 12v power.

Could you draw me a sketch or point me to a web resource that has this information?

Thanks

Opto Endstops with LED and four wires? That's odd. Either they have three wires (5V, GND, Signal) or no LED (the bare optical interrupter part). These bare parts require assistance form the main board, which can be seen on in the Gen6 schematics. To make a "full" opto endstop from a bare part, see Gen7 Opto Endstop for a known-to-work schematics.

Anyways, you can just unplug all endstops and disable them in your firmware. In Teacup firmware disableing endstops is done by commenting out ther pin assignement in config.h, not sure about other firmwares. Until you have the motors running, that is.

BTW., Adrians Pololu Electronics is really old now. AFAIK, it was never widely used, so the single components might be inconsistent or incomplete.

---

Generation 7 Electronics	Teacup Firmware	RepRap DIY

It looks like I will have to bite the bullit and buy a ramps 1.4 board that is premanufactured.
The machine is done except for the board and if these boards are no longer supported I will strike it down as a learning experience.

Thanks for the help.

Cheers