LCD Help

K8200 3D Printer K8200 - Your printer, creations, and ideas for imp
21

There are a few US vendors of Velleman K8200 stuffs. In fact, there’s one just a couple of miles from me. Since I’m in their retail store several times a week, they deserve a plug and thanks. Vetco Electronics in Bellevue, WA stocks Velleman printers and accessories. Check out their site at vetco.net.

[quote=“mraw3”]I know this is now an old post but I registered here just to say a massive thank you to you “mpoore”.
I can confirm that the connections you have provided also works for the Full graphic smart controller (reprap.org/wiki/RepRapDiscount_F … Controller) . In stead of just loading Marlin V2 you have to do the following to get the full graphic display to work:

  • Download Marlin V2 from Velleman : k8200.eu/support/downloads/
  • Open the file called “Configugartion.h”
  • Change “#define ULTIMAKERCONTROLLER” to “// #define ULTIMAKERCONTROLLER”
  • Uncomment the “#define REPRAP_DISCOUNT_FULL_GRAPHIC_SMART_CONTROLLER”
  • Flash the new firmware

And you are good to go

Regards

Christian[/quote]

Unfortunately, my integration wasn’t quite as smooth. I found myself digging through the Marlin header files through most of the night to work out the issues with my RepRapDiscount Full Graphic Smart Controller clone. That’s a bit of a clunky name, so for the remainder of this post I’ll simply call it the I/O module. Here were my experiences:

I followed the instructions in this thread to wire the I/O module and updated my firmware to the Velleman customized Marlin 1.0.0RC2, aka “Firmware K8200 Marlin V2” (k8200.eu/downloads/files/dow … rlinv2.zip). The display came alive! Well, the pixels activated and I could tell that it was supposed to be icons and text. I ran another continuity check of my wiring, rebuilt the cable from scratch, and even patched each pin individually with breadboard jumpers. Nothing changed what appeared on the screen.

The distorted image consisted of eight solid, accurate columns of pixels. Each row was completed by what appeared to be an incomplete set of left justified pixels. Every screen refresh resulted in visible changes in the displayed image. Past the incomplete line of pixels were some artifacts on the right side of the panel. Thinking that the display was operating in parallel mode, I assessed these issues as a memory access problem in the display and asked the seller for a refund. Then I ordered another I/O module and waited a week.

Well, would it surprise you to know that the new I/O module exhibited the same issues as the first? Some frustration ensued, I started to wonder why I didn’t already have a logic analyzer, and eventually I noticed several red ‘X’ on the RepRapDiscount block diagram that shed new light on the problem. This thing isn’t even using pins LCD5, LCD6, or LCD7! Oh my golly, it’s on an SPI bus!!!

That realization was huge. I started looking into SPI operation with these LCD screens and found someone’s example “Hello World” code. The commentary around the little script described the importance of selecting the proper construct from u8glib. Sure enough, that’s a vital call-out in the main application. Initialize the LCD with the wrong construct, and you get things like a distorted display, or even random Kanji (yep, Japanese characters) dancing around on the display. In the case of Marlin v1.0.0RC2, ‘ultralcd_st7920_u8glib_rrd.h’ defines a new construct for the I/O module’s LCD via the class ‘U8GLIB_ST7920_128X64_RRD.’ Initialization of the LCD occurs at ‘dogm_lcd_implementation.h:80.’ So it seems that the LCD used on the I/O module I bought is not the same used in the original RepRapDiscount product.

If you find that your I/O module doesn’t display properly, try to find a compatible class definition in ‘U8glib/U8glib.h.’ In v1.18.1, the class definitions you may need begin on line 227. Once I added the following to ‘dogm_lcd_implementation.h,’ my I/O module display worked beautifully:

// LCD selection
#ifdef U8GLIB_ST7920
//U8GLIB_ST7920_128X64_RRD u8g(0,0,0);
//U8GLIB_ST7920_128X64_RRD u8g(0);
U8GLIB_ST7920_128X64_1X u8g(LCD_PINS_D4, LCD_PINS_ENABLE, LCD_PINS_RS, 0);

That took care of the display. The reset button and rotory encoder are standard fare, so they should work out of the box. On to the SD card.

Once you enable “#define REPRAP_DISCOUNT_FULL_GRAPHIC_SMART_CONTROLLER” in ‘configuration.h,’ SD card support is automatically added. You may find that everything works to your liking. Just make sure to name your files with a .G extension if you want to select them from the I/O module. The rest of this post describes my changes to enable full hardware SPI and card detection.

The pin mapping described in this thread gave me the ability to write files to the SD card via Repetier. I knew the files were written successfully, because my computer could access them via an SD card reader. Too bad I couldn’t view the file list on my I/O module. I’d initialize the card, refresh the file list, pull it out, reinsert, etc. The 3Drag controller wouldn’t display the files. Turns out that I was saving the files without an extension, and only known G code extensions are enumerated by Marlin. DOH! I assure you that there was a silver lining.

I found that ‘Sd2Card.h’ uses the hardware SPI pins for SD card access. Yet, ‘cardreader.cpp’ uses the “SDSS” definition from ‘pins.h.’ While I haven’t dug into this subject in full, I would expect anything using ‘Sd2Card.h’ to be broken by the pin mapping provided in this thread. Furthermore, why wouldn’t we want to use the hardware Slave Select pin for “SDSS?” We’re using the MOSI, MISO, and SCK lines. Pin 53 is even commented at ‘pins.h:350,’ on the same line where PA3(25) is defined as “SDSS.”

Here’s my pin mapping on the I/O module connector:

Smart Controller Exp2
Pin 1 MISO
Pin 2 SCK
Pin 3 PH1
Pin 4 SS
Pin 5 PH0
Pin 6 MOSI
Pin 7 PA3 (SD Detect)
Pin 8 RST
Pin 9 Not Used
Pin 10 Not Used

Next, go to ‘pins.h:350’ and change SDSS to “53.” This should be under the “#if MOTHERBOARD == 77” conditional. Then assign PA3 to the SD card detect pin by changing the “-1” to “25” on ‘pins.h:447.’

Line 350: #define SDSS 53
Line 447: #define SDCARDDETECT 25 // Ramps does not use this port

No more initializing the SD card. Insert a properly formatted card and Marlin will let you see its files. Enjoy!

… and ask questions. I’m sure I missed something.

  • Michael
22

Sorry you spent so much time figuring it out. I guess the moral to the story is to know which version of the module you are using. It’s worth it though to not have to run the printer with a computer connected. The good and bad part of this printer is that there are so many things that you can do to improve it that you can learn a lot about 3d printers in the process of tinkering with it.

23

I agree. The only major bother I’ve had with this kit is that the unused ATMEGA2560 pins aren’t available as pads or a header. My post was intended to help any others who attempt this great mod.

Have you ever had glitches while your printer works from the SD card? I’m wondering if the SD card I’m using is causing read errors. In the middle of a print, my bed will stop moving for about a half-second, then go again without problem. The irony is that the glitching helped me tune for printing ABS, yesterday. I’d just rather not have globs of extrude in my parts. Guess I’ll just try another SD card and report my experiences.

24

I had that problem when printing from a computer, but never with sd. I did have some other glitches that I eventually determined were caused by a motor controller. You can read about it here: http://forum.velleman.eu/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=12910 In short, the printer would just stop mid print. I think I wrote that it happened at the exact same time, but I later figured out that it varied somewhat.

I spent a lot of time figuring out how to reliably print ABS. The biggest problem is preventing shrinkage. My final setup includes a heated build chamber, custom bed, separate power for bed, and a custom hobbed bolt. The heated chamber minimizes shrinkage, but creates new problems. The controller needed to stay cool, so I had to remove it from the printer and place it outside the chamber. This meant rewiring the printer. I ended up using CAT5 with RJ45 connectors doubling and tripling wires for higher amp circuits. I also remote located the power supplies to keep them cool. The new hobbed bolt was necessary because the stock one would slip due to the heated chamber softening the ABS or PLA. I am probably forgetting some stuff. In the end, I was able to print a 150cm X 150cm X 180cm open top box without any adhesion or warping issues. I could have bought a similar box for less than $2, so not a great example of the benefit of 3d printing. However, it is one of the more challenging prints you will encounter in regards to adhesion and warping - large object with square corners.

25

Well, I’m sorry to see that you’ve had such problems with printing ABS. I am not experiencing any of your issues. ABS prints great with a properly heated bed!

26

I am guessing that you have not printed anything large. Small objects are no problem as long as it adheres. Shrinkage is a percentage of length. The heated bed only heats the first few layers. The taller you go the more likely it will warp because of the temp difference, which will cause it to pull off the bed starting with the corners.

27

Actually, the print that I completed last night was 150mm x 86mm x 15mm. Tiny, as you would say.

28

If 15mm is the z length, that is probably not tall enough to see the issue a heated build chamber will solve.

29

Lynk,

Great post. I finally managed to make mine run.

Thanks

30

Hi Lynk,

I had the same problem as you. But with your description i got the display running correctly. However, after uploading the modified firmware my Y-Axis doesn’t move at all. With the Original Firmware without modifying my Y-Axis runs normal.

Has someone a idea how I can fix this issue?

Thanks

Jared

31

Update:

After several hours of testing I found the problem:

  • my Arduino IDE was Vers 1.6.5. With that version I can upload every firmware EXCEPT the modified one.
  • I installed Arduino IDE Vers 1.0.5, uploaded the modified file… DONE!

and everything works!

Cheers

Jared

32

Hi. I have some adapters available to connect a RepRapDiscount Full Graphic Smart Controller to your Velleman K8200 3D printer.

Ebay item

K8200 Adapter
K8200 Adapter832×815 186 KB