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Steps to printing with SD card using MatterControl?

Discussion in 'General Questions' started by Marla McFee, Sep 22, 2015.

  1. Marla McFee

    Marla McFee New Member

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    Would someone be able to give me an outline of the exact steps to printing with the provided SD card on the Robo R1 using MatterControl? Can't find much on the internet, and I've tried several combinations of steps but have all resulted in my print stopping when I unplug the USB cable from my computer. Please and thanks!
     
  2. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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  3. daniel871

    daniel871 Well-Known Member

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    Step 1: Install an LCD add-on. Never connect the USB cable again.

    Step 2: Save Mattercontrol generated code to the SD card and load it into the LCD controller.

    Step 3: Use the menu on the LCD to run the program you want to run.
     
  4. Lee

    Lee Member

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    There is one way to print from the SD card without the computer hooked up and no LCD add on. That is:
    1. Put SD card in computer (not in printer)
    2. Bring your file into Matter Control. It will appear in the Queue
    3. On that same Queue screen at the bottom is a button named Queue... select that and select "Export to folder or SD Card"
    4. Now rename the file on the SD card to auto0.g That is a zero after auto
    5. Remove the card from the computer.
    6. Close Matter Control. Shut down the printer and then remove the USB cable from the printer.
    7. Put the SD card in the printer and turn it on. The printer will take about 5 -10 minutes to think about it Then it will start printing. It heats the hot end and then the bed. At this point it is printing completely off the card and no computer is necessary.
    8. The software is supposed to handle auto0.g through auto9.g and will print one after the other in order.
    9. Works the same way in Cura. Here is a link to Cura. https://printrbot.dozuki.com/Guide/How+to+Auto-Start+a+Print+with+an+SD+Card+using+Cura/201

    Now for the rest of the story:
    I have found that it does not work from a cold start as the directions above would indicate. What I do is follow the above directions and then hook up the USB cable and then start Matter Control. Then the printer will shortly start heating and printing off the SD card. As soon as the card starts the actual printing (after leveling) I can close Matter Control. I am not sure if simply connecting the USB cable causes it to start reading the SD card or if Matter Control has to kick the printer in the head to get the process to start.

    Update: Received the following from support:

    Instructions for SD card printing You just need to slice the STL and save the Gcode on the micro SD while it’s in your computer. You can do this from View > Export >Export as GCode. Then place the SD into the printer while it’s connected to Matter Control. Go to Queue Options and select Load SD Files. After that you should see the Gcode files come up in your Queue. Now you can select one and start printing. At this point you can unplug the printer USB cable and it should continue to print until finished.

    You can also see this demonstrated in our getting started video starting at the 7:10 mark. Please watch this here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMom8oGhd4c

    More to come..............
     
    #4 Lee, Dec 26, 2015
    Last edited: Jan 4, 2016
  5. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    That is really cool information.
     
  6. gangusCat

    gangusCat New Member

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    I have been able to print successfully from the SD card, however, my issue is when it comes to a long print where the printer runs out of filament in the middle of the run towards the end of the print. This part will use all of the 1kg of filament and I will need to add more to finish it off.
    My question is, is there a way to manually tell the printer to pause the print and then resume after changing the filament while printing from the SD Card?
    Keep in mind that the USB cable has been disconnected previously. In a previous attempt, I reconnected the cable and the printer stopped the print.

    I realize that at this point, adding an M600 code to the gcode will pause the print, however, how do I tell it to resume? If I reconnect the cable, or turn on the software on the computer to tell it to continue, it kills the print.

    Any ideas, or advise on this is greatly appreciated.
     
  7. Rigmarol

    Rigmarol Well-Known Member

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    M25 does a Pause
    M24 does a Resume/Start

    But I can't find anything that tell it how long to pause before Resuming.

    Sorry, I'm just learning Gcode
     
  8. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
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    The lcd controllers have a pretty slick change filament feature. Their cheap I suggest getting one :)
     

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