Home JGAurora A5S, A1 & A3S-V2 Modifications & Upgrades

Custom Community Firmware for A5S & A1

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  • Samuel PinchesSamuel Pinches Posts: 2,997Administrator
    edited August 2019
    When the bed levelling is on, if the mesh is 0.35mm, then the z should show zero (0.0mm) when it is 0.35mm above the z-endstop homing position. If you turn off bed levelling, the zero (0.0mm) should now be lower, at the endstop position. It sounds like your process, and the printer operation are both correct.
    Post edited by Samuel Pinches on
  • Samuel PinchesSamuel Pinches Posts: 2,997Administrator
    edited August 2019
    How are you levelling the bed? What is the process you use? After all the levelling is completed, you can enable bed levelling in the menu, and then move to Z=0.0. Then you should be able to put a piece of paper between nozzle and bed, for all points on the bed, the nozzle should not scrape.

    Important point: You must do the bed leveling, with the bed HOT at the normal printing temperature. The bed will warp upwards in the centre area, as it heats up. The nozzle does not have to be hot, just the bed.
    Post edited by Samuel Pinches on
  • Frank01xFrank01x Posts: 20Member
    Of course! The last Z-axis value here was 0.25
    * .DAT is not supported. That's why I renamed the file from EEPROM.DAT -> EEPROM.bin




  • Samuel PinchesSamuel Pinches Posts: 2,997Administrator
    edited August 2019
    Ok, so I have checked the EEPROM bin and it looks 100% ok. Your bed does look tilted, you may want to fix that.


    Can you please try:
    • Leveling the bed to +2.0mm across the bed surface
    • Save the configuration to EEPROM
    • Turn on bed levelling in the menu
    • Try moving the print head around - the head should be ~1-2mm above the surface. Is this correct?
    • Try a print. the nozzle should be above the bed by 1-2mm. Is this correct?

    Post edited by Samuel Pinches on
  • Frank01xFrank01x Posts: 20Member
    At the moment it is so that the Nozzle is located after a Home XYZ about 1.5mm below the bed surface.
    How should I perform a leveling 2mm above the bed surface? What I have to do?

  • Samuel PinchesSamuel Pinches Posts: 2,997Administrator
    edited August 2019
    Main menu -> motion -> bed levelling -> level bed -> start levelling
    At each point, press the + button till the point is calibrated to 2mm (that is the maximum value of the mesh correction). Then go to the next point. Repeat this for every point.
    Then save the configuration. Make sure Bed Leveling is turned on in the Bed Leveling menu. Then try to move the head around using the "Move Axis" command in the motion menu.
    Post edited by Samuel Pinches on
  • Frank01xFrank01x Posts: 20Member
    OK, after a Home XYZ the Nozzle is about 1-1.5mm above the bed and I can move the X-axis and the Y-axis anywhere without touching it.
    But now is still missing the correct leveling of the bed, because the Z-axis value is set anywhere on 2mm and stored in the configuration? How should I proceed?


  • Samuel PinchesSamuel Pinches Posts: 2,997Administrator
    Well, if you do a print now, you can confirm that the nozzle does not scratch the bed!

    If that is true, then you can do a proper bed leveling, with confidence that the mesh leveling is working correctly.

    Next, if the nozzle is still too close to the bed, then you need to insert some spacer between the nozzle and the bed as you calibrate for each point.

    Normally I use a single sheet of A4 paper to test the friction between bed and nozzle. If this is too thick, perhaps you can use two sheets, or a sheet of card to help with the leveling process.

    From what I can tell, the firmware is working correctly now, it just requires proper calibration of the nozzle and bed gap during the leveling process, in order to produce a good first layer.

    I hope this helps. Feel free to ask, if you have any other questions.

  • Frank01xFrank01x Posts: 20Member
    Another test did not lead to success again. I'm close to giving up.
    I probably did not understand the whole process of leveling.
    Now after the homing XYZ, the Nozzle is again too deep, about 1mm below the upper edge of the bed.
    It seems like the leveling works. But it is only the appearance.
    Maybe I am missing a step by step guide for the conversion of the leveling of the original firmware to Costum firmware.
    We lost a lot of time and the result for me is zero.

  • Samuel PinchesSamuel Pinches Posts: 2,997Administrator
    I'm not sure where you are seeing failure. Did you do the test print with the levelling mesh set at 2mm? Did the print respect the mesh and the nozzle move too high as expected?
  • Samuel PinchesSamuel Pinches Posts: 2,997Administrator
    edited August 2019
    Please note one more important thing: when you do a homing operation (command G28) the bed leveling is turned OFF, and must be turned on again, either manually, or by the M420 S1 command in the Gcode starting lines.
    Post edited by Samuel Pinches on
  • Frank01xFrank01x Posts: 20Member
    Yes, I made a print with 2mm unit height. The Nozzle was too high and the filament does not stick. However, I had no idea what to do next.
    I know G28. That's why I installed the command M420 S1 to G28 in the start code.

  • Samuel PinchesSamuel Pinches Posts: 2,997Administrator
    So, you need to buy a set of feeler gauges. You need to find the right height of spacer shim to place between the nozzle and the bed during the mesh bed levelling process, that will give you the right height during printing. First, you can work on that. 

    For the print not sticking, please see this page on the wiki:

    Https://jgaurorawiki.com/A5/bed-adhesion
  • Samuel PinchesSamuel Pinches Posts: 2,997Administrator
    You may also want to watch this video on mesh bed levelling the manual way with a computer, using the older A5 printer:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBlADPgQqL0

    best of luck....
  • Frank01xFrank01x Posts: 20Member
    Now I did the test again with the leveling mesh set at 2mm. This time, the filament stuck, but with very poor quality, which is certainly due to the damaged Nozzle.


    What should I do now that the whole bed is aligned with Z = 2mm?
  • aestremsaestrems Posts: 33🌟 Super Member 🌟
    edited August 2019
    You should know when homing all the axes the nozzle is a bit lower than the bed, then when the prints starts, the nozzle goes at the proper position. What I mean with that is don’t focus on that point, because I have the same with my printer and the printer prints well without scratching the bed. What I did for the leveling is fist hot de bed and the nozzle to the temperature that I set to print PLA (60 for the bed and 205 for the nozzle) then I start a normal bed leveling with the 4 corners and the center, I’m doing this two or three times, then I start the mesh bed leveling. When the process  is finished I saved on the eepprom 
    Thanked by 1Samuel Pinches
    Post edited by aestrems on
  • Frank01xFrank01x Posts: 20Member
    Thank you for your patience! I will do that again now.

  • Frank01xFrank01x Posts: 20Member
    Now I have again heated the print bed and performed a manual leveling on the four corners.
    After that I saved the configuration.
    The following mesh bed leveling I have done with a double page of normal printer paper.
    I saved the configuration again.
    The following print result with bed leveling turned on showed that the nozzle was too close to the print bed again.
    The information from Da Hai in the video did not get me any further.
    I'll have to think about how to proceed. It could be that I go back to the original firmware of JGAurora.
    Thank you Samuel!


  • Samuel PinchesSamuel Pinches Posts: 2,997Administrator
    The 4 corner levelling option is not the correct feature to use for setting up mesh bed leveling. It is only for getting the print bed level, or for leveling with mesh correction disabled. You need to use the full 25 point leveling to setup mesh bed leveling.
    Thanked by 1aestrems
  • aestremsaestrems Posts: 33🌟 Super Member 🌟
    @Samuel Pinches I’m agree, but I always prefer to have the corners more or less leveled and then I use the mesh bed leveling to correct the deformation of the bed, because mine is not perfectly flat
    @Frank01x something is wrong, maybe you can’t make a video and we can see something, you can try the stock firmware and see if it’s working, if yes, then try again the community firmware 
    Thanked by 1Samuel Pinches
  • Sparky478Sparky478 Posts: 3Member
    edited August 2019
    Here was my process, and it worked perfectly:

    (1) Insert an empty formatted SD card.
    (2) Heat the bed.
    (3) With a 0.05 mm feeler gauge, level the four corners. I had to go around the bed 3 times to get it done.
    (4) Start the bed mesh leveling process using a 0.2 mm feeler gauge, adjusting Z up or down as needed at each position.
    (5) When finished, be sure to select save from the menu.

    Now there is a file on the SD card called EEPROM.DAT. Do not remove it. Leave it on the SD card with the gcode for each item you want to print. As long as your start gcode for each project has M420 S1 after G28, you should come out with awesome results.

    Best of luck!
    Post edited by Samuel Pinches on
  • Samuel PinchesSamuel Pinches Posts: 2,997Administrator
    Thank you @Sparky478 - that is a clear and comprehensive guide.
  • Sparky478Sparky478 Posts: 3Member
    edited August 2019
    I couldn't have figured it out without your help @Samuel Pinches . I'm really hoping that @Frank01x can get his up and running. It's a frustrating thing to think you have it, then the next thing you know, the bed of that brand new 3D printer has a bunch of scars on it. Trust me, I know all about it! But when you start turning out nice looking prints, it's very cool!

    On a side note, these machines have awesome tolerances. It's my first 3D printer, so I don't have anything to compare it with, but I've been able to print a fidget spinner and a gear bearing, and the internal parts move like they should! I'm amazed! Such a fun hobby!
    Thanked by 1Samuel Pinches
    Post edited by Sparky478 on
  • Frank01xFrank01x Posts: 20Member
    My last level attempt last night was exactly as @ Sparky478 stated in its rule. The difference was only in the feeler gauge. I used for the corners 0.05mm paper and 0.19mm paper for the net leveling of the bed (see photos).



    I would like to mention at this point that the leveling initially worked perfectly right at the end of July with a version that I unfortunately did not save. It was, to my memory, the version before the last July version of 30.07.2019. I had to go back to the original firmware because of urgent print jobs because the 30/07/2019 version did not work anymore in terms of bed leveling.
    My 3D printer is not a brand new printer, as @ Sparky478 has written it. Since the beginning of May of this year, I printed almost every day a variety of objects in very good quality. I was particularly impressed by the result of a Kobayashi Cube, two of which I printed with PLA.
    If the manufacturer were to ship the printer with bed mesh leveling, then I would not have been interested in finding a way to find a good solution for the partially compensated print bed. An only partially compensated print bed for a printer that cost me € 340 at GearBest was ok.
    Now I will install a new Nozzle for the printer and go back to the original firmware. The printing should also be fun. Fortunately, I have no stress in a job and can approach the upcoming tasks with much peace and quiet.
    Maybe I will try again at a later time to adjust the print bed using mesh bed leveling.
    I will continue to follow the very interesting posts here and definitely learn a lot about 3D printing.
    Many thanks to the community and especially to @Samuel Pinches!

  • chainbreaker2012chainbreaker2012 Posts: 30Member, 🌟 Super Member 🌟
    @Samuel Pinches
    hey i got a question, I am in the process of teaching myself how to modify the firmware and just looking through it. i followed the directions in the wiki and when i try to compile it i keep getting this message in the terminal
    #error "Oops! Select an STM32F1 board in 'Tools > Board.'" I havent changed anything so i figured it should compile. The config files for the a5s are in the marlin folder with the marlin.ino any ideas what I am doing wrong?
  • Samuel PinchesSamuel Pinches Posts: 2,997Administrator
    edited August 2019
    Hi @chainbreaker2012 - the process for compiling the A5S firmware is completely different to the process for the A5 firmware. The A5S compilation is done using Visual Studio Code, using a microcontroller package called platformio.

    I've put the instructions you need here: https://jgmakerforum.com/discussion/730/how-to-compile-your-own-custom-marlin-2-0-firmware-for-jgaurora-a5s-and-a1/p1?new=1

    The software and libraries upstream are being updated all the time so things may have errors. I recommend checking out the "gotta compile them all" branch in my github, as that is the most up to date one from my perspective. In platformio.ini you can select which printer and language you want to compile for.

    Post edited by Samuel Pinches on
  • chainbreaker2012chainbreaker2012 Posts: 30Member, 🌟 Super Member 🌟
    Ok sounds good. that is the link i was using lol I will check out your github. I like that it uses vscode.
  • Samuel PinchesSamuel Pinches Posts: 2,997Administrator
    You might also get that error if you have not copied the configuration.h and configuration_Adv.h files from the /examples directory into the /marlin folder .
    If you use "gotta compile them all" , or the A5S or A1 branches this is already done. The default branch is just a clone from upstream marlin - I've submitted all my work into there too, so you don't even need to use my repository if you want to have a go with the latest and greatest bleeding edge work.
    Thanked by 1chainbreaker2012
  • TemTem Posts: 7Member
    Hi everyone,
    I tried to compile custom firmware and getting the error:

    Compiling .pioenvs/jgaurora_a5s_en/libabe/TMCStepper_ID5513/source/DRVCTRL.cpp.o
    In file included from .piolibdeps/jgaurora_a5s_en/TMCStepper_ID5513/src/source/CHOPCONF.cpp:1:0:
    .piolibdeps/jgaurora_a5s_en/TMCStepper_ID5513/src/TMCStepper.h:18:11: fatal error: SoftwareSerial.h: No such file or directory

    Any ideas?

    I've found the topic here and here, could it be related to my problem? 
  • Samuel PinchesSamuel Pinches Posts: 2,997Administrator
    edited August 2019
    Yes, my recent attempts to compile have encountered similar problems. Its bugs in some of the libraries, which we don't need anyway for our build. Please do the following, this should fix it:

    1. use my "gotta build em all" branch in github
    2. delete all files from the .piolibdeps and .pioenvs folders
    3. run a "build clean" (trash can icon in bottom bar in VS Code)
    4. change the platformio.ini file to just compile for the printer and language you want to use (by default it will compile several times for different languages and models)
    5. try to compile again.

    Let me know how you go.

    Post edited by Samuel Pinches on
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