I have sliced using various free slicers and I used to print over USB using pronterface, as I find the file system of the touch display to be pathetic - you can't identify the individual files if you have several fles on flash memory card or stick
However, I now print directly from flash memory card or stick, and have only one file at a time on the card or stick
I mostly use cura v4.4 as it has the JGaurora printer profiles, and they are quite good, but many people have abandoned cura for more user friendly slicers
At one time or another I had every free slicer on my laptop, but it is now just Cura 4.4, Repetier-Host, and PrusaSlicer
At one time I used Slic3r exclusively, but you can now select it from within Repetier-Host, or select Cura Engine
I'd get some free slicers off the Internet - you may be happier with them than with what came with the printer
I'm only able to use JGcreate. Pronterface does an error and it does an infinite error that loops and fills the left column with a notification that the number doesn't equal some number plus one (I posted the error earlier in the thread). The number changes, but it does it with or without supports or bed adhesion - I tried the simple settings and it doesn't change anything.
I can't use Cura. Although it is just like JGcreate, when I print it says it's printing and the completion percent starts climbing, but the printer just sits there completely unaware that there's work to be done. I seen others post about this issue with Cura, but I did not see a solution that worked. Perhaps they also can go to JGcreate to print without the card. For me it's my only option since the card slot is useless. JGcreate is a nice interface, and I can get to a lot of settings. The default speeds are 40 print / 90 travel, .2mm layer height.
Here is one of my own 2D pic to 3D creations. Simple project with pretty dang nice results. I'm happy. The item size is under 60mm across.
Okay what do you think? and why is Cura not working?
Its hard to say exactly what is going on. You're using the factory firmware, and there may be bugs in that that are affecting things. You might want to pickup an STM32 ("ST-link") programmer off ebay or similar so that you can play around with firmware updates etc.
the "line+1" error is talking about a corrupted command being received (invalid checksum etc), and the sender (pronterface) not sending the correct line again. Difficult to know exactly what is going on. Can you please
I don't really know the history of the machine, and I believe the first owner broke it. That's why I got it refunded and he didn't want it back. Perhaps I should keep playing with it for now with what I know so far.
In the meantime - I received the second machine from the ebay JG seller that has the $449 machine shipped from Los Angeles (rather than $400 shipped from China from other sources). This box definitely looks like it's never been opened from the factory. Awesome. I should probably do an unboxing video, since I've assembled and disassembled the first one like three times thinking I had to ship it back.
I guess your stuck with me here now. A newby with two AS5 printers is going to have things to say.
From what I saw of the JGcreate (quickly deleted) included with my printer, it WAS Cura - a very old, obsolete version of Cura - however, the settings would have been optimized for the printer - so the included cat figurine gcode that was sliced with it, would print out perfectly
Try Repetier - it has Cura slicer built in, also Slic3r slicer built in, also similar to pronterface built in - you can print over USB cable until you get a working SD card slot
I'm 100% sure that that USB adapter will not work unfortunately. The USB port on the motherboard is a USB slave port (type b), not a USB host port (type a) - they are not interchangeable even with the "appropriate" physical adapter - that adapter breaks the USB specification. Would be nice if it did work! The female-female adapter won't work for the same reason.
I think I will have a dedicated win 7 computer just for this. Half of my COM port issue will likely improve.
Maybe I'll be able to use CURA correctly.
This COM port is not stable. Is it safe to run the debugger you posted if the program halts? I don't want it to be writing anything or whatever. This is why even if I could update the firmware through the cable,I won't. I'm afraid of the connection or the SD card. This printer is definitely not a brick.... I can stagger along if my prints look good. half the stuff I'll be doing are utility design fabrication ideas, not art.
My A3s V1 has a type A USB port for memory sticks - but I have various adaptors that convert SD and micro SD to type A USB - I also have a few memory sticks that work well with the printer, so I have no problems - but I used to print using USB cable directly from slicers, as well as pronterface
I have heard of people poking card or thin plastic into SD card slots in order to push the SD card hard against the electrical contacts, when poor/loose contact is a problem
I hate windows 10 which is on my new laptop, so I mostly use my 7 year old windows 7 laptop which I find easy to tweak
In device manager with printer connected via USB, if you double click USB-SERIAL CH340 it opens Properties - Port Settings tab reveals Advanced button - COM Port Number can be changed to another free number using drop down list - you could try another com port number, in case you have a conflict - my laptop lists 256 com ports
It may be an idea to try a few different USB cables - they vary in quality
I've been thinking this cable from JG might have an issue. It is very pretty blue and fancy though.
I'm having connection issues, and a couple times I have now abandoned a print because there is an x-axis shift on the piece after about 20 layers. Once it was a couple millimeters (directly shifting the x-plot) - what usually causes that?
Latest official firmware is newer than that on JGAurora's site (I've linked to official firmware on my custom firmware page too)
Layer shift can be a few factors - but motor current is not adjustable on A5S sadly. Custom firmware allows us to use more conservative acceleration values to reduce incidence of shifting.
So I watched it do one of the tiny X axis layer shifts today. Reading the Wiki I now see what it was this time - the head hit a bump from a small bead of plastic liquid which had gathered hot near the front of the tip. When the print head shifted directions it left a bump that it easy smoothed back down later and I would have never seen it. That little bump got hard and it was enough to throw off the x position to one side just a very tiny bit. I watched it happen.
The shift is always left to right, not front to back.
This printer originally had a loose wire issue where it stopped at the left side and just made grinding on the belt because of the disconnected wire went to the x-stop microswitch. The belt is OK and not causing any issue, and I fixed all the loose wires, but I don't know the history of how much it did it before and if now the motors have wore and become more sensitive to little bumps in the way.
So now I'm trying slowing the print speed a little to keep it from bumps. Also, because of that, Bed adhesion is really important, and I've been running it too low-tight to make up for adhesion issues. I'm back to the diamond glass and I just scrub it good each time, and I'm trying to level it a little loose. Seems like the glass is always tighter in the middle when I level it. Too tight. Do these get warped in the middle from heat?
@giantrobot2001 - yes, the heated bed is constructed of a PCB and glass top surface. The PCB has the heater tracks only on one side, so this cause the bottom side to expand, which causes the bed to "dome". Preheating the bed can help the heat to fully diffuse through which will reduce the doming. But some doming is unavoidable. The custom firmware also uses PID bed heating, which will reduce bed "breathing" up/down cycling motion too.
The layer shift problem happens when the head bumps the right side. I guess it does it to "wipe" or whatever. The head goes cruising off the work - across the bed and drags a little thread with it. I thought it was hitting something on the piece - a collision of sorts. It was not hitting anything "bumpy" on the work enough to cause the layer shift...
it'd be better if it didn't wipe at all.
It's colliding with the far right side - POW like it should know better but it doesn't! It thinks it can go all the way right (no issue when it goes front, back, or left to prime) and it makes an awful motor jarring big bump noise that causes the layer shift. It comes back eager to print, but the head is now a few millimeters from where it's supposed to be every time.
... and by the way, I can make it go all the way to the right and bump there by hitting the top move button X+ (which curiously points upwards left on the icon)
It sends the printhead too far right on the wipe, but can the bed size, or travel length, or stop the wipe, a setting I can change so it doesn't go that far right?
In your debug of the errant run, the printhead returned to a different xy. Mine hits the side on a wipe and makes the motor skip. it returns shifted to the left.
Other than that, I can change to a different computer, maybe see if it works better. do I need pronterface to debug this issue?
Post edited by giantrobot2001 on
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However, I now print directly from flash memory card or stick, and have only one file at a time on the card or stick
I mostly use cura v4.4 as it has the JGaurora printer profiles, and they are quite good, but many people have abandoned cura for more user friendly slicers
At one time or another I had every free slicer on my laptop, but it is now just Cura 4.4, Repetier-Host, and PrusaSlicer
At one time I used Slic3r exclusively, but you can now select it from within Repetier-Host, or select Cura Engine
I'd get some free slicers off the Internet - you may be happier with them than with what came with the printer
Try Repetier - it has Cura slicer built in, also Slic3r slicer built in, also similar to pronterface built in - you can print over USB cable until you get a working SD card slot
https://www.repetier.com/documentation/repetier-host/
I have the printer in device manager set to maximum available 128000 baud as using an old Windows 7 laptop
With the printer turned on and USB connected, I sliced the model, toggled from Save to File to Print via USB, and switched from PREPARE to MONITOR
If you can print via USB with re-badged JGcreate, you should be able to print over updated version of Cura
Not tried it, but it should work - I use SD card adaptor in type A USB port, and that works fine
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000878245714.html
I have heard of people poking card or thin plastic into SD card slots in order to push the SD card hard against the electrical contacts, when poor/loose contact is a problem
I hate windows 10 which is on my new laptop, so I mostly use my 7 year old windows 7 laptop which I find easy to tweak
In device manager with printer connected via USB, if you double click USB-SERIAL CH340 it opens Properties - Port Settings tab reveals Advanced button - COM Port Number can be changed to another free number using drop down list - you could try another com port number, in case you have a conflict - my laptop lists 256 com ports
It may be an idea to try a few different USB cables - they vary in quality
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