raspberry-pi [Bukobot 3D Printer Instructions & Docs]

===== Using a Raspberry Pi as a Host =====

{{wiki:jitsbuild:with-raspberry-pi.png?800}}

The following should be considered experimental, until it is demonstrated that this actually works.

This is for the adventurous.

=== Why? ===

The Raspberry Pi is very small (about the same size as the Azteeg) and could be embedded into the printer itself, making the Bukobot completely free-standing (except for monitor, keyboard, and mouse).  It can also connect to a network, perhaps allowing the user to run the printer from a web browser on another computer.

The cost to do all this is very small.  Current US prices:

  * Raspberry Pi, $35 (order backlog for these is currently about a month, in the U.S. at least)

  * Power supply, $6 (adafruit has a nice one)

  * SD card, $8

  * cables, case, keyboard, mouse, hub, maybe $50 total

  * monitor, maybe $150

Of course you may already have some of the above.

=== Parts Required ===

  * Raspberry Pi, Model B, with 512MB of RAM

  * High quality power supply for same, 5V, at least 1A, plus micro USB cable to connect it to the Pi

  * SD card, at least 8GB, preferably class 10 or better

  * Powered USB hub

  * Keyboard, USB (must be a wired keyboard, don't try this with a wireless one, at least not at first)

  * Mouse, USB (wired, at least at first)

  * Monitor, HDMI, with HDMI cable

  * Ethernet cable, with Internet on the other end (do not try to use wireless, at least at first)

  * Mini USB cable to connect Pi to printer (should be included with printer)

  * Bukobot

One of the primary reasons for having problems with a Raspberry Pi is the power supply.  There are many different power supplies on the market (most smartphones and similar small devices use this type) and a lot of these power supplies are of poor quality.  The Pi needs a high-quality power supply, rated at one amp or more.  The adafruit unit (their #501) is recommended by Lady Ada, so it's a good one (and the price is good too).

If you intend to connect the Azteeg, a keyboard, and a mouse to the Pi then you'll need a USB hub for sure (the Pi only has two USB ports).  Might as well make that a powered hub and be sure you won't overwhelm the Pi's power supply.  For not much more, you can get a powered hub that also has card slots (the Pi does have an SD card slot, but you boot from that and can't remove the card while the Pi is running).

== Video Options ==

For best picture quality, use a monitor (or television) with an HDMI connection.

If you have a monitor sitting around that has VGA but not HDMI, you can use a [[http://www.farnell.com/datasheets/1669934.pdf|Pi-View]] adapter.  (The system shown above is using one of these.)  You can get these from any Farnell/element14 affiliate (Newark in the U.S. currently has these for about $33).

Of course the Pi also has a standard-definition output on RCA jack, that can be connected to an old-fashioned television.  It's low resolution, but perhaps sufficient to get the Pi set up and running headless.  (Anyone try this?)

You will need a monitor to get the Pi set up, and perhaps to administer and maintain it later.  But if you set up the Pi to run headless (using a web interface, for example), you wouldn't need to keep a monitor connected all the time, so you could temporarily borrow a monitor from somewhere else and not have to buy one just for your Bukobot.

=== Getting Started ===

Download the latest version of [[http://www.raspberrypi.org/downloads|Raspbian Wheezy]] (not the soft-float version).  Follow the directions on that page to put the image on the SD card.  Note the default user name and password.

Follow the directions to sync the filesystem so that the card can be safely removed from the computer.  Insert the card into the Pi.

Connect the powered USB hub to one of the two USB ports on one end of the Pi.  Connect an Ethernet cable to the Pi's Ethernet jack next to the USB ports.  Connect the other end of the Ethernet cable to a working Internet connection.

Connect the wired keyboard and the wired mouse to the powered USB hub.  Apply power to the hub.  Don't connect the Azteeg controller to the hub yet.

Connect the monitor to the Pi's HDMI jack with the HDMI cable.  Turn the monitor on.

Connect the Pi to its power supply using the micro USB cable, and plug the power supply in.

Watch the monitor.

See the text fly by as the Pi boots up.

Eventually, a menu should appear.  If it doesn't, troubleshoot.

The menu is navigated with the up and down arrows, tab, and <Enter>.

Use the menu to set the graphics memory to 32MB.

Use the menu to tell the Pi to boot into the graphical user interface on next boot.

Use the menu to tell the Pi to expand its file system to maximum size on next boot.

Select your keyboard, locale, and time zone.

Use the menu to reboot.

Watch it boot again.  It should boot into the LXDE desktop environment.  If it doesn't, troubleshoot.

Start the Midori web browser and verify that the Pi can see the Internet.

Browse to this page.  Follow the rest of these directions.

At this point, it's probably safe to switch to a wireless keyboard and/or mouse if you prefer those.  It's probably safe to switch to a wireless Internet connection too (but some wi-fi units may not work with the Pi, so do the research and do the testing).

=== Install more software ===

Start a terminal.  In all the following, if it asks questions, say yes.  (Hitting <Enter> generally will work)

Update the software:

<code>
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade
</code>

If it finds updated packages to install, and asks if it should do so, hit <Enter> to say yes.  This may run for a while.  (You should do this periodically to get the latest software.)

When it's done,

<code>
sudo apt-get install arduino git libgtk2.0-dev synaptic pistore
</code>


Next, this will install lots of potentially useful things:

<code>
sudo apt-get install task-lxde-desktop
</code>

This will install a variety of utilities that are handy for maintaining and managing this machine.

It will also install the complete LibreOffice suite, and a web browser called IceWeasel (a version of Firefox).  But, be warned:  Both of these are heavy users of memory, which is in short supply on the Pi.  They will probably run, but may run slowly.  Don't even think of running these on a 256MB Pi.

Then install pronterface (Printrun directory) into home directory:

<code>
git clone git://github.com/kliment/Printrun.git
</code>

If you have another computer to do slicing on, you can make a G-code file on that computer and transfer it to the Pi, and then you don't need skeinforge or Slic3r on the Pi.  The Pi is network connected, and can also talk to USB drives, so there are lots of ways of getting files across.  If you have the Azteeg X3, you can also put files on a microSD card and plug the card into the X3.
 
If you want to run skeinforge on the Pi, get the latest version from [[http://fabmetheus.crsndoo.com/|here]].  Make a subdirectory called ~/Printrun/skeinforge/ and unzip the downloaded file there.

If you want to try Slic3r, install it into another subdirectory of Printrun:

<code>
cd ~/Printrun
git clone git://github.com/alexrj/Slic3r 
cd Slic3r 
sudo perl Build.PL 
sudo cpan Wx
</code>

Those last couple commands will run for hours.  Check back occasionally in case it asks you questions.

=== Arduino ===

To run Arduino (if you want to put a different firmware on Azteeg controller), find Arduino in main menu (click the start icon at lower left).

(Connect Pi to Azteeg first, of course.  Use the powered hub.)

If you don't have motors connected to Azteeg, don't run the Azteeg from the 12V power supply.  Power it from USB instead.  Move the Input Select jumper on the Azteeg (on the X3 it's under the daughterboard).  See [[bukobot-assembly-documentation|Azteeg docs]].

You have to select the board type (Arduino Mega 2560), the COM port (probably only one listed there), and the baud rate (250000).  For more details see [[http://reprap.org/wiki/Azteeg_X3|here]].  (You don't have to install any drivers.)

=== pronterface ===

To run pronterface, go to ~/Printrun and run pronterface.py:

<code>
cd ~/Printrun
./pronterface.py
</code>

The first time you run it, you have to tell it the board type and COM port.  If you want to try Slic3r (this may run impractically slow) instead of skeinforge, you have to go to pronterface preferences and tell pronterface where the Slic3r executable is:  Settings  >>  Options  >>  slicecommand.  There is also a command-line interface (pronsole.py) and a web browser interface.  See [[https://github.com/kliment/Printrun|here]] for more information.

=== 256MB Raspberry Pi ===

The original 256MB Raspberry Pi is capable of running Pronterface as well, following the instructions above (might be a good idea to use 16MB graphics memory instead of 32MB).  It is possible, at least in some cases, to directly connect the Azteeg X3 to the Raspberry Pi without a powered hub (but this is risky  --  if your print suddenly goes all pear-shaped and gets ruined, it's time to get a powered hub, they're not expensive).

By installing tightvnc via:

<code>
sudo apt-get install tightvncserver xfonts-base
</code>

It is possible to connect to the Raspberry Pi running Pronterface from any computer on the network, providing a 'print over ethernet' type of capability.

Additionally, it is possible to install usb-redirector, which can convert the Raspberry Pi into an ethernet-to-USB bridge, allowing any machine on the network to directly control the printer.  This has been demonstrated to work with Pronterface, but efforts are still ongoing to use Repetier-Host in a similar manner

More experiments to come.


//The contents of this page may be re-used under any of the following licenses:  The [[http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/|Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (CC BY-SA 3.0)]], or the [[http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html|GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL, version 1.2 or later)]].//
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