OctoPi Tutorial for Zim

#22

Thanks 3DPrintEvangelist for posting the info about Wifi dongle power management. This was driving me nuts with a previous raspberry pi project. I would find the webpage non-responsive until I connected ssh to the pi (i.e. connected a terminal). I’m pretty certain it is the same issue, and I’ve seen it on my OctoPi as well. Certainly worth disabling that feature.

Another item to be aware of is apparently the wifi dongles can sink enough current to brown out a cheap USB power supply. Some people recommend plugging the pi into a powered hub. I’ve always done ok with a 1amp or greater supply.

Thanks Winston for the bed alignment coordinates and commands. I’m going to set mine up with these right now :smile:

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#23

Hey guys! got it to upload!

Ran into some trouble, but once i restarted the computer the edited marlin uploaded!
I will try printing with it tomorrow!

#24

Yesterday I installed the initial Octoprint again (just to be sure for my new WLAN USB dongle) and configured the power management options I posted before.
I left the PI running this night and it was responsive this morning.
So I hope it works for you as well.

#25

Does “Print Time Left” work for anyone? It keeps at “calculating”.
That is quite an important information for me, even if only estimated.
With Simplify3D its very accurate.

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#26

with small gcodes it works yesterday i had a big gcode file it didnt show me the estimate…

#27

ya… I usually jog down the estimate from slic3r/ repetier-host. because estimated time in Octoprint seems to only show in hours for large prints…

#29

Strange thing happened today! one of my two printer have temperature drop conveniently after windows 10 update running with octoprint (xD prob have nothing to do with the update)

and
check out this cube…

one of the 4 sides looks like it got molded… strange stuff, could this be that I have to tightening some hardware stuff?

#30

Will this work on any raspberry pi or do I need the raspberry pi 2? I have a raspberry B (the original one) that is sitting on a shelf and am debating on trying to get my zim running using octopi.

#31

any raspberry pi model will work apart from A+ will need a hub… thanks mtbf0 …

#32

I am running the octopi image on a rpi B+ and a rpi 2. so yes, it should work for you.

#33

if you were to use an a or an a+, you would need a usb hub in order to connect wifi and printer, let alone the camera.

#34

Question for you all. I still have several zee pro cartridges, can I still use them with this setup? Just ordered a pi to do this. Thank you all for putting this info together!

#35

Using Octoprint or a direct USB to computer solution has nothing to do with your choice or method of filament.
Only the original Zeepro Software is using the RFID in the cartridges for temperature settings and used meters of filament.
So without Zeepro Software you are free to use whatever you like.

After I switched to the alternative filament drive I broke off the beak of the cartridge I had left and used them.
But you could as well just open the cartridge and use the spool directly.

#36

I should have been more clear, what I guess I’m asking is does the bottom filament drive/extruder still function. I have not changed things around to feed filament into the top. I completely realize that the RFID wouldn’t matter etc. Just wanted to know if it would still pull the filament up from the bottom.

Thanks again!

#37

I use both filament motors bottom and top and it works fine if you change the lower filament drive. Otherwise the gear won’t be able to grip the filament. But that did not work either with the cartridges, so it has to be changed either way.
But other people use only the upper motor and it seems to work fine for them as well.

The only thing momentarily unclear is discussed in another thread. Its about if you should unplug the lower motor or leave it running empty if only the upper motor is used, regarding the current.

If you change filament often you should consider switching to only the upper motor as well. Because its a bit more work through the lower filament drive.

#38

I unplugged (and completely removed) my lower steppers several months ago. The logic being that a motors only draws as much current as is required to maintain torque for holding/driving the stepper. Since they are tied in parallel, this should half the current draw on the driver chip. Other than that, I didn’t bother to change the current limit, since that its just a safeguard, and the original design didn’t account for where in the drive circuit the current might going anyway.

#39

Thanks good to know.
I thought about cutting the lower motors off as well. They make filament changes unnecessary more work and mine get extremely hot.

#40

If you disconnect them, be sure to only do so when the printer is off. You can damage the stepper driver if it is actively trying to drive/hold the stepper when it is disconnected. Safe to do with printer off though.

#41

Probably already answered but im gathering all the needed itens for the “conversion”. raspberry Pi…is raspberry pi 2 the best option? I can see one possible deal poping up on amazon tomorrow at 9:00 (starter kit). Is it ok? It seems there are several RP versions…not sure what to get…

Thanks in advance!

#42

Thanks to everyone here I’m doing my first zim print via pi! One question, has anyone compiled a list of custom commands for the Zim. I saw in jpod’s video some of them but was wondering if there is an easy way for me to see more?

Thanks again for all the great advice so far!

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