Nearly there!

Summary:

My makerbot is nearing completion . . . .

Nearly there!

PhillyDee 07 Jun 2009 19:27

My makerbot is nearing completion!
I have uploaded bootloader and firmware, and have the axis zipping about.

A few questions about the whole thing:
What G-Codes and M-Codes are supported by this?
How can I program my own (Links to easy to understand documentation please!)
And how do you do curves? Ive tried G2 and G3 but it doesnt seem to support the radius command!

A background:
I program CNC lathes and milling machines, so my knowledge of programming is expert. However, There doesnt seem to be much documentaion that I can find. any help is very much appreciated. Especially such things as rafts, and the like. Where is all this stuff stored?

Oh, and first post :D

Phil

Build log here:
(http://www.themodblog.co.uk)

Re: Nearly there!

Renoir 07 Jun 2009 22:38

Hi! well done!
Note : The RepRap and MakerBot projects are closely tied.;
The actual g-code is documented at
http://reprap.org/bin/view/Main/Arduino_GCode_Interpreter

but most people use Skeinforge or the RepRap host software to take a 3-d object from a design program, slice it, calculate the toolpaths, and generate the G-code. the G-code is then sent direct to the printer.

http://reprap.org/bin/view/Main/Skeinforge
http://dev.www.reprap.org/bin/view/Main/DriverSoftware

If you can't find makerbot documentation, try searching for RepRap : it's often directly equivalent to the makerbot.

Good luck!

Re: Nearly there!

PhillyDee 07 Jun 2009 22:53

Perfect!
Many thanks!

I plan on making an ink head for it to 'draw' on a blank piece of foam board. Just to show off the positional side of it and to check alignments etc. I will print the relevant parts out to hold pens or ink systems etc. I will get there in the end, but im no software programmer :)

Re: Nearly there!

MaskedRetriever 07 Jun 2009 23:58

I'm currently on the lookout for a script to turn 2D vector files into gcodes— if I find it I'll make a post here or on Thingiverse about it :3