Help getting printer connected to computer

[Lapidary Artist]

Hi all,
I am very new to 3d CAD and printing and want to integrate it with my lapidary arts practice. I received my Rapid 200 at Xmas but had no time to set it up until February 2015. There was no real problems in setting it up and I managed to get 4-5 initial prints without too much hassle. I used my i5 Windows 7 tablet with both Repetier and Cura and found Repetier to have easier access to its functions. There seemed to be some trouble with connecting and it was solved by changing the comm port several times until it connected.
I couldn't get it to print directly from the SD card though, even following the instructions posted on this forum regarding auto0.g. In that regard I have no idea what I am doing wrong...
I put the printer aside for the last month and worked on my CAD design which I now have ready for test printing. For the last two days I have not been able to get Repetier or Cura to connect to the printer. Cura cycles endlessly trying to connect while Repetier gives the unable to connect message which I would normally try changing comm ports or another message saying 'semaphore timeout'. I googled 'semaphore timeout' problems but the responses were highly technical coding type answers way beyond my abilities.
Nothing has changed since my first attempts except usual Windows updates. I am at a loss now as to what to do and if anyone could help it would be very much appreciated.
Regards
Pete

[lawong]

The comms connection has always been a problem for many windows machine because the setting is so "delicate"

I assume that you have already installed the drivers and followed the instructions from http://www.print3dforum.com/showthre...p-the-Hardware

and when you are ready to go with Repetier-Host, see the settings at http://www.print3dforum.com/showthre...ight=baud+rate

Make sure that you have set the baud rate is set to 115200 for the COM port in device manager AND the Repetier-Host Printer settings.

The EXACT sequence to connect and disconnect Rapide Printer to the computer is:

1. Start with Printer OFF, plug-in USB
2. Make sure NO other software is running (CURA, Repetier-Host, etc) that might hog the COM port (try a high number COM port say COM8 to avoid "take-over" by other software)
3. Turn ON Printer, you should see/hear that Windows Device Manager has found and accepted the connections (open Device Manager to check if you are not sure)
4. Run Repetier-Host and connect the printer, the ICON should turn from RED to GREEN.

Good to go !


If you turn OFF the printer or disconnect the USB (I don't recommend "hot-plugging" of USB where possible to reduce static discharge damage), and the Repetier-Host is running, it will hog the COM port and even if you turn ON the printer or press RESET, it will not connect.

You must make sure Software is NOT running and hogging the COM ports, any disconnection of Printer will need to start the above sequence again.

[Lapidary Artist]

Thankyou so much for your reply Lawong.
I'm pretty sure I have all the settings correct in Repetier as I spent quite some time going through that originally and it did work.
Tomorrow I'll double check the device manager comm port then strictly follow the EXACT sequence you recommend. It may be in my frustrations and expectations that my connection sequence has caused the problems you describe.
Thanks again and I'll let you know how it goes.
Regards
Pete

[bolsoncerrado]

Did you try...


...different USB cable?
...diffferent USB ports?
...removing all USB stuff except the printer?
...different OS version? or fresh OS install?
...different computer?

If all of the above has been tried, board may not be faulty.

Yeah you read it right. So far Rapide has reported every and all boards (except mine, to date) returned to them working fine on arrival.

Go figure.

[BobenhamHotspur]

Wasn't it also recommended to half the buffer size from 128 to 63?? (figures from memory) due to smaller capacity on our board? Can be done in Repetier I believe in the same screen as where the baud rate is set.

[Ascender]

I haven't had any problems connecting to the printer except when it is just turned on. It takes somewhere between 30-60 seconds before it is possible to connect. Seemes like it is running some internal booting or so. The message in Repetier-host asks if i want to change my settings, but just clicking No and wait a while always works for me.

[Ascender]

About the SD-card printing, try and open the auto0.g file with Notepad. Does it contain cryptic symbols or readable G-code, like M501S0?
This happened to me the first time I couldn't print from SD-card. Saved the file in wrong format.

[Lapidary Artist]

I think I discovered why my i5 wasn't connecting: the USB ports are damaged inside the computer. While checking the device manager advanced properties I noticed the device manager flickering and the printer being momentarily lost, even though the manager said it was working. In the advanced properties it occasionaly said it was not working with error code 45 (whatever that means).
I connected it to my main computer, installed Repetier and it connected to Repetier but I was unable to manually control the printer. Eventually I downloaded and installed Cura and was able to connect and start printing. Why Repetier is not working I don't know.
I knew the first print would be a problem because the filament had broken and needed to be fed back into the extruder. Last month I actually disassembled the extruder head to work out why the filament was going through and found that because the filament has a bend from the coil it doesn't always correctly sit in the feed mechanism. At the moment I couldn't hand feed in the new end of the filament while it was printing so tomorrow I'll have to disassemble again to make sure the filament is sitting correctly.
The SD card I still haven't got working but found that by simply shortening the extension in file manager caused the file to go cryptic as Ascender noted. The file retained its code by resaving with notepad but still did not print. I'll experiment more tomorrow.
Thanks all for your great help, things are starting to move along and I'll keep it updated.
Regards
Pete