# 3DP help



## Bofobo (Feb 18, 2018)

So i got a prusa 3D printer, its loaded with computer chips, my  pc is to old to operate any functions or even flash the system. Yet a lathe and mill maufactured 50 years ago still work fine. Is this really the way of the future? How can we advance if we spend every moment trying to catch up old systems to new systems or replacing those systems entirely? I would think investment means return, my newest investment requires further investment but will also become obsolete and thus worthless. Compatability should not be an issue when moving electrons or operating systems built on the same system of 101010101010101010100001000111001101010001111001. To conclude i need help with understanding the pixies in my magic box. Takers?


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## RobinHood (Feb 18, 2018)

You know any 12 year olds? They’ll hook the thing up to their (or your) smart phone and have you on your way in no time...


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## Bofobo (Feb 18, 2018)

Nope my kids not that tech savvy


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## kevin.decelles (Feb 19, 2018)

I've got a Prusa clone and make the jump to 3DP a year ago.  The learning curve can be steep -- who would of thought that squirting plastic to make objects could be hard.  When you factor in extrusion rates, cooling rates, layer times, material, overhangs, inclusions.................

Anyhow, what state did the machine arrive to you?  Is this a brand new item or did it you rescue it in pieces?


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## Janger (Feb 19, 2018)

Do you need a newer computer? Is that the first problem? Somebody on here found a source of older but working gear at a recycle depot.. was it Alex? Another place to look is the Alberta surplus place. Just off Blackfoot east of Blackfoot motorcycle...


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## Bofobo (Feb 19, 2018)

Its intact, assembled, formerly my brothers project, purchased from pm hobby, i have limited movement and yes i suspect a newer pc to flash the right drivers. The main board does not look like a prusa board as far as i can tell


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## Alexander (Feb 19, 2018)

My advice is go to best buy and get a good laptop. If you get something good. Like i7 processor with 2.5ghz plus it will last you a long time. I have been experimenting with vintage computer stuff and single board computers but they won't be any good for 3d printing. You can't do the 3d modling and design on an old computer so it will be a waste of time.


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## Johnwa (Feb 19, 2018)

Prusamd are made here in Calgary.  They used to have a website but I can’t find it anymore.  The “D” in md is Doug Clark who’s reasonably active at protospace.  
What software are you using on your pc and is it communicating with the printer?


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## Bofobo (Feb 19, 2018)

No its not communicating with the printer, im running ... vista 
 the printer is, according to the screen running; marlinfirmware.org
1.1.0.-rc3 

And i dont get a lot of movement or anything even trying to manually operate it, from what i understand i should be able to plug it into the wall and print a demo.... it just shutters about not really moving making a racket, ... can adjust heat enough to melt abs but have not confirmed with temp gun on the bed


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## Johnwa (Feb 19, 2018)

You need a program on your pc to feed gcode to the printer.  I use pronterface because that came with my printer. Others that I know of are Cura and and repetier.  Pronterface allows you to set the temperatures, move the printhead and run the extruder.  It connects to the printer with a USB cable.
I assume that marlin came preconfigured for the printer.
Assuming all the wiring is ok, the most most likely issue with it not moving is the stepper drivers.  You can adjust the amps with the little pot on the driver board.  If the amps are too low the stepper stalls and vibrates much like you describe.  Hopefully that is all it is. 

Marlin will print from an sd card but I’ve never tried that.


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## kevin.decelles (Feb 20, 2018)

I use repetier with marlin firmware, pretty straight forward . It should run on your laptop as I've had it running on a raspberry Pi

@Alexander is correct, printer control is one thing , running design software is another. I use fusion 360 , I haven't tried it on the Pi , but I'll try it this weekend

What interface does it have to your pic? (USB?)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Alexander (Feb 20, 2018)

@kevin.decelles I use my pi3 B+ allot. No way it can run fusion360. I think you will find the pi is not up to the task. You need a pretty big video card to get most of the features in fusion working. but that being said: Kyle, John a and Josh would have a better idea of what it would take to run fusion. I bought a laptop that met minimum system requirements and there was nothing cheap that could do the job. I think your laptop budget should be $850-$1000 if your serious about learning fusion360.


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## kevin.decelles (Feb 20, 2018)

I run fusion off my Microsoft surface , I use the pi3 as a print server only but have been using it more and more as a shop kiosk for web browsing too 




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## Janger (Feb 20, 2018)

I had to buy a new computer to run fusion effectively. The old machine loaded and ran it but it was so slow it wasn’t usable. 8 or 16gb of ram and a decent video card. A good screen too is essential.


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## Jwest7788 (Mar 16, 2018)

Late to this party, @Bofobo, how did you make out?

I've been experimenting with 3d printing in recent memory too, built a prusa from a kit, didn't run into any issues. Happy to help if I can.


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## Bofobo (Jan 26, 2019)

Update!
Got a pc now more than capable of operating this prusa clone. I am at a wall again however, getting my configuration.h files setup, it seems to be written in a programers english but im missing a translation file ... translation: setup.exe and .run no longer apply. 

What I need is a hands on tutorial, tried the youtube way but i cannot keep up with the programming lingo.


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