Makelangelo stopping mid-print

[Anonymous]

I have a Makelangelo 2.5.2 and everything runs fine until partway through a drawing, the arduino crashes, requiring a restart before it will take commands again. During the crash, the motors lock up and can’t be moved. We’ve received different results with differing complexities of images, completing a triangle completely, but only making it to 11% on a cross-hatched image of Steve Harvey. Any help would be appreciated.

[Anonymous]

It’s possible that the serial connection is failing, usually because of a noisy USB cable.
The PC stops receiving commands from the arduino.
The PC can’t re-establish connection without rebooting the arduino, which requires re-homing the machine.
The easiest solution is to try a different USB cable.
The next solution is to run from an SD card like in the Makelangelo 3.

[Anonymous]

Is there a specific cable you’d recommend?
And can you tell me more about running off an SD card?

[Anonymous]

I’ve found that really cheap chinese USB cables were a waste. Threw out a box of 50 units that failed inspection.

The Makelangelo 3 comes with an LCD and an SD card reader, just like a 3D printer. You can use “save Gcode…” option to store the output on the SD card, then load it on the robot and run from there. Bonus: no need to be connected to the Makelangelo, and no chance of mid-print communication failure!

[Anonymous]

Can I upgrade to the M3 and keep the same stepper motors? Or, is there any way to modify my existing system to run off an SD? I am a high school student in a class and operating on a very tight budget.

[Anonymous]

The steppers are the same in both kits. We’d be happy to upgrade you.
Do you need a list of exact parts? Please send us a pic of your existing setup so we can make sure to match against your version exactly.

[Anonymous]

We solved the problem by using a higher quality USB cable.

Unfortunately, however, I ran into a different problem when I re-uploaded the code to the arduino. Previously, I had been running off of the same code on the arduino for about two weeks. But when I uploaded the code again it stopped carrying out commands. I’m able to connect through the software, and the program responds as it normally would were it connected, but the stepper motors don’t move when commands are given.
I’ve tried re-downloading the software from the 2.5.2 website, but I’m having no luck with that code either.

[Anonymous]

This appears to be a recurring problem in the latest update. I’ve been looking into it and have yet to find the answer.

[Anonymous]

I spent several hours last night going over the app and the makelangelo-firmware with a 2.5.2 and a 3.2. I could not find any problem with homing, jogging, or drawing. The dev branch had a bug that prevented the “halt” button from working, but I fixed that.

There will be a new alpha release of the makelangelo app on monday. grab it and the latest firmware, they’re made to play together.

[Anonymous]

I am new to using the device, the guide for me seems not so friendly to understand, I there any live chat to ask questions, one that can provides instant reply. I may need to ask first than try it my own, although some of tips here are ideas I am looking to try some time. Also concern about the printed guide, looks not that visible.

Cheers,
Peter Smith
Contact Adviser for Digitek Print
http://www.digitekprinting.com/digital-copy-center

[Dan]

We don’t have the man power to run a live chat. We’ve worked hard to improve our guides and would love your ideas how to make it even better. Please email us directly and we’ll try to help.

[Author]

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