RAMBo Control Firmware

Written By: geneb (and 5 other contributors)
  • Comments: 18
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Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

13

Time Required

Suggest a time??

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User-Contributed Guide

User-Contributed Guide

This guide is not managed by the site's staff.

Introduction

The RAMBo control board was used between 2012 and 2017. The SeeMeCNC delta models include RostockMAX v1, RostockMAX v2, RostockMAX v3. The mini RAMBo (same firmware) was used on the Orion, H2, and Eris 3D delta printers.

  1. Download the Arduino IDE.

    • Download the Arduino IDE.

    • PLEASE DOWNLOAD AND USE VERSION 1.6.0 AS THIS IS TESTED AND KNOWN TO WORK. (Links for download are below, select your OS)

    • Arduino Old Releases > download release 1.6.0

    • Run the installer.

    Edit

    version 1.6.0 comes up with the following error on a HP Compaq Pro 4300 “Launch4j An error occurred while starting the application.”

    Brian - Reply

  2. In order to give the Arduino IDE something to do, we'll need to get the firmware downloaded! Click on the green "Clone or Download" button to activate the "Download ZIP" option as indicated by the arrow.

    • In order to give the Arduino IDE something to do, we'll need to get the firmware downloaded! Click on the green "Clone or Download" button to activate the "Download ZIP" option as indicated by the arrow.

    • Firmware Download Link Click the green "CODE" and download the zip file.

    • Unpack the Zip file into a directory of your choice!

    • Edit the top section configuration.h file to match your SeeMeCNC printer setup.

    Edit

    Step 8 mentions Rostock Max v1 but Configuration.h doesn’t have a number under #define PRINTER for it. Readme file says it’s “one firmware configurable for all Rambo deltas” so will this work with the Rostock Max v1/kits or not?

    OffWorld - Reply

  3. Download the Rambo driver from the SeeMeCNC website. The driver can be found here.

    • Download the Rambo driver from the SeeMeCNC website. The driver can be found here.

    • Linux and Mac OS X does not require a driver so skip this step.

    Edit

    Link for the driver has an extra / in the url.

    Aaron Williamson - Reply

  4. Plug in the power cord for the SeeMeCNC 3D Printer and turn the power on. When powered up on a newly built printer, the display is going to appear as you see in the photograph. If you don't see a lit LCD with two lines of blocks, check your wiring to make sure everything is connected and correct! Next, connect the Rambo controller to your computer using the supplied USB cable. If you've got a Mac or Linux computer, there's no driver to install and you can move to the next step.

    • Plug in the power cord for the SeeMeCNC 3D Printer and turn the power on.

    • When powered up on a newly built printer, the display is going to appear as you see in the photograph. If you don't see a lit LCD with two lines of blocks, check your wiring to make sure everything is connected and correct!

    • Next, connect the Rambo controller to your computer using the supplied USB cable. If you've got a Mac or Linux computer, there's no driver to install and you can move to the next step.

    • If you're using Windows, the driver supplied by the Arduino IDE may be the correct one for the Rambo. To check, open up your Device Manager and see if the Rambo appears as a standard USB Serial Device.

    Edit

  5. If the Rambo isn't properly detected, you can select it in the Device Manager window, right-click on it and click "Update Driver"

    • If the Rambo isn't properly detected, you can select it in the Device Manager window, right-click on it and click "Update Driver"

    • Click on the "Browse my computer for driver software." link and then navigate to where you unpacked the Rambo driver. Select it and continue.

    • This should have properly installed the driver if it was needed.

    Edit

  6. Start the Arduino IDE Select the "Tools" menu and scroll down to the "Boards" item. Select the entry marked "Arduino/Genuino Mega or Mega 2560". Next, select the "Tools" menu and scroll down to the "Processor" item. Select the entry marked ATmega2560 (Mega 2560)".

    • Start the Arduino IDE

    • Select the "Tools" menu and scroll down to the "Boards" item. Select the entry marked "Arduino/Genuino Mega or Mega 2560".

    • Next, select the "Tools" menu and scroll down to the "Processor" item. Select the entry marked ATmega2560 (Mega 2560)".

    • Next, click on the "Tools" item again, and pick "Port". Select the COM port that the Rambo appears as. (This is shown under the Ports node in your Device Manager!)

    Edit

    It might be worth noting the stepper motor manufacturer changes MOTOR_CURRENT in configuration.h.

    Graham Heath - Reply

  7. This step serves two purposes - first, it ensures that both the Arduino IDE configuration and Rambo are working. Second, it ensures that the EEPROM in the Rambo is cleared and ready to store your settings! Click on the "File"menu and then scroll down to "Examples". Click on the "EEPROM" entry and then select "eeprom_clear". This will load the eeprom_clear program into the Arduino IDE.

    • This step serves two purposes - first, it ensures that both the Arduino IDE configuration and Rambo are working. Second, it ensures that the EEPROM in the Rambo is cleared and ready to store your settings!

    • Click on the "File"menu and then scroll down to "Examples". Click on the "EEPROM" entry and then select "eeprom_clear". This will load the eeprom_clear program into the Arduino IDE.

    • Click on the "Play" button as indicated by the arrow in the third image. This will compile the program and upload it to the Rambo. If all goes well, you'll see "Done uploading" in the bottom status bar of the Arduino IDE.

    • The eeprom_clear program shows no outward sign that it's working, so don't worry about any lack of feedback.

    Edit

    Don’t skip this if upgrading a Rostock MAX V2. If you skip it the calibration will not work and do the weird “dragging” against the glass thing.

    Harald Ruda - Reply

    Dave, if you saw no errors when you uploaded the program to the board, it was successful. If you had the wrong COM port or board selected you would have seen an error related to that.

    g.

    geneb - Reply

    how can you tell if it’s been cleared if there’s no visible feedback? Would be good to know at least had the right com port

    Dave Cody - Reply

  8. Start the Arduino IDE if you haven't already and then click on "File" and then "Open". Change "Files of Type" to "Sketches (*.ino, *.pde)" Browse to the location where you unpacked the firmware. You may have to go in one or two more sub-directories to reach the folder named "Repetier". This is where the firmware source code is. Click on the "Repetier" file that has the Arduino IDE logo associated with it. This will load all the firmware files into the IDE. Click on the tab marked "Configuration.h". Locate the line "#define PRINTER". Change the value to match your printer model (default is 5 = Rostock Max v3)

    • Start the Arduino IDE if you haven't already and then click on "File" and then "Open". Change "Files of Type" to "Sketches (*.ino, *.pde)" Browse to the location where you unpacked the firmware. You may have to go in one or two more sub-directories to reach the folder named "Repetier". This is where the firmware source code is.

    • Click on the "Repetier" file that has the Arduino IDE logo associated with it. This will load all the firmware files into the IDE.

    • Click on the tab marked "Configuration.h". Locate the line "#define PRINTER". Change the value to match your printer model (default is 5 = Rostock Max v3)

    • Locate the line "#define HOTEND". Change the value to match your hot end. (Default is 3 = HE280)

    • Locate the line "#define MOTHERBOARD". This tells the firmware what kind of hardware you have. The Rostock Max v1, v2, and v3 use the RAMBo (301). Eris and Orions after 8/1/2016 use the Mini-RAMBo (302)

    • Locate the line "#define Power_Supply". by default it is set to 2 (Brick or Rail Style PSU). On older models of Rostock Max v2 and Orions equiped with an ATX supply you will need to change this variable to 1

    • Just like you did for the eeprom_clear program, click the "Play" button in order to compile and upload the new firmware to the Rambo. You should see "Done Uploading" in the status bar when it's finished.

    Edit

    You read the table THAT’S RIGHT ABOVE THE FIELD YOU’RE SETTING THE VALUE IN.

    geneb - Reply

    How to you know what the value is for a Rostock V2 if V3 has a value of 5?

    Kyle - Reply

  9. When the upload is completed, your display should change to show something similar to the image on the right.

    • When the upload is completed, your display should change to show something similar to the image on the right.

    • If either NOZ or BED show "def", that indicates a problem with one or both of the thermistors. Check the wiring to make sure it's accurate and connected!

    • Congratulations! Your SeeMeCNC printer is ready to calibrate!

    • For calibrating your printer, please follow this guide: Calibration

    Edit

    My screen reads:

    SeeMeCNC

    RostockMAXv2

    FW Date 20171204

    Repetier v 0.92.2

    Not sure what the problem is, my lcd screen showed the temperature settings before step 8, after running the final step - the command window said “done” -then LCD displayed the message above.

    cory - Reply

    I got a warning about low memory during the upload, but its nothing to worry about. Works fine.

    Jeremy Vanseader - Reply

    Im getting the same screen as Bill Felkner where was your bad connection?

    Robert Walker - Reply

    Has anyone found what the bad connection is? I can’t find it and I have been looking for it for 2 years! :(

    Collin953 -

    Having the same issue? Is there any quick way to find the bad wire?

    Karl -

    My screen reads:

    SeeMeCNC

    RostockMAXv3

    FW Date 20170727

    Repetier v 0.92.2

    Since I'm not getting a "def" message i'm hoping all is ok and i'm moving forward. Just wanted to share in case someone else gets the same readout.

    Bill Felkner - Reply

    UPDATE: my screen reading is the Splash Screen, which it should have gone past and then matched the screen pictured here. I found a bad connection was causing the problem.

    Bill Felkner -

    I'm still getting the "def" mode even after redoing all thermister connections. Where do I go from there?

    Nick Boyd - Reply

    Nick, you might want to post that question to the forum. (Also, if your room temperature is 18C or below, the firmware can decide that the thermistors are not working properly because of the low reading.)

    geneb -

    • Firmware is now installed on your printer. There is one final step standing between you and printing, and that is calibration. Don't worry though, with the HE280 Hotend calibration is a breeze.

    • Proceed to: Calibrating Your Printer

    Edit

    • OctoPi is a lot of fun, however SeeMeCNC no longer provides technical support or troubleshooting. Proceed on your own and reach out to our forum for reference.

    • Click Here> You can download OctiPi from this location. If you don't have a SSH client, you can download one from this link.

    • The SSH client is required in order to do the initial setup of the operating system on your Raspberry Pi.

    • It's recommended that you follow the instructions titled "Getting Started with OctoPi"

    • The video linked on the "Getting Started" page does a good job of covering what you need to do in order to configure OctoPi.

    • Note that I've had some difficulty with the wifi if I encapsulate the SSID with double-quotes, eg. "my_ssid". If your SSID has spaces in it, and the Pi isn't appearing on your network, try using the single "'" quote instead of double quotes.

    • After running "raspi-config" to expand the file system, you'll want to run it again in order to set up your system for your current country and time zone.

    Edit

  12. To finish your OctoPi installation, you'll need to tell OctoPrint a bit about your printer. Click on the "Settings" button Click on "Printer Profiles" and then click the "Add Printer" button.

    • To finish your OctoPi installation, you'll need to tell OctoPrint a bit about your printer.

    • Click on the "Settings" button

    • Click on "Printer Profiles" and then click the "Add Printer" button.

    • Name your printer however you'd like, but make sure you've got the "Volume" and "Nozzle Diameter" settings set as you see in the last image for this step.

    Edit

  13. Once you've saved your new profile, make it the default profile by clicking on the star icon. Finally, click on the "Connect" button to connect to your Rostock MAX v3. Finally, click on the "Connect" button to connect to your Rostock MAX v3.

    • Once you've saved your new profile, make it the default profile by clicking on the star icon.

    • Finally, click on the "Connect" button to connect to your Rostock MAX v3.

    Edit
Finish Line

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geneb

Member since: 02/24/2014

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