Does Firmware Support Serial HMI G-Codes and MCU Control of Microstepping

I am adapting Repetier firmware for use with a Trinus 3D (Panowin Controller, AVR-Based). One of the unique features in this printer is that it uses a serial HMI for the control panel. The HMI sends G-Code commands to a second UART on the controller, and support a minimal set of commands to Home, Jog, Pre-Heat, and Print from SD.

I'll go into a bit more detail below, for anyone that is interested, but what I really want to know is whether or not Repetier firmware support the use of such HIM devices, and control of the microstepping via the MCU.

Let me start by saying that the Trinus 3D is a solid piece of hardware, with some poorly executed features, and a fatal flaw, in that Kodama has refused to release the Marlin source code running on the controller. There is a reverse engineered Marlin source tree available on github, and I am basing my Repetier changes on that, but things like the laser and microstepping control are not yet working. Here is the short list of issues that could be easily fixed if the original source code were available.

1. The HMI (LCD Control Panel) has no command for controlling of monitoring the heated bed.
2. The heated bed temperature cannot be monitored on the host.
3. The HMI does not even know the laser exists. There are no controls to test, adjust laser output, or adjust focus by altering the Z height.
4. The EEPROM is not used to store configuration values, so PID values for the heaters cannot be adjusted.
5. The static PID values for the heaters suck.

I could go on, but really there is no point. I've resolved most of these issues in Marlin, but Repetier is my favorite, so I really want to get things going with it as well. 

Comments

  • So HMI is just a display with controller communicating with gcode?

    In Repetier-Firmware you can have 2 serial connections in parallel and both can talk the same time to firmware. YOu just should not print from both or you get garbage. In config tool you see bluetooth port. In reality it just enables a second serial input and you can put anything on it.

    So is that what you needed? 
  • Yes, the Bluetooth feature will probably work. I will have to experiment, and lock out any commands that could interfere with the printing, like sending a G28 during a print. I suppose there are ways to tell that the printer is busy, and lock out certain commands.
  • If you can parse the json string from panel due response you would have most of the informations you need.
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