Urgent: RRF 3.2 Messed Up Delta Auto-Calibration
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In think the 80cm cable is the Problem. SPI Signals are designed to be on PCBs only. A cable is aways a compromise.
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@PCR I didn't say 80cm. That would be insane. I said 80mm. That's less than 50% longer than the original 200mm cable, and is well within the accepted range for an SPI interface. Also, it worked fine with firmware 3.1.1. There were SPI bus changes made for 3.2, supposedly speed improvements. I'm thinking those changes are the cause of the issues.
For reference, I used to run a 500mm ribbon cable between the Pi 4 and Duet 3. That caused occasional connection issues which would mess up auto-calibration. Except the printer would just stop and report a failure rather than continue with missing probing points. Shortening the cable to 400mm fixed all that. In a later configuration change, I further shortened the cable to 280mm and that's how it ran without issues for months and months on firmware 3.1.1. It didnt give me any trouble until I tried 3.2 beta
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In 3.2 rrf is using a new CRC setting. That could be why.
Btw sorry for the 80cm
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@GoremanX Probably worth looking at your /var/log/syslog file after running an SBC test. See if there are any messages in there from the Duet Control Server, in particular look for CRC errors and other warnings.
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@gloomyandy I'm not sure I if I want to go back to SBC mode. Switching back and forth is a hassle, and if the issue is with the ribbon cable, then I can't fix it. I can't shorten the cable any more than it is. Using the Pi 4 in bridge mode is way more convenient. I can use a network cable of any length with no limits. The Pi can be out in the open, getting great wifi signal, instead of stuck near the Duet 3 under the printer. Everything is running way more reliably, I don't need to worry about future SPI changes breaking things. About the only drawback I'm coming across is that network gcode uploads to the Duet 3 are slower, but that's not much of an issue.
I'm starting to wonder about the whole SBC/SPI thing, to be honest. It's a neat idea, but right now, it solves nothing and only adds problems. There's literally nothing I can do in SBC mode that I can't do (in some cases better) in standalone mode. This nasty surprise of a simple firmware update breaking things was not cool.
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@GoremanX If you put the SBC back in, please change the log level in /opt/dsf/conf/config.json from info to debug so we can get a better idea about what happens when G30/G29 are skipped in your case. I've been trying to reproduce your problem with my own delta printer but I haven't had any luck yet. So without a log excerpt or a reliable way to reproduce it this is rather difficult to fix.
You can use M122 at any time to check if it's actually the cable length and/or transfer speed. If there are problems with the SPI line, you can see failed transfers in the diagnostics output.
Can you please post your current config.g? That's the only thing I haven't checked yet.
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@chrishamm I'll switch it back to SBC later today just to test it out and check those log files. But then I'm re-doing the entire setup to run in standalone mode permanently. Running that way allows me to put the Pi in the monitor housing like I originally intended to, and only run one power cable and one network cable to a single location rather than 2 power cables (Pi + touchscreen), an SPI ribbon cable and an extra long monitor ribbon cable to 2 separate devices.
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@chrishamm oops, sorry, forgot to include my config.g:
; Configuration file for Duet 3 (firmware version 3) ; executed by the firmware on start-up ; Power On M80 ; Turn on secondary power supply (24v) ; General preferences G90 ; send absolute coordinates... M83 ; ...but relative extruder moves M665 L600:600:600 R306 H570 B280 ; Set basic delta radius, diagonal rod length, printable radius and homed height, refined through config-override.g and auto-calibration before each print ; Drives M569 P0.0 S1 V100 ; physical drive 0.0 goes forwards M569 P0.1 S0 V46 ; physical drive 0.1 goes backwards M569 P0.2 S0 V46 ; physical drive 0.2 goes backwards M569 P0.3 S0 V46 ; physical drive 0.3 goes backwards M584 E0.0 X0.1 Y0.2 Z0.3 ; set drive mapping M350 X16 Y16 Z16 I1 ; configure microstepping with interpolation for tower steppers M350 E16 I1 ; configure microstepping with interpolation for extruder stepper M92 X160.00 Y160.00 Z160.00 E685 ; set steps per mm M566 X1800.00 Y1800.00 Z1800.00 E1200 ; set maximum instantaneous speed changes (mm/min) M203 X12000.00 Y12000.00 Z12000.00 E3600 ; set maximum speeds (mm/min) M201 X1500.00 Y1500.00 Z1500.00 E1500 ; set accelerations (mm/s^2) M906 X1800 Y1800 Z1800 E600 I30 ; set motor currents (mA) and motor idle factor in per cent M84 S30 ; Set idle timeout ; Axis Limits M208 Z-1 S1 ; set minimum Z ; Endstops M574 X2 S1 P"io1.in" ; configure active-high endstop for high end on X via pin P M574 Y2 S1 P"io2.in" ; configure active-high endstop for high end on Y via pin P M574 Z2 S1 P"io3.in" ; configure active-high endstop for high end on Z via pin P ; Z-Probe M558 P8 R0.2 C"io0.in+io0.out" H5 F900 T9000 ; set Z probe type to effector and the dive height + speeds G31 P100 X0 Y0 Z-0.10 ; set Z probe trigger value, offset and trigger height M557 R220 S80 ; define mesh grid ; Heaters M308 S2 P"temp2" Y"thermistor" T100000 B4138 A"Bed Heater" ; configure sensor S as thermistor on pin P M950 H0 C"out2" T2 ; create bed heater output on C and map it to sensor T M307 H0 B1 ; define heater H M140 H0 ; map heated bed to heater H M143 H0 S150 A0 ; set temperature limit S for bed M308 S1 P"temp1" Y"thermistor" T500000 B4723 C1.196220e-7 A"Hotend Heater" ; configure sensor S as thermistor on pin P M950 H1 C"out1" T1 ; create nozzle heater output on C and map it to sensor T M307 H1 B0 ; define heater H M143 H1 S500 A0 ; set temperature limit to S for nozzle M308 S0 P"temp0" Y"thermistor" T100000 B4138 A"Chamber Monitor" ; configure sensor S as thermistor on pin P M308 S3 P"spi.cs0" Y"thermocouple-max31856" A"Chamber Heaters" T"k" F60 ; configure sensor S as type Y on pin P (2 connected in parallel) M950 H2 C"out3" T3 ; create chamber heater output on C and map it to sensor T M307 H2 B1 ; define heater H M141 H2 ; map chamber to heater H M143 H2 S500 A0 ; set temperature limit for chamber to S M308 S4 Y"drivers" A"Drivers" ; configure sensor S as temperature warning and overheat flags on the TMC2660 on Duet M308 S5 Y"mcu-temp" A"MCU" ; configure sensor S as MCU temperature monitor ; Fans M950 F0 C"out5" Q500 ; create fan F on pin C and set its frequency Q M106 P0 S0 H-1 C"Effector Output" ; set fan P value. Thermostatic control is disabled M950 F1 C"out7" Q500 ; create fan F on pin C and set its frequency Q M106 P1 H1 T45 C"Hotend" ; set fan P value. Thermostatic control enabled at temp T M950 F2 C"!out4" Q2500 ; create fan F on pin C (!inverted) and set its frequency Q M106 P2 H4:5 L0.50 X1 B0.3 T35:50 C"Electronics" ; set fan P value. Thermostatic control enabled at temp T, lowest setting is L M950 F3 C"out6" ; create fan F on pin C M106 P3 H1 T45 L255 C"Fume Filter" ; set fan P value. Thermostatic control enabled at temp T, lowest setting is L M950 F4 C"out8" Q500 ; create fan F on pin C and set its frequency Q M106 P4 S0 H-1 L0.35 C"Air Pump" ; set fan P value. Thermostatic control is disabled, lowest setting is L ; Tools M563 P0 D0 H1 F4 S"Hotend" ; define tool P, associated with drive D, heater H and fan F, name it S G10 P0 X0 Y0 Z0 R0 S0 ; set tool P axis offsets and set active and standby temperatures to S M591 D0 P3 C"io4.in" S1 R20:190 L25.25 E3.0 A1 ; configure magnetic filament monitor for tool D on pin C ; Custom printing settings M207 S1.2 F3600 ; firmware retraction M376 H10 ; taper off bed compensation by Hmm height M572 D0 S0.03 ; pressure advance ; Miscellaneous M550 P"KosselExtreme" ; set hostname M552 S0 ; reset networking M552 S1 P0.0.0.0 ; enable networking and get IP address through DHCP M501 ; load saved parameters from non-volatile memory T0 ; select first tool Note that I don't have M550 or M552 in there when running in SBC mode. Beyond that, the config was identical between the two setups.
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@chrishamm What am I looking for in M122? Failed transfers? Send timeouts?
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I switched back to SBC mode and ran the same gcode file repeatedly until it skipped bed mesh probing. My test procedure was basically: start print job, watch it do auto-calibration, wait to see if it skips bed mesh probing, then cancel and restart the same job. It successfully ran bed mesh probing 5 out of 8 times. I never reset the printer between runs, just paused/cancelled/restarted. After the 8 tries, I checked M122 and this was the result for the SBC section:
=== SBC interface === State: 4, failed transfers: 0 Last transfer: 3ms ago RX/TX seq numbers: 25888/25888 SPI underruns 0, overruns 0 Number of disconnects: 0, IAP RAM available 0x2c8a8 Buffer RX/TX: 72/1368-0 Not sure how illuminating that is. I took a video of a successful job and one where bed mesh probing was skipped. I can add these shortly, though again, I'm not sure how helpful that will be. Next I'll try downgrading to 3.1.1 to run the same test.
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I just ran a bunch of tests in different modes and with different firmware versions. I'm sick of doing it. What it boils down to is:
- with RRF 3.1.1 in SBC mode, everything runs fine, nothing ever gets skipped
- with RRF 3.2 in SBC mode, things occasionally get skipped, no errors get generated that I can see (checked M122 and /var/log/syslog)
- with RRF 3.2 in standalone mode, everything runs fine, nothing ever gets skipped, and everything runs measurably faster (!!!)
That last point is relevant. I thought it might just be my imagination, so I made a video to be sure:
Note that for the clip in the bottom-left corner (the one labeled "failed"), the printer doesn't just quit after it fails to do the bed mesh probing. It pauses for a bit while the nozzle heats up to printing temperature and then proceeds to print, but I stopped the job after the bed mesh probing failed to happen.
As can clearly be seen, the board in SBC mode runs exactly the same between 3.1.1 and 3.2 (when it doesn't fail). However when running in standalone mode with 3.2, it's significantly faster. There's no hesitation between moves. It just flies from command to command and gets stuff done quicker. I do find it somewhat interesting that the failed run is slightly faster than the two on the right side.
"But maybe it's because of your longer ribbon cable?"
Nope... the video with firmware 3.1.1 was taken with the standard ribbon cable that's provided in the box.
Maybe someone needs to explain to me the advantage of SBC mode, because I'm not seeing it. It's more restrictive in many ways, it's slower, and now it's become less reliable. I don't get it. I give up. I'm switching everything to standalone mode and I'm leaving SBC mode far, far behind until someone explains to me why I should put up with the compromises it imposes.
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@GoremanX I'm sorry the problem is still there in SBC mode. I'll write some more tests to see if I can provoke it if I keep probing repeatedly with my Delta printer. Our configs are nearly identical so I'm really suprised I haven't been able to reproduce it yet.
The connection between your Duet and Pi looks OK to me. To address the hesitation between single probing moves I have more performance improvements planned for v3.4, usually they happen when a G/M-code requests file data. That may take a short moment because RRF cannot access the SD card immediately like in standalone mode. During prints this isn't a threat though, because RRF keeps several codes in a buffer to ensure continous smooth movement.
The main advantages of SBC mode remain
- faster network speeds
- support for HDMI screens wthout extra network connection
- third-party plugins (with simple plugin management via DWC coming in v3.3)
- HTTPS support (easily configurable via M586 in v3.3)
- optional usage of other Linux applications
I'll let you know when I've made more progress on this issue.
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@chrishamm I can attest to the faster network speeds. It's much, much faster to upload gcode files to the printer in SBC mode than in standalone mode. This makes a big difference with larger files (50+MB). Like orders of magnitude.
As far as wiring, in SBC mode I need:
- a 26 pin ribbon cable that must be restrictively short
- 1 USB-C wire for power to the Pi (the ribbon cable is insufficient to power my 2GB Pi4B +monitor without triggering warnings)
- 1 micro-USB wire for power to the Pi touchscreen
- 1 ridiculously long, delicate DSI ribbon cable between the Pi 4 and Pi touchscreen (it's not HDMI)
- I also once had a ridiculously long DSI ribbon cable between the Pi 4 and a Pi HQ camera, though the long cable was wrecking the images so I had to remove that
The long ribbon cables to the camera and monitor are specifically due to the location of the Pi, tucked under the printer because of the limit imposed by the 26 pin ribbon cable. Wifi signal is also poor there. So while uploading files is much faster, browsing the web or updating the system files on the Pi is slow.
In standalone mode I need:
- a single USB-C power cable with Y splitter to power both the Pi and touchscreen
- a network cable between the Pi and Duet 3
That's it! There's no practical length limit. The Pi sits in the monitor's plastic housing way up on the side of the printer. The flimsy ribbon cable between them is inside that housing, it's like 80mm long and irrelevant. The whole thing is out in the open getting great wifi reception. I can now connect it directly to the camera with a short cable.
Incidentally, are the CAN diagnostic numbers relevant at all? I 'm not sure why CAN is there since I don't use any add-on boards, and I was under the impression that CAN and SPI are mutually exclusive when it comes to communication between 2 devices, yet the "Send timeouts" in the CAN section were consistently climbing the entire time I was testing. Maybe that's just internal board messaging stuff and completely irrelevant... I won't pretend that I'm knowledgeable about communication protocols
I'd love to see an SPI-over-ethernet solution worked out to remove the distance restriction between the Pi and Duet 3. Seems like it would just take a couple of those cheap adapter hats to implement.