RepPanel - A DIY alternative to the PanelDue with WiFi support

JohnOCFII · 9 Apr 2021, 17:47

I finally finished and published my RepPanel case. I used this as a good time to learn a bit about FreeCAD. The FreeCAD design file is included in the Thing.

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4822626

izeman · 13 Apr 2021, 11:10

@pcr tried to PM you, but maybe I'm stupid and can only find the chat option, or have not enough privilige as a new user to PM.
So I wanted to ask if you got a PCB left to ship to me. Please contact me. Thanks!

I also looked for the correct option for ordering the display and would aks someone to confirm this is correct. See attached picture. Thanks!

Phaedrux · 13 Apr 2021, 20:16

@izeman said in RepPanel - A DIY alternative to the PanelDue with WiFi support:

I'm stupid and can only find the chat option, or have not enough privilige as a new user to PM.

Not stupid at all. The chat option is the PM option.

izeman · 16 Apr 2021, 07:23

@phaedrux Can someone please help me in regards to the display options so I can order? So I can order.

PCR · 16 Apr 2021, 07:36

izeman · 16 Apr 2021, 10:46

Thanks PCR. This is much appreciated, and for sure will help others in the future as well. Now I can order with confidence

zapta · 28 Apr 2021, 14:51

@seeul8er, can you make this firmware running on this hardware (esp32, 3.5", capacitive touch) ? It's not cheap but may be a simple solution for people that don't want to mess with electronics.

https://www.tindie.com/products/dustinwattsnl/esp32-touchdown/

BTW, the price of buydisplay.com TFT screens went up significantly due to the global semiconductor shortage.

seeul8er · 28 Apr 2021, 15:05

@zapta I know the touchdown project. As far as hardware is concerned it should work just fine. You will need to re-configure the SPI-Pins (meaning you will need to recompile the project).

I have some ideas on a custom board but found no time to get familiar with electronics design, yet.

zapta · 29 Apr 2021, 14:26

@seeul8er said in RepPanel - A DIY alternative to the PanelDue with WiFi support:

I know the touchdown project.

According to the designer, it uses the 3.5 LCD CTP option from here:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32862869103.html

Less expensive than the buydisplay one and allows a single PCB and thin design compare to the buydisplay's panel.

Edit: I ordered a couple of those to play with.

seeul8er · 2 May 2021, 16:31

RepPanel v1.1.1 is released

Changelog:

Fixed crash when no filament is specified
Macro and Job listings are now sorted by modification date
Fixed filament load/unload error if no tool was selected previously
Rebased to custom branch of lvgl (seeul8er)
Compiled for release/performance

jay_s_uk · 2 May 2021, 16:38

@seeul8er any chance of SBC support?

JohnOCFII · 2 May 2021, 16:47

@seeul8er Great to see an updated release!

Is there a concern of panel burn-in if the display is RepPanel is left energized for 24 hours? Would a timed screen blank (awakened with touch) be a useful addition?

Also -- sometimes touch input is sensed immediately -- other times I have to press an item four or five times for it to register. Any ideas on what would cause that, or ways to troubleshoot?

Thanks!

John

seeul8er · 5 Mar 2021, 16:05

@jay_s_uk Not sure what the issue is there. Does Duet Web Control work with a SBC/Pi? RepPanel uses the same API (the older one though) so it should work just fine. Sadly I do not have a Duet3 to test it.

@JohnOCFII
Yes burn-in can be an issue. I always turn mine off if I do not need it. The idea of a screen saver is not new. I'll look into that.
I do have the same issue with the touch screen. Sometimes I need to click twice. Maybe it's a driver issue. I'll add it to the list.

For the rest: Is there anything else you would like to see with RepPanel? I might find the time to implement some stuff or even get a custom board design working (not sure about that one yet). Feel free to post here or add an issue in the Github Repository. You can also vote for your favourite one.

Feature wishlist:

Screen Saver/Power Saver mode
Improved touch control
Check Duet + SBC support
Fix bug: No job displaying on the screen when starting a new job (workaround: go back to main and re-enter "Jobs")
Listing more than 16 entries per directory
Use Object Model and new RRF3 API calls instead of the old ones

jay_s_uk · 3 May 2021, 16:08

@seeul8er it needs to support the newer API to work with SBC/Duet combinations. it uses machine/status rather than rr_status. At the moment, it doesn't work.
A good example of the two differences can be found here https://github.com/HaythamB/TAMV/blob/master/DuetWebAPI.py
If you have an LPC or STM32 board, you could always setup a test environment https://teamgloomy.github.io/ to get it working

fractalengineer · 15 Jun 2021, 20:00

@jay_s_uk Hey mate!

I just found out about this project right here, ESP32 Touchdown that interfaces the more easy to find, bare capacitive touchscreen with a simple ESP32 module and adds usb3, battery and power management all at once.

Do you think your soft could be portable to this hardware?

I would have built one of your RepPanels last year already if it wasn't for the lack of availability of that capacitive screen in my area of Taiwan.

This would def make it easier on that aspect

Cheers!

jay_s_uk · 15 Jun 2021, 20:28

@fractalengineer it's not my project. It's @seeul8er you want

zapta · 15 Jun 2021, 22:02

@fractalengineer, you may find this useful

https://forum.duet3d.com/topic/15198/reppanel-a-diy-alternative-to-the-paneldue-with-wifi-support/213?_=1623794459279

Esp32 Touchdown with its single PCB form factor is easy to integrate in a case, and 200 new ones are coming to the market https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHzU_GXCIkQ

seeul8er · 3 Aug 2021, 06:45

Hi everyone,
I read that in RRF3.4 the support for the old Web-Interface API will be partially removed. I'll see when I find the time to update the code to accept the object model JSONs.
I use RepPanel nearly every time I start/stop a print. Now I'd like to hear from you what are your experiences with the device. Anything that needs improvement? Important features missing?

I just ordered a nicely integrated ESP32 module from China. My hopes are that the additional RAM on that board will remove many limitations we currently have. I am thinking about the max. files per directory, max file length, max path length etc. The additional RAM should also help to remove the random crashes that sometimes appear.

I might also setup a poll to collect some info for future development. I am thinking about ordering more boards in the future and offering them already pre-flashed. That way RepPanel would be more approachable for everyone.

jay_s_uk · 3 Aug 2021, 06:53

@seeul8er it would be good to have SBC support. It currently only works with standalone setups

JohnOCFII · 3 Aug 2021, 15:03

@seeul8er I use the RepPanel regularly. I think my only issues are related to the potential memory issues -- things get flaky occasionally -- sometimes screen presses are not recognized, and I'll have to touch an area repeatedly. Sometimes it works first time in the same area.