@phaedrux The macro creates a few hundred short macros which support a system I developed to control printer settings on a feature level (solid fill, infill, supports, etc.) rather than just a layer level. So, you can set your outer perimeter to use a different fan setting than solid fill, for example.
@dc42 My testing in error. exists() works fine.
@phaedrux I found a very awkward workaround: M471 is the only code I know of which returns a result that tells you something about the existence of a file. Unfortunately, it does that when potentially deleting the file in question. I didn't want that, so I had to set up a system of dummy "semaphor" files created in parallel with the file I was interested in, which fortunately my macros created, so it could keep the semaphors consistent with the actual file status.
But all that turned what would have been about a half page of code with a file exists capability into about 2 pages.
@dc42 Perfect, thanks! This worked:
Private Const CENTER_DOT_CHAR As String = "·"
Public Sub Test()
Dim sFilename As String
sFilename = "C:\Users\Don\3D Printing\Software\Slicing\FeatureSettings\TestDot"
Dim fsT As Object
Set fsT = CreateObject("ADODB.Stream")
fsT.Type = 2 'Specify stream type - we want To save text/string data.
fsT.Charset = "utf-8" 'Specify charset For the source text data.
fsT.Open 'Open the stream And write binary data To the object
fsT.WriteText ";special characters: " & String(10, CENTER_DOT_CHAR)
fsT.SaveToFile sFilename, 2 'Save binary data To disk
End Sub
Macro "Caller":
var X = 3
M98 P"/macros/Test/Callee"
Macro "Callee":
echo "X="^{var.X}
Result of running Caller:
Error: in file macro line 1 column 17: meta command: unknown variable 'X'
(This is fine with me. As expected.)
@fcwilt I don't really have a theory. But I'm running out of moving parts to replace. So I'm frustrated and uncertain.
@dc42 Upgrading to 3.x is on my list. I didn't know it had calls with parameters. And thanks for the insight into the specifics about the command's "deprecation". It appears to be working nicely for my purposes right now.
Thanks! This is great stuff! I'm really enjoying it.
@gloomyandy C++ has something like Pascal has, in that you can create local constructs within a function, and the function becomes the enclosing scope and so is accessible. It's been too long and I don't remember the details.
@phaedrux This took me forever because it's been through several complete rewrites.
The concept is tested, but the latest rewrite is not yet, although I did go through the macro it generates and checked that it's doing what I wanted. So in theory, this should work. I'll post more information when I have updates.
There is a Word document with it. The first 4 pages of it are reasonably good. The rest is garbage that includes false starts at documentation and old stuff that has changed. But the first 4 pages should give you an idea what this does and how it works.
The guts is in the Excel spreadsheet in the form of a VBA macro that writes one HUGE GCode macro for you to upload to your printer and run. That macro creates all the other GCode macros which are needed.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Jh4fO95Y5pp5moa_8uJQQ0AG0cifJVMD/view?usp=sharing
@benecito Put your code setting the globals in a macro and call it from config.g. Then you can edit the file using GCode without messing with config.g itself. In config.g:
M98 P"/macros/setglobals"
Then, to change the globals, you'd have to rewrite the entire setglobals file, unless you had it, in turn, do calls to other files:
M28 "/macros/setglobals"
global var1=1
global var2=2
...
M29
@bot I replaced the belt even though it was only very slightly frayed.
The vertical artifact didn't go away, but may have faded some. But the flatness of my walls improved pretty significantly. So I think you're right that belts need to be replaced more frequently than it seems. It really made a difference. Just not the one I was looking for. But it's still good.
@oliof Maybe you were trying to look at the single file I uploaded a couple months ago. It's been deleted, but the Excel spreadsheet has a VBA macro called WriteMacros that will recreate it on your hard drive.
@oliof I'm not sure. There are 4 files, and 2 of them are inside a folder named "Programs". Could it be the folder you're looking at?
FeatureSettings.docx
FeaturesSettings.xlsm
Inside Programs folder:
ReplaceWithQuotes.BAT
sed-4.2.1-setup.exe
All that is zipped up into FeatureSettings.zip. Security should be set to "anyone with link can view." So you should be able to get everything.
@phaedrux This took me forever because it's been through several complete rewrites.
The concept is tested, but the latest rewrite is not yet, although I did go through the macro it generates and checked that it's doing what I wanted. So in theory, this should work. I'll post more information when I have updates.
There is a Word document with it. The first 4 pages of it are reasonably good. The rest is garbage that includes false starts at documentation and old stuff that has changed. But the first 4 pages should give you an idea what this does and how it works.
The guts is in the Excel spreadsheet in the form of a VBA macro that writes one HUGE GCode macro for you to upload to your printer and run. That macro creates all the other GCode macros which are needed.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Jh4fO95Y5pp5moa_8uJQQ0AG0cifJVMD/view?usp=sharing
@alex-cr I have simple parallel vertical lines (not what I'd call wood grain) on my Railcore, but I'm still wondering. It's not ringing, because it's all the way across a side. I've replaced just about the entire hot end, including the Bondtech with another identical one I had. In the entire hot end and moving parts, the only parts I haven't replaced are: the heat sink in the hot end; the belt; the linear rails and carriages. Every change has either had no effect, or made the artifact print all the more clearly (unmasking it some, perhaps).
The other oddity is that it can be improved a fair amount by printing perimeters at break-neck speed. I lowered jerk a LOT and lowered acceleration some to keep the corners from getting bad. Faster speed should not make a motion artifact better. Looking at microscopic images, the extrusion looks like a very nice sine wave of narrower and wider, with a regular period. I know that could be motion but then I'd expect it to vary depending on which stepper/belt was more active in a particular movement direction, which it doesn't. So it looks to me like variation in extrusion.
The reservation I have about "extruder design" is that this is a fairly new problem to me, but I've had the BondTech extruder since day 1. So what changed? Not the dual-gear design.
Posting this in case it might be useful to someone.
I've figured out a way to have macros write macros with:
The simple explanation is, use M559 and give it the S parameter, using the number of characters including one line feed for each line. Since I'm writing the G-Code macros using VBA, my VBA code handles this calculation. I'd be happy to share my VBA code if anyone wants it. I'm really pretty excited about solving this.
Here's my test example:
@fcwilt I was thinking along those lines but I couldn't quite solidify those thoughts. Makes sense.
@dc42 I'd like to see indentation not have semantic meaning, mainly because the way it is now, I can't have a macro write a macro that writes a macro with conditionals in it. Believe it or not, I have a use for that. and this won't work:
M560 P"/macros/Outer"
M28 "/macros/Inner"
if condition
; stuff
M29
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(Ironically, the forum software eats my leading spaces and won't let me put in a tab! So ; stuff is supposed to be indented.)