Does RP3 B+ connected to Einsy through GPIO work better then USB (Rebooting Einsy issue)?
I've currently have a Mk2s that is connected via USB to a Raspberry Pi 3 B+ running Octopi. The printer will reboot in the middle of a print if the Raspberry Pi 3 was off and then turned on (essentially anytime the RP3 connect to the mini Rambo board). I know this is documented issue with the USB to serial chip on the board.
Would connecting the RP3 to my new Mk3S over the GPIO headers avoid this rebooting issue?
RE: Does RP3 B+ connected to Einsy through GPIO work better then USB (Rebooting Einsy issue)?
I've connected a 3B (not a plus, but little difference) and it's been just fine so far. Hooked it up using some dupont wires straight into the einsy.
I printed this case (without the profile that goes into the frame) https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3289419
And instead mounted it using some T nuts from here https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3663001
RE: Does RP3 B+ connected to Einsy through GPIO work better then USB (Rebooting Einsy issue)?
have you got any more information on that problem with the usb? i print via USB all the time from my PC to the prusa mk3 using the controller in slic3r pe and its never had any problem the entire time ive had it.
RE: Does RP3 B+ connected to Einsy through GPIO work better then USB (Rebooting Einsy issue)?
the pi->Einsy "problem" is intentional - the einsy is programmed to reboot when you connect a usb cable to it so that the bootloader can be accessed to flash new firmware. as long as the pi and the printer are physically connected before a print starts it should all OK
RE: Does RP3 B+ connected to Einsy through GPIO work better then USB (Rebooting Einsy issue)?
Its also an issue if you have a poor fitting/cheap usb cable or it gets knocked during a print. Basically anything that causes a USB reset will reboot the einsy and bye bye print if you are in the middle of one.
RE: Does RP3 B+ connected to Einsy through GPIO work better then USB (Rebooting Einsy issue)?
oh man that sucks. didnt know about that. mind you i did notice the printer does stuff when i open the com line in slic3r.
i always thought that the USB should send the gcode to a saved cache on the internal sd card & then go from there. usb gets a bad rep but i dont think it needs to be so bad. cos its the primary way i print. its ludicrous they revoked the feature in prusaslicer.
marlin lets you save files to the sdcard aye? its one of the gcode M codes or something aye?
RE: Does RP3 B+ connected to Einsy through GPIO work better then USB (Rebooting Einsy issue)?
@sjoerd
I hope you see this, since I know this is an older post...
I was just wondering how you hooked up the pi to the Einsy board - specifically the 5v line and the two wires that go to GPIO 3 and 4 of the Pi. I can't figure out why those 2 GPIO pins are used. It it for a specific plugin?
And for the 5V line, did you connect it? My thought is that it should NOT be connected if you power the Pi with an external power supply.
Finally did you use level shifters for the data lines?
Thanks!
RE: Does RP3 B+ connected to Einsy through GPIO work better then USB (Rebooting Einsy issue)?
UPDATE: I found this in the schematics for the Einsy Rambo:
It appears they have a resistor divider in place to drop the voltage of the Tx line, and from the schematic, it looks like one of the extra pins is grounded, and the other is used for a reset function.
RE: Does RP3 B+ connected to Einsy through GPIO work better then USB (Rebooting Einsy issue)?
Great, in the meantime I did keep getting errors about undervoltage in octoprint, which was not a problem at all as it turns out. To troubleshoot some other problems I ended up connecting the pi over the rugular USB connection and it's MUCH faster. Aparrently the serial interface on the HAT shares the but with (I think) the wifi so that makes it slow. You can do some tweaks in the linux that runs octoprint to disable that and the HAT serial interface should be much faster as well.
RE: Does RP3 B+ connected to Einsy through GPIO work better then USB (Rebooting Einsy issue)?
@sjoerd
I modified a CAT6 cable and added some connectors to connect to the GPIO header on the Pi3B+ here, and used some 22(?) AWG cables soldered to the Einsy end to "plug" into the spots on the back. It all works well. I did go in and added the dtoverlay line to config.txt and removed the serial console from cmdline.txt.
The nice thing is that Octoprint no longer restarts the printer when it connects via serial.
Unfortunately, it didn't help with some stuttering I have been getting when printing from Octoprint. This may be the fault of a plugin, though. I just hoped that maybe this alternate connection may have helped.
EDIT: I actually did connect the other 2 pins (the ones that connect to GPIO pins), and I skipped the 5V line.
RE: Does RP3 B+ connected to Einsy through GPIO work better then USB (Rebooting Einsy issue)?
@sjoerd
"Aparrently the serial interface on the HAT shares the but with (I think) the wifi so that makes it slow" I beleive there are two UARTS on a 3B+ (don't know about 3B) one is considerably slower, and under some circumstances is the default.
RE: Does RP3 B+ connected to Einsy through GPIO work better then USB (Rebooting Einsy issue)?
Has anyone had a problem where they have been getting a under voltage with a RPi3 B+? I have it hooked up with the GPIO pins with some dupont jumpers. All works but just wondering if the under voltage will be a problem for me.
RE: Does RP3 B+ connected to Einsy through GPIO work better then USB (Rebooting Einsy issue)?
@corey-p
As I understand it (and I think others mention it above), the 5V supply on the Einsey board can't provide enough current to power the Pi3.
I have my Pi4 connected with a modified network cable, but I did NOT connect the 5V pin. I power the Pi with its USB 5V power connection.
If you power via the normal Pi power connector, make sure you don't connect the 5V pin to the Einsy board. You DO need the GND pin, though.
RE: Does RP3 B+ connected to Einsy through GPIO work better then USB (Rebooting Einsy issue)?
The electrical part of this is way over my head... but I want a lan line to my MK3 🙁 Is there a way to do this without soldering? I'll design my own housing, but I need a hand-hold through what to buy and where to plug it in. I'd like to Ethernet to a Pi3B+ or whatever they are, just because I've already designed a (injection molded) Pi3 case that's selling well (on Mouser and other platforms), and I've already got the model.
RE: Does RP3 B+ connected to Einsy through GPIO work better then USB (Rebooting Einsy issue)?
The electrical part of this is way over my head... but I want a lan line to my MK3 🙁 Is there a way to do this without soldering? I'll design my own housing, but I need a hand-hold through what to buy and where to plug it in. I'd like to Ethernet to a Pi3B+ or whatever they are, just because I've already designed a (injection molded) Pi3 case that's selling well (on Mouser and other platforms), and I've already got the model.
I honestly think you are better off just using the USB connection between the Pi and the printer. Is there a specific reason you want to do a serial connection? Calling it an ethernet connection to from Pi to Einsy is a misnomer here - maybe you got that from my post above. I used an ethernet cable, but only because it has enough internal conductors (I needed 6 - technically just 5 since I omitted the 5V line). I cut both ends off and soldered connectors to the ends to suit the connectors on my pi. The tricky ones are the ones on the Eisny end, since they require a longer pin that standard connectors that are available (dupont-style). I just used solid 22 ga wire for these, and soldered those as short lengths to the stranded wire of the ethernet wires with heatshrink to protect the connections from shorting to each other.
Really though - I don't think there is much benefit in the mod - I think you are better off with USB. My hope was to address some stuttering and print quality issues, and it didn't help. I ended up upgrading to a rapsberry pi 4, and changed the governor settings to "performance" mode instead of "on demand".
RE: Does RP3 B+ connected to Einsy through GPIO work better then USB (Rebooting Einsy issue)?
The electrical part of this is way over my head... but I want a lan line to my MK3 🙁 Is there a way to do this without soldering? I'll design my own housing, but I need a hand-hold through what to buy and where to plug it in. I'd like to Ethernet to a Pi3B+ or whatever they are, just because I've already designed a (injection molded) Pi3 case that's selling well (on Mouser and other platforms), and I've already got the model.
I honestly think you are better off just using the USB connection between the Pi and the printer. Is there a specific reason you want to do a serial connection? Calling it an ethernet connection to from Pi to Einsy is a misnomer here - maybe you got that from my post above. I used an ethernet cable, but only because it has enough internal conductors (I needed 6 - technically just 5 since I omitted the 5V line). I cut both ends off and soldered connectors to the ends to suit the connectors on my pi. The tricky ones are the ones on the Eisny end, since they require a longer pin that standard connectors that are available (dupont-style). I just used solid 22 ga wire for these, and soldered those as short lengths to the stranded wire of the ethernet wires with heatshrink to protect the connections from shorting to each other.
Really though - I don't think there is much benefit in the mod - I think you are better off with USB. My hope was to address some stuttering and print quality issues, and it didn't help. I ended up upgrading to a rapsberry pi 4, and changed the governor settings to "performance" mode instead of "on demand".
I meant I wanted to connect the Pi3 to my network/computer via Ethernet cable, not wifi. I'm not super opposed to connecting it via usb cable but I wanted it to look as clean as possible, and a usb cable doesn't do it for me ascetically. My MK3S is on a plane at this very moment and I won't get it until this Thursday, so I didn't even know there was a USB port on the printer. I'll be assembling it asap and minor-modding immediately. It seemed like a good idea to plan for the Pi now.
RE: Does RP3 B+ connected to Einsy through GPIO work better then USB (Rebooting Einsy issue)?
Sorry for the confusion in my above post. That makes a bit more sense - there is no "wire-free" way to connect the Pi to the printer, unless you solder in a Pi Zero W. This tucks into the Einsy case for a clean look, but it is HIGHLY frowned upon due to the underpowered nature of the Pi Zero. The developer of Octoprint recommends against it explicitly.
Other than that, you either run a USB cable from the Pi to the printer, or you run a custom cable from the Pi's GPIO header to the points on the Einsy board where the Pi Zero would fit in.
The Wifi vs Ethernet are both options, personally I use ethernet, but it is technically wifi, since my ethernet cable is connected to a router in the basement that is wirelessly bridged to the main router upstairs. (I have no good way to run ethernet to the basement because it is fully finished everywhere). I just do it this way thinking that the bridge router has better wifi reception than the Pi does.
RE: Does RP3 B+ connected to Einsy through GPIO work better then USB (Rebooting Einsy issue)?
Sorry for the confusion in my above post. That makes a bit more sense - there is no "wire-free" way to connect the Pi to the printer, unless you solder in a Pi Zero W. This tucks into the Einsy case for a clean look, but it is HIGHLY frowned upon due to the underpowered nature of the Pi Zero. The developer of Octoprint recommends against it explicitly.
Other than that, you either run a USB cable from the Pi to the printer, or you run a custom cable from the Pi's GPIO header to the points on the Einsy board where the Pi Zero would fit in.
The Wifi vs Ethernet are both options, personally I use ethernet, but it is technically wifi, since my ethernet cable is connected to a router in the basement that is wirelessly bridged to the main router upstairs. (I have no good way to run ethernet to the basement because it is fully finished everywhere). I just do it this way thinking that the bridge router has better wifi reception than the Pi does.
My wifi situation is similar. I'm putting the printer in my office, which is downstairs from the modem. I have a whole-home mesh system (Orbi) and one of the satellites is in my office. I can can easily run Ethernet cable from the satellite to the printer. How hard is it to make or buy this custom cable to the GPIO pins?
RE: Does RP3 B+ connected to Einsy through GPIO work better then USB (Rebooting Einsy issue)?
Not super hard if you are handy with a soldering iron and heat shrink tube.
But if you are looking for the cleanest look, I wouldn't bother. Just use the USB cable that comes with the printer and you're done! I would only bother tackling this if you have issues with the USB connection. The one benefit I have seen is that the printer doesn't restart itself when you connect to the pi anymore (it always does this when connected via USB).
I just used solid 22ga wires on the Einsy end of the cable for now (short lengths soldered to the ends of the stranded wire in the CAT6 cable I sacrificed), but ordered a pair of long 20x2 pin headers that I plan to cut down to a 2x7, and solder the wires to that header for a more secure connection. These need to be long to reach through the board and plug into the header on the other side. For the Pi-side of the cable I used male dupont connectors (because I have a fan hat on my Pi4 that converts the GPIO pins to female sockets). Those didn't have to be anything special since they aren't passing through a PCB before connecting to their header on my fan hat.
RE: Does RP3 B+ connected to Einsy through GPIO work better then USB (Rebooting Einsy issue)?
Also, the red wire dangling in space is the 5v wire that I didn't hook up (it isn't connected on the pi-side either). That could have been omitted, but I included it "just in case" i needed it. The other blue wire just needs to be cut off.