Need help setting up my computer to run the printer

MIKE238

New Member
#1
Hi all. I need some help running my gMax printer from an external computer. I have Arduino set up on my computer but the "Port" section under the "Tools" tab is grayed out so I cannot select a port. And, yes, I have a USB cord running from the printer to my computer (laptop) which is using Windows 7. Under Device Manager on my laptop there is no Ports to select from so I'm completely at a standstill right now.

Please give me some help!

Mike
 

MIKE238

New Member
#2
By the way, I need to do this because my printer still is not able to read the SD card. Been unable to print for the past three weeks because of this problem - thus my reason to run it from the laptop.
 

MIKE238

New Member
#3
When I turn on the computer the LCD controller lights up even when the printer is turned off so at least that means the computer "sees" the printer. I go to Device Manager and do not see any ports there. But there is the printer as an "Unknown Device":







I hope this helps...

Mike
 

Roxy

New Member
#4
So... I can't give exact specifics... What I tell you may not be 100% correct... But it will be 'mostly' correct...

You need to hunt down a USB Serial Port driver. You need to get a COM (and Print???) port entry to show up in your Device Manager list.

(If you look at your device types in the Device Manager list, you do not have any COM: ports. )

Once you get a viable USB Serial Port driver installed, you should have a COM: port in your list. And at that point... When you bring up Arduino, you will have various COM: ports listed and you can select one that goes to your ATMega2560 board.
 
#5
Thanks Roxy, I really appreciate the help.

Yeah that's the problem - there were no com ports showing up in the device manager and I knew I needed help for that.

I don't want to sound like an airhead but where do I find a USB Serial Port driver? Do I get that from here at gCreate or somewhere else? I know that once I get a port to show up I'll be in business.

The real reason I want to have an external computer run the printer is the printer can no longer read any SD cards. gCreate sent me replacement ribbon cables but that didn't help. I'm waiting for additional help from gCreate on this. So in the meantime I need to get the printer working again with an external computer. Haven't been able to print anything for three weeks.

Mike
 

Roxy

New Member
#6
I'm not at home with where I have my printer and the computer dedicated to it. So I can't check what USB Serial Port driver I have loaded. But I do have many of my files replicated on this computer. It could be from one of these links:

https://serialio.com/drivers-and-set-up ... in-windows

http://www.serialgear.com/usb-serial-ad ... -linux.cfm

And if those fail... One of the drivers on this page will get Arduino connected to the Mega2560 board:

http://download.cnet.com/s/usb-to-seria ... 32-driver/

(Sorry I can't be more specific... I tried to attach the serial driver I'm using but apparently that is not allowed. )
 
#8
Aha. I think I solved it. I had originally "installed" Arduino version 1.6.12 which actually didn't have an installer. To use it you just click on the .exe file in the downloaded folder. Since it didn't have an installer none of the drivers were installed and I didn't know how to install them.

So I went back to watch Gordon's firmware video where he described the earlier version of Arduino - 1.0.6 which was the Arduino installer. I found that earlier file on the Arduino website and installed it which also installed all the drivers. I had the printer plugged into my laptop via USB while I was installing Arduino and once the drivers were installed... voila! I heard the Windows audio sound saying it recognized it was connected to the printer. I went to the Device Manager and, sure enough, found that now there was the printer on com port 3.

I haven't yet gone beyond that but I think I'm in good shape now to run the printer from my laptop. I still want to be able to use an SD card in the printer without having to use an external computer but at least now, hopefully, I'm back in business. Thanks guys!
 
#9
Yep, working perfectly now from my laptop to the printer. Actually, I'm finding I prefer it this way as there is more info spooling from the Simplify3D window and it seems to run more smoothly. I did have a "burp" the other day when I had a connection glitch but it seemed to clear itself up and it's working perfectly now. Cheers!
 

MBH

New Member
#10
Some printers don't print well thru serial port... they'll often lose connection and stop a print mid-print. My Fusion3 F306 requires SD card usage.

I have a feeling your SD card may not work because it's not formatted as FAT which is the older file allocation table format rather than the newer NTFS. Many Windows computers default to NTFS and many SD cards are sold formatted as NTFS which won't work with 99% of the 3D printers. If your computer doesn't offer the option to select the type of format to be performed when you format that SD card, you'll need to format it thru a dos command from the dos prompt.
 
#11
I used the card that came with the printer and it worked fine for a couple of months until it, for some reason, no longer worked. The reader just simply was no longer able to read the card and other cards that I have. All were properly formatted.

Thus the reason for me to set up my laptop to control the printer. It has worked perfectly ever since. I printed a couple of things that took as long as four days each - no problems at all. I just made sure I had a UPS (uninterrupted power supply) as a backup in case I lost power here. Thanks for the info, though.

Mike