Astroprint won't connect to really old 3d printer (Robo 3d, R1)

AstroBox Troubleshooting
#1

(Using the latest Astrobox software release and Pi 3.)

So I have a REALLY old Robo 3d R1. I used to be able to print to it via Astrobox years ago.

I’ve had my stuff in storage for a while, and finally getting it back out to start messing with it again.

The Robo 3d R1 connects to a PC just fine and shows up in both Mattercontrol and Cura. But if I click “connect to printer” on the Astrobox (via phone app), it just flashes “connecting” and never connects.

I’ve also tried it with a powered USB hub between the Astrobox and the 3d printer just in case… but still no luck.

I’ve gone to the internal website the Astrobox hosts, and tried multiple baud rates in the settings, and it just says “connecting…”

#2

Enable serial logs on our AstroBox and take a look at what’s on the serial.log file during connection.

#3

Log output:

2020-09-29 16:52:25,293 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Connecting to: /dev/ttyACM0
2020-09-29 16:52:30,324 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Connected to: Serial<id=0x72358df0, open=True>(port='/dev/ttyACM0', baudrate=250000, bytesize=8, parity='N', stopbits=1, timeout=2.0, xonxoff=True, rtscts=False, dsrdtr=False), starting monitor
2020-09-29 16:52:30,328 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-29 16:52:32,354 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-29 16:52:34,357 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-29 16:52:36,361 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-29 16:52:38,365 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-29 16:52:40,368 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-29 16:52:42,372 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-29 16:52:44,383 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Recv: G
2020-09-29 16:52:46,386 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-29 16:52:48,390 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-29 16:52:50,393 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-29 16:52:52,397 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-29 16:52:54,401 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-29 16:52:56,405 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-29 16:52:58,408 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-29 16:53:00,418 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Recv: B
2020-09-29 16:53:02,421 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-29 16:53:04,425 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-29 16:53:06,428 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-29 16:53:08,432 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-29 16:53:10,436 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-29 16:53:12,439 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-29 16:53:14,450 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Recv: B
2020-09-29 16:53:16,454 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-29 16:53:18,457 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-29 16:53:20,461 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-29 16:53:22,465 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-29 16:53:24,468 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-29 16:53:26,472 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-29 16:53:28,483 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Recv: B
2020-09-29 16:53:30,486 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-29 16:53:32,490 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-29 16:53:34,493 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-29 16:53:36,497 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-29 16:53:38,501 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-29 16:53:40,505 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-29 16:53:42,508 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-29 16:53:44,518 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Recv: o
2020-09-29 16:53:46,521 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-29 16:53:48,525 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-29 16:53:50,529 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-29 16:53:52,532 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-29 16:53:54,536 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-29 16:53:56,540 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-29 16:53:58,550 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Recv: 
2020-09-29 16:53:58,558 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Connection closed, closing down monitor
#4

Maybe try 115200 baud rate. The printer doesn’t seem to be sending back what it needs to

#5

Logs at different speeds below. Like I said above, this works just fine connecting to PC with 2 different software programs.

Attempting connection at 115200:

2020-09-30 13:13:42,130 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Enabling serial logging
2020-09-30 13:13:46,884 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Connecting to: /dev/ttyACM0
2020-09-30 13:13:46,896 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Connected to: Serial<id=0x706c8f70, open=True>(port='/dev/ttyACM0', baudrate=115200, bytesize=8, parity='N', stopbits=1, timeout=2.0, xonxoff=True, rtscts=False, dsrdtr=False), starting monitor
2020-09-30 13:13:46,898 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-30 13:13:48,902 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-30 13:13:50,906 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-30 13:13:52,909 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-30 13:13:54,913 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-30 13:13:56,922 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Recv: @
2020-09-30 13:13:56,927 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Connection closed, closing down monitor

Attempting connection at 57600:

2020-09-30 13:14:18,728 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Connecting to: /dev/ttyACM0
2020-09-30 13:14:23,757 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Connected to: Serial<id=0x706f2470, open=True>(port='/dev/ttyACM0', baudrate=57600, bytesize=8, parity='N', stopbits=1, timeout=2.0, xonxoff=True, rtscts=False, dsrdtr=False), starting monitor
2020-09-30 13:14:23,758 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-30 13:14:25,766 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-30 13:14:27,770 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-30 13:14:29,773 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-30 13:14:31,777 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-30 13:14:33,781 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-30 13:14:35,785 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-30 13:14:37,794 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Recv: "
2020-09-30 13:14:37,799 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Connection closed, closing down monitor

Attempting connection at 38400:

2020-09-30 13:14:48,946 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Connecting to: /dev/ttyACM0
2020-09-30 13:14:54,003 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Connected to: Serial<id=0x7068dff0, open=True>(port='/dev/ttyACM0', baudrate=38400, bytesize=8, parity='N', stopbits=1, timeout=2.0, xonxoff=True, rtscts=False, dsrdtr=False), starting monitor
2020-09-30 13:14:54,009 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-30 13:14:56,020 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-30 13:14:58,024 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-30 13:15:00,028 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-30 13:15:02,030 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-30 13:15:04,033 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-30 13:15:06,037 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Send: M105
2020-09-30 13:15:08,047 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Recv: 
2020-09-30 13:15:08,053 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Connection closed, closing down monitor
2020-09-30 13:15:11,289 - SERIAL - DEBUG - Disabling serial logging
#6

And that last “Recv:” shows a square box - some form of broken character. Maybe it’s not getting the character translation right, and dropping because it does not get something it understands?

#7

@Michael_Stone, I don’t know then. Take a look at this article: https://astroprint.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/115001797403-3D-Printer-disconnects-in-the-middle-of-a-print

Some of these suggestions might also help

#8

From that link:

Inappropriate Power Supply to the Pi :

I’ve tried several different power supplies. It does the same thing no matter which. I’ve even put a powered USB hub between the Pi and the printer, so it has additional power going to the printer…. No help.

Bad USB Cable :

Nope. Same cable works fine connecting to PC.

External software accessing the port:

Nope. Using official image just downloaded and installed 2 days before I posted this problem.

Faulty or underpowered controller board :

Nope. Works fine connecting to PC. Also as I said above, I’ve tried connecting straight from the Pi and through a powered hub for more power to the board. No difference. And it connects just fine to an old USB 2 connection on an old PC.

Printer Firmware or protocol problem :

This should be what is showing up in the logs I posted, if it is what is going on.

So no help there. Any other ideas? The printer is in the supported list.

#9

Sorry @Michael_Stone, I’m out of ideas but we the printer is supported as you say and we did have many reports of it working ( including from the manufacturer ). Unfortunately the printer use has been in decline and it’s not widely used in the platform.