MKS relay v4

3D Printer Control System

A sophisticated control system for custom DLP-SLA 3D printers, built with Flask and WebSocket communication. This system provides a robust web interface for controlling and monitoring 3D printing operations, with support for various hardware configurations and real-time feedback.

Overview

This system is designed to control custom DLP-SLA 3D printers using a JSON-based print file format. The print files are validated using a custom JSON schema validator to ensure proper formatting and compatibility. The system supports multiple printer configurations and can be adapted to different hardware setups through its modular architecture.

System Architecture

Backend

• Built on Flask web server with modular blueprint structure
• Uses Socket.IO for real-time bidirectional communication between frontend and backend
• Implements a modular hardware driver system for various printer components
• Database-driven job queue management using SQLAlchemy
• Comprehensive logging system with configurable levels and file rotation
• Error handling and recovery mechanisms for hardware failures

Frontend

• JINJA2 templating engine for HTML structure
• Bootstrap (Darkly theme) for responsive styling
• JavaScript libraries:
  • Socket.IO for real-time communication
  • AJAX for asynchronous requests
  • jQuery for DOM manipulation
  • Popper.js for tooltips and popovers
• Dynamic UI updates for real-time printer status
• Responsive design for various screen sizes

Hardware Configuration

The system uses a flexible hardware configuration system that:

• Loads hardware configurations based on device hostname
• Supports multiple types of hardware drivers:
  • Virtual hardware (screen, coord_systems, external_control)
  • Abstract base classes and generic drivers (e.g., Visitech light engine, ACS XY/BP stage, Hexapod TTR/focus stage)
  • Regular hardware drivers
• Includes firmware management capabilities through flash_firmware.sh RPi script
• Provides dummy drivers for testing and development
• Supports hardware-specific calibration and configuration
• Implements hardware abstraction layers for consistent control interfaces

Hardware Types

1. Motion Control

   • XY stages (ACS, custom implementations)
   • Z-axis control
   • Build plate control
   • Tip-tilt-rotate (TTR) stages
   • Focus stages

2. Light Control

   • DLP light engines
   • Screen control systems

3. Sensors

   • Load cells
   • Keyence sensors
   • Environmental sensors
   • Accelerometers
   • Light measurement systems

4. Auxiliary Systems

   • Vacuum control
   • GPIO control
   • Film control
   • Environmental monitoring

Core Components

Manual Controls

• Each hardware driver has associated frontend controls
• Automatically populated based on hardware configuration
• Provides fine-grained control over hardware components
• Allows modification of system settings
• Real-time feedback and status updates
• Safety interlocks and emergency stop functionality

Views

1. Print History

   • Displays recent prints with detailed information
   • Enables job download and re-queue functionality
   • Print success/failure statistics
   • Job parameter history

2. Server Logs

   • Shows last 2 weeks of logs
   • Includes calibration position logs
   • Hardware-specific diagnostic information
   • Error tracking and debugging tools

3. Calibration

   • Manages printer calibration settings
   • Supports focus, tip, tilt adjustments
   • Integrates with Keyence sensors and Hexapod systems
   • Calibration profile management
   • Automated calibration routines

Main Printer Control (home.py)

The central control system that:

• Manages print uploads and job queue
• Handles printer planarization
• Controls print operations (start/pause/resume/stop)
• Provides real-time feedback (loadcell data, log messages)
• Implements a dynamic class hierarchy for hardware control
• Error handling and recovery
• State management and synchronization

Hardware Control Architecture

The system uses a dynamic class composition approach:

• Base print_control class defines core functionality
• Hardware-specific subclasses extend functionality
• Class composition is determined by hardware configuration
• Import order is critical for proper initialization and print operations
• Thread-safe operation handling
• Event-driven architecture for hardware interactions

Raspberry Pi Deployment

This section details the setup process for deploying the system on a Raspberry Pi 5 with NVME storage. See also the How to do a full install of a HR5 Raspberry Pi ProjectWiki page for a more detailed guide with rationale.

Hardware Requirements

• Raspberry Pi 5
• Pimoroni NVME base
• Crucial P3 Plus 1TB SSD (or compatible)
• External SSD housing (for initial setup)

Initial Setup

1. Physical Setup

   • Install NVME SSD and Pimoroni NVME base
   • Follow Pimoroni NVME base tutorial

2. OS Installation

   • Download Raspberry Pi Imager
   • Flash Raspberry Pi OS (64-bit) 2024-03-15
   • Configure initial settings:
     • Set hostname (e.g., HR5, MR1v1, HR3v3)
     • Username: pi
     • Password: 3dprinter
     • Timezone: Denver
     • Enable SSH

3. System Configuration

   • Configure SSD boot:

     # Edit /boot/firmware/config.txt
     dtparam=pciex1
     nvme_core.default_ps_max_latency_us=0 pcie_aspm=off
     
     # Configure EEPROM
     sudo rpi-eeprom-config --edit
     # Set:
     BOOT_ORDER=0xf416
     PCIE_PROBE=1

   • Set system clock: date -s 'YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS'
   • Configure network:
     • Connect to BYU-Wifi via https://onboard.byu.edu/guest/public/index.html
     • Set static ethernet address (192.168.0.1/24) using sudo nmtui
   • Switch to legacy X11:

     sudo raspi-config
     # Advanced Options -> Wayland -> X11

   • Disable screen blanking:

     sudo raspi-config
     # Display Options -> Screen Blanking -> No

4. USB Device Configuration

   • Create udev rules for USB devices:

     # Wintech
     sudo nano /etc/udev/rules.d/99-wintech.rules
     SUBSYSTEM=="usb",ATTRS{idVendor}=="0451",ATTRS{idProduct}=="c900",GROUP="users",MODE:="0666"
     
     # MKS Controller
     sudo nano /etc/udev/rules.d/99-mks.rules
     SUBSYSTEM=="usb",ATTRS{idVendor}=="0403",ATTRS{idProduct}=="6001",GROUP="users",MODE:="0666"
     
     # Thorlabs Power Meter
     sudo nano /etc/udev/rules.d/99-thorlabspm100.rules
     SUBSYSTEM=="usb",ATTRS{idVendor}=="1313",ATTRS{idProduct}=="8072",GROUP="users",MODE:="0666"

   • Reload udev rules: sudo udevadm control --reload-rules

5. System Logging

   • Configure journald:

     # Edit /etc/systemd/journald.conf
     [Journal]
     MaxRetentionSec=1week
     MaxFileSec=1day
     
     # Create journal directory
     mkdir /var/log/journal
     sudo systemd-tmpfiles --create --prefix /var/log/journal

Software Installation

1. Clone Repositories

   git clone https://github.com/3D-Printing-for-Microfluidics/IP_address_service.git
   git clone https://github.com/gregnordin/3D_printer_control.git

2. Install IP Address Service

   cd IP_address_service/ip_address_service
   sudo -s source ip_address_service_setup.sh

3. Setup Python Environment

   cd 3D_printer_control
   python -m venv env
   source env/bin/activate
   mkdir logs
   
   # Upgrade pip and setuptools
   pip install pip --upgrade
   pip install setuptools --upgrade

4. Install Galil Driver

   # Install CGLib Software
   sudo apt install ./requirements/galil-release_1_all.deb
   sudo apt update
   sudo apt install gclib gcapsd

5. Install Python Dependencies

   pip install -r requirements/prod.txt  # For production
   # or
   pip install -r requirements/dev.txt   # For development

   Key dependencies include:

   • Flask 3.0.3 with Flask-SocketIO 5.3.6 for web server and real-time communication
   • SQLAlchemy 2.0.31 and Flask-SQLAlchemy 3.1.1 for database management
   • Hardware control libraries:
     • gclib for Galil motion controllers
     • gpiod 2.2.0 and gpiozero 2.0.1 for GPIO control
     • pyserial 3.5 for serial communication
     • pyusb 1.2.1 for USB device control
   • Scientific computing:
     • numpy 2.0.0 and scipy 1.14.1 for numerical operations
     • matplotlib 3.10.1 for plotting
     • pandas 2.2.3 for data manipulation
   • Hardware-specific:
     • ThorlabsPM100 1.2.2 for power meter control
     • seabreeze 2.9.2 for spectrometer integration
     • PIPython 2.10.2.1 for PI motion controllers
   • System utilities:
     • psutil 6.0.0 for system monitoring
     • zeroconf 0.132.2 for network discovery
   • Development tools:
     • jsonschema 4.22.0 for JSON validation
     • scapy 2.5.0 for network analysis

6. Setup Flask Database

   source rpi/flask_db_setup.sh

7. Configure Systemd Service

   # Allow X server access
   export DISPLAY=:0.0
   xhost si:localuser:pi
   
   # Create service file
   sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/3d-printer-server.service

   Add to service file:

   [Unit]
   Description=3D Printer Server
   After=network.target
   
   [Service]
   Type=simple
   WorkingDirectory=/home/pi/3D_printer_control
   Environment=FLASK_APP=/home/pi/3D_printer_control/autoapp.py
   Environment=XAUTHORITY=/home/pi/.Xauthority
   Environment=DISPLAY=:0.0
   ExecStart=/home/pi/3D_printer_control/env/bin/python /home/pi/3D_printer_control/autoapp.py
   Restart=always
   
   [Install]
   WantedBy=multi-user.target

   Enable and start service:

   sudo systemctl daemon-reload
   sudo systemctl enable 3d-printer-server.service
   sudo systemctl start 3d-printer-server.service

Display Configuration

1. Setup Custom Resolutions

   # Create autostart directory
   mkdir -p ~/.config/autostart
   
   # Create desktop entry
   nano ~/.config/autostart/xrandr.desktop

   Add to desktop entry:

   [Desktop Entry]
   Type=Application
   Exec=/home/pi/.config/autostart/xrandr.sh
   Hidden=false
   NoDisplay=false
   X-GNOME-Autostart-enabled=true
   Name[en_US]=Xrandr
   Name=Xrandr
   Comment[en_US]=Set custom resolution using xrandr
   Comment=Set custom resolution using xrandr

   Create resolution script:

   nano ~/.config/autostart/xrandr.sh

   Add to script:

   #!/bin/sh
   export DISPLAY=:0.0
   
   # Visitech resolution (2560x1600)
   xrandr --newmode "2560x1600_30" 132.68 2560 2608 2640 2720 1600 1603 1609 1623 +hsync -vsync
   xrandr --addmode HDMI-1 2560x1600_30
   xrandr --output HDMI-1 --mode 2560x1600_30
   
   # Wintech resolution (1920x1080)
   xrandr --newmode "1920x1080_60" 148.50 1920 2008 2096 2200 1080 1084 1089 1125 +hsync -vsync
   xrandr --addmode HDMI-2 1920x1080_60
   xrandr --output HDMI-2 --mode 1920x1080_60

   Make script executable:

   chmod +x ~/.config/autostart/xrandr.sh

Additional Hardware Notes

• Spectrometer: Update firmware to NI-VISA version using Thorlabs Driver Switcher
• PI Hexapod stage: Update IP address to match subnet (192.168.x.x)
• ACS stages: Configure static IP and update to match subnet

Development Setup

Prerequisites

• Python 3.5 or higher
• Virtual environment (recommended)
• Required Python packages (see requirements/dev.txt)
• Git

Installation Steps

1. Clone the repository
2. Create and activate virtual environment:

   python -m virtualenv env
   source env/bin/activate  # On Windows: env\Scripts\activate

3. Install dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements/dev.txt

4. Set up environment variables:

   export FLASK_APP=tests/dummy_server.py
   export FLASK_DEBUG=1  # For development mode

5. Initialize database:

   flask db init
   flask db migrate
   flask db upgrade

Running the Development Server

1. Start the server:

   python $FLASK_APP

2. Access the web interface at http://127.0.0.1:5000
3. For external access, modify app.py to use 0.0.0.0:port

Development Tips

• Use Incognito mode to prevent browser caching
• Press Ctrl+F5 in Chrome to force refresh
• Monitor terminal output for debug information
• Check logs in printer_server/logs/

Active Branches

This repository maintains several branches for different printer configurations:

• master - Stable branch for 3D printers
• dev/ branches - Current active development branches
• feature/ branches - Branches adding new feature to 3D printers
• stable/ branches - Legacy release branches no longer in use
• gen1-1 - Legacy software for HR1.1 3D printer

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. Hardware Connection

   • Check USB connections
   • Verify permissions
   • Test hardware directly
   • Check logs for errors

2. Firmware Issues

   • Verify firmware version
   • Check flash process
   • Review error logs
   • Test with dummy firmware

3. Web Interface

   • Clear browser cache
   • Check Socket.IO connection
   • Verify JavaScript console
   • Test in incognito mode

Additional Resources

• Flask Documentation
• Python Virtual Environment Guide
• Socket.IO Documentation
• Bootstrap Documentation

License

This project is licensed under the terms specified in the LICENSE.txt file.