Just a few more connections to go. The blue cable connects the extruder RJ45 to one of the RJ45 connectors on the motherboard. (why they have 4 connectors is a mystery since they all are the same, but it was handy since space was kind of tight). Then, the USB connector cable was plugged into the 6-pin connector on the motherboard. The only clue to it's orientation is that there is a "bk" on one side which I take to mean the black wire on the connector should go to that pin. So, black to the right, green to the left.The green Ethernet cords are for end-stops. They aren't needed right now. However, they will be handy in the future in case a wrong command is given that causes the platform to move beyond it's designed range.
Now, plug in the AC. Hit the toggle switch on the power supply. Then hit the tiny slider switch on the motherboard. The fan powers on, all the boards have tiny lights on them!
Now, here are the steps I did to install replicator G previous to this power-on moment.
Download ubuntu iso image ver. 10.10 then Burn image to CD & set PC to boot from CD.
CD boots & gives a choice between running from CD & installing. I found I needed to use an older PCMCIA WiFi card since the internal WiFi wasn't recognized.
Once I established linux would work on that PC, I decided to install. Inspecting the pull down menus, Ubuntu gives a choice of using the whole hard drive or a multi-boot install. Amazingly, it auto launches into a partition utility and installs itself WHILE STILL RUNNING in CD EVALUATION MODE!
After install, I decided to install "blender" as my CAD program. This has the ability to generate a .stl file. But where to get it? Simple, from a repository! From pulldown menu --> Administration --> synaptec package manager. Then do a search for "blender"
Finally, let's get the software for the makerbot! Go to makerbot site. It used to be that skienforge and ReplicatorG were two separate programs. They are now one program. Skienforge slices up .stl file and ReplicatorG generates tool path code.
Written in JAVA so the program is cross-platform (Linux, Windows, Mac)
Prerequisites for Linux are JAVA 1.5 and Python 2.5 or higher.
Again, go to the repository to get those two programs installed.
Finally, use firefox to download REPLICATORG-0022 package.
Once downloaded, auto-archiver will automatically open the file. Drag to a spot on the desktop & put in an uncompressed directory.
Inside directory structure, there is a file called 'replicatorg'. Double click to start file. Can either 'run in terminal' or just 'run'. You can also select an .stl file. Then simulate!
Now, back in the present world, here's the fun bit. Boot up the Linux system. Then plug in the USB cable from the makerbot.
On the pull down menu, select
Machine --> Driver --> Cupcake basic
Machine --> Serial port --> /dev/ttyUSB0
Then, on lower toolbar, find the "connect machine" icon.
Then from pull down menu select Machine --> control panel.
You now see a menu which allows you to manually control the stepper motors and extruder temperature!
Make sure the stepper motors go back and fourth under manual control. When "enabled" the motor driver boards light up. The motors will also be a bit noisy when moving. Speed and distance can be set in the GUI. Motors can also be disabled. When this is so, the driver circuits are not lit. Disable the motors if you need to move the build platform by hand. Otherwise the motors will resist any movement as they try to keep that platform in place!
