Laserbot - mLaser software issues


#61

useful guidance how to run BenBox and mDraw software


#62

Hi Simon, thank yo very much for patching MLaser and the firmware! I have hope to make the Laserbot useful - should have checked this thread before buying itā€¦

But Iā€™m at loss on how to compile Mlaser patched, could you outline what needs to be done? I guessed Qt is required, installed latest version and tried to compile, but except for a boatload of errors no avail.

No need for step-by-step instructions, but if you could drop a few hints on what to search for, Iā€™ll find my way around. Many thanks in advance!

Jean


#63

Jean,
true - not too much info posted, I just got it to compile on my Mac which is a developer machine, so I canā€™t say to much about build dependencies.

Whatā€™s your system & where are you stuck?
S


#64

Hi Simon,

thanks for helping! Iā€™m on a w10 machine, installed Qt 5.9.1 and hereā€™s what I did:

  • launch ā€˜Creator 4.3.1ā€™, open project, finally stumbled on 'MLaser.proā€™
    It complains about:
    missing winrtrunner.exe, cannot run compiler 'g++'
    unknown modules QT: webkit webkitwidgets
    "Error while parsing \src\MLaser.pro. Giving up"

Admittingly I have not the faintest clue about Qt, googling did only reveal mind boggling threads on dependencies :scream:

Did it run on your Mac without much drama? Iā€™ll give it a try on a Mac then!


#65

Update on Mac: Initially same result, poked around in the files and with help of google translate and found a hint that MLaser requires an older version of Qt, 5.3. Installed that, and finally got some reaction. Yay :slight_smile:

Turns out that Qt 5.3 expects OSX of equal vintage, but the resulting errors were straight forward to resolve with googling. Finally installed homebrew and opencv2, and voila - a build was produced, albeit with a total count of 53876 issues.

Celebration was premature, however. The executable crashes immediatelyā€¦ I give up at this point, having to decide between building stuff or learning Qt. Iā€™ll check out other software / workflow options, MLaser seems to be a dead end anyway.

I must say I really like the hardware of the LaserBot, itā€™s really sad that the software is such a letdownā€¦


#66

Hmm, Iā€™ll check - havenā€™t compiled under Sierra yet as the software does not fit my needs anyway (scalability and suchā€¦), but it did run a 2-3 months ago

My qt creator 4.3.1 works with qt 5.8 - I use MacPorts for add-on packages, and opencv 3.x (latest commits on master as we do several computer vision projects). Qt 6.2 seems available as well already (havenā€™t tried yet though).

I have tared a full compile from my machine including the opencv libraries here:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B91JOsE9uRbSbVpEN1Q5MWRiTUU?usp=sharing

ā€¦ but as already explained earlier in this thread - I donā€™t use the app due to scaling issues; if you want to engrave a few gifs it might work out for you though.
S


#67

Hi Simon,

wow, many thanks! I tried first with qt 5.9, perhaps thereā€™s too many things that break or at least require extra patching.

Scaling issue is fatal for me as well, I need the laser cutter to cut fabric for sewing patterns and cardboard. A shame, bc the cut itself is excellent and fast! But with mlaser the scale (and even distortion) is unpredictable. The end result depends on the individual cuts matching each other, a few mm would not be a big deal, but Mlaser is hopeless.

Iā€™m now trying printrun / pronterface, python is a lot more accessible for me! X / Y movement worked out of the box with your patched firmware, next weekend Iā€™ll try to figure out how to control the laser.

Many thanks for your support and contribution!


#68

youā€™re welcome; if you wnt to create g-code on your own:
to turn the laser on:
M4 Px x in 0ā€¦255 to set laser output power (PWM that is)
M5 or M4 P0 to turn it off

I use the gcodetools plugin in inkscape and set the M4 command as path prefix, then M5 as path postfix command


#69

I have same problems as @svogl with the Laser Module.
After flashing Marlin Firmware it seems to be worse.
The Scaling is perfect now but I cannot use MLaser anymore.

With the original FW and Mlaser the Laser startup problem was not that serious.
Is there any possibility to pause the Laser with gcode commands for a few ms after power on?
Benni

Edit: Same issues with MLaser 2.4 and original FW.
@tec_support : any news for us regarding that Problem?


#70

Hi benni.st,
Our engineers are developing a new software which will support the Laserbot and solve the discussed problems. Please kindly wait for it.


#71

Hi @benni.st,
if you play with the Marlin firmware, you can control the delay in the config file around line 1109:

`Configuration_adv.h: #define SPINDLE_POWER_UP_DELAY 0 // delay in milliseconds to allow the spindle to come up to speedā€™

I am using a delay of 1ms which makes things a little better, but it is still uncontrollable. I am sourcing a different laser module right now.

The MLaser app will not work with any standard firmware as it waits for a different answer string (ā€˜oMGā€™ instead of ā€˜okā€™) ā€“ I forked the repo and added a one-liner - https://github.com/svogl/MLaser/commit/afa4418ba75afd8fd506788618d2802a89141825

ā€¦ but still, I am not using it :wink:
S


#72

Thanks @svogl for the Firmware and Mlaser patched.
Does someone have a compiled excecutable for Mlaser patched for Windows?
That would be great.
I tried my best but I was not able to compile it with qt.
Too many Problems and I am not a programmer.
Benni


#73

Hi all,

I bought the Makerblock LaserBot and have the same problem with scaling.

When I use a DXF (Autocad 12, 13, 14 etc) the image in mLaser is exactly 10 times smaller than the original drawing.
Smart as I am, I rescaled the drawing in AutoCad to 10 times bigger, but then the drawing in mLaser is exactly 3.5 times too small.

This happens also with a SVG and a PNG version of the same drawing :frowning:

As others in this thread I need a exact 1:1 drawing to cut out some front panels.

With some test squares there is a little other issue, beside of the scaling.
When cutting trough a foam board (3mm) the horizontal cuts are trough the material, the vertical not.

I am using Windows 7 and mLaser 2.4 whit the firmware this software automatic load when pressing update firmware.

I hope this information will bring the solution a little bit closer to an solution, because at this moment the LaseBot is a bit unusable for meā€¦


#74

Hi RuMarSiEs,

Could you please send a picture for the original image and a picture for the cut result which is 10 times smaller? Thanks!


#75

Hi Tech Support.

I did send you the DXF file and a screen shot two weeks ago.

Please can you inform me about the progress on this issue?

Thank you, Ruud


#76

Hi RuMarSiEs,

I have checked the email, sorry that we havenā€™t received your email.
Which email address you sent the email to? I will send you an email, kindly reply on that one if you can receive it.


#77

hi Svogl,
I have had some issues with my megapi board connected to my oxcnc. I have had this machine up and running for over 4 months and now i am having a firmware issue. I decided to try your version of the firmware that you have posted in the thread above. Unfortunately, but also fortunately i am getting the same error when i try and compile in arduino ide. I am hoping you can help me out a little in understanding where the error is so i can try and correct it in all of my software editions.


thanks from everyone with these products for your advice and help :slight_smile:
marlin code error2


#78