4.9 KiB
Klipper is currently in an experimental state. These instructions assume the software will run on a Raspberry Pi computer in conjunction with OctoPrint. Klipper supports Atmel ATmega based micro-controllers and Arduino Due (Atmel SAM3x8e ARM micro-controllers) printers.
It is recommended that a Raspberry Pi 2 or Raspberry Pi 3 computer be used as the host. The software will run on a first generation Raspberry Pi, but the combined load of OctoPrint, Klipper, and a web cam (if applicable) can overwhelm its CPU leading to print stalls.
Prepping an OS image
Start by installing OctoPi on the Raspberry Pi computer. Use OctoPi v0.13.0 or later - see the octopi releases for release information. One should verify that OctoPi boots and that the OctoPrint web server works. After connecting to the OctoPrint web page, follow the prompt to upgrade OctoPrint to v1.3.2 or later.
After installing OctoPi and upgrading OctoPrint, ssh into the target machine (ssh pi@octopi -- password is "raspberry") and run the following commands:
git clone https://github.com/KevinOConnor/klipper
./klipper/scripts/install-octopi.sh
The above will download Klipper, install some system dependencies, setup Klipper to run at system startup, and start the Klipper host software. It will require an internet connection and it may take a few minutes to complete.
Building the micro-controller code
To compile the micro-controller code, start by configuring it:
cd ~/klipper/
make menuconfig
Select the appropriate micro-controller and serial baud rate. Once configured, run:
make
Ignore any warnings you may see about "misspelled signal handler" (it is due to a bug fixed in gcc v4.8.3).
Installing Klipper on an AVR micro-controller
The avrdude package can be used to install the micro-controller code on an AVR ATmega chip. The exact syntax of the avrdude command is different for each micro-controller. The following is an example command for atmega2560 chips:
example-only$ avrdude -C/etc/avrdude.conf -v -patmega2560 -cwiring -P/dev/ttyACM0 -b115200 -D -Uflash:w:/home/pi/klipper/out/klipper.elf.hex:i
Installing Klipper on an Arduino Due
Klipper currently uses the Arduino Due USB programming port (it will not work when connected to the application USB port). The programming port is the USB port closest to the power supply. To flash Klipper to the Due connect it to the host machine and run:
stty -F /dev/ttyACM0 1200
bossac -i -p ttyACM0 -R -e -w -v -b ~/klipper/out/klipper.bin
Setting up the printer configuration
It is necessary to configure the printer. This is done by modifying a configuration file that resides on the host. Start by copying an example configuration and editing it. For example:
cp ~/klipper/config/example.cfg ~/printer.cfg
nano printer.cfg
Make sure to look at and update each setting that is appropriate for the hardware.
Configuring OctoPrint to use Klippy
The OctoPrint web server needs to be configured to communicate with the Klippy host software. Using a web-browser, login to the OctoPrint web page, and navigate to the Settings tab. Then configure the following items:
Under "Serial Connection" in "Additional serial ports" add "/tmp/printer". Then click "Save".
Enter the Settings tab again and under "Serial Connection" change the "Serial Port" setting to "/tmp/printer". Change the Baudrate field to 250000 (this buad rate field is not related to the firmware baudrate and may be safely left at 250000). Unselect the "Not only cancel ongoing prints but also disconnect..." checkbox. Click "Save".
From the main page, under the "Connection" window (at the top left of the page) make sure the "Serial Port" is set to "/tmp/printer" and click "Connect". (If "/tmp/printer" is not an available selection then try reloading the page.)
Once connected, navigate to the "Terminal" tab and type "status" (without the quotes) into the command entry box and click "Send". If the Klippy config file was successfully read, and the micro-controller was successfully found and configured, then this command will report that the printer is ready. Klippy reports error messages via this terminal tab. The "status" command can be used to re-report error messages. The default Klipper startup script also places a log in /tmp/klippy.log which may provide more detailed information should an error occur.
In addition to common g-code commands, Klippy supports a few extended commands - "status" is an example of one of these commands. Use the "help" command to get a list of other extended commands. In particular, note the "restart" command - use this command to reload the Klippy config file after any changes.