I’m just wondering…
As my motherboard died (already replaced)… and I run octoprint…
isn’t there a way to run the printer from the raspberry?
that broadcom have enough juice … and the pi has a shitload of periferals …
just trowing ideas here…
- Not enough I/O pins
- No real time operating system
I’m not entirely clear on the details but I think it is the difference between “real time” processing and multitasking. The PI multitasks so you might get lag time in your printing.
ok.
(please insert sad meme here)
Consider something like a Beagle Bone maybe?
@Dwayne_Terry my money is on smoothie…
Yeah your issues are the Pi isn’t really real time.
you can install an RTOS on an RPi…
e.g. GitHub - jameswalmsley/RaspberryPi-FreeRTOS: A port of FreeRTOS to the raspberry pi.
most printer motherboards are running on a fairly simple microcontroller. the RPi is far more capable than those. i think the latency of GPIOs and peripherals may be a hurdle, but not insurmountable.
and hey, look: i google before posting (for a change) and see that it’s been done! (attached link is to a positive result from exactly the OP’s question)
Googling a bit further on your “positive result” brings up a two year old vimeo video as the so far only original source and the usual onslaught of 3d printing “news” sites copying articles off each other. No files, no details.
A bit more research reveals a bunch of driver programs designed to run on a regular pi under Linux, with the problems that entails (one of them even uses wiring pi from python for heaven’s sake).
In general, you might be able to get something to work well after a lot of fiddling and software porting and external electronics including I/O expanders and so on and finally maybe be able to somehow turn the pi into a glorified micro controller for your printer electronics that then can do nothing but that. Basically trying to force something designed to be a Linux single PCB computer to be a dedicated embedded piece of real time controller hardware. Or you could take one of the existing and proven solutions that solve this way better and fully dedicate an actual (8 or better 32 bit processor) to the real time tasks of driving the motors and the pid loops for the heaters and so on, with optional more fancy functionality on the side, maybe even a full blown Linux SOC.
Just because you have a hammer doesn’t mean everything is a nail. And while it is possible to use a hammer for cooking a soup as a proof of concept that doesn’t make it something one should recommend as an actual way of doing things.
I researched as well and ended on that same conclusion…
As Gina said… Can be done; but is pointless