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Do you get this error with every file, including our example files?
You should not be losing a step in any of these processes. I can say that if you change the pen height, that can result in a misalignment. Try to ensure that when the pen touches, (1) it is pointing directly towards the center of the egg axis and (2) the distal pen arm is as close to horizontal as possible. That will minimize the effect.
You could also be having an effect of the egg “wobbling” in the egg couplers, so that it is not coming back to the same place after a full rotation. Try to wiggle the egg when it’s in the couplers: Does it feel solid and secure in place? If not, you’ll most likely have this kind of issue.Hi Anil,
The capability is not currently supported, and I’m not sure exactly what would be involved. Using a tiny computer like the Pi is probably the most straightforward way to do this. However, if you’re willing to hack at it a bit, it should still be possible…Hi Stefan,
I would appreciate any code polishing that you are interested to perform, especially ones that help to remove fixed factors that should be changeable. However, please keep in mind that our primary concern in “official” Eggbot driver software is reliability– and we have in the past gone so far as to remove features that reduced reliability.There are a great many improvements that are possible. However, we have made the decision to implement the Eggbot software within the framework of an Inkscape extension, which does have some (well, many) restrictions on what is possible.
The Eggbot control software has, at times past, included separate file saving and reading capabilities, and live buttons to control manual movements. However, we were also plagued by poor reliability, and (especially) poor cross-platform compatibility. I am the one that made the decision to strip the software down to be a “real” Inkscape extension, and it has had a very positive effect in that the software is generally quite reliable. However, I do also feel quite limited by it, and we have often thought of using an entirely different approach.
The GUI for the extension is defined in the .inx file; only a few types of GUI elements are possible, and (most unfortunately) only the “Apply” button can actually launch the program. There are some possibilities for how to get around this– for example, one might imagine an extension that puts the Eggbot into “live arrow key” mode, until you hit the escape key. Or, one could use the Extension framework to launch an independent program (e.g., RoboPaint, in its Eggbot painting mode), rather than a “true” Inkscape extension.
>This might be worth putting in the wiki. That is, make sure your computer is not set to sleep during your plot.
Thank you for tracking this down– that’s very helpful indeed. I’ve added it to the troubleshooting part of our wiki. :)
>Why would you like to take out the egg and then put it into the eggbot again? Why not do all the marking at once?
Certain important processes require that. :D>How about a pen-adapter for exact repositioning made by a 3D-printer?
There are a few different ways that we could go about making an adapter for high-precision multi-pen positioning, but we wouldn’t make any of them on a 3D printer. In practice, we’ve always been able to reposition the pen to a degree that it hasn’t been a significant concern.What we really need is a way to reposition the egg exactly once you take it out and put it back in. That’s one that I do not have a good solution for.There is a lot of stuff in this thread, and I do not immediately have all of the answers. Some things that I can add, though:
1. The Eggbot Control extension does have a facility for adapting to the 1600 step/revolution resolution: Add a new, empty file in the directory called “motor1600”, and it will make that switch. Look in the code for how that works, and it should be straightforward to use that code to instead adapt it to work at 6400 step/revolution resolution. This one scaling factor should (hopefully) take care of most of the “hard coding” problems that you are describing.2. The 1000 speed limit has never been a problem before, since the Eggbot does not generally work nearly that fast. An actual bug is that you should not be able to set the input value to 10,000, but instead to 1000 max.3. The WaterColorBot extensions for Inkscape use much of the same code, but with a little more flexibility and fewer hard-coded values. It uses an external configuration file “wcb_conf.py” where you can set some of those numbers like DPI and relative speed scale. You may want to look at it for additional examples.4. We did come up against the 1000 speed limit in the WaterColorBot code, and fixed it as follows:Eggbot code:nTime = int( math.ceil( 1000 / self.fSpeed * distance( self.nDeltaX, self.nDeltaY )))WaterColorBot code:nTime = 10000.00 / self.fSpeed * distance( nDeltaX, nDeltaY )
nTime = int( math.ceil(nTime / 10.0))All of those designs can be printed, but the filled area will only print as an outline, unless you “manually” fill the region. We have several recommended ways to do that, including the “Hatch Fill” extension, and a few other tips and tricks: http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Hatch_fill
Great– thanks for the update!
I’m not sure what is causing the problem. As Dan says, it is quite possible for something else that accesses the serial port to cause a problem, and the fact that it works on Windows suggests that this is the case, rather than a genuine hardware issue. And… I would have suggested looking at different USB ports next, if you hadn’t already tried it. Do you have any “unusual” software or settings that you might be able to identify?
Since you’re local, we could also consider testing it here (or exchanging the EBB), on the off chance that it is actually a hardware issue. There are some subtle differences between USB ports on different computers, and it is conceivable (but unlikely) that there could be an intermittent hardware issue that can only be seen on a mac.Only the hinge should move freely.
If it looks loke the stepper is not moving how you expect, you may need to re-adjust the motor current; we have sometimes seen steps skipped or jumped if it’s too high or low.
If the machine itself is solid, it could be the pen wobbling in its holder, or the egg not firmly “coupled” into the couplers. Try to wiggle the egg by hand– if it is not firmly locked in place, then you may see this kind of behavior.
It sounds like possibly something is loose– maybe a screw not tightened somewhere? Does everything feel solid to your hands?
Ha! You found the secret code!
