Announcing the ORDuino !

[Liberty4Ever]

I realize that it's way late for the safety circuit and E-Stop conversation in this thread, relative to the initial design and boards, but here's my current take on it.

The 3D printers are quickly becoming more mainstream. More like real machines and less like hobby hardware hacker devices. The ORDuino is part of that progression, with more integration and more features. It's probably time for some more attention to safety.

Many of the earlier comments about E-Stop circuits were more akin to stop or reset circuits. Similarly, a true E-Stop is completely independent of any software or firmware.

Here are some other concerns expressed about hot parts getting too hot and run away code:
viewtopic.php?f=33&t=1352&p=11955#p11945

You might consider a separate safety circuit on future ORDuino boards. It could work in a similar manner to a true E-Stop circuit, and people who didn't want it could simply not use it. The circuit I envision would interface with the rest of the ORDuino via three lines - GND, +V and Vmotor. The +V would be +12V for most of us, and the Vmotor would be +V after the E-Stop circuit. The E-Stop would interrupt the voltage to anything that makes motion or heat. The E-Stop circuit would be the electronic version of a latching E-Stop relay in bigger industrial machines. When power is initially applied (analogous to pressing the START button on a big machine), if the E-Stop circuit is in the ready state with all switches closed, the E-Stop circuit latches itself in the ON state. The E-Stop circuit is a series of switches, as many as the builder wants to install, wired in series. As soon as any one of these switches is opened, the E-Stop circuit is no longer latched and the +V signal is no longer supplied to the motors and heaters via Vmotor. To reset the E-Stop circuit, the fault is cleared and the printer power is cycled. Alternatively, there could be a START or FAULT RESET button that reengages the E-Stop circuit.

Or, even simpler, the +V could be supplied to Vmotor any time the E-Stop circuit is in the ready state. Press the E-stop button and all motion stops. Fix the problem, restart the software to start building another part, and deactivate the E-Stop push button. The non-latching E-Stop would allow power cycling if a thermal switch is used to detect a runaway heater, but a thermal fuse would stay blown so it wouldn't cycle the power. The simpler non-latching E-Stop wouldn't need any ORDuino board space. We could simply wire our ORD Bots that way, as I'm thinking of doing.

And yes, an E-Stop is not a pause button. It immediately stops errant software that can't stop itself. As such, there is no ordered shutdown that allows a graceful restart. There should be other provisions for that. E-Stop is an EMERGENCY Stop!

[frob]

So now that all outstanding LAVA orders have shipped, were back to ORDuinos - good news is i solved the nagging mystery with "uploding" new firmware over USB (only worked when the no firmware already present) - turns out it was a problem with the AVR "fuse" settings. So with that out of the way, we'll be crankin' out ORDuinos for the next couple of days non-stop till all those orders are shipped...

Hi Frantz:
Same question, I prepayed, but have not gotten an email. Is everything OK, or do I still owe you something?
WB

Hi WB - everything is cool - all prepayments are complete- if you don't see an email by monday just PM me, i'll resend manually.

[aleith]

Very good news

[aleith]

My Lava Arrived in the mail today the box was a bit road weary but the contents appear intact.

[Liberty4Ever]

I take some comfort in the knowledge that your LAVA has arrived. I have a tracking number for mine that was emailed early the morning of June 9th, but for the last week, Canada Post reports only that the shipping information was received. Not a lot of tracking going on there. Maybe I'll receive mine soon.

It was also interesting to see that your LAVA apparently shipped with mounting springs. I already bought springs, but it's good to know. I'll have a lot of leftover Hadron parts after this project is built.

Looking forward to my LAVA. After the arduous process of acquiring the parts, my Hadron project is about to come together.

[Chankster]

I take some comfort in the knowledge that your LAVA has arrived. I have a tracking number for mine that was emailed early the morning of June 9th, but for the last week, Canada Post reports only that the shipping information was received. Not a lot of tracking going on there. Maybe I'll receive mine soon.

Same here.

[rogue555]

I got mine, same condition. The springs work very well, but I will have to drill more mounting holes in the carriage.

Frob was very resourceful and shipped the board in a pizza box!

[frob]

Frob was very resourceful and shipped the board in a pizza box!

Funny story there - it turns out its not that easy to find a suitably sized yet economical shipping box which makes it possible to pack and ship a LAVA within the size and weight limits for economical shipping. After several days of fruitless searching, and eating pizzas for lunch (not a habit i usually have, but not much time for home cooking these past weeks) ... I had a eureka moment looking at the stack of empty pizza boxes... found a local pizza box maker in the phone book a stones throw away, got a number for their wholesaler and an hour later we had 100 x 10" pizza boxes, ready to receive LAVA's. So for a few days this place looked like a very strange cross between an electronics factory and a pizzeria, with pizza boxes stacked up to the ceiling.

I was a bit disappointed in the quality of the cardboard they use in these cheap boxes, but i figured the LAVA's are pretty much indestructible anyways, and with careful packing with bubble wrap etc and lots of tape around the corners they should all make it to destination without a scratch. That being said, if anyone receives theirs with any sign of shipping damage on the LAVA itself, please let me know (pictures please) and i'll immediately send out a replacement.

At some point soon i'm going to look into getting more suitable custom boxes made.
The standard pizza box is 5cm thick, while the size limit for "Light Packet Air" service is 2cm.
Ideally what i'd like is a tough yet light box 27 x 35 x 2cm, which could accommodate up to 2 LAVA's and 2 ORDuinos or other PC boards of various sizes.
The local pizza box guy could probably provide exactly what i want very economically, with a custom size and printing on the box, though i'd insist on much better quality corrugated stock!

[Liberty4Ever]

You should be able to buy corrugated cardboard pads, intended to reinforce the bottom of a box or separate layers of items within a box, in a wide array of standard sizes, or in larger quantities, in any custom size you'd like. Use a removable tape ("painter's tape") to attach the PCBs to the flat cardboard, fold, tape the edges, and ship. Sandwich layers for multiple boards.

It's amazing how much of a business' effort goes into minutiae such as packaging.

[aleith]

I would watch your mail on Monday I live an hour and a half from Montreal in VT.
So perhaps that's why my lava arrived sooner. I'm still waiting on the Orduino so I can get on with the build. The Pizza box was definitely smooshed maybe this stuff would work well http://www.uline.com/BL_1902/Corrugated ... NAodPRSA0Q as inexpensive packaging.