Hey Steve, there is an issue with a small percentage of x-controllers that prevented the touch plate from registering touches in Easel. We’ve patched it and you should be able to get it to register.
I’ll PM you so we can talk about this some more.
I don’t know if that’s technically true, but Inventables has stated that they only support the touch probe with the X-Controller. I assumed from this that they just didn’t test it with the old, but that it would probably work anyway. I don’t know if the Easel setup screens hide the option or not.
Almost. I went through the machine setup screens last night and did eventually get to a screen to setup the touch probe, but the touch probe contact wasn’t detected and there was no abort button on the screen (the only way to continue was if the touch was detected), so I ended up with all my controller settings wiped back to default values and nothing new to show for it. There is an initial screen that asks you for config info like lead screw type (I don’t actually remember if the controller type was one of the settings), so I don’t know if you’d get the touch screen config screen or not if you said you’ve got the old controller.
And I have a big issue with the fact that the setup sequence is the only way to turn on the touch probe function, you can’t just get to it via advanced settings on an already configured system. Since I didn’t make it through the process I have no idea yet whether there are any configurable values for it, like the ability to set the plate thickness in case you happen to be using a touch plate that is different from the one they are now shipping.
Seems to be GRBL firmware version as opposed to what hardware? Zachs comment mentioned 1.0c as needed version so maybe try building that version for the Arduino and see if it enables it? The Inventables fork on Girhub looks like it has 1.0c updates to it so grab it, build it, and try it?
Just FYI, you have to use an older version of the Arduino IDE to do this, the latest versions don’t optimize the generated code well and the compiled firmware doesn’t fit the device.
Not exactly, above in this thread Zach said that the feature is live, a panel has been added to the setup function which asks you if you have the touch probe and sets it up for you. I’ve heard they decided on purpose to only do this via the setup guide, but it has been “released”.
But going through the setup again does wipe any previous settings and I realized this just in the nick of time to go back and save them. Others might not be so lucky so I think a warning should be added. I also found that since I turned soft limits on which means the machine starts up in the alarm state and requires a machine homing to clear that the earlier setup screens which confirm direction of travel along the 3 axis didn’t actually work. I guess they can claim that’s fair since soft limits are off by default, but I actually think they should be on by default.
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I have one of the batch one X-Controllers.
Tonight I will try the new probe feature and see if it shows in Easel. As of a few weeks ago it wasn’t available to me.
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There seems to be a lot of confusion over what you need to use the Z-Probe, so I’m going to lay it out for you guys right now.
As it stands, the only way to enable the Z-Probe or change the probe routine settings is via Easel. Obviously this isn’t ideal, and we’ll be discussing this issue internally.
You need to have Easel Driver 0.2.7 or newer. Easel - Downloads
You need to have Grbl 1.0c or newer. Why? Grbl 1.0c has status message changes that we require in order to check if the probe is making contact or not (see $10 setting). There are flashing guides all over, but I suggest you grab the version from the Inventables grbl fork since that will have some other defaults already set correctly. GitHub - inventables/grbl: Inventables X-Carve specific Grbl versions:
That shouldn’t have happened. When going through the setup after setting your machine configuration, Easel will send the $ settings. Then as you progress, each relevent $ setting will be set. For example, on the homing page, clicking “Yes, enable homing” will send $22=1 to the machine (assuming grbl 0.9+). Probe setup is the final step, so you could technically have gone straight to easel after getting stuck and been fine. Again, not having an abort button is a frustrating oversight, we’ll be discussing it internally.
I hope that clears it up how to enable Z-Probe and what you need.
On a side note, the issue preventing some users from progressing through the probe setup should be fixed. If you still don’t get contact on your probe please PM me and I’ll help you ASAP.
Eric
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Thanks for the clarification. I noticed at least one setting that had changed from where I had it, will compare tonight to see what it was.
The next question is where are the new settings for Z probe stored - on the machine or in your cloud? The reason I ask is because I’ve got two different laptops set up for Easel with my X-Carve - do I need to run setup on both of them to get z-probe to work?
Also, please tell me that the z-probe works in Easel when I’m just using Easel as a g-code sender or else I’ve done this for nothing.
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The Z-Probe settings are stored on the computer you’re using (in the browser’s local storage).
The Z-Probe itself is now a part of the walkthrough (you can choose to use a zprobe or manually zero the machine).
Is the thickness of the z-probe plate configurable or does it only work if it matches the thickness of the one shipped by Inventables?
We let you change the probe thickness, the rate at which you probe, the height above the puck/plate you wish to retract to, and the maximum distance to travel before the probe sequence times out.
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I upgraded to the X-Controller before I actually got to try it, but I believe there should be no problem upgrading your original controller to the 1.0c version. In fact if you’re using a relay to switch the spindle this is especially good because there is a setting (I think it was min speed) that turns the PWM output into a simple on/off so you don’t have to think about setting the speed high enough that the relay doesn’t stutter.
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I’ll try to get that tonight since Eric tells me the problem is fixed.
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I get it. If you wanted to be super sure to be able to get back to where you are, you could buy a new Arduino Uno and flash that with 1.0c and keep the current one as a backup. They only cost about $25 for a legit one. Of course they’re dangerous to have around.
It sounds like the bug started with 1.6.11, so you should be fine. I think you can safely find out by hitting the compile button instead of the upload button because the compile will fail without ever touching the firmware on the Arduino.
Inventables fork of GRBL is at
Not entirely sure how to grab it without using Git but I’m sure there’s a way.
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I tried it out after running the setup and it appears to work ok.
FYI, if you built your own probe, open the Advance Settings when configuring and testing your probe.
You can specify your probe’s thickness etc…
So far it appears to be working ok.
Thanks Inventables!