Installing the firmware - aegean-odyssey/mpmd_marlin_1.1.x GitHub Wiki

When the printer powers up, a small computer program, called the bootloader, reads the micro SD card, checking the card for file that contains firmware to install into the printer. If the bootloader detects a firmware file, it replaces the printer's firmware with the contents of the firmware file. If the bootloader does NOT find a firmware file on the micro SD card, the bootloader executes (runs) the normal 3d printing application. Using the bootloader is the simplest way to upgrade the firmware in the Monoprice MP Mini Delta printer.

In theory, upgrading the printer's firmware is easy: place the firmware on an micro SD card; pop it in the printer; power up the printer; and violá, the printer upgrades its firmware. In practice, however, the printer is quite finicky about the micro SD card when performing a firmwware update. Micro SD cards that work fine for the printer's normal operation often will not work when updating firmware. The problem seems to a be combination of factors related to the card type and how the card is formatted. This can lead to one of three scenarios:

1. the card is not recognized, nothing happens; or
2. the card is recognized, old firmware erased, but new firmware not installed; or
3. the card is recognized, firmware updates successfully.

The second scenario above is dreadful, since your printer will no longer operate at all ("bricked" in the vernacular, until the micro SD card issue is resolved). On the upside, all is not lost -- once you have a properly formatted, compatible card the upgrade process works quickly and reliably (see Formatting a Compatible SD Card, below).

The bootloader requires two (2) files to initiate its firmware updating process:

• FCUPDATE.FLG any file (only the name is important); and

• FIRMWARE.BIN contains the binary image of the firmware.

• these files MUST be placed in the root directory of the SD card

If the bootloader finds these files when the printer is first powered, the printer's LED quickly flashes white (for about 10 seconds) during the programming process. If the LED remains solid white or goes to solid red, the bootloader could not update the firmware and the bootloader halts — setting up a special error condition in the printer that within a few seconds, a watchdog mechanism will reboot the printer. If programmed successfully, the bootloader launches (runs) the newly installed firmware (i.e. our mpmd_marlin_1.1.x). Our firmware will briefly flash the LED green and then sets the LED solid white.

• delete the file, FCUPDATE.FLG, from the SD card
  (this prevents the printer from continually updating its firmware)

Extensive information about formatting micro SD cards for use with the Monoprice MP Mini Delta 3d printer can be found at the mcheah/Marlin4MPMD link, SD Cards.

NOTE: suspect, incomplete information, working on revision

Extensive information about formatting micro SD cards for use with the Monoprice MP Mini Delta 3d printer can be found at the mcheah/Marlin4MPMD link, SD Cards. Our direct experience, though, does not exactly jive with the @mcheah information. We experimented with a handful of micro SD cards and so far, have found:

• all tested cards could be used in the printer's normal operation (i.e., not updating firmware);
• NO SDHC (SD High Capacity) (4GB, 8GB, 16GB) could be used to update the printer's firmware;
• the 128MB (non-SDHC) cards that ship with the printer were able to update the printer's firmware; and
• non-SDHC cards (128MB, 1GB, 2GB) could be formatted to successfully update the printer's firmware.

aCurrently from our limited experience with a handful of micro SD cards, we had the most success with the following procedure to create a micro SD card for updating the firmware in the Monoprice MP Mini Delta 3D printer:

1. use a non-SDHC (2GB or less in size) micro SD card (e.g. the card shipped with the printer);
2. format the micro SD card with a MBR (master boot record) partition table;
3. format the micro SD card with MS-DOS FAT16 file in the first (1st) partition;
4. completely erase the card (clear the directory entries, free contiguous space for files);
5. copy the firmware file, FIRMWARE.BIN, to the root directory of the micro SD card (an attempt to ensure that the 8.3 DOS name matches the file name); and
6. create a file, FCUPDATE.FLG, (zero size is OK) in the root directory of the micro SD card (an attempt to ensure that the 8.3 DOS name matches the file name).~

Final thought: With a properly formatted micro SD card, the bootloader's procedure to update the printer's flash memory is quite reliable and trouble-free. For our software testing, we routinely update the firmware in our Mini Delta printers without incident.