This seems very strange to me. When this happens can you try connecting from a different device like a phone?
You should not have to restart to reconnect.
I’ve never actually tried a file that big (that is huge!), but I have been working on exactly this issue. In the latest firmware version (1.09) the gcode now loads in chunks instead of all at once. Basically what was happening was that the gcode would take so long to load that it would lock up the browser and then it would think it was disconnected when it actually wasn’t. It should be fixed in the latest firmware, but I haven’t tested files that big.
Another solution to this is to try turning off connection monitoring. That way the browser won’t report that it’s disconnected when it doesn’t hear from the machine for a second. You can do that here:
How much space does the Maslow have available according to the info under the FluidNC tab?
What filename does the file you upload have?
I have never uploaded files that big, but I have seen the “failed to load” error if I try to load a file with special characters like “Ø”, or the NC-file has had special characters at the start. This has occurred when starting the program though. Not when uploading. I Use Chrome.
I am using Easel to create my gcode and it results in files tens of thousands of lines long. It insists on using just G0 and G1 commands for movement; for example: if I need a peck drill cycle with pecks every .1 of an inch, instead of using the G81 for peck drilling (one line of code) it insists on producing the peck drilling with 20 or 30 lines using only G0’s and G1’s for each hole. I programed a sign design with a 60 degree endmill in easel and it resulted in these huge files which I can’t seem to load into the Maslow without disconnecting the wifi.
Thank you Bar, I’ll update the firmware and experiment with the large files. Does it act like a buffer so it executes the g-file in chunks freeing up memory while it is loading the next chunk? I think this would help with 3-d profiling files, which can be millions of lines long!
Once my connection is broken, my computer network manager tells me I am still connected to the Maslow, but the maslow interface seems frozen, with the screen message that I am have been disconnected for more than 20 seconds. Pushing the reconnect button doesn’t seem to reconnect. I can’t seem to get past that message without unplugging the maslow and plugging back in. At that point I need to retract the belts, extend the belts, etc.
Hi Tore, the nc files made in Easel usually load for me, but I’ll check for any strange characters. In this case it seems to be a large file issue. NC files are just simple “text” files, so they can be edited in any text editor and saved as text with the .NC or .GCODE file extensions. I am using FireFox to connect to the maslow, and Notebook or gedit to edit .nc or .gcode files. I don’t recommend editing the files if you don’t know how to work with G-Codes.
It does do exactly this when running a gcode file. It looks ahead a few lines for acceleration planning (basically “is there a sharp turn coming up that I need to slow down for”) but mostly it’s just looking at the file a few lines at a time.
The change I made was more about how large files are displayed. When you select a large file the web browser has to parse the whole file which can take a long time. While it’s doing that the whole UI is locked up. Now it parses like 10k lines at a time and then pauses to respond to user commands so it doesn’t look locked up. The side effect of doing that is you can watch the gcode appear on the screen as it loads.
I would give turning off that connection monitor, I think that might help.
I’d also try refreshing the page instead of restarting the machine. The machine shouldn’t need to be restarted in that case, just the UI in the web browser.
Thank you for your suggestions. I’ll be doing some testing tomorrow and let you know how it goes. To update the firmware, should I upload the maslow.yaml along with the firmware.bin?
On YouTube I saw some helpful suggestions about getting continuous wifi. Most were about removing power management settings so the wifi would stay up. Several dealt with preferences on the wifi devices themselves. Those sounded promising. BAR made a good suggestion about turning off the “Connection monitoring” in the FluidNC Preferences tab. I am definitely going to test that out tomorrow. Baby steps. Don’t loose hope.
I updated to firmware to 1.09 then turned off Connection monitoring, connected to the maslow4, and uploaded a small gcode file. It uploaded and ran fine. Then I tried several times to upload the 7mb gcode file. It failed to upload and disconnected from the machine. I tried to reconnect but could not. Each time I had to shut maslow down to reset it to reconnect to the machine interface. Do I have to upload the maslow.yaml file included with 1.09 or is my original yaml file good.
Your yaml file should not be affected. It is worth downloading a copy to your PC in case it does get corrupted. It makes it much easier to recover. I change the file name by adding a date I downloaded to the filename. Of course you have to change it back to maslow.yaml if you need to reload it.
I updated to firmware to 1.09 then turned off Connection monitoring, connected
to the maslow4, and uploaded a small gcode file. It uploaded and ran fine.
Then I tried several times to upload the 7mb gcode file. It failed to upload
and disconnected from the machine. I tried to reconnect but could not. Each
time I had to shut maslow down to reset it to reconnect to the machine
interface. Do I have to upload the maslow.yaml file included with 1.09 or is
my original yaml file good.
1.09 made a change to the maslow.yaml file that is not handled automatically.
you need to save your old maslow.yaml file, upload the new 1.09 file and then go
in and set the anchor coordinates again.
they changed from
Maslow_TLX
to something like
maslow_kinematics
anchors
tlx
if you look through the fluidnc config tab you will see the block of values and
can enter them there. If you manually edit the 1.09 file you should easily find
the new locations.
This is a fantastic suggestion. I think that 7mb might just be more than the upload mechanism can handle right now, but I bet gcode clean can shrink that down to something more manageable
Thank you Tore, I’m downloading it now to give it a try. I have redesigned the file to eliminate the 60 degree tool and use a 1/8 endmill. The results aren’t as clean, but the file size is less than 1 mb.
I am downloading the cleaner now and will give it a try. I redesigned the sign to eliminate the 60 degree end-mill and use a 1/8 end-mill instead. The result is less crisp, but passable and the file is less than 1mb.
