Wifi Prusa Light Bar (WLED + NeoPixels)

Work In Progress!!

This design is a work in progress. Here is a list of current issues / todos:

- After printing, P73 goes low and stays low. WLED interprets this as a new button hold event every few seconds. Causes flickering, setting the same animation as currently playing. - Possible Fix: Set the Button Hold → Idle animation preset to be a static non-animated color band. - Possible Fix: Remove the button hold macro. Use press and double press to navigate the presets. - Possible Fix: Set WLED button to Push Inverted and swap the gcode around. - After a power cycle, the ESP8266 filesystem becomes corrupt when connecting P73 through a voltage divider to the D3 input. Measured 1.2V when first turned on (bad). - Solved: Moved to D1 and using a reverse diode and 3.3v pullup resistor to convert from 5V. Measured 3.3V when first turned on (good) - ESP8266 crashes periodically. Scope says the 5V and P73 lines are noisy during a print job. - Possible Fix: Try adding a 330uf or 1000uF capacitor to each. - Finalize presets file. - TODO: No .json is attached, use appendix for now.

Introduction

By inserting custom gcode into PrusaSlicer, we can press a virtual button input to an ESP8266 running WLED. This gives us the benefits of WLED (wifi smartphone app and lots of animation options) with very little overhead.

A typical print will follow the following animation routine:

- Button Hold → Idle - Button Double Press → Heating Up - Button Press → Auto Bed Leveling - Button Press → Active Print - Button Hold → Idle No raspberry pi needed. If you are running OctoPrint, you can still follow this build. Do not wire the ESP8266 into your einsy. Instead, use the WLED OctoPrint Plugin .

Shopping List

- WEMOS D1 Mini - ESP8266 Wifi Dev Board - Addressable RGB Strip - Check here for compatibility - DuPont Connectors or DuPont Connectors and Crimping tool - Two M3x20 Screws and One M3x8 Screw (check your prusa spare parts bag) - 3 wire cable - Zip Ties - Hot Glue Gun - Double Sided Tape Optional:

- Bamboo Sticks - Gives a better finish than a 3d printed support bar. - Tactile Button - So you can control the lights without gcode or your phone. - Soldering Kit - Heat Shrink Tubing - Braided Sleeving - Black Spray Paint - 8mm magnets to attach lightbar (can also use glue) We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Remix Notes and Assembly

This is a remix of Prusa Multi-Color Unit | RGB Individually Addressable LED Light Bar by Mew. Go there for additional 3D parts and assembly notes. Come back here for wiring and WLED setup.

Changes from Mew's Version:

- Light Controller box stl fits in a D1 Mini. - Added magnetic end caps - Added support bars (replaces bamboo sticks) - Wiring for D1 Mini - Custom G-Code for WLED integration WLED

Installation

Installation is all done from your browser. No tools needed.

- Plug the ESP8266 into your computer - Visit https://install.wled.me/ - Click Install and select your com port - Connect to Wifi and launch settings Settings

After connecting to your WLED installation, set the config options:

Config > LED Preferences:

- LED outputs > Pin: 2 (D4) - LED outputs > Count: 20 - Button pin = 5 (D1) - Apply preset 1 at boot (Idle Animation) Config > Time & Macros:

- Button short press Preset = 99 (Next Animation) - Long Press = 1 (Idle Animation) - Double Press = 2 (Heating Animation) Optional: If you have a tactile button, you can also setup Button 2’s input and Macros.

Presets

THIS SECTION IS A WORK IN PROGRESS!!! USE PRESETS FROM APPENDIX

Using WLED's file explorer, we can enter all the presets in one go.

- Change the url to http://yourIPaddress/edit - Rename the attached presets.json.txt to presets.json - Upload presets.json file - Change the URL back and confirm the following presets were added: - Preset 99 Next - Preset 1 Idle - Preset 2 Heating Up - Preset 3 Bed Leveling - Preset 4 Active Print Tips:

- Click 'PC Mode' for a better interface when using from PC. - Click ‘Peek’ to preview the animations without connecting the light bar. - Getting started with WLED Wiring

THIS SECTION IS A WORK IN PROGRESS!!!

Now that WLED is configured, you can wire your ESP8266 into the neopixel strip and Prusa.

- Use J19-7 (PJ3) on the einsy board for the button input to WLED. - Use a diode and 10k resistor to drop the 5 volts to below 3.6 volts for the ESP8266. - Add a 330uF to 1000uF capacitor to the 3.3 volt rail. THIS SECTION IS A WORK IN PROGRESS!!!

PrusaSlicer Settings

Do not just copy and paste these. Compare them to your own Custom G-code in your PrusaSlicer > Printer Settings. Copy only the animation parts for toggling the P73 without erasing your existing G-Code.

When done, save your new printer profile in PrusaSlicer.

Start G-code:

M862.3 P "[printer_model]" ; printer model check M862.1 P[nozzle_diameter] ; nozzle diameter check M115 U3.11.0 ; tell printer latest fw version G90 ; use absolute coordinates M83 ; extruder relative mode

M42 P73 S255 ; Heating Up Animation G4 P500 M42 P73 S0 G4 P150 M42 P73 S255 G4 P150 M42 P73 S0 G4 P150 M42 P73 S255

M104 S[first_layer_temperature] ; set extruder temp M140 S[first_layer_bed_temperature] ; set bed temp M190 S[first_layer_bed_temperature] ; wait for bed temp M109 S[first_layer_temperature] ; wait for extruder temp

M42 P73 S255 ; Auto Bed Leveling Animation G4 P500 M42 P73 S0 G4 P150 M42 P73 S255

G28 W ; home all without mesh bed level G80 ; mesh bed leveling

M42 P73 S255 ; Active Print Animation G4 P500 M42 P73 S0 G4 P150 M42 P73 S255

G1 Z0.2 F720 G1 Y-3 F1000 ; go outside print area G92 E0 G1 X60 E9 F1000 ; intro line G1 X100 E12.5 F1000 ; intro line G92 E0 M221 S{if layer_height<0.075}100{else}95{endif}