Software version 3.4.2 now available

chrishamm

On behalf of the Duet3D team I am very pleased to announce the public release of software version 3.4.2. This version brings bug fixes and minor improvements since 3.4.2. Unless new problems arise that cannot wait, it will remain the last stable software release before we move on to the next beta of software version 3.5.

Highlights of this particular release are:

Official support of Duet 3 mainboards as expansion boards (e.g. Duet 3 MB6HC driving another MB6HC)
Better Python 3 plugin support (in SBC mode) and minor changes of the plugin manifest for our new plugin repository
Several improvements for the Duet 3 MB 6XD
General bug fixes

Users in standalone mode can obtain the update package as usual from GitHub. This time users in SBC mode must upgrade using sudo apt update / sudo apt dist-upgrade due to changed package dependencies. If apt upgrade is used, apt will keep back the DSF packages and neither DSF nor RRF will be upgraded as before.

Please consult the upgrade notes as well for

or use MintyTrebor's excellent UpgradeMgr plugin (also available from our plugin repostitory).

If you encounter a problem, please open a new thread with [3.4.2] in the title and report it.

mikeabuilder

On behalf of Duet3D users, I'd like to give a hearty THANKS! to the members of the Duet3D team and those in the community that have put in the time and continuing effort to make and support this software. It's the best!

Before 3.5 is released, I'd like to see a new section added to the products list titled something like "help from the clones", where us folks that use the sw but run on clone boards can ship some $ directly to the Duet team to be used to balance the lost revenue.

Norder

Sorry... but if you want to pay for the support, which is a nice idea, why not buy a real Duet board right away and also support the European economy and save jobs ?
Was just a thought.

mikeabuilder

@Norder - I completely agree. And my latest board is a genuine Duet3d board. But I also have a clone Duet wifi and a clone PanelDue that I bought when just trying out Duet3D. And some people can't afford the real thing, but can afford to put some money in the tip-jar. Finally, when the design is posted as open-source, it's been put out there for anyone to manufacture, so it's not like Duet3D is getting ripped off by the clone makers. It's one strategy for building market-share. Still, it's nice to be able to get some cash to the folks that have done the heavy lifting.

o_lampe

@mikeabuilder said in Software version 3.4.2 now available:

it's not like Duet3D is getting ripped off by the clone makers. It's one strategy for building market-share

You are partly right. But there are cloners, who try to cut cost by using less copper or noname headers. Those clones can destroy Duet3Ds reputation and thereby reduce market share.

My way of supporting Duet3D is to test FW and report/share my findings/ideas regarding new/future usecases.

deckingman

@mikeabuilder I tend to agree. People who don't know anything about the Duet range of products might be tempted, so they shop around and see a clone at a cheaper price, which they buy. Then they realise they need support so they come to these to forums because their original supplier does not offer any support. That's one of the reasons why cloners can undercut the price. The other is that the cloners don't have any development costs. They simply sit around and wait for the Duet guys to do the heavy lifting and incur those costs, then step in and churn out their copies.
The Duet guys and I, go back a long way - as far as the original 06 board as used in the RepRap Mendel etc. The original firmware was written by Adrian Bowyer, the founder of the RepRap movement. That's why it's still called RepRap firmware. Then DC came along and started his own branch as a part time labour of love. Nowadays, he is a full partner in the business and is able to work full time on the project and it's profit from the sale of boards which fund it.
But the Duet team remain a small team and one cannot help but wonder how much better the firmware and support would be if the cloners were not taking away their development and support funding. I'm sure that Patreon or PayPal donations would help. I did once propose a voluntary subscription model (the emphasis being on voluntary) but it went down like a lead balloon.

jackantubis

I agree too, 1 "cofee" or more a month is not too much for me (+official board) compared to software updates
I already do this for "SuperSlicer" and give 2€/month and others do the same on Github.

Nightowl

Thanks for the heads up, but it might take me a while to upgrade because I'm not sure if running the machine from my laptop is actually 'stand alone' mode or SBC mode - but having written that, isn't using a Pi and PanelDue SBC mode?

Sorry for being a bit slow!

jay_s_uk

@nightowl using a pi attached by a ribbon cable is SBC mode. No pi in the system is standalone. A paneldue has no influence on either

Nightowl

Thank you, @jay_s_uk

As I wrote the post, I came to that conclusion, but thanks for confirming!

Marcossf

@chrishamm @dc42

Testing with a DUET Mini5+ WIFI with this 3.4.2 in standalone configuration, we continue to see random disappearances of the config.g file that were supposedly fixed in this release.

Our wifi network is stable and reliable, we don't see what could be the trigger for this problem except for editing directly in DWC, because it doesn't have a predictable behaviour either.

It is not unsolvable, but somewhat annoying.

chrishamm

@marcossf I am sorry but I cannot reproduce this problem on my Duet 3 Mini 5+ WiFi. Please make sure you have DuetWiFiSocketServer version 1.27 installed. If that is the case and the issue persists, open a new thread about this problem.