RepPanel - A DIY alternative to the PanelDue with WiFi support

JohnOCFII

@seeul8er Great to see an updated release!

Is there a concern of panel burn-in if the display is RepPanel is left energized for 24 hours? Would a timed screen blank (awakened with touch) be a useful addition?

Also -- sometimes touch input is sensed immediately -- other times I have to press an item four or five times for it to register. Any ideas on what would cause that, or ways to troubleshoot?

Thanks!

John

seeul8er

@jay_s_uk Not sure what the issue is there. Does Duet Web Control work with a SBC/Pi? RepPanel uses the same API (the older one though) so it should work just fine. Sadly I do not have a Duet3 to test it.

@JohnOCFII
Yes burn-in can be an issue. I always turn mine off if I do not need it. The idea of a screen saver is not new. I'll look into that.
I do have the same issue with the touch screen. Sometimes I need to click twice. Maybe it's a driver issue. I'll add it to the list.

For the rest: Is there anything else you would like to see with RepPanel? I might find the time to implement some stuff or even get a custom board design working (not sure about that one yet). Feel free to post here or add an issue in the Github Repository. You can also vote for your favourite one.

Feature wishlist:

Screen Saver/Power Saver mode
Improved touch control
Check Duet + SBC support
Fix bug: No job displaying on the screen when starting a new job (workaround: go back to main and re-enter "Jobs")
Listing more than 16 entries per directory
Use Object Model and new RRF3 API calls instead of the old ones

jay_s_uk

@seeul8er it needs to support the newer API to work with SBC/Duet combinations. it uses machine/status rather than rr_status. At the moment, it doesn't work.
A good example of the two differences can be found here https://github.com/HaythamB/TAMV/blob/master/DuetWebAPI.py
If you have an LPC or STM32 board, you could always setup a test environment https://teamgloomy.github.io/ to get it working

fractalengineer

@jay_s_uk Hey mate!

I just found out about this project right here, ESP32 Touchdown that interfaces the more easy to find, bare capacitive touchscreen with a simple ESP32 module and adds usb3, battery and power management all at once.

Do you think your soft could be portable to this hardware?

I would have built one of your RepPanels last year already if it wasn't for the lack of availability of that capacitive screen in my area of Taiwan.

This would def make it easier on that aspect

Cheers!

jay_s_uk

@fractalengineer it's not my project. It's @seeul8er you want

zapta

@fractalengineer, you may find this useful

https://forum.duet3d.com/topic/15198/reppanel-a-diy-alternative-to-the-paneldue-with-wifi-support/213?_=1623794459279

Esp32 Touchdown with its single PCB form factor is easy to integrate in a case, and 200 new ones are coming to the market https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHzU_GXCIkQ

seeul8er

Hi everyone,
I read that in RRF3.4 the support for the old Web-Interface API will be partially removed. I'll see when I find the time to update the code to accept the object model JSONs.
I use RepPanel nearly every time I start/stop a print. Now I'd like to hear from you what are your experiences with the device. Anything that needs improvement? Important features missing?

I just ordered a nicely integrated ESP32 module from China. My hopes are that the additional RAM on that board will remove many limitations we currently have. I am thinking about the max. files per directory, max file length, max path length etc. The additional RAM should also help to remove the random crashes that sometimes appear.

I might also setup a poll to collect some info for future development. I am thinking about ordering more boards in the future and offering them already pre-flashed. That way RepPanel would be more approachable for everyone.

jay_s_uk

@seeul8er it would be good to have SBC support. It currently only works with standalone setups

JohnOCFII

@seeul8er I use the RepPanel regularly. I think my only issues are related to the potential memory issues -- things get flaky occasionally -- sometimes screen presses are not recognized, and I'll have to touch an area repeatedly. Sometimes it works first time in the same area.

seeul8er

@jay_s_uk Is there something special about the SBC mode? Do you know if the standard WebControl REST:API calls will work there (Object Model return)?

jay_s_uk

@seeul8er here you go https://github.com/Duet3D/DuetSoftwareFramework/wiki/REST-API

seeul8er

Happy to announce that the new release of RepPanel v1.2.0 is out!
With support for RRF3 Object Model calls via the PanelDue port and DuetWebControl. Unfortunately, the ESP32 WROOM module does not provide enough RAM to support Duet3D+SBC via Wifi, but a wired connection should work just fine. Updated hardware using the ESP32 WROVER module could fix this.

Changelog:

Support for RRF3.4 (Object Model)
Screensaver (black screen + backlight off) after 60 seconds
Legacy Support for RRF2 type of requests
Improved message box handling

Get it here: https://github.com/seeul8er/RepPanel_ESP32/releases

zapta

@seeul8er said in RepPanel - A DIY alternative to the PanelDue with WiFi support:

I have some ideas on a custom board but found no time to get familiar with electronics design, yet.

Revisit the ESP32 TouchDown port option? It may make this cool project much more available and will leave it to Dustin to deal with the logistics and supply chain issues.

seeul8er

@zapta I do have RepPanel running on an improved hardware platform. It is much more stable, responsive and will also allow for longer file paths etc. I might offer a few pre-flashed modules that are ready to use in the future, once I tested it a bit more.

The ESP32 TouchDown also uses the more "unlucky" hardware. The ESP32 WROOM on there is also low in RAM and the display controller causes increased RAM usage because of required colour conversions - it basically has all the flaws of my current hardware design. The new hardware platform fixes most of those issues.

Fladdie

@seeul8er

That sounds really great. I just got rid of the proprietary electronics on my Craftbot3 printer and installed a Duet3 6HC board instead.
The previous display was also a 3.5 inch display.
alt text
So I am very interested in a latest generation RepPanel.
If you need someone to test it, I hereby announce my willingness

Greetings from Heidelberg

zapta

@fladdie said in RepPanel - A DIY alternative to the PanelDue with WiFi support:

Craftbot3

That's a nice looking printer. For me tethered display works the best, especially when working on the computer. Similar to the FLSUN Super Racer.

seeul8er

Release 1.3.0 is out now!
It is the most stable so far. Thanks to fixes for some memory issues, crashes are now dramatically reduced. Because of that I highly recommend upgrading to it. My own ILI9488 runs super stable now.

Changelog:

Fixed memory bugs - this release is stable and pretty much runs crash free
Less crashes due to low memory
Fixed crashes due to updating items that are not visible anymore
Increased max. directory listing from 16 to 24
Increased max. filename length from 128 to 160
Made scrolling smoother
Removed the Console feature due to low significance and for the benefit of more memory for other applications - can be re-enabled via idf.py menuconfig

Get it here!

bberger

@seeul8er said in RepPanel - A DIY alternative to the PanelDue with WiFi support:

@zapta I do have RepPanel running on an improved hardware platform. It is much more stable, responsive and will also allow for longer file paths etc. I might offer a few pre-flashed modules that are ready to use in the future, once I tested it a bit more.

The ESP32 TouchDown also uses the more "unlucky" hardware. The ESP32 WROOM on there is also low in RAM and the display controller causes increased RAM usage because of required colour conversions - it basically has all the flaws of my current hardware design. The new hardware platform fixes most of those issues.

Do you have exact dimensions for that? Trying to see if it could be a drop-in replacement on my Predator frame..

oliof

@seeul8er I updated a RepPanel I have to 1.3.0 and unfortunately I cannot say it behaves better in terms of stability and responsiveness. It's still only a 20% chance that I can use the hamburger menu selector, and the screen freezes on the "Job" view. It doesn't help that it shows 1193043h 715 as remaining time and just Textin the bottom left instead of the filename or what is expected there. Also, the display goes dark after roughly one minute.

On the serial console, I see a busy loop requesting status, interspersed with the occassional ERROR message:

The serial console keeps running when the screen goes dark.

If I wait long enough, the screen returns for a while, then goes dark again.

oliof