Anet A8 Upgrade: Why & How You Should Update Your Firmware - Marlin Install Tutorial

[@MigMonkey]

Just upgraded mine, if anyone else gets confused like I did because you can't find the Arduino folder in your documents folder, you have to run Arduino once first. Then close it out and the folder will be there! Great tutorial, thank you!

[@MatthewRayfield]

Ah good tip ! Glad you liked the tutorial

[@marceldeman1541]

Did that but did not find the folder labeled documents but it must have made one because I do not get the message anymore. it is not in the list like Mathews

[@koaasst]

ahh cool worked for me, the arduino installs in the Program Files first so go look there peeps to find the file to run Arduino, then documents has an arduino folder you can put the hardware folder in. oh computers you so crazy

[@hazonku]

I kind of just figured it out logically but then came back to share this & you already had, so thanks for that!

[@m4nuz]

Thanks mate!

[@sparksycat]

I did 7 hours of research trying to do this today and you managed to explain so well in 1 video. I now have a 3D Printer with Marlin. Thank You SOOOOO MUCH :)

[@MatthewRayfield]

Good to hear ! Glad it helped !

[@solidstate90]

i have searched around for A simple marlin how to and never really found a good one until yours, and nobody ever mentioned anything about that bed leveling thing thanks for sharing!!

[@MatthewRayfield]

You're welcome, glad it helped ! And you're right about no one mentioning the LCD bed leveling, that's exactly why I wanted to do the video

[@flippedout]

Great Video Matthew Rayfield! Thank you. Everyone doing this to update to Marlin 1.1.9 now will get a "Non-constant condition for static assertion" error when trying to update an Anet A8 board using this instruction video. To make it work all you need to do is go into your Arduino IDE and load TOOLS/BOARDS/BOARD MANAGER and search for "Arduino AVR Boards" - then click on "Arduino AVR Boards" and install version 1.6.23 by picking it in the dropdown on the left side bottom where it says "Select Version". After you install 1.6.23 this earlier version of the Arduino AVR boards code is not bugged and your firmware will update. Happy updates.

[@smcwall]

Thanks for you instructions, I ran across this issue too and you saved me hours of stress

[@yoricks5288]

Thanks a lot, Great Man! I had the same issue. Your comment should be pinned on the top to help others with this trouble. (sorry for my weak English)

[@linandy1]

THANK YOU !!!! Why would anyone give you a thumbs down? Seriously. I am doing the firmware update, following you step by step. Well done ! Thanks for doing this video !

[@MatthewRayfield]

Glad it helped you ! : ]

[@wsandaruwan]

Still works as of Feb 09 2021. Use the exact same versions of Arduino IDE (version 1.8.5) and the Marlin (1.1.x) as shown in the video. I was struggling for hours with newer versions of those with no luck. Finally worked when used the same versions of software on windows 10. Thanks Matthew !

[@luciagarbo]

I just wanted to thank you for making this video! I always thought upgrading Anet's firmware to Marlin was VERY difficult, thats why I hadn't done it in the past. Until now, I found this video and its VERY simple I now can say that my Anet has Marlin firmware, THANKS.

[@MatthewRayfield]

Awesome! Glad I could help !

[@goyslop4289]

Thanks Matthew, this was by far the easiest guide to follow for marlin (at least for a complete tech noob like me.) Install went quick and smooth, marlin is awesome so far!

[@MatthewRayfield]

That’s great ! Glad I could help

[@iminabrons]

"What's that beeping noise and that smoke?." "I think I'll go to bed and work it out in the morning." Goodnite. See you in the morning.

[@philliptoone]

How-To instruction begin at 6:30.

[@ArcanePath360]

Everything before this though is essential knowledge if you didn't know it.

[@ludodg]

Dear sir, A well documented and clear explanation of the why and how. I found other info but that often was not so easy to understand due to high nerd-levels vs my lack of programming-experience.

[@MatthewRayfield]

Awesome ! Glad it helped you out

[@ludodg]

had problems flashing though. Finally succes when I first re-installed the drivers that came with the original SD-card. It seems my OS (Windows 10) had problems communicating with the anet 1.0-board. Thx again!

Thanks for the video! You saved me a whole lot of trouble with the levelling feature on my Anet A6 printer. I installed from Octoprint and had to disable SD Support to make enough space, but it's working like a charm!

[@MatthewRayfield]

Awesome ! Glad I could help

[@KoreyMacGill]

hey thanks for a well put together video! just printed off parts and upgraded my anet with an e3d hotend and bowden system and your video helped me figure out all i needed to get my firmware updated with new offset definitions. nice job with the vid.

[@MatthewRayfield]

That's awesome to hear and glad I could help ! I'm envious of your e3d hotend upgrade. My hotend gives me problems but I've been lazy to upgrade. Maybe sometime this year I'll get to it ! Cheers

[@KoreyMacGill]

@@MatthewRayfield it's a great upgrade. Really am loving it. The quality of my prints sky rocketed once I did some test prints to hone my settings. With all metal hotend just remember heat creep is much more likely. So don't overheat.

[@smeet013]

Just followed your exellent instruction to install Marlin on my Anet A8. Thanks! Everything works fine now.

[@MatthewRayfield]

awesome ! glad i could help !

[@allanmrozek4414]

Well here in 2023 i got my first 3d printer in a week she was flawless then i did a step filament test and has a nozzle run away figured I'd give it a shot and updated the firmware so far so good about to do my first test print to see if it even works!

[@CharlesD4rwin]

You are a profoundly likable nerd. Your video is informative and entertaining. Excellent combo. Thanks for this tutorial. I had the same heat bed plug burn out (replaced the wire harness with a beefier one that includes two leads for both + and - connection) and don't want thermal runaway to burn down my house. I have also read stories of runaway also happening @ the hotend- heating pack comes out from stress, thermister reports that hotend is cold and then heat element runs away and catches cooling fan nozzle on fire and maims your family. I dont like that.

[@MatthewRayfield]

Hey thanks again ! Hadn't heard of it catching the fan nozzle on fire, but makes sense. Dangerous little things I guess. I just stay put clutching a fire extinguisher if I'm printing. (okay not really about the extinguisher, but it is nearby)

[@jmachMega]

Easy to follow and very accurate, had Marlin installed in 10 minutes. Thank you for the tutorial.

[@Vandy91]

About the heated bed connector burning: From everything I could tell when it happened to me, its because the connectors are cheap and not properly seated or crimped. I soldered the wires directly to the pins and have not had any issue since. It was the loose connection on the pins and when the heated bed moved forward and back, it moved the pin around causing sparking inside the connector, ultimately heating up and burning the connector.

[@hometimesuccess]

You have the best KZbin for newbys that I have seen

[@MatthewRayfield]

Many thanks ! Glad it was helpful for ya

[@Kyle-ye4nj]

Very good!! Everything went well, *just had to uncomment the "**#define** SLIM_LCD_MENUS" inside the "Configurator.h" so that the programm wasn't too big.*

[@Anthony-ry8lo]

Hay Thank you very much I was concerned about doing this up grade as there where so many conflicting videos and blogs, yours was very easy to flow! Thanks!

[@MatthewRayfield]

Thank you that's great to hear !

[@Anthony-ry8lo]

Any chance you could help us install a bed leveling sensor? Hint Hit!

[@MatthewRayfield]

I'll definitely consider making a video on it. Which type of sensor are you looking to install ? I'm using a BLToch now and could probably offer some info on that

[@Anthony-ry8lo]

I have the Ronxy-08n 6-36 volt sensor I have it installed (mounted) but when I try to compile marlin withe what i think are the needed changes i get "define" does not name a type. I think I am missing a library, searching that now. this is only the 2nd time i have run arduino ide lol the first time was after your video witch worked finer the frog hair. thanks

[@DanPowersGoSubaruGoGoGo]

Having had done a ton of Arduino stuff in the past, this video made it incredibly easy. Thanks @Matthew Rayfield! I see some folks are having random issues flashing the A8 controller or their controller getting bricked. It is possible your Adruino does NOT have a bootloader flashed to it (or it was overwritten). This saves a bit of space at the expense of not being able to flash it over USB. In that case, you would need to get another Arduino and set it up to flash over ICSP or get a dedicated ICSP programmer. With the ICSP programmer, you can (re)flash a bootloader and then it will upload like normal. If you can't spare the space, just flash Merlin on with the ICSP. When using the ICSP, select the programmer and use the 'Upload Using Programmer' button instead of 'Upload'.

[@MatthewRayfield]

Good advice !

[@swone100]

This video is very helpful but I did have to use an older version of Arduino (1.8.5) to make it work, 1.8.9 kept giving an error message. Thank you very much, it’s a GREAT free upgrade!

[@benchatfield3529]

When I heard the bed leveling thing it blew my mind 😂 that's so useful

[@MatthewRayfield]

ya i thought so ! seems like people don't know about it. glad i could help ya

[@garrykennedy5484]

As much as I really appreciate your contribution, I found myself getting ticked off because I'm a newb and you're going so dang fast that, even though I can pause, and did a LOT, you didn't tell us if we need the A8 board powered up to do this or not. I've had a ruff day as well, so take that into consideration. Bed sticking is my nightmare right now and the hairspray I picked up just spits out and blobs so I'm hoping with PLA that it will still work. I plan on printing RC airplane parts after I get things all worked out and need perfect 1st layers and thin walls. I'm printing a power switch mount and Mosfet mount for upgrading that stuff. Uggghh.... I have two burned fingers from trying to unclog the crappy PLA that came with the printer. Anyways. I really do appreciate your video. Everything I've touched today has fallen apart. I'm afraid to take a piss now.

[@MatthewRayfield]

Garry Kennedy heh I understand! I’ve had many frustrating moments with my printer as well but it always gets better. A few times it has meant buying a new part because I broke something. And yes I agree with the speed thing. Had I known so many people would watch this video I would have redone the screen cap slightly more slowly. But thanks for watching and hang in there !

[@garrykennedy5484]

Thanks Matthew. I've got it dialed in now. Printing great and doing a RC airplane tail section right now. 2 thick coats of Aquanet and it's all good. I am afraid of bricking my board but I really want that heating check sum safety that Marlin has. Plus it's not near a computer ATM. That may change soon as well though. Much better day though. I'm hangin'.

[@aidanmac2002]

Worked for me, the bed leveling is really handy although the new menu took a little getting used to

[@MatthewRayfield]

Nice, glad I could help. And ya I forgot that the menu changes. I should have mentioned that. It does make more sense though I think to use the middle button.

[@aidanmac2002]

@@MatthewRayfield Thanks for letting us know about the safety issues. It's appreciated

[@sxty8goats]

Did you have to add anything to the G-Code to make this work for you? I've had a few issues. First, the screen seems to scramble into non-sensical characters now and then, and by now and then, I mean always. Sometimes hitting middle button brings it back. But most of all, I go through the manual bed leveling sequence, it finishes I save the settings. I run a program, it ignores it's bed level and tears off my tape. I have 'bed leveling' "On" in the menu.

[@dylanbruner8348]

This is the best video i have ever found, great job

[@MatthewRayfield]

I've added an "Additional Notes" section to the video description. It covers some FAQs and tips that people have shared in the comments. Please check this out if you're having any problems or want to do more. Cheers! *UPDATE 2018/7:* I've just added a bit about issues installing to newer v1.5 boards.

[@atechus]

hi Matthew, thanks so much for your great tutorial. i found an issue when finish compiling, printer do not restart, com port is correct and detected, i go to TOOLS and seleted the Anet v.1. what you think that can be the problem? Thanks in advance

[@MatthewRayfield]

Hey hey! You got this to work I take it by your other comment. What ended up being the problem ?

[@atechus]

Hi Matt, indeed , i forgot to press the "UPLOAD" button on Marlin, now, indeed i uploaded the firmware, i have few issues, i believe it has to do with marlin, because i never had any issues with stock firmware. Issues from pausing during print to display scramble characters, that i had to restart many times. Temperature reading 200/200 and the hotend got cold. im still testing, i printed a calibration box and so far worked ok. But I still dont trust this update because anything can happen if i decided to print a part that will go for hours, and i never had a issue with stock software for long prints.

[@MatthewRayfield]

That seems very odd. Marlin actually worked better for me than stock. But it is possible to downgrade if needed.

[@WaynesWorld69]

Well done. Great explained and following your instructions works nicely. I'm about to change my settings back to these as I've just just fitted a glass bed and my sensor doesn't work thru it - so back to manual I go (until new probe arrives or I can get a metal plate to fit under the glass.)

[@MatthewRayfield]

Glad you found it useful ! I'm using a BLTouch with glass and it's working well

[@WaynesWorld69]

Matthew Rayfield I managed to get a thin steel plate and now it works great. Thanks again :)

[@timbatt4477]

Nice video! The only thing that I can think of is to include a checklist of what to move and where. I had to watch the video many times to figure out what you were actually doing. Now I have to relearn my printer menu......

[@jacklonsdale2722]

Really helpful and so simply explained. Cheers!

[@MatthewRayfield]

Glad I could help !

[@andysouthern1699]

Great tip, my crappy a8 couldn't get to tip temperature on its stock firmware, this youtybe video got me around that. Mine would not write to Arduino until I'd completely exited Cura. I'm going to see what I can do with this board now.

[@fpt380]

hi,i buy a new 3d printer Anet A8 borad V1.7 . When the initial operation, the extruder is directed to the opposite side to the end and continues for a while the engine rotates even when the extruder reaches the end ... The same applies to the surface ... Also, the z direction motor works one and the other does not work .. Note that I almost checked the connections All are correct, What do you think is the problem?

[@r.e.s.bastler5100]

Hy, and tks for the video, i have now marlin on my machine. Keep on doing the great work. PS sorry for not being abble to give u more than one thumb up :)

[@MatthewRayfield]

Thanks and glad it helped you :]

[@1970bonzo]

Matthew, Just in case there are other 75 + years old like me out there, if one runs the vid at .25 speed with subtitles on of course it is possible to read and inwardly digest the info. stop the play and at the same time opening new windows to complete the up grade

[@quantvminquizitor]

I'm 38 and maybe I'm stupid or something, but my brain can only process so much information in the span of 3 minutes, while simultaneously navigating websites, downloading files, checking them for integrity, realizing the that the provided links produced different files then the ones he's using in the video, attempting to figure out why, yelling at Matthew on my computer monitor about this bullshit, pulling hair, smoking a couple of cigarettes... I'm pretty sure I will have it working around the 30th time I rewind it. So don't feel bad.

[@lukewirges1101]

Thanks for making this video! Just followed and it worked perfectly. Was pretty worried about having to recalibrate bu didn't have to do a thing.

[@MatthewRayfield]

Nice ! Glad you found it useful

[@MrLateraliss]

Thanks, followed the steps and it worked. But: You should make a note somewhere that this won't work for 1.5 boards without some extra steps, and some extra items that do cost money. I had to burn bootloader with a USBasp, as well as a 10 pin to 6 pin adapter, because this method doesn't work with the newer 1.5 board. After I did that, then this worked to flash Marlin.

[@MatthewRayfield]

Thanks for this info, I'll add this to the FAQ

[@Crosslink3D]

It works well with an Arduino Uno and some jumper cables to flash a new bootloader. Anet seems to leave out the bootloader on some of the 1.5 boards but not all. So flashing a 1.5 board with a USB cable may or may not work. If you want to re-enable it again you need to re-flash a bootloader.

[@wolff6592]

just upgraded awesome vid thank you

[@MatthewRayfield]

Glad it helped ya !

[@garycaselman9843]

Thank you for this video. Everything went pretty well. It did have to init the card before it would recognize it but other than that was smooth thanks to the guidance. Appreciated.

[@Slacking02]

I followed your guide and it worked great! But can you do a tutorial on what all the new options and settings do and how to use them?

[@MatthewRayfield]

I've seen a video going around about how to configure Marlin fully. I'd recommend going to the Marlin documentation directly: marlinfw.org/docs/configuration/configuration.html It's big, but it's well organized and pretty straight forward.

[@GizmoTheGreen]

once you have Marlin you can also upgrade the lcd to the reprapdiscount one... it's not plug and play you need to rewire some connections but 's so much better with the rotary encoder to navigate the menus

[@MatthewRayfield]

Gizmo nice! Good to know

[@GizmoTheGreen]

you can google it, there is a guide on thingiverse.

[@MrGeezer101]

I have an a8 with a 1.5 board. I was able to upgrade it with your help. A couple of times I have had some garbled letters on the main screen. If I go to another screen and then back it goes away. Only other thing is I don't see anything about bed leveling. Thanks for your help

[@rgb4584]

8:05, I do not have all of these files, nor a Marlin folder. My folder is labeled "Configurations Release 2.0.8.2". Inside only has a Config folder, and 4 files. Any help would be great.

[@danmyself5341]

the amount of TIME ive spent so far on this anet a8 is crazy

[@MatthewRayfield]

yeah i have that feeling sometimes too haha. but i've gotten it pretty stable at this point. definitely could modify it for better quality though...

[@MrPHILLIPS369]

Thank you so much. Worked great. You hopefully kept me from turning my house to a pile of ash. Restart your computer after downloading everything. Would not connect to com port till I restarted.

[@mythicalphoenix5293]

When I try to upload, it doesn't let me because there's an error that says non constant static assertion

[@DesignShowcase]

exactly same error i get, did you find a solution

[@vtech4664]

Thank you, that was extremely helpful and easy to follow. :)

[@MatthewRayfield]

Glad you found it useful !

[@tubejim101]

Thank you for making this video

[@MatthewRayfield]

You're welcome ! Glad you like it

[@joerobertsnuttall8183]

I've got everything done and I can get the anet a8 bit on the boards but the port won't work is it because the motherboard is broken? I've checked for a bad wire but its fine

[@_prestonmarx]

Joe Roberts Nuttall same here

[@tallraccoon420]

You explane it so well thank you

[@MatthewRayfield]

glad i could help !

[@tallraccoon420]

Um also I get Errors on my arduino software it cant sync or something could you help with that

[@CangryBONES]

thank you for the help, i have an alunar m505 but it still works.

[@MatthewRayfield]

Good to hear ! Glad I could help :]

[@CangryBONES]

@@MatthewRayfield I had to change the steps/mm and I couldn't change the settings because of some secrecy or something but the code wasn't available. I'm getting very accurate prints now. Thank you again for the video.

[@LeToroPicana]

I really enjoyed the video good job.

[@maxr382]

Great video, it works good job, and thanks

[@MatthewRayfield]

Awesome! Glad it helped

[@RobidouxJ]

Another item for 'Additional notes' - Make sure you don't have Cura or other software that connects to the printer open while trying to update. Result is error message: avrdude: ser_open(): can't open device "\\.\COM1": The system cannot find the file specified.

[@MatthewRayfield]

I will add this. Thanks!

[@Jeerka]

Thank you... I did it on 2nd try, because i forgot disconnect Pronterface :) ... my fault :) ... Marlin is supercool :) ..I love Bed leveling .. it's awesome feature :) ...

[@lloydw88]

Hey man, so Im new to the 3td printing world. I have had mine for 2 years and started using it quite a bit this year. So last night I downloaded repetier host 2.1.6, I was on 1.1.9 or something like that. but I upgraded repetier last night, and I just finished your instructions on firmware. So when I uploaded it, it gave me an error, saying com 4 port wasnt available. So I unplugged the usb cord and plugged it back in and hit upload. So it uploaded with no errors. but when I open repetier host now, under the manual control tab, you have flowrate, feedrate, extrder, and bed. Well the bed option is gone entirely from repetier host, like its not there to click to turn on and heat up the bed. I dont know what to do now to be honest.

[@carolewhite7174]

hey i followed your instructions and it has come up with this error avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 9 of 10: not in sync: resp=0xcc avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 10 of 10: not in sync: resp=0xd6 An error occurred while uploading the sketch do you know how to fix this

[@1995amu]

I got the same problem... did you manage to fix it?

[@jhwblender]

@@1995amu I had the same problem: and what fixed it for me was I was trying to upload it to "Anet V1.0 (optiboot)" when I should have only been uploading it to "Anet V1.0". Not sure if this is your issue, but hope it helps!

[@garyandjanesisk9063]

Installation went good but when doing the bed leveling routine, the z axis will only go up. The LCD shows the amount of z travel, both up and down when the appropriate button is pushed, but z travel only goes up. Even after the z has move up well in to the positive numbers region, it will not move down when the down button is pushed. The numbers on the LCD do go down however. What,s wrong?

[@TheHeliman9]

Quick question first of all great tutorial on to upgrade firmware easy and painless so the question is after I go through manual bed leveling through LCD menu and start a print the printer head always winds up to close to bed surface and is not extruding is there a quick adjustment for that while printing through their tune menu or am I doing something wrong thanks I also want to add a proximity sensor so I don't have to go to the headache of that

[@dbbew]

MUST RUN ARDUINO ONCE FOR IT TO SHOW UP IN DOCUMENTS just passing it along for those not wanting to read all the way down

[@dave_strada]

Dope conf..! Thanks dude!

[@J4NGL3]

Worked perfectly for me. Thanks Matt. Now to figure out how to install my 3DTouch sensor... Any recommended links?

[@MatthewRayfield]

Nice ! Glad it helped. And yes, for the 3DTouch/BLTouch I based most of what I did on this page: www.thingiverse.com/thing:2091529 However I ran into my own issues along the way. I actually took notes on what I did. Which I've just thrown up here: gist.github.com/MatthewRayfield/37dd515aaf712bf93a5052e67f1a4ca2 Hope this helps ! It's worth doing, but was a fiddly process for me.

[@ToastmastersFCSS]

Great video, thank you for the info and instruction

[@freddyfink1382]

thank you so much!!! this saved me so much time

[@lloydw88]

Hey matt, so i have this exact printer. Im looking at a new extruder end on wish, its a multiple color extruder (3 colors). If i were to buy that hotend, what would i need to add do you think? New board? Or can i add to it? I know i need 2 more motors and i know repieterhost will let you have more than one nozzel. Im just curious if i need to upgrade the board or what i would need to upgrade if i wanted to get the 3 color nozzel.

[@LeoGarCru]

Please... a tutorial of how to use the autolevel function with level sensor

[@MatthewRayfield]

For which type of sensor ?

[@LeoGarCru]

Matthew Rayfield I have a blue one like a little box ... I think it is inductive 😅

[@yepididthis3475]

I have the same one! and also no idea how to install it!

[@yepididthis3475]

www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071KG2FXG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 heres a link to the one I have, which I think is probably the same one you have.

[@LeoGarCru]

yep ididthis yes Is the same sensor... But i have a diferent mounting base ... Wich is not so important

[@jimcordio1888]

it might help if people would check the allen cap screws and make sure they are tight and put a little drop of jbweld where the thermistor is to keep it from fallen off

[@jasonshiner2006]

I'm following your directions exactly but it it wont allow me to paste the 2 folders over to the other file. I can copy them but when i try to paste them the paste option is greyed out. Any idea how to fix this? Thanks in advance. Im dying to try this marlin upgrade out, ive been running my A8 for a year now on stock fw.

[@TUNG0701]

thanks for sharing,it's helpful for my anet v1.5 board but my print cooling fan doesn't turn on automatic when printing after upgrade to Marlin 2.0 ,is there any configuration that I need to change?

[@DoomerDGR8]

The actual guide starts at 6:30

[@parthgundaniya3703]

thank you man, It helped alot

[@MatthewRayfield]

glad it helped !

[@PabloCorezzola]

Muchas gracias por el video, se entiende mucho. Ahora probando en mi Anet A8. (Thank you)

[@MatthewRayfield]

Glad I could help !

[@kylebaggott1479]

Great tutorial. I am having some issues with the bed levelling not saving but I think that will be solved by adding the command in the goose. My main issue is that no matter what I enter in multiple slicer my part (radial) fan always sits at zero unless I manually override it using the LCD menu during a print. Any ideas?

[@ColinWatters]

I read somewhere that not all A8 have a boot loader. Something about not enough memory on the board so it was taken out ?? Apparently this gives you a sync error message??

[@cellzapper]

Thank you for this interesting addition to the videos out there about this upgrade. My main interest is in the orange warning messages during compilation. I have been asking around on Facebook anet site and questioning other contributors to Utube, the ones I have watched so far cut off the video before they appear. Thank you for including them in the video. I am still trying to understand what they mean, not being a C++ programmer they worry me. I have followed some other route to get the pins_arduino.h file and have a newer version file that works and does not have these messages and appears to work as does the Skynet source. I have not yet applied the Skynet file to see how it works, I will try it now I have seen your video, to see if there is any different results.

[@MatthewRayfield]

I went back and looked after reading your comment and it looks like most, if not all, of those are warnings about redefined constants. So I think what's happening is that there are certain default settings set in one file, and then another file down the line might change certain settings. If this is also what you're seeing then it's to be expected because there are so many options in Marlin and this would make sense for how they work. Like you may change something in Configuration.h that overwrites a constant higher up the chain, if that makes sense.

[@InterplainMusic]

I have had this Orange message with an error thats about out of sync, I have Anet A8 1.5 board a new one, it is i believe the Bootloader that's not been installed on the Board. I have read that you have to use an USBASP: amzn.to/2FiqUNH to flash the bootloader with a 10 pin to 6 pin adaptor. Another guy i was talking to said he got it to work after he flashed the bootloader. You plug it in to the J2 connector on the left side of the board that the display uses. youtube video of UsbASp Flash Bootloader with find two videos of how to do it with more detail. I have the USBASP but waiting for the Adaptor. Sky net is old now so use marlin. Hope you have success with your update. I only want to do it cos of features that are not on the original firmware like auto shut off if head or hot bed dont heat properly to prevent fire. And Autoleveling with sensor.

[@richarnaud7794]

Matt, Im on the Arduino site to upgrade my Anet A8 firmware...The latest release is 1.8.10..the one you show is 1.8.5..Should I be able to do exactly what you do in the video with this latest version? Thanks. I Like your videos! - Rich

[@jodyrodgers4982]

With the new firmware can I add a material to my Cura for machinable wax that has a temp of 140 deg C and will the printer respect that or must I add that to the .h code? I saw a g code reference to adding the line M320 to tell the printer it may heat to lower temps...Should that be used too or instead ?

[@MatthewRayfield]

That A8 Marlin config does have cold extrusion prevention built in, so yes I think you are correct. Looks like it's set to 160c. So you can add an M302 command to allow a lower extrusion temp, or you could change it in the config. Here's info on M302: marlinfw.org/docs/gcode/M302.html and here's the line you can change in the config: github.com/MarlinFirmware/Marlin/blob/1.1.x/Marlin/example_configurations/Anet/A8/Configuration.h#L429

[@jodyrodgers4982]

Matthew Rayfield so if I edit line 429 in the Anet configuration file to allow printing at 140 degrees I need to have separate configuration for PLA and another for wax, right? Or is there a way to add the code and let the material selection in the gcode of the print file instruct the printer what temperature to print at?

[@MatthewRayfield]

If you change line 429 to 140 it will set 140 as the lowest allowed temp. So from there anything that the gcode says, as long as it's above 140, will be fine. You won't need have another config. Alternatively you can have line 429 as whatever you want, and then in the slicer settings for the wax use a M302 gcode command to lower the minimum temp for just that print. It's up to you how you want to do it. And I guess it depends how you can setup your slicer. M302 and line 429 are affecting the same thing: The lowest temperature that will allow extruding. M302 is for a print by print basis, and line 429 is the default setting. Hope this helps !

[@rmaiabr]

It work on any board version? Mine don’t have nothing about version written on the board.

[@AlexSullivan]

Thanks dude. great help !!

[@jeancarlosanabria]

Hi Mattew , Jean here!, I have a quick question related with the models compatible with Marlin Firmware, I just received a A8 clone printer, so I would like to know if it is recomendaded update it with this update , thank in advance, nice video

[@MatthewRayfield]

I'd recommend googling around and seeing it other people are doing it with your specific printer. If it's been done and there is a configuration already out there for it, I'd recommend it. It's always better to be on a newer firmware!

[@minecraftmaster2609]

I think you also update your firmware through cura 4.0.0 it has the option to update it

[@MatthewRayfield]

Interesting. I hadn't seen that. I'll have to check it out! Thanks

[@richarnaud7794]

How do you do a search for "bilinear bed leveling in Marlin? You did it so fast I couldn't see how you did it..I'm new to all of this..It would help if you slowed down a little..Thanks

[@bioniccomet4539]

Rich Arnaud press ctr + f to search for words in the arduino ide

[@scottbarnard2422]

Hey Matt - What is your work-around for "arvdude: ser_open() : can't set com-state for "\\.\ COM3" ?" I've tried uninstalling/re-installing the driver, re-booted the computer (Windows 10), and reset the Anet... Still the same error message...

[@ansie7e]

Thanks, great tutorial!

[@MatthewRayfield]

glad you found it useful !

[@kiplandingham322]

Thank you for posting this...excellent tutorial. Question though: say I proceed to do this with my stock A8, and for some reason I want to go back to the original firmware. Is there a way? Thanks again.

[@pmlpedrosa]

hey there! thank for this video, it helped me a lot! just a noob question, i need to do the bed leveling before each print? or it just stay saved after i hit store settings?

[@MatthewRayfield]

Hit save and it will remember it. But take a look at the video description because you may need to modify the start gcode that your slicer uses so that it makes use of the bed leveling.

[@zion1385]

You should do it every 10 prints to 1week or whenever it seems nesiscairy

[@MatthewRayfield]

Good tip, thanks !

[@adriasendraandres3952]

Once I upgraded in my anet a8 the X motor stop working left, just right (positive). Idk why it happens but it looks like recording the true position. If i try to go to the home Y and Z work well but X start to go right (instead of left) without stop (even if it cant because is on the limit) and finally I must disconnect. It's so distracting. ¿Do you know how to solve it?

[@MatthewRayfield]

I don't know what would cause the going in the wrong direction thing. Sorry. Perhaps try checking your cable connections ?

[@dragnet53]

Well followed your instructions and it seems I get an error uploading. I have the Anet A8 1.5 board....

[@dragnet53]

Travis Gonzalez My problem was the drivers I used. I found some drivers that worked.

[@stephenrussell4070]

@@dragnet53 I too have a 1.5 board. What drivers did you find? I have been looking and cannot find anything that works. I only find a separate piece of hardware, I would rather not have to purchase. Thanks.

[@cyberstar251]

i have a 3d printer kit using the ramps 1.4 driverboard and using an arduino mega2560 as the brain, will this work on it without problems or do i need to use a different version for the mega?

[@CharlesD4rwin]

I already commented once, but I must commend you again. Excellent video, great presentation. As someone already mentioned, you should mention that the Arduino IDE needs to be run once first for the /Documents/Arduino folder to be created. I'm finally done seeing the "your house will burn down" warning from OctoPrint and I have some piece of mind! I ran the bed leveling tool, which was great. Havent printed yet, but it appears to be working. When I go to save/store the bed leveling settings, the printer does not give me any confirmation that settings were saved. Is this normal? I selected the "Store Settings" option, so Im assuming it saved. Any way to confirm? In your experience, is the "M420 S1" start code required for most people? I use Cura. Thanks again!

[@MatthewRayfield]

Glad you liked the video ! And yes I think that's normal, I haven't seen any indication of saving myself. It's one of those things where I click the button multiple times to be "safe". An "M420 V" command will show you the leveling data you have stored. Info here: marlinfw.org/docs/gcode/M420.html I'd say go ahead and put the M420 S1 code, it won't hurt. It seems that people have said they need it.

[@87tiger88]

Do i have to do those editing steps if im not adding auto bed levelling just yet?

[@MatthewRayfield]

Nope! You can pick and choose which features you want

[@SleepinDevil]

Thanks for the video. It's a great guide! I have a question. If I wanted to add the auto bed levelling sensor (the Anet A8 official one), do I need to only do the first two changes that you did to the Configuration.h file and not the last one? And then I calibrate the sensor in the usual ways found online.

[@MatthewRayfield]

Yes that sounds right. I would have to look a bit more into it to be sure. But you will enable mesh leveling but not LCD related things. There should be some more info online about using it with the capacitive sensors. I am using the BLTouch now which has a slightly different setup.

[@etisalatetisalat4770]

Thank u very much. Appreciate . But I have some issue if u can support. after updating my stock A8 to marlin 1.1 with the correct configuration profile , after auto home the display shows: X -33 Y -10 Z 0 , and The home position for my printer is not above the bed . so I am trying to adjust the X and Y offset . I'm not sure if I am doing this correctly but I use the menu to move the the correct corner of the bed and then select "Set home offsets" but I get an error: Err: Too far! Plz support

[@dansnyder183]

thanks for the how too dont have time to download to printer do i just save the file and download later

[@MatthewRayfield]

Sure you can just download everything you need and install it whenever

[@23william90]

JUST SO ANYONE WHO TRYS THIS IN 2020 KNOWS: as of 12/30/2020 this should still work but you have to install the config files at 7:45 instead from this website:github.com/MarlinFirmware/Configurations/tree/release-2.0.7.2

[@MauryXman]

I did what you say, but now my printer is no longer recognized by the PC and the display shows 3 flashing question marks for XYZ, I did not make the changes to the auto leveling because I do not have the sensor, I do not know how to restore the original firmware v.1.5, nothing works on the display any button is pressed. Report printer ready but in reality nothing works, there are 3 question marks on X Y Z, can you give me some advice ??

[@MatthewRayfield]

I believe mine also shows question marks until the printer has homed. So this is normal. I do not know however why nothing would respond. But also, none of the changes I make in this video are for using a sensor, so you can use the settings I change and use the printer just fine without a sensor. Perhaps try going through the config changes I do in the video and try to install again ?

[@MauryXman]

@@MatthewRayfield my pc not see the mainboard, nothing, i have only X Y Z blinking question mark, if i push anything button, nothing happen... i am hopeless, u have any help for it?

[@MauryXman]

OPPS sorry, I made a mistake, I did not realize that the enter key became the central one instead of the right one, ok, the MENU is fine. The problem are the question marks that blinking on X Y Z , why do I have this problem? Can it be that my card is marked "Anet3D v. 1_5"? So is it a 1.5 version instead of a 1.0?

[@TechVid556]

I have a e3d hot end, and the x-axis is shifted and then i try to auto level the hot end is not on the bed, how can set an offset so that all of my point are in the bed?

[@justinkorbmacher5304]

Does this software also changes the way the anet prints? After I installed the Marlin software my prints don't even make it to the second layer.

[@tomwalters9134]

yes for me too :(

[@justinkorbmacher5304]

@@tomwalters9134 the original software is easy to install

[@MatthewRayfield]

Very strange, I haven't experienced this so I'm sorry I don't have any advice.

[@marceldeman1541]

Mathew Well I did what you said and it changed my firmware but I am not sure it is working right. I only get one menu with 4 lines and does not let me get to the homing or to move the steppers let alone the probe the bed leveling. I changed the board as I had the old on that was long and narrow but never got the thing to work as the z axis homing switch would not work. so now nothing works. any thoughts not what you would call a programer for computer software. I was running only with an sd card befor as I could never get the usb to work .

[@MatthewRayfield]

The menu won't work at all ?

[@yantzee0014]

@@MatthewRayfield I have the same issue. It flashed, but the menu will not function at all.

[@shalekendar6759]

I have the A8-M (has the 2nd print head already). Would I still use the same config files (the A8) or do I need something different?

[@MatthewRayfield]

This is just an educated guess but... I think you can start with the existing A8 config and modify it. I would go through Configuration.h and read the comments and think about if each setting needs modification. For example, one of the first settings is #define EXTRUDERS 1. This would need to be changed to #define EXTRUDERS 2. Marlin has great documentation where you can search the name of each configuration setting and see exactly what it does. It looks like a lot of the settings for dual extruders comes in through the slicer by way of gcode, so there may not be that many changes needed. Hope this helps !