Open Source Firmware and software

Snapmaker J1/J1s
1

When will the firmware and software on the printer be made open source? there are changes i would like to try and make.

3 Likes
2

Oh yes, I am waiting for that one as well. The hardware of the printer is really great - but I definitely want to change some Marlin settings. I do hope some of the UI improvements suggested here will be implemented by Snapmaker though when they have recovered from the (as I guess) intensive search for a solution for the clogging issues they got bombed here with :slight_smile:

1 Like
3

I can understand a few reasons for keeping the firmware closed but an example i like to bring up is the CR6 SE from creality. The community firmware made that printer so much better.

on top of that, the Jadelabo Kickstarter description said it would be open source.

as long as the original firmware can be found and installed, there isnt a lot of risk trying to modify the firmware

1 Like
4

Keeping the controller closed source is in violation Marlin’s licensing terms. Snapmaker is at liberty to do as they please with the touchscreen code, AFAIK that has never been published for Snapmaker 2.0, I wouldnt expect it to be published for the J1

1 Like
5

the touch screen could use some improvement and with the touch screen being run through android software it can be modified if i really take my printer apart to get into the files. However the Marlin Firmware on the J1 is already really good, theres just a few things i might like to change if i can.

A .Bin file cannot be turned back into the config file needed to really make any of that happen.

6

If i am not mistaken, it is mandatory to publish Android source code, with some exceptions such as device drivers unless these are open source as well: https://www.quora.com/Is-it-mandatory-for-Android-phone-manufacturers-to-release-their-ROM-source-code

7

That only applies to sections of the operating system that are under GPL. Snapmaker’s own app to control the print isn’t, and Snapmaker is under no obligation to provide the source code for it

8

Ah, yes, you are right with that one.

On the other hand, as soon as the Marlin configuration is available, you can simply throw out the board and use another one instead - you only need to find one that is fast enough.

Such a change would be sad for the display as it is indeed very good, but that will not stop me if I decide one day that the firmware or whatever Snapmaker makes out of it in the future is a showstopper. The hardware of the J1 is exactly what I always wanted. Anything electronic can be replaced quite easily - that was the… third, if I remember correctly… bigger change I did to my old printer as well. It is in Snapmaker’s hands for now if or when I will do that. And the nifty calibration algorithm is something you can recreate e.g. on a Duet with a simple macro. The sensor itself is the tricky thing :smiling_imp:

9

J1 Controller Firmware Open Source Update - Expected release time: mid-May, 2023

Hope that there will be a more positive impact on the community. :slight_smile:
Will share the source code soon.

3 Likes
10

Hopefully coming soon, the release is long over time. Thanks for the info @Jade

11

Thanks @Jade - this is good news! I am looking forward to take a look at it.

12

This is good news, I am hoping there is also some guidance on how to prepare/flash the firmware, I remember this process is not particularly noob-friendly for the A350

13

It has been released! :star_struck:

We are pleased to announce that Snapmaker J1 controller firmware is now open source!

Read this blog to learn the technical details: https://snapmaker.com/blog/2023/05/12/snapmaker-j1-controller-firmware-open-source-release

Refer to the codes in the GitHub repository.

We can’t wait to see talented users from the community contributing to this project. The firmware development of J1 is based on Marlin. Here, we sincerely thank all the contributors to Marlin.

8 Likes
14

Hi Jade,

Thanks for releasing the firmware. I’m sure it will be helpful to the community.

I just would like to report a few related points here since I’m not sure where to report those:

  1. On the GitHub repository of SnapmakerController-IDEX, the README.md lists
https://github.com/Snapmaker/Snapmaker2-Controller/issues/new

for reporting bugs. Shouldn’t it be linked to the bug tracker of SnapmakerController-IDEX instead of Snapmaker 2.0 Controller Firmware ?

  1. Would you still be looking at Snapmaker J1 Firmware issues ?

Kind regards,

1 Like
15

Hi @obertini , thanks for the feedback.

  1. It was a mistake. Now the link has been corrected.
  2. We will check all feedback on the previous issues page and close them gradually. For new issues, please report them to the new page: Issues · Snapmaker/SnapmakerController-IDEX · GitHub