Mini firmware editing on a Mac

I’m trying to make some simple firmware edits for my Mini using a Mac running Mac OS 10.12.2.

I downloaded the Arduino 1.6.9 software and the “Arduino add-ons”, but can’t figure out how to merge the two, since the Mac files seem to be different from the Windows ones (and all the descriptions I’m finding are for doing this in Windows). Also is 1.6.9 even the version I should be using? I’ve heard it works, just wondering if I could/should be starting out with a more recent version.

Any guidance in getting my Mac set up for this would be appreciated.

Am I really the only one trying to use Arduino IDE on a Mac?

Quite possibly.

Well, that’s a bummer.

I would guess that the Arduino software version would be the same as for Windows,so if I knew which version of that to download, I’d at least be partway there. The only other part I need is figuring out where to put the Add-ons files. On the Mac, the arduino files contents are hidden inside the “package” that shows up as the Arduino icon. I know how to display the package contents, but since the file structure and folders that are revealed are a different layout than windows, I don’t know where to drop the add-ons files.

How about in your home directory Documents folder, maybe there is a Arduino folder. YMMV.

No, on the Mac, if you go to the applications folder, the application icon for Arduino is really a folder of sorts (they call it a “package”). You can double click on the icon, and the program will launch. If you Control-click on the icon, you get a pop-up menu where one of the options is “show package contents”. Choosing that, I get a hierarchy of folders. In one of these are the quickprint profiles for various filaments. I just can’t figure where to put the add-ons files in here. If I knew some existing files that are in the same location, I could search for those and drop the appropriate add-ons there. Any suggestions?

I’m also still wondering if Arduino 1.6.9 is the appropriate version to start with. ScottW is using it (but not on a Mac), so I know it will work. Just wondering if there is a reason to download a more recent version.

Well that is where I put mine and the Arduino IDE saw them there an hour earlier, but maybe your Mac version is different than mine. :question:

Where did you put yours? Just in the upper level of the Arudino “package”, or in one of the subdirectories?

It is not really a part of the package, but just where it looks for libraries also… The Mac is currently '‘battery dead’ so I will need to recharge it first. But I did see ‘problems’ using the latest version of the IDE, as it wants to update the u8lib library which will break compiling Marlin. and that they no longer are developing the old version that is in the add-ons for Arduino. So you might want to try an older version of the Arduino IDE to get Marlin to compile right now.

There were also command syntax changes introduced into the new version that cause errors while trying to compiling Marlin as is.

I use Arduino on my Mac, every day.

What is the exact problem you are having?

I didn’t respond before because I don’t have a Mini but a TAZ, and the mini doesn’t use a Rambo, does it?

When I Flash a New firmware, I don’t follow Lulzbot’s instructions because they are woefully out of date.

To flash the Rambo, you use the Arduino Board Manager to install a Rambo board.

Preferences Menu, down at the bottom, “Additional Boards Manager URLs”

Add this to the List of URL’s

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ultimachine/ArduinoAddons/master/package_ultimachine_index.json

Close Preferences, go to Tools/Board and at the Top of the List of Boards is the Board Manager. In the Board Manger, find “RepRap Arduino-compatible Mother Board (RAMBo)”, and Install it.

You will now have a Rambo as one of your boards.

All you do is select it as a board and flash away.

However, if the Mini doesn’t use a Rambo, then this won’t work.

Kenny

Thanks for the reply, Kenny. My problem is not with actually flashing the firmware (I’ve been using Cura for that). I’d like to get set up to edit it a bit. As I understand it, to do that, I need the Arduini IDE software (which I have downloaded) and some Arduino add-ons (which I downloaded from the Lulzbot site). My problem is in combining the two. All of the directions I’ve found are for doing the combining in Windows. The directory structure is different on the Mac, so I’m not sure where to put the files.

I’d resort to “trial and error” on placing the files, but I’m not sure what will happen if Arduino can’t find the appropriate files, tries to compile a revised firmware without them, and I flash that.

If you can point me to the link you are using that gives the “Windows” Instructions, I should be able to tell you how to do it on a Mac.

I don’t use the Standard Installation locations since I put my Arduino on Dropbox so it can be shared amoungst all my computers, but…

When you run Arduino for the 1st time, it will create a Folder in your Documents directory called Arduino.

Inside this folder you will find Hardware and Libraries.

Your source code goes in this Arduino Folder.

So, to edit the firmware, you would create a directory called Firmware (inside the Arduino Folder that is inside your Documents Folder). All the Firmware source code goes in this Firmware folder.

If Lulzbot is telling you to download and install Libraries, then the Libraries would go inside the Libraries folder.

If they are telling you to add stuff to your “hardware” directory, then that directory would be the hardware folder inside your Arduino directory.

I believe Windows does it pretty much the same.

It’s been a long time since I’ve added stuff to this hardware directory since that is the old method of doing things.

Kenny

Thanks, guys.

Kmanley57 had it back in post 5 (and again in post 7) in this thread. The problem is, there was no Arduino folder in my Documents folder, since I had never run the Arduino program.

When Gapdev (Kenney) said “When you run Arduino for the 1st time, it will create a Folder in your Documents directory called Arduino.” I realized I had never run it.

I ran Arduino, then quit, and there was the directory I needed to put the add-ons files, right where Kmanley57 said it would be.

I’ll finally get to poke around a bit now.

John