How to get started with a Taz 4 upgrade?

Hi everyone,

We have a Taz 4 and we recently ordered a Titan Aero extruder and the wiring harnesses etc. The information I got with it said, simply, “upgrade to the latest firmware” without any direction on where to even start looking. I do understand that this means I need to upgrade to a Taz 5 edition of the firmware, I’m just stuck on how.

Here’s what I’ve tried so far:

  1. I browsed through https://www.lulzbot.com/learn/tutorials/firmware-flashing-through-cura which lists a lot of different firmware available. I only see one entry for a Taz 5 Aerostruder, but it’s the Taz 5 SE, which I’m told is not the right firmware to use. So I’m stalled out even where to look for the right firmware.

  2. On the flip side, the links for the extruder have a link to https://www.lulzbot.com/store/tool-heads/lulzbot-taz-aerostruder-tool-head saying I can get the latest firmware by using the newest Cura LE, but that version of the software doesn’t even list the Taz 4 any longer. If I choose a Taz 5 from the list, the software says it can’t detect the right firmware over USB. So I can’t move forward on there either. And I still wouldn’t know which firmware option I should be choosing anyway.

  3. I downloaded an old version of Cura (21.08) to at least talk to a Taz 4, but when I use that to upload a custom firmware (just testing the process of how to start, I didn’t actually flash anything), it wouldn’t allow me to select that incorrect Taz 5 SE “.hex” file I mentioned above anyway, so I don’t know where to go from here either even once I do find the right firmware.

  4. Looking through the forums, some people are suggesting a “1.1.5.xx” version, but the only one I can find is http://download.lulzbot.com/TAZ/5.0/software/2016Q2/Marlin/Marlin_TAZ5_1.0.0.1.hex … where can I get a .hex file for this 1.1.5.xx version?

  5. on https://ohai.lulzbot.com/project/taz4-hexagon-toolhead/accessories/ it talks about updating firmware as a last step, but it links to http://devel.lulzbot.com/TAZ/Juniper/Software/2015Q1/Marlin/Marlin_2015Q1_TAZ5.zip and I’m wondering if that’s the firmware I need, or if that firmware is specific to the hexagon toolhead? Is there something more specific I should look for specific to the Aero Titan?

As an aside, I’ve emailed Lulzbot support, but they’ve told me in the past in no uncertain terms that they won’t offer any support at all for the Taz 4, which seems funny having spent this much money on a piece of equipment. I emailed them again anyway just to see if they’ll reply to tell me which firmware to use, but so far I’ve had no response. (granted, it’s only been a few hours)

I’m going to keep looking around, but if anyone has ideas in the meantime I’d love to hear from you. I’ll post any updates I find along my journey.

In # 3 did you save the file as a ‘hex’ file and not as a plain text file?

Did you do all the Taz 4 to 5 conversions?

Thanks @kmanley57. I installed the newest version of Cura, set up a Taz 5, set the permission to “connect to the printer anyway” (or whatever it’s called), and was able to upgrade to the latest firmware. The Taz 4 now reboots and says it’s a Taz 5 … now to do the wiring.

Definitely not a very clear process to find.

For the wiring just remember to add the heatsink cooling fan wire as shown here https://ohai.lulzbot.com/project/taz4-hexagon-toolhead/accessories/

Another possible upgrde in the future is the taz5 metal encased power supply. I had the large plastic one from the 4 fail on one mine. The other makes a horrible noise once in a while but still works.