First post here. I'm still fairly new to 3D printing, and I don't deal with coding in any way, so apologies if this is an idiotic question.
Creality Ender 3 printer. 4.2.2 control board. Manual bed leveling. Single Z stepper (changing to dual soon.)
Is there any way to back up my existing firmware before installing new firmware, in the event that something goes sideways, or I end up with a partially or fully non-functional printer? I always do a full backup of my PC before making any system changes and I'd like to be able to extend this practice to my printer as well.
I ask because I want to make a change to the basic configuration of the machine; specifically, I want to extend the travel limit of the Y axis by about 25 or 30 mm. I've already installed a hardware-based 'auto-off" feature, using a normally-open momentary switch to start the printer, a double-pole, double-throw 24 volt relay, and a roller-activated micro-switch to interrupt power to the relay, which completely interrupts all power to the machine. It's OFF.
It works fine, except for one thing: the gcode at the end of a print (usually) contains the command: "G1 X0 Y235 ;Present print." Y235 seems to be the maximum distance the bed is 'allowed' to travel. I used that figure to work out placement of the printed micro-switch mount, and the printed trip cam that opens the microswitch. Worked fine... except that the bed gets run out to 235 at other times as well, like when the printer prints it's initial stripe up the left side of the bed to prime the nozzle prior to beginning the print. When it reaches the full bed extension and *would* begin the print, it also trips the switch and the power shuts down. Oops...
Not what I was looking for....
What I'd like to do is alter the Configuration.h file to set a longer range for the Y axis... so I can add a custom line of gcode at the end of my ready-to-print files that run the finished print out past 235 (240-245), and trip the switch *there,* outside of the "normal" print volume.It seems to be easy enough to alter that part of the file, but I've never compiled code before. I don't mind making mistakes, that's how you learn... but I get the screaming meemees at the thought of irrevocably booting the existing firmware out of the machine by installing my altered version... which might or might not work as expected. I've had too many things go unexpectedly bad when following instructions to blindly jump in and make this change without ensuring that I can revert back to the way things were before I made any changes. Seems to be a reasonable enough precaution to me, but I have not been able to find any way to do this.
I've checked the creality site, and there's all kinds of firmware files to download; there's some confusion about which one is *my* firmware. I'd rather not trust that I got the right one, only to find that I didn't, and now have an inoperable printer, or am neck-deep in a mess trying to restore this thing back to original condition.
Sorry for the length of this post, but I figure too much info is better than not enough. I appreciate any direction you might come up with.
