Makelangelo 5 & legacy

[old] How to use Makelangelo Software 7.24-7.31

By Dan Royer

[old] How to use Makelangelo Software 7.24-7.31

There is more than one way to Prepare art and more than one way to Run the robot. It's OK to skip some steps.

Step 1 Install Java and Makelangelo Software

Step 2 Windows only: Install Drivers

Step 3 MacOS "Makelangelo is damaged"

  • on macOS, when launching the app, you will have an error: Makelangelo is damaged and can't be opened, you should move it to the trash.

  • It can be fixed by opening a console and entering the command sudo xattr -cr /Applications/Makelangelo.app

  • Note:

    This is due to this bug

  • To open a console, do one of the following:

  • Click the Launchpad icon in the Dock, type Terminal in the search field, then click Terminal.

  • In the Finder , open the /Applications/Utilities folder, then double-click Terminal.

Step 4 Run Makelangelo Software

  • Double click on the app in your PC.

  • Some windows users may need to click the start windows.bat file instead.

Step 5 OSX only: Security issues?

  • OSX may block the Makelangelo Software because it is from an "unidentified developer".

  • Click the apple icon in the top left, then System Preferences, then Security & Privacy. Having just tried to run Makelangelo-software*.jar, it should appear in this message.

  • You might need to unlock to allow security changes.

  • Click Open Anyways.

  • Note:

    Your security for this version of the app should now be set forever. Next time the app updates you might need to do this again.

Step 6 Familiarize yourself with the controls

  • In the main window you can drag to pan and scroll the mouse wheel to zoom the what you see is what you get preview.

  • The Connect panel is like a phone call from your PC to your robot and allows for direct control.

  • The Creative control panel is for managing art that will be drawn by the robot.

  • The Animation control panel is also used for direct control of the robot: start, stop, pause, etc.

  • The advanced dialog at the bottom shows the conversation with the robot and gives you a way to directly type commands in text.

  • The top level menu has helpful links to the support forums and more configuration options.

Step 7 Adjust settings

  • Click the Settings button.

  • Change the Model to your machine version.

  • Click Paper and then change the Paper Size, Is Landscape, and Margin to match your preferences.

  • Note:

    A Makelangelo 5 can draw A1 portrait, A2 landscape.

  • Close the settings dialog by clicking 'OK'. You are now ready to prepare a drawing.

Step 8 Prepare a photo

  • Click Open File....

  • At the bottom of the save dialog change the Files of Type to Image. Select your jpg, png, bmp, or gif.

  • Play with Conversion Options until the preview looks appealing. There are several major styles.

  • Some styles are iterative and take time to generate results - let them run until you are satisfied. Others may have sub-options for tweaking.

  • Close the Conversion Options dialog. Your image is ready to Run.

  • Here's a Youtube example of the same lesson.

Step 9 Prepare a vector file

  • Click Open File....

  • At the bottom of the save dialog change the Files of Type to DXF R12 for map data (dxf). Select your file.

  • Note:

    DXF may offer to optimize on load. This will greatly improve your drawing time AND will take longer to load your file. Choose wisely.

  • Another option is Scalable Vector Graphics 1.1 (SVG). SVG files are automtically scaled to fill the margins of the paper.

  • Your image is ready to Run.

Step 10 Prepare a Scratch file

  • Build your Scratch drawing at https://scratch.mit.edu/.

  • Click File > Save to your computer.

  • In Makelangelo Software, Click Open File....

  • At the bottom of the save dialog change the Files of Type to Scratch (SB2). Select your file.

  • Your image is ready to Run.

Step 11 Prepare a Generated drawing

  • Click Generate Art.

  • From the first drop down, select a style of art to generate.

  • Adjust any additional parameters. After changing a parameter you may need to press the Tab key to see changes in the preview window.

  • Close the additional parameters dialog. Your image is ready to Run.

Step 12 Run the robot unconnected

  • Put your SD card in your computer and click save to file/SD card in the Makelangelo Software.

  • At the bottom of the save dialog change the Files of Type to GCODE (ngc). Save your file to the SD card.

  • Eject the SD card and plug it into the robot on the left side of the LCD panel.

  • Click the dial, scroll down to print from SD card, click again, scroll to the file, and click one more time. Follow the prompts on the LCD panel.

  • Note:

    Don't forget to Find home on the robot before starting your drawing! Find home can also be done through the LCD menu.

Step 13 Run the robot connected

  • Plug the a USB cable from the robot into your PC running Makelangelo Software.

  • Click Connect and choose one of the USB ports. After a few seconds the buttons under connect should turn from grey to black.

  • Note:

    If there are no ports, refer to the Updating Makelangelo firmware guide steps for updating the USB driver.

  • Warning:

    If the application gets angry when it tries to connect, don't panic. See the next step for more information.

  • Click Start. Follow the prompts on the LCD panel.

Step 14 If Windows Firewall is blocking Makelangelo

  • This error often looks like Windows crashes when you click Connect.

  • Press Windows Key + R to open Run.

  • Type control and press OK to open Control Panel.

  • Click on System and Security, then Windows Defender Firewall, then Allow an app or feature through Windows Defender Firewall

  • In the allowed app window, scroll through all the apps. Locate the Makelangelo. If it does not appear, locate Java(TM) Platform SE binary.

  • If it is unchecked, the app is blocked on the Firewall. Check the app and click OK.

Step 15 Share your results

  • Take a picture.

  • Post it on social media. #plottertwitter is a great tag to use!

  • Tag your post #makelangelo or @imakerobots so we can +1 like kudos it.

Complete

Your robot should now be drawing your work of art. Congratulations! For more help and robots, join us on Discord at https://discord.gg/QtvHqAv8yp

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