Cupcake Motherboard Firmware Update
Instructions for updating the Cupcake's Motherboard firmware.
Overview
This page describes how to update the Cupcake CNC's motherboard firmware. If you are using a preassembled board or updating a board that you already have firmware installed on, you should follow these instructions. However, if you've soldered your board together from a kit and are installing firmware for the first time, you will need to install the Arduino bootloader, as described here.
We now recommend installing pre-built firmware images from ReplicatorG.
Preparation
Get ReplicatorG
Download the latest version of ReplicatorG from the website. Older versions of ReplicatorG include the firmware in the download; later versions will automatically update their firmware from the internet.
Get the motherboard ready
- Make sure the motherboard is plugged into an ATX power supply.
- If there is an SD card in the SD slot, remove it before starting.
- Connect the Cupcake Motherboard to your computer with the USB to serial cable.
Installing the firmware
- Start ReplicatorG.
- Select "Machines > Update Firmware…" from the menu.
- Select the board and version you're updating.
- Select the version of the firmware you'd like to upload. This should ordinarily be the latest version.
- Select the serial port your USB-serial cable is hooked up to. The names will vary from platform to platform.
- Read the instructions! You must manually push the reset button on the board at the same time as you click the "Upload" button.
- Be patient! It ordinarily take a minute or two to upload new firmware. You should see a message confirming success when it's done.
Fine tuning
After you have upgraded your firmware, it might be a good idea to double check your Firmware Preferences.
Troubleshooting
If you're having trouble uploading, here's some things to try:
- Make sure that the motherboard is hooked up to a power supply— it can't program itself without power.
