Configuration file
Smoothie is configured simply by editing a configuration file on its sd-card.
There is no need to recompile or re-flash, simply edit the configuration file, unmount/safely eject the sdcard from the host and reset the board ( press the reset button, unplug the USB cable, or issue the reset command ).
You can find a default config file for 3D printing here in the github repository.
Get the latest configuration file example
The file consists of key and value pairs. Most values are commented to indicate what they mean, but a lot of them are also explained in this documentation.
Example :
default_feed_rate 4000 # Default rate ( mm/minute ) for G1/G2/G3 moves
Comments
If a line begins with a #, it means it is commented and Smoothie will ignore it. Anything after a # is also ignored ( like the explanations at the end of the lines ).
Some values are commented by default, you need to uncomment them by removing the # at the beginning of the line if you want them to take effect.
Smoothie will not work without a valid configuration file on the SD card.
The filename must be config or config.txt
Note
It is not recommended you allow the sdcard to auto mount, and it is highly recommended that the sdcard be unmounted at all times except when files need to be copied or the config file needs to be edited.
Concurrent access to the sdcard via the host and the smoothie is not supported. The sdcard must be safely removed or unmounted then smoothie reset after copying or editing files from the host mount point.
This is especially true on Macs which randomly like to read and write the sdcard. If this happens during a print it will cause pauses and other printing problems.
This is optional
Smoothieboard comes with a configuration file already on the SD card. You need to get only a new configuration file if you are making your own board, or if you are upgrading your firmware.
Options
You can find all configuration options on this page : All configuration options
And you can also find the configuration options for each module, in that module's page.
Encoding
If you make the config file by yourself please save it using ANSI encoding.
Using Unicode can cause problems.
To avoid problems, use the default file on github ( see link above ) as your starting point.
Notepad++
Do not use Notepad++ to edit the configuration file, it thinks it's smarter than everybody and modifies the file in invisible ways that can make it unreadable or confusing to Smoothie.
Console configuration commands
There are console commands that allow you to edit the configuration file over serial, without having to open the file in a text editor.
These commands are :
config-get sd acceleration
Will return the current acceleration setting from the SD card
config-set sd acceleration 1000
Will set the current acceleration setting to 1000.
You need to reset the board after changing a value for it to be taken into account.
You can find more information at Console Commands.
Config Overrides
Many settings in smoothie can be set immediately with M commands, these settings are lost on reset, however they can be saved to a non-volatile storage (similar to EEPROM on other systems). The values in the configuration file will be overridden for those configuration options.
There is a set of M-codes (M50x) documented below that allow you to save all the current settings that have Mxxx commands to set them. This is particularly convenient for parameters that require tuning, as you can use a command to modify them without having to open the file and reset the board.
As these settings can be temporarily overridden with Mxxx commands there is a way to save these settings. Once saved they are reloaded on reset or boot overriding the settings in the config file. If you then edit the config file, make sure the setting you are editing is not being overridden by the override file (M503 will tell you if there is an active override file). This can sometimes explain why editing the config file appears to have no effect.
| M-code | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| M500 | Save settings to an override file | |
| M501 | load config-override file optionally specifying the extension | M501 - loads config-override, M501 test1 - loads config-override.test1 |
| M502 | Delete the override file, reverting to config settings at next reset | |
| M503 | Display overridden settings if any | |
| M504 | Save the settings to an override file with specified extension | M504 blue-pla |
Do not issue M500 or M504 when printing
;Steps per unit:
M92 X80.00000 Y80.00000 Z1259.84253
;Acceleration mm/sec^2:
M204 S2000.00000
;X- Junction Deviation, S - Minimum Planner speed:
M205 X0.05000 S0.00000
;Max feedrates in mm/sec, XYZ cartesian, ABC actuator:
M203 X333.00000 Y333.00000 Z3.33330 A333.00000 B333.00000 C3.33330
;E Steps per mm:
M92 E367.0000
;Extruder current:
M907 E1.50000
;PID settings:
M301 S1 P35.5000 I2.5830 D122.0000
;Home offset (mm):
M206 X-15.00 Y15.00 Z5.90
Additionally a delta will save...
M665/666 is used when you want to make an adjustment during calibration and not have to reboot your Smoothie.
;Trim (mm). Note M666 expect all values to be specified as negative and with a decimal point in mm
;Example M666 X-6.14 Y-0.97 Z-6.05
M666
;M665 allows you to set the diagonal rod length L, the delta_radius R, and Max Z all in mm. The L and R values are optional if you don't want/need to override the config settings.
;Example: M665 L220.0 R113.8 Z244.0
M665
Do not
Edit the config-override file yourself, only use the commands to edit the values.
Advanced pin configuration
You can have a pin's output inverted by adding a "!" after this pin's number in the config line, example :
my_pin_name 19!
There are other modifiers for pins :
All options
| ! | invert pin |
| o | set pin to open drain |
| ^ | set pin to pull up |
| v | set pin to pull down |
| - | to set no pullup |
| @ | to set repeater mode |
