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Adding Network Nodes to a Flair System

BOTH

When adding a new axis box — such as a Quad Box, Octo Box, UltiBox, or Uniboard turntable — to a Flair system, a set of configuration steps is required before Flair can see and load the device. This guide covers editing flair.ini, using Network Setups to find and configure the new board, setting and burning IP addresses, and assigning axes.

Definitions:

  • Quad Box — four-axis box with a Quad card; drives stepper or servo motors (also used in Milo systems and early Bolt track drives)
  • Octo Box — modified Quad Board capable of driving eight stepper systems
  • UltiBox — six-axis servo controller/driver; runs a complete servo head in an Ultihead
  • Uniboard — single stepper controller; typically in a turntable or other model mover

The Flair network uses INtime, not Windows. The network is not visible to Windows networking tools.

Step 1 — Connect and power the new board

Connect the new board to the ethernet switch in your Flair system using a standard ethernet cable. Power the board on. The board must be physically connected and powered for Flair to detect it.

Step 2 — Edit flair.ini — increase NetworkBoards count

Open flair.ini and find the *NetworkBoards: line. Increase the count by 1:

*NetworkBoards:    3

(If there were previously 2 boards, change it to 3, and so on.)

Step 3 — Edit flair.ini — add NodeProgram entry

Add a new *NodeProgramN: line for the new board, where N is the next number in sequence. The value is the .btl firmware filename for the board type. All .btl files are stored in the Btls folder.

Example — adding a Uniboard turntable to a system with a Quad Board and UltiBox:

*NodeProgram1:    Quad6Ether_II.btl
*NodeProgram2:    Ulti6Ether_III.btl
*NodeProgram3:    Uni6Ether_II.btl

When Flair boots, it will attempt to load all boards listed in flair.ini. It will report a warning if a board is not found — this is normal and does not affect the rest of the network.

Step 4 — Open Network Setups

Go to Setups > Network Setups. The first tab is the Connection Tab.

The top line shows the InTime root network address:

Intime    192.168.1.10

Below that are all currently known nodes, starting with the RT14:

RT      192.168.1.234
Node 1  192.168.1.236
Node 2  192.168.1.237

Step 5 — Use Find to discover the new board

Click the Find button. Flair broadcasts a discovery signal to all boards on the network and reports their IP addresses.

If the new board does not appear

  • Confirm it is connected and powered.
  • If another board has the same IP address as the new one, Find will not be able to distinguish them. Temporarily unplug the other boards to isolate the new one.
  • If boards still do not appear, try power-cycling the ethernet hub/switch. "Dumb" hubs have some memory and may need a reboot to discover new devices.

Step 6 — Set the IP address for the new node

If the turntable or new board has its IP written on a label on the side, type it into the Node 3 (or appropriate) field:

Node 3    192.168.1.240

If the IP is not known, use the Find button output to determine it. If the IP conflicts with an existing board, see the IP address change procedure below.

Step 7 — Load the board

With the correct IP entered, click Load. If the IP is correct, there are no conflicts, and the correct .btl software name is in flair.ini, the board will load. Save and Apply settings so Flair loads the board automatically on next boot.

If the software is wrong or does not load correctly, go to the Software Tab in Network Setups. Click Select to open the Btls folder and choose the correct .btl file, then click Reload. Update flair.ini with the correct software name so it persists.

Changing IP addresses

If the new board has the same IP as an existing board on the system, you must change one of them. You cannot load two boards with identical IPs simultaneously.

Procedure:

  1. Disconnect the conflicting existing boards from the network.
  2. With only the new board connected, use Find to confirm its current IP.
  3. Enter that IP in the appropriate Node field in Network Setups.
  4. Load the board.
  5. Change the IP to a new, unused address using the Set IP button.
  6. Press Burn IP to write the new IP permanently into the board's firmware.
  7. Label the board with its new IP address.
  8. Reconnect the other boards.

Reserved IP — avoid 192.168.1.236

The address 192.168.1.236 is the bootloader address. Never assign this as a working IP. It can create conflicts in the network switch. See Reserved IP Addresses for all reserved addresses.

Step 8 — Assign axes to the new node

After the board loads successfully, go to the Status heading in Network Setups:

  • Connected — the board is connected and assigned to at least one axis.
  • Unassigned — the board is connected but no axes have been assigned to it yet. You must assign axes to this node in the Flair axis setup screen.

Status blob colours (bottom right of Flair screen):

Colour Meaning
Red Not connected to that node
Blue Connected but not assigned to any axis
Green Connected and in use by an axis

Set up your turntable or model mover axes per the Flair Axis Setup tutorial video.

The list of IP addresses and loaded boards is also stored in network.ini.

Source: Adding another Node or Network Board to a Flair system — talk.mrmoco.com