Electroknit Technical Information - Revision history

Stg: /* Brother Electroknit KH-9xx information */

2012-06-20T07:59:23Z

Brother Electroknit KH-9xx information

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:59, 20 June 2012
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	[http://www.newtons.com/brother_knitking.htm Various units for sale]		[http://www.newtons.com/brother_knitking.htm Various units for sale]

-	= ~~Brother Electroknit~~ KH-940 ~~information~~ =	+	= Hacking the KH-940 or KH-950 =

-	~~== Software for~~ the KH-940 ==	+	Since late May 2012 you can download a program called "Knittington" and use it to transfer patterns to and from the KH-930, KH-940 and KH-950. Knittington is a library, GUI front-end and floppy drive emulator written in C.

-	~~Late May 2012 a pattern manager and emulator written in C~~ was ~~made available, which can be used to transfer patterns to and~~ from the ~~KH-940~~.	+	The project was developed with much help from the information provided on this site and is currently maintained by [http://wiki.forskningsavd.se/User:Stg STG] of Forskningsavdelningen.

-	~~This project was developed with much help from~~ the ~~information provided on this site~~.	+	You will find all related source code in the repository (see below) as well as pre-compiled graphical user interface binaries for popular operating systems.

-	At this point (12-05-30) the project still lacks good documentation, and proper cross platform support but the command line interface utility can be compiler for linux, windows and mac - while the GUI is still only available for Windows.	+	https://github.com/stg/knittington

-	~~Current~~ machine ~~support~~ is ~~KH930(beta) and KH940 with KH950 coming within the month.~~	+	If you have access to a machine that is not currently supported, contact STG for instructions on how to set up and download pattern files for analysis and implementation in the library.
-		+
-	~~The project is maintained by [http://wiki.forskningsavd.se/User:Stg~~ STG~~] of Forskningsavdelningen.~~	+
-		+
-	~~An open frameworks based GUI is being developed by [http://www.mcanet.info/blog/ Mar Canet]~~ and ~~will be available shortly.~~	+
-		+
-	~~== Source Code Repository ==~~	+
-		+
-	~~Download:~~	+
-	* Source code	+
-	* KH940 format description	+
-	* CLI binary for ~~Linux~~	+
-	* CLI and ~~GUI executable for Windows~~	+
-		+
-	~~https://github~~.~~com/stg/kh940knit~~	+

Stg: /* Source Code Repository */

2012-05-30T10:16:12Z

Source Code Repository

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:16, 30 May 2012
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	== Source Code Repository ==		== Source Code Repository ==

-	~~The latest source~~ code ~~and~~ format ~~descriptions~~ for ~~this project is available at:~~	+	Download:
		+	* Source code
		+	* KH940 format description
		+	* CLI binary for Linux
		+	* CLI and GUI executable for Windows

	https://github.com/stg/kh940knit		https://github.com/stg/kh940knit

Stg: /* Software for the KH-940 */

2012-05-30T10:14:24Z

Software for the KH-940

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:14, 30 May 2012
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	Late May 2012 a pattern manager and emulator written in C was made available, which can be used to transfer patterns to and from the KH-940.		Late May 2012 a pattern manager and emulator written in C was made available, which can be used to transfer patterns to and from the KH-940.

-	~~At this point (12-05-26) the~~ project ~~still lacks good documentation, import capabilities and a GUI but provides~~ the ~~environment necessary to get images onto the machine,~~ provided ~~you are able to convert images into a simple, but proprietary, format~~.	+	This project was developed with much help from the information provided on this site.

-	~~The project is looking for testers & collaborators to help transform~~ this still ~~very technical approach into a simple~~ platform-~~independant~~ GUI~~-based procedure~~.	+	At this point (12-05-30) the project still lacks good documentation, and proper cross platform support but the command line interface utility can be compiler for linux, windows and mac - while the GUI is still only available for Windows.

-	~~This project was developed~~ with ~~much help from~~ the ~~information provided on this site~~.	+	Current machine support is KH930(beta) and KH940 with KH950 coming within the month.
		+
		+	The project is maintained by [http://wiki.forskningsavd.se/User:Stg STG] of Forskningsavdelningen.
		+
		+	An open frameworks based GUI is being developed by [http://www.mcanet.info/blog/ Mar Canet] and will be available shortly.

	== Source Code Repository ==		== Source Code Repository ==

Stg at 14:15, 25 May 2012

2012-05-25T14:15:24Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:15, 25 May 2012
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	[http://www.newtons.com/brother_knitking.htm Various units for sale]		[http://www.newtons.com/brother_knitking.htm Various units for sale]
		+
		+	= Brother Electroknit KH-940 information =
		+
		+	== Software for the KH-940 ==
		+
		+	Late May 2012 a pattern manager and emulator written in C was made available, which can be used to transfer patterns to and from the KH-940.
		+
		+	At this point (12-05-26) the project still lacks good documentation, import capabilities and a GUI but provides the environment necessary to get images onto the machine, provided you are able to convert images into a simple, but proprietary, format.
		+
		+	The project is looking for testers & collaborators to help transform this still very technical approach into a simple platform-independant GUI-based procedure.
		+
		+	This project was developed with much help from the information provided on this site.
		+
		+	== Source Code Repository ==
		+
		+	The latest source code and format descriptions for this project is available at:
		+
		+	https://github.com/stg/kh940knit

Sconklin at 15:15, 16 March 2012

2012-03-16T15:15:54Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:15, 16 March 2012
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	== Methods of connecting the knitting machine to a computer ==		== Methods of connecting the knitting machine to a computer ==
		+
		+	=== Using a FTDI serial adapter cable (RECOMMENDED) ===
		+
		+	Using an FTDI adapter is the best way to assure that you are interfacing with the machine using the same
		+	signal voltages as the original external floppy drives.
		+
		+	This is documented [http://www.antitronics.com/wiki/index.php?title=Electroknit_Serial_Connections on this wiki page], which will someday be merged with this one.
		+
		+	MProg only runs under windows.
		+

	=== Using a USB serial adapter WITH flow control ===		=== Using a USB serial adapter WITH flow control ===
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	\|}		\|}

-
-	~~=== Using a FTDI serial adapter cable (RECOMMENDED) ===~~
-
-	~~Using an FTDI adapter is the best way to assure that you are interfacing with the machine using the same~~
-	~~signal voltages as the original external floppy drives. I will update the description in this section~~
-	~~very soon, when I have tested and documented building an interface with adafruit's "FTDI Friend".~~
-
-	~~Until then, what follows is an older description of this method:~~
-
-	~~The knitting machine uses 5V Logic level signals on the serial port. I have successfully used a FTDI~~
-	~~USB to 5V serial adapter cable to communicate with the knitting machine. I had to invert the TXD and RXD~~
-	~~signals, but it's possible to reprogram the serial adapter to invert those signals.~~
-
-	The adapter I used is the FTDI TTL-232R-5V, which is available from Mouser electronics here: [http://www.mouser.com/Search/ProductDetail.aspx?qs=sGAEpiMZZMt4a%252bVKO2jOrfSrr7sUIV2jkj0OYybDD%2fA%3d FTDI Adapter].
-	~~The FTDI MProg utility to reprogram the adapter can be found [http://www.ftdichip.com/Resources/Utilities.htm here].~~
-
-	~~MProg only runs under windows.~~

	== Software Interface Information ==		== Software Interface Information ==

Sconklin: /* Using a FTDI serial adapter cable */

2012-03-01T13:14:02Z

Using a FTDI serial adapter cable

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:14, 1 March 2012
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-	=== Using a FTDI serial adapter cable ===	+	=== Using a FTDI serial adapter cable (RECOMMENDED) ===
		+
		+	Using an FTDI adapter is the best way to assure that you are interfacing with the machine using the same
		+	signal voltages as the original external floppy drives. I will update the description in this section
		+	very soon, when I have tested and documented building an interface with adafruit's "FTDI Friend".
		+
		+	Until then, what follows is an older description of this method:

	The knitting machine uses 5V Logic level signals on the serial port. I have successfully used a FTDI		The knitting machine uses 5V Logic level signals on the serial port. I have successfully used a FTDI

Sconklin: /* Using a USB serial adapter WITH flow control */

2012-03-01T13:11:15Z

Using a USB serial adapter WITH flow control

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:11, 1 March 2012
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	=== Using a USB serial adapter WITH flow control ===		=== Using a USB serial adapter WITH flow control ===

-	This is ~~the~~ method I ~~am currently using~~, ~~and~~ I recommend it. It does not require any additional	+	This is a method I have used extensively with one model of knitting machine,
-	hardware like a FTDI adapter, ~~and only requires making an adapter using a female DB-9 connector~~	+	but I no longer recommend it. Although it does not require any additional
-	~~and four jumpers, which you can push on~~ the ~~pins of~~ the knitting machine ~~connector~~.	+	hardware like a FTDI adapter, this method does not present the exact same voltage levels to the knitting machine as the external drives which were designed to work with the machine.
-		+	Although I have not had any reports of problems, it is possible that this method could stress the knitting machine input circuitry, and therefore I think it is safest not to use it.
-	~~These jumpers from adafruit are perfect for~~ this:	+
-	~~http://www.adafruit~~.~~com/products/266~~	+

	{\| border="1"		{\| border="1"
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	\| 4		\| 4
	\|}		\|}
-

	=== Using a USB serial adapter WITHOUT flow control ===		=== Using a USB serial adapter WITHOUT flow control ===

Sconklin at 19:14, 26 February 2012

2012-02-26T19:14:45Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:14, 26 February 2012
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	\| Follows state of Pin 3 (buffered)		\| Follows state of Pin 3 (buffered)
	\|}		\|}
		+
		+
		+	== Methods of connecting the knitting machine to a computer ==
		+
		+	=== Using a USB serial adapter WITH flow control ===
		+
		+	This is the method I am currently using, and I recommend it. It does not require any additional
		+	hardware like a FTDI adapter, and only requires making an adapter using a female DB-9 connector
		+	and four jumpers, which you can push on the pins of the knitting machine connector.
		+
		+	These jumpers from adafruit are perfect for this:
		+	http://www.adafruit.com/products/266
		+
		+	{\| border="1"
		+	\|-
		+	\| colspan="2" align="center"\| Cable connections with flow control
		+	\|-
		+	! Knitter
		+	! 9 pin connector
		+	\|-
		+	\| 1
		+	\| 5
		+	\|-
		+	\| 6
		+	\| 3
		+	\|-
		+	\| 7
		+	\| 2
		+	\|-
		+	\| 8
		+	\| 4
		+	\|}
		+
		+
		+	=== Using a USB serial adapter WITHOUT flow control ===

	I have pulled pin 3 high, and am not using flow control in my software. I have not		I have pulled pin 3 high, and am not using flow control in my software. I have not
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	{\| border="1"		{\| border="1"
	\|-		\|-
-	\| colspan="2" align="center"\| Cable connections	+	\| colspan="2" align="center"\| Cable connections without flow control
	\|-		\|-
	! Knitter		! Knitter
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	\|}		\|}

		+
		+	=== Using a FTDI serial adapter cable ===

	The knitting machine uses 5V Logic level signals on the serial port. I have successfully used a FTDI		The knitting machine uses 5V Logic level signals on the serial port. I have successfully used a FTDI
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	file format.		file format.

-	The emulator is written in Python, and released under the GPL. It has ~~only~~ been tested under	+	The emulator is written in Python, and released under the GPL. It has been tested most extensively under
-	Ubuntu Linux 9.~~04 (Jaunty)~~.	+	Ubuntu Linux. I have reports that it does not work on windows due to problems with the serial library.
		+	It has been successfully run under OSX. If you have any information to add about platforms that it does or doesn't work on, let me know and I will update this information
		+
		+	I am happy to work with people who are trying to use the emulator with different models of knitting machine, and hoep to improve compatibility with other machines.

	The source code is available in the git repository listed above.		The source code is available in the git repository listed above.

Sconklin at 19:59, 18 December 2010

2010-12-18T19:59:47Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:59, 18 December 2010
Line 5:		Line 5:
	The latest source code and documents for this project may be found here:		The latest source code and documents for this project may be found here:

-	~~git://github.com/sconklin/Brother-Knitting-Machine-Interfaces.git~~	+	https://github.com/adafruit/knitting_machine
-		+
-	~~and is browsable here:~~	+
-		+
-	[[https://github.com/~~sconklin~~/~~Brother-Knitting-Machine-Interfaces:Github repo for Knitting Machine Interfaces]]~~	+

	== Disk Drive/Computer Connection Notes ==		== Disk Drive/Computer Connection Notes ==

Sconklin at 20:34, 16 December 2010

2010-12-16T20:34:08Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:34, 16 December 2010
Line 6:		Line 6:

	git://github.com/sconklin/Brother-Knitting-Machine-Interfaces.git		git://github.com/sconklin/Brother-Knitting-Machine-Interfaces.git
		+
		+	and is browsable here:
		+
		+	[[https://github.com/sconklin/Brother-Knitting-Machine-Interfaces:Github repo for Knitting Machine Interfaces]]

	== Disk Drive/Computer Connection Notes ==		== Disk Drive/Computer Connection Notes ==