Drunken Octopus Marlin: An Alternative (Unofficial) Firmware for Aleph Objects Printers and Derivatives
Drunken Octopus is a fork of the firmware that was used on Aleph Objects printers (a.k.a. LulzBot) prior to the layoff of 2019 and the subsequent take over and relocation of the company.
By forking the firmware as it existed at that point in time, I hope provide to provide a resource to people who, like myself, still use Aleph Objects printers in some capacity. This fork also supports newer printers that are derived from those original designs as well as users who want to take their printers beyond their original configuration.
This firmware is for users who want the very latest firmware and features for their existing printers and are willing to take the risks associated with running development firmware. It is also for people who are tech savvy and want to experiment with custom and unusual configurations.
Use the Drunken Octopus Firmware Tool, a quick, easy-to-use tool for finding and flashing firmware to your printer!
If you have a pretty good idea of what you want to do, a good place to start is the wiring guide for Drunken Octopus Marlin.
If you want more help and specifics, a community of enthusiasts has begun to form around Drunken Octopus Marlin. These volunteers are publishing guides, documentation and resources at drunkenoctop.us.
❤️ If you would like to support my work on open-source projects, please consider contributions via my Patreon page. ❤️
While at AlephObjects, I was a major contributor to Marlin. Today, I continue to contribute in the following ways:
- Maintaining Drunken Octopus Marlin build and configuration scripts
- Keeping Drunken Octopus Marlin up-to-date with upstream changes and fixing bugs as they occur
- Maintaining the touch screen interface that is used in many different printers
- Contributing to other open-source projects, related and unrelated to 3D printing
All Patreon supporters will receive pre-compiled firmware for hundreds of different Drunken Octopus Marlin variants. Supporters may also receive additional member-only perks.
Marlin is published under the GPL license because we believe in open development. The GPL comes with both rights and obligations. Whether you use Marlin firmware as the driver for your open or closed-source product, you must keep Marlin open, and you must provide your compatible Marlin source code to end users upon request. The most straightforward way to comply with the Marlin license is to make a fork of Marlin on Github, perform your modifications, and direct users to your modified fork.
While we can't prevent the use of this code in products (3D printers, CNC, etc.) that are closed source or crippled by a patent, we would prefer that you choose another firmware or, better yet, make your own.
Photo Credits: Coat hanger photograph by Ari Sytner. Used with permission.