How may I identify the firmware in use on my 3D printer?

Question

I have a generic printer with no support documentation.

How do I determine what firmware is in use so that I can research how to make the print run?

Answer 1

Send M115 to the printer. This command is

Request the Firmware Version and Capabilities of the current microcontroller.

Response example:

ok PROTOCOL_VERSION:0.1 FIRMWARE_NAME:FiveD FIRMWARE_URL:http%3A//reprap.org MACHINE_TYPE:Mendel EXTRUDER_COUNT:1

For more info see here, RepRapWiki- G-code - M115: Get Firmware Version and Capabilities.

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Of course, this isn't guaranteed to tell the truth, just whatever your generic clone firmware had in its source code.

Answer 2

Startup

Usually, when a printer starts up, the screen shows a boot-screen. This contains usually the firmware version, but not who or what the settings are.

LCD: About Printer

Some printers have an LCD main menu item that is "About Printer" or similar. It would one of the last items if enabled.

In Marlin it is disabled by default, and you'd need to uncomment #define LCD_INFO_MENU in Configuration_adv.h.

Terminal

Connect a terminal and send M115. In most cases, this will tell you the current Firmware and version, as it is annotated in the firmware. This doesn't mean that those lines always were updated by who changed the files, but it is a good indication what was the basis for the installed firmware.