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Mods and experiences with our Robo 3D R1+ (1st Printer)

Discussion in 'Mods and Upgrades' started by Curtis Wolfe, Feb 27, 2017.

  1. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    The RAMPS power comes in on a Green plug (actually called a 4-pin pluggable terminal : https://www.amazon.com/uxcell-KF2EDG-5-08mm-Pluggable-Teminal/dp/B01F4F5AYQ)

    You can unplug that from the RAMPS and read the power input from the supply across the pins. Two are 12v+ and two are gound (normally red/black with black being ground)

    I don't think that reading voltage there is a valid test of the power supply, but it certainly is a good start. It IS possible that one of the MOSFETS (or other components) shorting on the RAMPS would pull enough current to drag down the power supply, but I would expect a PolyFuse to trip in that case too.
     
  2. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    One thing to sanity check is that the wires to the pluggable terminal block from the power supply are landed solid and the screw terminals are all the way in tight on those wires. A loose one causes a high-resistance connection and will:
    1) keep you from getting full voltage
    2) run hot
     
  3. Curtis Wolfe

    Curtis Wolfe Active Member

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    So those unplug from the RAMPS? They're not soldered in?

    What would be the symptoms of a Polyfuse trip?
     
  4. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Yes they unplug.
    A polyfuse tripping will act like the power is cut off -- mostly because it cuts the power off :)
    But there are two fuses one for each 12v line. So if one trips only 1/2 of the card shuts off.

    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
     
  5. Curtis Wolfe

    Curtis Wolfe Active Member

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    I have a feeling I'm heading straight towards a RAMPS swap.

    I don't know why it worries me. I've soldered up flight control boards for drones numerous times. :confused:
     
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  6. Curtis Wolfe

    Curtis Wolfe Active Member

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    Ok, We're on to something. I opened it up and tried to pull those thingamajig connectors out. I couldn't figure out how to get them out with out breaking something. So, I kind of checked to wires to see if the were in there well. The outside negative wire was a bit loose, but not so much that I could pull it out.

    I powered up the Robo. Well. I should say I turned it on. Nothing except for the 80mm fan I have wired directly to the PS came on. I shook those wires a little bit and on it came with the same flickering of the LED's.

    Upon closer inspection I see the outside of the connector is damaged. I have an extra one on my extra RAMPS board but I can not figure out how to get that thing out of there. I know it comes apart from the piece that's soldered to the board. Maybe it's melted together.

    I may be getting to the bottom of this.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  7. Curtis Wolfe

    Curtis Wolfe Active Member

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    I finally got it apart. I had to take out the RAMPS with the Audrino. I replaced it with the one from the generic RAMPS I have. Just the part that clips in. I re-soldered one of the joints on the board and cleaned the pins off with a small file.

    BINGO! We're good!

    No power surge. I can heat the bed and hotend. No flickering LED's (Maybe a very small flicker) and printing away at 205/50.

    So far so good.
     
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  8. Curtis Wolfe

    Curtis Wolfe Active Member

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    I'm wondering if there's still something on the RAMPS board that caused this and I just put a patch on it. Would a bad connection only cause something like that to happen?
     
  9. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Not likely. A bad connection was the most likely source of the problem.
    The thing is that you probably would have fixed in 'en passant' when you replaced the RAMPS board for a new one :)
     
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  10. Curtis Wolfe

    Curtis Wolfe Active Member

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    Thanks for all your help through this Mark. I learned a lot. I'm sure at some point I'll be swapping out a RAMPS board.

    Now that the Robo is up and going again I can tackle this kit.
     
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  11. Curtis Wolfe

    Curtis Wolfe Active Member

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    Do you guys think an ad on MOSFET for the heat bed is a good idea?
     
  12. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    That or a relay.
     
  13. Curtis Wolfe

    Curtis Wolfe Active Member

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    I was talking about with some others to use on my kit. I was just wondering if it would be a good idea on the Robo also.
     
  14. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    It will drop the load off of the MOSFET on the RAMPS that powers the bed. This is usually the one that fails so, yes...
    It is a god way to help that. Plus you can use a higher wattage heater (or even an A/C powered one) at some point in the future.
     
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  15. Curtis Wolfe

    Curtis Wolfe Active Member

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    Have any idea why my UPS keeps beeping at me during a print? Just every once in a while it gives out this long beep.
     
  16. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Probably set too sensitive and is tripping over.
    Most of them use software on the PC and you can configure things like that.
     
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  17. Curtis Wolfe

    Curtis Wolfe Active Member

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    Can I print ABS with the stock nozzle?
     
  18. Quest

    Quest Member

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    Yes you can. I have had no problems doing it.
     
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  19. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Any issues you have with ABS will not be nozzle or hotend related.
     
  20. Curtis Wolfe

    Curtis Wolfe Active Member

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    OK, I bought a 1kg roll with the printer. I thought I would give it a go.

    I'll build a make-shift enclosure
     
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