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Solved Issues with auto leveling, printing, Y axis stuttering?

Discussion in 'Troubleshooting' started by sLpFhaWK, Dec 12, 2015.

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  1. sLpFhaWK

    sLpFhaWK Member

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    Good morning, it's 2:30am here so excuse me if this is a bit harsh to read as I'm pretty tired.

    I picked up my printer from the local Best Buy because it was on sale, I had put it off for many months but I just decided that I needed to get it today. Fast forward 6 hours later and I am here looking to solve some problems I am encountering, I tried calling Robo Support but I don't think they are truly 24/7 as they state they are but thats besides the point.

    So first issue when the printer is auto leveling with G28 and G29 the Y axis is off by maybe 10mm? I noticed when it's doing its auto homing that it's above the top of the line where it says hot zone by maybe 10mm, I'm in america so I'm just guessing but it's definitely off.

    I tried fixing it but I don't know enough G Code to mess with it to tell it is etc and if that would even fix it.

    So i downloaded a 40mm calibration print cube to print and for the first hour and 20 mins it was printing pretty good, it started to lift off the bed because I didn't use any glue or anything to help with adhesion so thats partially on me, but it was doing well but the fan never turned on and I don't know why also when it was about 75-80% finished I noticed the Y axis started stuttering and it shifted over 1-2mm so I canceled the print because I didn't want to waste any more of my time watching it and wasting filament.

    According to the Robo3d site it says if you have a plus to not upgrade your firmware, well I saw as of yesterday (Dec 11th) there was an update to the firmware, is it safe for me to install this, and if so how the hell do I do it? I downloaded the Arduino software, put it in a Marlin folder and other than the video Novice Expert has on how to read the firmware I have no idea how to flash it and if I should even do that.

    So there I am, I bought this printer to get it up and running right out of the box and it hasn't done that for me. I was told on Reddit to stay away from based on other peoples reviews, a best buy employee who owns 2 of them and Novice Expert I didn't take their advice so now I am a bit hesitant. I would really REALLY like to get this up and running when I get up so I can print some stuff but I'm not going to hold my breath to get a response from a member in these forums just yet, I sure hope I am wrong tho.
     
    #1 sLpFhaWK, Dec 12, 2015
  2. WheresWaldo

    WheresWaldo Volunteer ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)
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    Too many issues in a single post, but here goes.

    1. The square area painted on the bottom side of the glass bed has no basis in reality. It must be ignored, so it really isn't 10 mm off.
    2. Fan not running is likely a slicer setting, something is not set properly in MatterControl, Since I have never used it I can't tell you exactly where the parts cooling fan checkbox is.
    3. When a layer shifts it is usually one of a few things, the wire that is used to power the heated bed is getting caught on something underneath the glass - likely, the RAMPS (Controller) board is getting too hot and that causes it to miss steps - maybe, there could be something wrong with the model - not likely.
    4. Robo is not unique in being hit or miss right out of the box, the majority of consumer level 3D printers will need some calibration and configuration to get them to work. We are not at the Plug & Play stage just yet.
     
    #2 WheresWaldo, Dec 13, 2015
    Home_user and mark tomlinson like this.
  3. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    I would not update the firmware on the PLUS just because MatterControl claims there is an update.

    As for the other print related issues you don't say what filament you are using.
     
    #3 mark tomlinson, Dec 13, 2015
  4. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    This is one of the most responsive and helpful forums I have ever seen. So that is really not called for unless you have some experience with being ignored here :)

    We can help you get it going.
     
    #4 mark tomlinson, Dec 13, 2015
  5. WheresWaldo

    WheresWaldo Volunteer ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)
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    I am going to assume he is speaking about other printer forums as he just joined yesterday and only had one post.

    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk
     
    #5 WheresWaldo, Dec 13, 2015
  6. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    That sounds like a loose belt. It could just as easily be a loose drive cog (on the Y motor shaft) or a loose pulley. Shipping can be harsh on the printers. You will need to lift the bed off of the magnets to check those out for the Y axis.
     
    #6 mark tomlinson, Dec 13, 2015
    Last edited: Dec 13, 2015
  7. sLpFhaWK

    sLpFhaWK Member

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    Okay, well this is also JUST happened right now when I went to reprint something after a successful print, what will cause this?



    I heard something snap, so I'm going to pull it apart in a few minutes something is definitely off with this printer. When it's homing the acis's sometimes the Z axis raises instead of clicking the limit switches to level then it starts to print when the printhead is 40mm off the platform.
     

    Attached Files:

    #7 sLpFhaWK, Dec 13, 2015
  8. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    #8 mark tomlinson, Dec 13, 2015
  9. sLpFhaWK

    sLpFhaWK Member

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    This is also another observation. When facing the printer, the rod on the left that controls the Z axis is much harder to screw by hand then the rod on the right.

    What would cause the printer to jack up one side of the axis like in my screen shot is what I don't understand?

    Maybe we're not at the point of plug and play, even tho it states it on the box, so a few small quirks are no problem but these aren't small something is off i just wish I knew what it was.
     
    #9 sLpFhaWK, Dec 13, 2015
  10. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    You have to manually level the X axis and verify the Z switches are (1) in the proper position (2) not broken or have wires disconnected.

    This video:
    http://community.robo3d.com/index.p...ng-video-guides-bed-leveling-jams-clogs.5851/

    This thread has more details:
    http://community.robo3d.com/index.php?threads/read-me-my-robo-doesnt-auto-level-correctly-faq.4664/

    The X axis has to be close or the autoleveling will fail. Like I said : Shipping can be harsh on these machines. Take a deep breath and read the threads. Once you get the X axis mostly straight and the switches are correctly aligned the autoleveling will work.
     
    #10 mark tomlinson, Dec 13, 2015
  11. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    P.S. I would turn the printer off before trying to adjust the two sides that much. Hold one threaded rod and turn the other to get them back level.
     
    #11 mark tomlinson, Dec 13, 2015
  12. sLpFhaWK

    sLpFhaWK Member

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    the right screw rod the one that has the switch when I do a G28 and a G29 I see that thing moving around ALOT, it's pretty wobbly. I'm going to test print something a 10mm cube to see what happens, the 40mm cube last night failed.

    The tensioner under the bed looked ok, but i'm really worried about the rod on the right side I Think when it got screwed up it warped it somehow or something.
     
    #12 sLpFhaWK, Dec 13, 2015
  13. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Both rods have a switch or you are missing parts (or you do not have an R1+).

    EDIT: from your picture I see switches on both rods...
     
    #13 mark tomlinson, Dec 13, 2015
    Last edited: Dec 13, 2015
  14. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Again I would suggest watching the video I linked to.
     
    #14 mark tomlinson, Dec 13, 2015
  15. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Sometimes the Z axis switches will move a bit when the rods are turning. There is a way to tighten the plastic holder more firmly to the Nut on the threaded rod, but sometimes the nut spins back and forth a bit which means the switch will move some. Not abnormal.
     
    #15 mark tomlinson, Dec 13, 2015
  16. sLpFhaWK

    sLpFhaWK Member

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    I've watched his videos numerous times, but i'll check them out again.
     
    #16 sLpFhaWK, Dec 13, 2015
  17. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    If you turn the printer off, adjust the threaded rods to bring the crossbar back to near level and then do a paper leveling you should be able to get the printer printing and auto leveling. If not then we can discuss symptoms and figure out what is wrong.

    Until you get the main issues solved there isn't much else to work on :) Which is why I suggested the video.

    If you can not get it autoleveling correctly after fixing the X axis then lets discuss the symptoms. At that point it would have to be a broken switch or wire.
     
    #17 mark tomlinson, Dec 13, 2015
  18. sLpFhaWK

    sLpFhaWK Member

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    I've been doing the paper leveling trick, but now when i went to print a calibration circle when it's on the left side the nozzle is hitting the bed, but it prints when its on the right side of the bed. So I'm at a complete loss now.

    I don't care for Matter control either, I'd like to use Cura or Slic3r but Cura doesn't seem to do anything when I try to use it.
     
    #18 sLpFhaWK, Dec 13, 2015
  19. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Can't help you with any of those... sorry. Not something I use.
    I do know Cura doesn't automatically configure for auto leveling so you have to edit the startup GCode for that.

    Are you doing the paper leveling with the printer on or off?

    Is it doing the auto leveling 'dance'? (where it touches down on 9 points across the bed before printing)
     
    #19 mark tomlinson, Dec 13, 2015
  20. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    #20 mark tomlinson, Dec 13, 2015
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