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Answered z axis steppers stop auto moving half way through print- help

Discussion in 'Troubleshooting' started by ted le sueur, May 6, 2017.

  1. ted le sueur

    ted le sueur New Member

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    Hi,

    a few times now, half way through my prints the z axis steppers stop auto moving after each layer. It is currently set to self raising itself by 0.3mm. once i pause my print, on the lcd screen attached onto my robo 3d plus, i can move the x and y axis manually, yet for the z i cannot. The first halves of my prints run all smoothly but then the z stops raising itself meaning the filament rubs, bumps and then smashes over the already nice layers completely destroying the print.

    Does anybody know why this is and have any suggestions to stop this happening. Thanks, Ted
     
    #1 ted le sueur, May 6, 2017
  2. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Make sure the fan on the bottom of the printer is running all the time.
    (the one you have to turn it over to see)
     
    #2 mark tomlinson, May 6, 2017
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  3. ted le sueur

    ted le sueur New Member

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    Do you think this is a overheating problem then?

    thank you, i will try this now
     
    #3 ted le sueur, May 6, 2017
  4. ted le sueur

    ted le sueur New Member

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    unfortunatly all the fans are working nicely and temp seems okay. Yet the z axis still wont engage
     
    #4 ted le sueur, May 6, 2017
  5. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    The only fan that concerned me is the one under the printer :)
    That will cause issues if it is not running.

    Is it always happening at the same Z height?

    Need to isolate which parts are in question
     
    #5 mark tomlinson, May 6, 2017
    Last edited: May 6, 2017
  6. ted le sueur

    ted le sueur New Member

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    So the fan is working all smoothly on the back, checked the circuit board for loose wires and followed the z axis wires and all seem well. The z motors just wont respond to anything and really out of ideas, after searching all the forums and trying all im really stumped here. what do you think i should do next?
     
    #6 ted le sueur, May 8, 2017
  7. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    It can only be the motors or the wires or the electronics :)
    So if you know the fan is working I would wait for this to happen and then swap a Z motor connector over to another one (X/Y, whichever and at least verify that the motor will respond. If it DOES respond then you have a bad stepper (or maybe two). If it does NOT respond then you have bad electronics or wire. I assume you have traced the wires back to the RAMPS to verify they are OK. So at that point you would need to start swapping some electronics out. Stepper drivers, RAMPS and lastly the Arduino. That is the order I would change them in too. Swap a Z stepper driver to X or Y, etc... You are going to need to either swap everything or do some experimenting :)
     
    #7 mark tomlinson, May 8, 2017
  8. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
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    Pop the cover off the bottom and try your print again with a fan (standing is fine ) if it holds up to multiple prints replace that fan eith a better brand :) sounds like a heat issue
     
    #8 Geof, May 8, 2017

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