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Answered Heater upgrade, then stepper troubles R1 with lead screws

Discussion in 'Troubleshooting' started by Robert55, May 22, 2017.

  1. WheresWaldo

    WheresWaldo Volunteer ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)
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    I think I see what Robo did, there is a setting in pins.h that sets Z2_STEP_PIN, Z2_DIR_PIN and Z2_ENABLE_PIN. I don't like Marlin 1.0.0 so I can't be sure. They must has tweaked other stuff too to make it work, what a kludge.
     
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  2. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Yep .. that is the deal.

    I have all of mine (that use Arduino/RAMPS) driven off of the one Z axis driver and have never had a issue.
     
  3. WheresWaldo

    WheresWaldo Volunteer ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)
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    I see what they did, Robo uses the driver for E1 (second extruder) to drive the second Z stepper
     
  4. WheresWaldo

    WheresWaldo Volunteer ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)
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    I am surprised it works as well as it does, Since Marlin is single threaded it could introduce timing issues on Z moves if the Arduino gets bogged down.
     
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  5. Robert55

    Robert55 Member

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    I believe I found it. Under "Configuration_adv.h":

    // A single Z stepper driver is usually used to drive 2 stepper motors.
    // Uncomment this option to use a separate stepper driver for each Z axis motor.
    // The next unused E driver will be assigned to the second Z stepper.
    //#define Z_DUAL_STEPPER_DRIVERS

    #if ENABLED(Z_DUAL_STEPPER_DRIVERS)

    // Z_DUAL_ENDSTOPS is a feature to enable the use of 2 endstops for both Z steppers - Let's call them Z stepper and Z2 stepper.
    // That way the machine is capable to align the bed during home, since both Z steppers are homed.
    // There is also an implementation of M666 (software endstops adjustment) to this feature.
    // After Z homing, this adjustment is applied to just one of the steppers in order to align the bed.
    // One just need to home the Z axis and measure the distance difference between both Z axis and apply the math: Z adjust = Z - Z2.
    // If the Z stepper axis is closer to the bed, the measure Z > Z2 (yes, it is.. think about it) and the Z adjust would be positive.
    // Play a little bit with small adjustments (0.5mm) and check the behaviour.
    // The M119 (endstops report) will start reporting the Z2 Endstop as well.

    //#define Z_DUAL_ENDSTOPS

    #if ENABLED(Z_DUAL_ENDSTOPS)
    #define Z2_USE_ENDSTOP _XMAX_
    #define Z_DUAL_ENDSTOPS_ADJUSTMENT 0 // use M666 command to determine/test this value
    #endif

    #endif // Z_DUAL_STEPPER_DRIVERS

    Let me reflash and I'll let you know.
     
  6. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    I agree, it is a trade-off that seems to make little sense. The Z steppers use the least amount of driver current which is why they can use a single stepper driver. The Z is not moving nearly as often or nearly as fast as Xor Y.
     
  7. Robert55

    Robert55 Member

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    That did it!!! Now, I see they have a dual endstop option for the Z Axis. Now I know what the guy that did the penny balance did. He enabled the dual endstops to auto-level the axis left to right. Cool. That's next on the list. ;) Thanks, guys!!!
     
  8. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
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    Original R1+ firmware on my machine (cant speak for anything other than my 2) once a week or even as often as a few days I had to relevel the x axis due to one size magically lifting higher than the other leadscrew. Now if you can imagine this...when I swapped to a generic ramps that issue just .... went away :D

    magic ;)

    poor idea to save a few pennies at the cost of super frustrations
     
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  9. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Single Z driver? That would totally make sense...
     
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  10. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
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    ;) crazy right!
     
  11. Robert55

    Robert55 Member

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    Well, now I have 2 stepper drivers for Z. She's printing pretty good right now, so I would say "problem solved". I learned a lot from this one - about stepper drivers AND firmware. In my research, I did find something interesting I'm following down. Pololu has some TI DRV8880's that look VERY interesting. 1/16th step, drop in for A4988s, AND "Built in AUTO-TUNING". I have a bunch coming in, but they don't have any with the leads soldered on, so I had to make a "deal". My soldering sucks. One reason I'm checking it out is I have a Rhino (proprietary main board), and a Ridgit Bot Big (putting an Arduino in), and I don't like the tuning bit at all. I'll keep you posted.Oh, I haven't found the probe sequence in the firmware to level out the X/Z axis. Yet. If anyone finds it before me, please let me know. And a special thanks to WheresWalto for all the firmware work he's done. Because of him, I'm no longer intimidated by it.

    I think we can consider this thread done. Thank you very much gentlemen. I appreciate the help.
     
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