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Power Supply Fan Whine

Discussion in 'Troubleshooting' started by Echoshard, Jul 4, 2017.

  1. Echoshard

    Echoshard New Member

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    So,

    Today I came in to see that the power supply fan is making horrible noises. Is it required to run? Anyone know I am thinking of just disabling it.
     
  2. Seamus

    Seamus Member

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    My power supply fan came out of the box making the characteristic whine of a bad fan bearing. I was able to quiet it down with a "diagnostic thump" (see also: "percussive maintenance") that is often the solution in such cases. Unfortunately, the problem persisted, and I had to thump it a few times every time I plugged in the supply in order to get it to run smoothly.

    I contacted Robo help, and they suggested the same course I had already been doing - "give it a good whack".
    The problem persisted however, and they ended up initiating a warranty replacement of the power supply unit. The power supplies are on back-order though, so until it arrives, I'm stuck giving it "a good whack" on power-up, in order to settle the fan bearings.

    Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't hesitate to go diving into the brick to replace the fan with a known good one - or more likely, re-case it in a new enclosure with a significantly quieter fan - but as it's a brand new toy, I'm making an effort to "play nice" right now, not wanting to do anything too intrusive, and risk voiding my warranty. But you can be sure that as soon as I have the new power brick in-hand, the old whiny one is going to be getting fixed for good.
     
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  3. Kilrah

    Kilrah Well-Known Member

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    It's indeed highly annoying that it doesn't have temperature or at least current control... when the printer is idle or off it really shouldn't be running.

    Mine doesn't have bearing issues, the extruder fan however does, I put a drop of oil in and it's now OK.
     
  4. Echoshard

    Echoshard New Member

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    After a large amount of percussive maintenance the fan did not actually stop whining it stayed the same or got worse. I will be discussing it with support and seeing what they say.
     
  5. Seamus

    Seamus Member

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    Sounds like a plan.
    Mine can often require a bit of "persuasion" before it finally settles down, including powering the brick off and on again, in the hopes of getting the fan shaft to seat into a more favorable position. It's a pain, but with a replacement on order, at least it's a _temporary_ pain, and more of a convenience item than an operational problem.
     
  6. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
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    Question: Can you not get a "higher quality" power brick thats 24V? (I havent seen said powerbrick yet) I know while under warranty that is not the solution but sourcing now in anticipation of after warranty ! :D Good idea ;)
     
  7. Kilrah

    Kilrah Well-Known Member

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    Of course. Just gotta fit it with the mini-DIN connector they decided to use.
     
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  8. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
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    of course they did :D
     
  9. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    <this is my "you mean they didn't use a JST connector?" face>
     
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  10. pclabtech

    pclabtech Active Member

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    I didn't want to "whine" about it because I figured I was just unlucky after about 2 weeks and it started making the bad sleeve / bearing (depending on type of fan) whining sound. Now I am reading it is happening to more people, so not a fluke.
     
  11. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
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    Nope more likely a less than satisfactory fan choice. Kickstarter woes im afraid :(
     
  12. Seamus

    Seamus Member

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    Yeah, but I can't fault them, really.
    They responded quickly and appropriately, replacing it instead of trying to play it off as a non-issue. Even if, by chance, the replacement also has issues, I'll have the original to re-spin into a better unit.

    Interestingly, my first printer also had fan issues. In that case, it was the fan that cooled the printhead, extruder, and part (and was so ineffective that I still needed to design my own printhead shroud to keep the extruder drive cool enough to push the filament without melting it). They had sourced a fan that wasn't designed to operate in the orientation it was installed in, so it was pretty much a given that it was going to fail eventually. Replacing that one gave me about two more months of use, until the replacement ingested a mouthful of raft filaments that had peeled off during the print.
     
  13. Warp Norman

    Warp Norman Member

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    Count me in. Sometimes I have to give it a thump just to get it to run at full speed. I asked for a replacement. Awaiting reaponse.
     
  14. Brandon Groves

    Brandon Groves New Member

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    I also have the same problem with my power supply, started right outta the box. I've been doing the thump method too, up till about a week ago now its constant. I add it to my list of thing I didn't want to complain about till i had too, and sent them in an email to support yesterday. Most very minor issues, all and all the R2 is an amazing printer.
     
    #14 Brandon Groves, Jul 15, 2017
    Last edited: Jul 15, 2017
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  15. Warp Norman

    Warp Norman Member

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    Their response to me was basically tough luck. I told them I had to thump it just to get it up to speed sometimes when I start it. I was worried about some upcoming 60 hour prints failing if the power supply overheats or something.
    But, as I tried to figure out why my R2 had such lousy prints, I discovered that all four 8mm rods are bent. Awaiting 2nd tier response.
    Broken Z limit switch, scratched up door and bent rods, I hope they will just replace this machine. I know I will eventually have a nice R2 but as of now, I have a out of the box piece of ____!
     
  16. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Yes, they should (and likely will) as this is not a user serviceable device. At least that is what they were going for.
     
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  17. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
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    Make them, if they try to send parts refuse and request a RMA. :)
     
  18. Kilrah

    Kilrah Well-Known Member

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    Mine has made the whining noise only once, so not too bad. Had the extruder fan do that all the time though, and solved it with a drop of oil.

    BTW the PSU is real crap, it draws a whopping 18W when idle (output disconnected). DO remember to disconnect it when you're not using it, although it's hard to forget with the always-running fan.
    It's actually illegal to sell it here, by far not meeting the max standby power requirements.
     
  19. Echoshard

    Echoshard New Member

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    18 Watts is insane! I opened mine up and put some drops of oil on it however just a few days later the whine was back. I just disconnected the Fan. I hope it does not explode.
     
  20. Kilrah

    Kilrah Well-Known Member

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    With no fan and those 18W of standby consumption it's probably capable of melting itself with no load...
     

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