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RepRap Smart Controller

Discussion in 'Mods and Upgrades' started by JWW, Jun 24, 2021.

  1. JWW

    JWW Member

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    I need some help, please. I purchased this a long time ago for my R1+ but never installed it since I moved to another state. Now that I'm settled in, I wanted to install it.

    1. Are there any install videos for the R1+?
    2. It didn't come with ribbon cables, do I need them? If so, where do I buy the proper ribbon for the R1+ that I should have received? I also didn't get any knobs if I was supposed to.
    3. I assume there are cases out there for it?

    Thanks,
    -JW:
     
    #1 JWW, Jun 24, 2021
    Last edited: Jun 24, 2021
  2. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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  3. JWW

    JWW Member

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    Thanks Mark.
     
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  4. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Welcome sir, I was a bit surprised I couldn't just find the cables on Amazon :)
     
  5. JWW

    JWW Member

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    My printer prints excellent whenever it prints. <g> I really need to print this part but can't. It was printing sweet from the computer, then about an hour or two into the print, the nozzle was stuck to the part. <duh> I can't print from the card for some reason, either figuring it had something to do with the cable. What a PITA. It won't even recognize the card and the reason I wanted to install the RepRap smart controller. So I thought I would give it another try this morning, and I get this error message when I fired up the R1+. The print never even started. Make me think there's something else going on.
     

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  6. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    That error is in the FAQ -- it is almost always the hotend thermistor starting to fail or a bad connector between the thermistor and the RAMPS.

    Yea, looks like you are going through a set of issues :) Good luck...
     
  7. JWW

    JWW Member

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    ... and that's a brand new head too. Maybe I bent the thermistor wire to far when I was installing the new hotend.
     
  8. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    I'd check the connections, the fact that you just uplugged and plugged them back in might be a thing :)
    Check the wiring too. The old style, glass bead thermistors can short out if the insulated tubing/sleeve that goes around the leads can slide up and leave bare wire exposed that shorts to the heater block.

    If that is the case, just moving the sleeving back to remove the short will sort it.
     
  9. JWW

    JWW Member

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    As always, thanks for the help and suggestions. Hopefully, I can get this puppy up and printing today without the new controller.
     

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  10. JWW

    JWW Member

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    When I get that error message, I'm not able to move any axis, X, Y or Z. So is there another hardware issue, or could it still be the thermistors which in turn shuts down the system? Just wanting to know before I tear into this again.
     
  11. JWW

    JWW Member

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    I put another new extruder in and got this error message..

     

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  12. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    OK this one:

    [​IMG]

    Is a result of the "Temperature fell too much during print" error which is usually a dead thermistor (if it always happens regardless of movement in the extruder carriage) or flaky wiring from the RAMPS to the hotend. It can in rare cases be the RAMPS board or the wiring to/from but usually -- the thermistor. If it happens when the carriage moves then it is a loose wire to the thermistor or a loose thermistor.

    This one:

    [​IMG]

    Is more straightforward. There is no doubt on this. The RAMPS is reading the thermistor as open-circuit (if it was complaining about MAXTEMP or displaying some silly high value then it would be a shorted thermistor). Since it is the RAMPS complaining it could still be a bad RAMPS, but since the symptoms changed with the hotend I would be it is the hotend thermistor and not the RAMPS.

    Sanity check your wiring harness and the thermistor for any open connectors.
     
  13. JWW

    JWW Member

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    How do I check for a bad thermistor, continuity? If so, there is no continuity.
     

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  14. fred3d

    fred3d Member

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    Thermistor changes resistance with temperature. No continuity, no resistance, busted.
     
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  15. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Yep, @fred3d nailed it. You should not get a short reading it, but you should get about 100 kiloOhms
    If you read open circuit -- that agrees with what the RAMPS is seeing.

    Which while it may not sound helpful -- it is helpful because it means the RAMPS is probably just fine and this is a thermistor or thermistor wiring/connector issue
     
  16. JWW

    JWW Member

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    Four of my thermistors measured 4 ohms, two measured 110 KiloOhms.
     
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  17. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    and now you know which ones are likely usable :)
    4 ohms is far too little -- 110k is fine, it is a little over BUT most multimeters will not load the circuit enough to get an accurate reading on a thermistor.
     
  18. JWW

    JWW Member

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    And thanks for the help. Hopefully, this will do the trick so I'm able to print one part for my microscope. I was using a Fluke 179.
     
  19. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Fine meter, just that the newer (electronic) meters tend be a bit less accurate on the thermistors. Anything +/- 15% is likely a good thermistor (the less % off it is, the better, but it is probably just fine at 110 k

    (and I use a fluke myself)
     
  20. JWW

    JWW Member

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    BTW Mark, do you know where I can purchase a dozen or so Thermistors the proper length for the R1 plus? Perhaps Amazon? I did look but want to make sure.
     

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