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Community Favorite Taking the R1+ ramps and rewiring to make generic Ramps Work

Discussion in 'Mods and Upgrades' started by Geof, Apr 22, 2016.

  1. PiecesbyReeses

    PiecesbyReeses New Member

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  2. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
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    I gotya. Yep I’d get a new board. I did find the arduino/ramps/lcd controller kits were typically pretty decent. It doesn’t appear the ones I bought years ago still are around so no guarantee on them :)
     
  3. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Honestly the ones I bought last year I bought in a batch of 3 because I suspected I would have at least one DOA :)
    They are a cheaply made board and that is about the size of it. Working ones usually last well.
     
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  4. PiecesbyReeses

    PiecesbyReeses New Member

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    That's great advice. I just received an update telling me my replacement is out for delivery. So I'll find out later tonight if it's a dud too. If it is I'll pick a different brand and order 3. I'm running a little behind on my production

    Sent from my SM-A102U using Tapatalk
     
  5. PiecesbyReeses

    PiecesbyReeses New Member

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    Quick update, (it's late and I've gotta sleep and be up in 5 hours for work) The new board works. Bed heats up. But the y axis moves and jams. I'm assuming I had to reverse the plug on the ramps board from the original. It was the only one that had the black wire 'down' when changing. I'll switch it after work tomorrow and give some updates. But So far. Excellent step by step to solve the RAMPS issue. Thanks everyone for being so attentive!

    Sent from my SM-A102U using Tapatalk
     
  6. PiecesbyReeses

    PiecesbyReeses New Member

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    Okay I did swap the Y plug around on the ramps and that wasn't it. I put it the original way and wanted to see what the motor was doing, so I took the glass bed off and set It aside(still plugged in though). And the Y axis would THEN jog(as if the bed was swaying it down before), but only 10 mm in negative and then positive. Nothing more. It also sounds really bad, like its struggling to move. The belt seems to shudder as it moves. And even if I only use one directional key (positive then positive) it always moves 10mm and then back to it's starting position.

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  7. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
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    Hey,
    Did you install all the stepper driver jumpers ? Double check. Also you can swap stepper drivers around and see if the problem moves. If it does you’ve found your problem.
     
  8. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
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    The stepper drivers have a potentiometer on them if the problem moves. You can adjust it to increase voltage to make it move correctly. If you bought the kit and it comes with spares swap another one in. Also make sure none of the legs are missing the connections :)
     
  9. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
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    The moving positive and positive command but getting it to move both ways is odd also. Double check all your connections are landed while your in there. It’s easy to swap things around. If your unsure you can always post photos. Sorry for the delayed responses
     
  10. PiecesbyReeses

    PiecesbyReeses New Member

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    Okay, so I went back and double checked the jumpers, good. I swapped the Y driver with the X. And the problem remained on the Y. I unfortunately was not smart, and didnt buy the board with the extras (will always buy them in the future).
    I saw another post that mentioned stepper motor +/- travel issues and thought about replacing the wires and plugs.
    ...Maybe it's an ALMOST GOOD board but I'll work more tomorrow on it.

    Sent from my SM-A102U using Tapatalk
     
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  11. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
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    Starting to sound that way. If you had no y issues prior to the ramps and now the other issue is resolved but you have y issues, all connectors are landed correctly, and swapping the driver made no difference it would make sense you’d have a bad board … again.
     
  12. PiecesbyReeses

    PiecesbyReeses New Member

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    I'm going to try one more thing today. I'll swap the wiring going to the X and Y axis to see if it transfers. But I noticed yesterday, that the bed is very hard to move manually (unpowered). Seems much more difficult than in the past. Could that be a sign of the Y stepper motor going out?

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  13. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
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    You can take the belt off and move the axis around and see how it feels. Also make sure your ribbon cable on the bed isn’t jamming into the black plastic plate everything bolts to
     
  14. PiecesbyReeses

    PiecesbyReeses New Member

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    Okay, after following your earlier advice, I decided to play mix and match for quite a while today. It is 100% the board. I swapped wires, and tested between the X and Y axis. Both steppers motors run fine on the X output. Both shudder on the Y output. If fact (with no power) the Y axis output 'locks up' any plug I put into it immediately. And then falls loose as soon as I unplug it. I'm having another RAMPS board sent to replace the replacement.

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  15. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
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    Man such bad luck with the ramps boards. It’s not surprising but is frustrating. Hopefully you get a good one soon. I believe partsbuilt3d might still sell Robo parts. I may have a machine I can pull a working board out of for you if needed. I think I still have a few robos laying around and probably a few spare boards as well.
     
  16. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    While the stepper drivers are suspect #1, the list I would go down is:
    • Stepper driver (including adjusting drive current)
    • RAMPS board
    • Stepper motor (check wiring too)
    • Arduino Mega
    There really is not anything else to get in the way.

    I have also gone through a number of RAMPS boards when I need to replace one. PartsBuilt should have some and warrant them from birth defects.
     
  17. AE7HD

    AE7HD New Member

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    Well, that was awesome. I used your post to successfully do the same.

    I ran into another problem worth mentioning: connection via USB wasn't working, didn't make the connect sound, didn't show up in Control Panel. Took the Mega 2560 out completely, then it would connect and disconnect.
    Solder connections to ground on that extender PCB were broke off, traces pulled right off. So I used some 20 gauge solid copper wire to strengthen it physically and found I also had to resolder the pins. Now it stays connected.

    It printed a test cube just fine. I have it printing a temperature tower right now.
     

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