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Solved New Printer Issues

Discussion in 'Troubleshooting' started by TheGlutton, Jul 22, 2016.

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  1. TheGlutton

    TheGlutton New Member

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    Hello,

    I recently received a Refurbished R1 for my birthday :D

    I followed the getting started video and am having issues :(

    1) Matter control crashes making it un-useable on my laptop (Macbook Pro), I was able to get it running on my desktop (Mac MIni). However, it becomes un-responsive for about 2 minutes before it will fully open, then it seems to run fine.

    2) I could not get any of the manual bed/print head controls to work in Matter Control, the software said it was successfully connected to the printer, and it showed my extruder and bed temps, but none of the controls to move the print-head or the bed work.

    3) I could not get anything to print, when I begin the print process the bed and extruder begin the pre-heating process, and the bed quickly reaches temp (49-50C) but the extruder temp sits at 17-19C perpetually and nothing else happens. The tiny fan on the left side of the extruder is running, and the blue nights are on, but that is all. I had heard that Cura was better than matter control, so I installed version 15.04.6 and followed Mike Kelly's setup guide. But alas, no change, I can get the bed to heat, but not the extruder and none of the manual controls in the Pronterface UI work :(

    i have:
    -Turned the machine off and back on again
    -tried switching the power supply to the 220 setting and starting it up (it came on but the fans were running slower so I immediately turned it off and moved the slider back to 110v)

    I am worried that by getting a refurb I have just inherited a lemon... Please help!

    I am giving the 24/7 support a call now, but would appreciate any suggestions you can make :)
     
  2. TheGlutton

    TheGlutton New Member

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    OK, telephone support was very helpful! :)

    It turns out the wires for the extruder were not connected to the board, and that was preventing the extruder from heating, I am not troubleshooting issues with Cura retracting the filament an extreme amount at the start of the print and essentially un-loading the extruder...
     
  3. TheGlutton

    TheGlutton New Member

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    Aaaaannnnddddd I figured out what I was missing in my g-code to cause the retraction... I added another G92 E0 line to the very end of the start.gcode and that resolved the issue.

    Now I have to see if the grease I added to the z-axis threaded rods will increase the height of my 17mm calibration cube (which is supposed to be 20mm).
     
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  4. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
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    HI @TheGlutton. Happy birthday! Glad to see your making headway on your new machine. Congrats and good job.
     
  5. danzca6

    danzca6 Well-Known Member

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    First off, Happy Birthday! A 3d printer is a great gift. Hopefully it was gifted to you and not by you.

    I also got the refurb version and I'm very happy with saving the $$$. The first thing I had to do on mine was upgrade the firmware to the V3 version and that cured my 17mm cube height issue. Proper lube of the Z is always a good idea. Make sure everything is also tightened down. Take some 3in1 machine oil and rub down your smooth rods as well. Between being a refurb and UPS, you never know what state the printer is in when delivered. So best to go through it and make sure all connections are secure and all that.
     
  6. TheGlutton

    TheGlutton New Member

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    Hi @Geof thank you! :D

    @danzca6 Thank you also, it was gifted TO me! :D My sweetheart and my father went in on it together, sneaky sneaky!

    I am glad to hear that the firmware upgrade did the trick for you, I am researching the process now and will report back when finished.
     
  7. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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  8. TheGlutton

    TheGlutton New Member

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    Against my better judgement I tried to print a complex print before I went to bed (@5:30 am :eek: lost track of time!).

    The print made it about 80-85% of the way before failing, now I have a headless Squirtle staring at me from my desk... File_000.jpeg File_001.jpeg
     

    Attached Files:

  9. TheGlutton

    TheGlutton New Member

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    I used Matter Control and the hex file from @mark tomlinson 's post, and am printing another cube now, will post results soon.
     
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  10. TheGlutton

    TheGlutton New Member

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    Well, the printer is putting the top layer on the cube now, and it is still clearly short :(

    So far in an effort to get a 20mm tall cube I have:
    -Lubed the z axis rods
    -Update Firmware to latest v3
    -Printed in both Matter Control and Cura
    -Confirmed Z-steps is correct in EEPROM

    Any suggestions?

    My settings are:

    Extruder 210
    Bed 70

    Gcode:

    Code:
    G21
    G90 ;absolute positioning
    M107 ;start with the fan off
    G28 ;home all axis
    M565 Z 0.65     ;Define a .75 mm offset, this may need adjusting
    G29     ;run autolevel routine
    G1 Z15.0 F{travel_speed} ;move the platform down 15mm
    G92 E0 ;zero the extruded length
    G1 F200 E3 ;extrude 3mm of feed stock
    G92 E0 ;zero the extruded length again
    G1 F{travel_speed}
    G92 E0; zero the extruded length again
    File_000.jpeg File_001.jpeg File_002.jpeg File_003.jpeg
     
    #10 TheGlutton, Jul 22, 2016
    Last edited: Jul 22, 2016
  11. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
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    How many top layers?
     
  12. danzca6

    danzca6 Well-Known Member

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    First, I think updating the firmware through matter control isn't a good practice. I use the arduino software and do a compile and upload from there.

    Could you send an M503 from the terminal window in MC and post the results? I want to make sure the steps look right.
     
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  13. TheGlutton

    TheGlutton New Member

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    @Geof I am not sure exactly? There is a top/bottom thickness setting? Here are screenshots of my settings:

    Screen Shot 2016-07-22 at 3.31.08 PM.png Screen Shot 2016-07-22 at 3.31.14 PM.png Screen Shot 2016-07-22 at 3.32.21 PM.png
     
  14. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    This... Do this.
     
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  15. TheGlutton

    TheGlutton New Member

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    I added photos of my last cube above, here is the results of the M503:


    Code:
    ->M503
    
    <-echo:Steps per unit:
    <-echo:  M92 X80.00 Y80.00 Z2560.00 E723.38
    <-echo:Maximum feedrates (mm/s):
    <-echo:  M203 X500.00 Y500.00 Z5.00 E25.00
    <-echo:Maximum Acceleration (mm/s2):
    <-echo:  M201 X9000 Y9000 Z100 E10000
    <-echo:Acceleration: S=acceleration, T=retract acceleration
    <-echo:  M204 S1300.00 T3000.00
    <-echo:Advanced variables: S=Min feedrate (mm/s), T=Min travel feedrate (mm/s), B=minimum segment time (ms), X=maximum XY jerk (mm/s),  Z=maximum Z jerk (mm/s),  E=maximum E jerk (mm/s)
    <-echo:  M205 S0.00 T0.00 B20000 X17.00 Z0.40 E5.00
    <-echo:Home offset (mm):
    <-echo:  M206 X0.00 Y0.00 Z0.00
    <-echo:PID settings:
    <-echo:   M301 P22.20 I1.08 D114.00
    <-ok
    ->M105
     
  16. TheGlutton

    TheGlutton New Member

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    I just 'Uploaded' the firmware using Arduino, I will start a new cube and see if there are any improvements.
     
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  17. TheGlutton

    TheGlutton New Member

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    Since the firmware upgrade my printer tries to print with the extruder too close to the bed, zero filament comes out and the printer is etching the thin layer of gluestick off the bed. I reid changing z-offset from .65 to .9 with no effect.

    I am going to re flash the firmware and restart.
     
  18. TheGlutton

    TheGlutton New Member

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    Re-flashing the firmware did not fix the printing to close to the bed issue, i re ran M503:


    > M503

    < echo:Steps per unit:

    < echo: M92 X80.00 Y80.00 Z2560.00 E723.38

    < echo:Maximum feedrates (mm/s):

    < echo: M203 X500.00 Y500.00 Z5.00 E25.00

    < echo:Maximum Acceleration (mm/s2):

    < echo: M201 X9000 Y9000 Z100 E10000

    < echo:Acceleration: S=acceleration, T=retract acceleration

    < echo: M204 S1300.00 T3000.00

    < echo:Advanced variables: S=Min feedrate (mm/s), T=Min travel feedrate (mm/s), B=minimum segment time (ms), X=maximum XY jerk (mm/s), Z=maximum Z jerk (mm/s), E=maximum E jerk (mm/s)

    < echo: M205 S0.00 T0.00 B20000 X17.00 Z0.40 E5.00

    < echo:Home offset (mm):

    < echo: M206 X0.00 Y0.00 Z0.00

    < echo:pID settings:

    < echo: M301 P22.20 I1.08 D114.00
     
  19. TheGlutton

    TheGlutton New Member

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    I have tried:

    -Powercycling the printer
    -setting z-offset to .9
    -setting z-offset to 0
    -setting z offset to -1
    -z-offset 1.0
    -Printing with MatterControl
    -re flashing the "R1 with Auto Level and 8mm Rods" firmware
    -z-offset 2mm

    None of my changes to the z-offset seem to have any effect at all.

    Looking closely at the z-axis switches(?) when the print starts there is a gap between the carriage(?) and the switch, the print head is riding on the print bed, instead of the switches. The actual switches/steppers(?) need to be raised probably 3mm or so just to become in contact with the carriage.

    See the photos below taken while the machine was "printing", the switches are like 3-4mm below that actual carriage thing. File_000.jpeg File_001.jpeg
     
  20. TheGlutton

    TheGlutton New Member

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    OK, I have modified my Gcode by adding the lines from this thread by @Ben R: http://community.robo3d.com/index.php?threads/read-me-my-robo-doesnt-auto-level-correctly-faq.4664/


    Code:
    G1 Z5 F5000 ; lift Z by 5mm
    G28 ; home all axes
    M565 Z-1.1; set the offset for auto-leveling mechanism
    G29 ; run auto-level
    M300 S440 P200 ;A4: 440
    G0 Z5
    And now I am printing again! Offset is a little too high so I am tweaking it, looks like -.6 is working ok, will try -.5 on next print.

    Will share results of this cube in about 20 mins.
     
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