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Solved Month old printer fails most of the time

Discussion in 'Troubleshooting' started by Shane Simino, Aug 1, 2016.

  1. Shane Simino

    Shane Simino Member

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    So I got my Robo3D Plus a little over a month ago and it was working great. I was printing everything from usb cable. The SD card never worked. I watched the videos and read the forums, but mine just does not do what it's supposed to. It's also very tight to push in. Just in the last week and a half my printer fails over and over. I l lose connection at all different points in the print. I called for support and they said that I needed a new Arduino board and SD reader. They told me to email in. I did that and have not heard back. Do they just ship and not email back or does anyone have some insight here. I'm ready to give up. If I could send this thing back, I would. I'm not even sure what's wrong with it. I even tried a new cable and that made no difference.

    I looked up Arduino cards on Amazon, but I'm not sure what to get and what about my SD reader. I'd like to get this thing up and running again. How does an XXL screen connect? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
     
  2. daniel871

    daniel871 Well-Known Member

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    It isn't unheard of for response times to go into the arena of two-three weeks before you get a response, then another two-three weeks before replacement parts ship.

    If you bought it via Amazon.com or Best Buy, initiate a return/complaint through them.
     
  3. Shane Simino

    Shane Simino Member

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    I bought it from amazon and missed my return window by a week. That's my luck.
     
  4. Rigmarol

    Rigmarol Well-Known Member

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    I had the arduino board go out on me but it took a few weeks of email back and forth to get to the point of finding that was the issue. My problem is I work the same hours they do so it was tough to actually speak with someone. I eventually was lucky enough to get a day off and I just drove to their shop in San Diego. Lucky I was close.

    We went through all the testing again while I was there at the bench with them and it really was fast with someone who knew what they were doing. We swapped out the board and all testing was successfull.

    However, when I got home, I was getting exactly the issue your are getting; losing connection via USB with the printer. As it turned out, I got another bad arduino!!! This time it was the USB connector that was bad on the board. I tested it by jiggling the USB cable while printing and I could make it fail on demand. A third arduino was sent out and a week later I was up and have been printing my brains out ever since.

    Keep repeating "this is only a hobby" and "I'm a tinkerer not a mere user" and "3D printer are not microwave ovens, sometimes pressing go doesn't get me anywhere". Seriously, the reason I was drawn to Robo was BECAUSE it's open source and CAN BE TINKERED with. This is both a blessing and a curse I'm afraid.
     
  5. Ryan TeGantvoort

    Ryan TeGantvoort Active Member

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    My couple replacement requests were actually fulfilled fairly quickly. Responses within the week (sometimes within a day) and decent shipping 3-4 days.

    One thing I noticed from my first request to my latest request is make sure you know what you're talking about and the process goes much smoother. If you are lost, search these forums, almost every issue has been talked about in here. If you can narrow down your problem, support will be quicker, obviously, because they have less work to do (eliminate the common problems before contacting them).

    For example: my last replacement was because my Y-Axis stopped moving during a print. Found it to be the Y-Axis Stepper Driver. I went through checking wires, swapping stepper motors and drivers before I realized the Motor still functioned but the Driver failed. So I put my request in and told them (Kevin) everything I have done and determined the problem to be the Stepper Driver. He replied to my request the same day stating a replacement order for the Stepper Driver has been placed for you. Did not even ask to verify anything!

    All of the things to check came from people on these forums, so just ask! I am new to this printer, but a quick learner!
     
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  6. Ryan TeGantvoort

    Ryan TeGantvoort Active Member

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    Check all connections at the board, but it sounds like the USB port is failing. When you start a print, can you wiggle the USB and recreate the issue?

    Ditch the SD Card reader that comes factory and purchase a XXL or Full Graphics LCD (they are cheap I think I paid $20 amazon). Installation is very simple, there are tons of threads describing how to install.
     
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  7. Shane Simino

    Shane Simino Member

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    I ordered a new arduino board and a full graphics LCD today. I'm going to mess around with the connections tomorrow and see if it's just a sloppy port or something, but ultimately I'd rather not have to be tethered to my laptop anyway.
     
  8. Ryan TeGantvoort

    Ryan TeGantvoort Active Member

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    Exactly! May even fix your current arduino problem. The LCD controller is definitely the way to go. Frees up your computer so you can create more awesome shit!
     
  9. danzca6

    danzca6 Well-Known Member

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    Shane, keep trying to contact Robo and discuss your issues. They should replace your parts if only one month old. It also keeps them updated on any possible QA issues they need to correct. They have been great in response to my questions in the past. Hate to see you having issues with getting a hold of them, but don't give up. You can always PM @Harry. He been a great help with forum members in the past as well.
     
  10. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
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    @Kevin Robo 3D is an active member that works for robo. Maybe he can help out as well?
     
  11. Rigmarol

    Rigmarol Well-Known Member

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    I have had best results calling and leaving a detailed message along with the best time to get ahold of me.
     
  12. Shane Simino

    Shane Simino Member

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    So I finally got around to adding my ramps 1.4 full graphic smart controller and having problems with flashing firmware. I downloaded Arduino 1.6.9, Robo 3d firmware and U8glib. I placed robo firmware and u8glib in Arduino libraries folder. Open Arduino, then robo firmware, go to configuration h, enable SD support and enable my reprap smart controller. The problem comes in when I try to save it and then upload. I can't save it. It says access denied. I included a pic. Hopefully someone can help. Thanks in advance. robo arduino.PNG
     
  13. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
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    I believe you have to comment out the other controller. I dont think you can have them both active.
     
  14. danzca6

    danzca6 Well-Known Member

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    Only the ug8lib goes in the libraries folder. The Robo firmware goes into you documents or download directory. I wonder if that is why you are getting the access denied error. Then when you uninstall or reinstall it doesn't delete the sketch either. Comment out the old controller definition like @Geof mentioned and see if you get the error still. If not great. Either way make sure you firmware sketch files are in a safe place.
     
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  15. Shane Simino

    Shane Simino Member

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    Ok. Thanks for the quick responses. I will give it a try in the morning and let you know.
     
  16. Toro1966

    Toro1966 Active Member

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    One more thing is that you can go online and make an appointment for them to call you. That works very well. The most I have ever had to wait for a part is about a week. And that's because I live in VA and they ship from CA.
     
  17. Shane Simino

    Shane Simino Member

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    Okay, so I commented out the other controller. Good call. I moved the robo firmware into my documents and now it saves and uploads. Still just a blue screen. I have another Mega 2560 board here I ordered because Robo 3D said they thought there was something wrong with my board. They still haven't sent one, but I'm covered. I think that's my next step to change that board out. Does that make sense?
     
  18. danzca6

    danzca6 Well-Known Member

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    So with the Full graphics LCD, it could be the contrast setting. There is an adjustment screw on the board that might help you to see what is on the screen other than blue.
     
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  19. Shane Simino

    Shane Simino Member

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    So I just tried that and that's not it. Thanks.
     
  20. danzca6

    danzca6 Well-Known Member

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    Well that was worth a shot. Not sure what else it would be other than a bad board like you said, a bad LCD, or a connection issue.
     

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