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Answered Consistent Layer Shifting

Discussion in 'Troubleshooting' started by Red7s, Jan 25, 2019.

  1. Red7s

    Red7s New Member

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    I've had my R1 for almost 2 months now, after I bought it second hand off of Facebook marketplace..and I still have yet to get a successful print off of it.

    As my post history solves, I finally got my e3d hotend installed and working on it, which is great! However after replacing it, and trying multiple slicers/computers I am unable to complete a single test print without experiencing any layer shifting.

    I would appreciate any insight as to what may be causing this as the layers in which it starts to shift is seemingly random. I've gone ahead and attached a video of the error, which you can see within the last 10 seconds, as well as a close up of the calibration cube. You may also find my print settings below. If you would like me to elaborate further on any details please do not hesitate to ask!

    Filament - Hatchbox PLA
    Extruder Temp - 205c
    Print Speed - 40mm/s
    Initial Layer height - .3mm
    Layer height - .2mm


    Thank you very much!
     

    Attached Files:

  2. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Looks like slop in the drive.
    Loose belts or loose drive gears attached to the stepper motor shafts (the ones that drive the belts)

    Check all of those.
     
  3. Red7s

    Red7s New Member

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    How would I go about tightening either of those? I checked around google and I can't seem to find any instructions on that.

    Or am I just bad at google?
     
  4. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
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    Drive gears have set screws, make sure they are tight.

    Pluck the belt fir the x a is does it twang or thud ? If it thuds it needs tightened
     
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  5. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    The drive gears have a set screw on the the gear (attached tot he stepper motor shaft) tighten that.
    As for the belt -- @Geof nailed it -- a twang is your friend
     
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  6. Red7s

    Red7s New Member

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    Thank you very much, Im messing with zip ties currently to try and get it tight enough! I will report back as I mess with it throughout the day.

    After adding a second zip tie last night..I did get a successful print albeit a bit messy, but that may have just been luck as layers are still slipping. So its clearly not tight enough still
     
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  7. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Sadly all I can offer in terms of an answer to "how tight should they be?"
    is
    "Tighter than I would have thought" :)

    If you pluck the belt like a guitar string a low bass thrum* is what you should hear. A thud* is too loose a twang* is too tight



    *highly technical audio descriptions
     
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  8. Red7s

    Red7s New Member

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    I don't think I can make this belt much tighter. I've gone ahead and have tightened a zip tie around the belt as tight as possible..and have even added a belt tensioner(this one to be exact) and It's added quite a bit of tension to the point where I believe I have the "twang" I need

    However the layers still shift randomly. Could the issue be something else completely? If it helps, I've noticed that the printer seems to stop for a second or so right before the shift happens. Almost like it needs a moment to think, and than just loses track as to where it was

    I can of course record a quick video showing the "twang" I have currently as well as how much tension the belt has if needed.

    Once again I appreciate all of the help thus far!
     
  9. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Set screw on the drive gears as mentioned previously. I have all mine secured with loctite in place.
    If the pause always happens before the shift you might want to consider a new usb cable since the pauses are usually caused by a drop in communications.
     

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