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Donated printer: trying to get up and running

Discussion in 'Troubleshooting' started by atgunner, Mar 27, 2018.

  1. atgunner

    atgunner New Member

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    Hey guys,

    I run a makerspace and was gifted a broken R2 that I'm trying to get up and running. I have a ton of experience with MB Rep 2's and Gen 5, Ultimaker's, and LulzBots, but this is my first Robo.

    The z-axis bearings are shot, so I've got those on order, so now it's on to the next issue: extruder connections.

    I'm currently getting no temp readings from the extruder. When I attempt to heat the extruder, I get an error (MINTEMP triggered, system stopped! Heater_ID: 0). I don't know enough about the machine yet, but I'm guessing the board isn't seeing the hot end at all.

    I've also can't get anything out of the fan control, and the fans never spin. Not sure if they're coded to only spin when the extruder is heating, or if one of them runs all the time. Maybe one of you can shed light on that.

    I'm leaning towards the issue being either the ribbon cable or the circuit board on top of the extruder (not sure of the technical term for that board.

    Does anyone know the pin-outs on the ribbon cable so I can check them and what voltages I should expect when I send a command through? I appreciate any help!


    Here's a link to some photos to give you all an idea of what I'm looking at. imgur.com/a/XBWMM
     
    #1 atgunner, Mar 27, 2018
  2. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    That sounds more like the bed heater and that is usually the fault of the pogo pins under the bed,
     
    #2 mark tomlinson, Mar 27, 2018
  3. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    #3 mark tomlinson, Mar 27, 2018
  4. atgunner

    atgunner New Member

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    I'm actually getting connection to the print-bed. Heats up great. Looks like the v2 bed was installed on this unit.

    Visually, the hot end/thermistor itself looks fine. There are no breaks in the cables. My only fear is that if I'm also not getting connection to the hot-end fans/extruder motor/etc, then it's got to be more than just the thermistor.

    Which is why I think it's the extruder board or the ribbon cable, or am I off base?
     
    #4 atgunner, Mar 27, 2018
  5. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Probably not the board, possibly the ribbon cable, just as likely to be the connections inside the block between the board and the extruder :)
     
    #5 mark tomlinson, Mar 27, 2018
  6. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Measure resistance from the connection on the board to the hotend thermistor. That wiring is internal to the mount/block, but it is still just a straight wire ... look for near zero ohms
     
    #6 mark tomlinson, Mar 27, 2018
  7. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    It could be the board, but that board doesn't do much other than route some connections. I'd suspect it last. Pull it out and visually inspect it front and back... I'd expect any problems to be visible.
     
    #7 mark tomlinson, Mar 27, 2018
  8. atgunner

    atgunner New Member

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    Alright, I've got connection from the uptown board to the thermistor connector. Does the thermistor connection on the uptown board go all the way to the Extruder 1 power on the mainboard or does that cable end up somewhere else on the mainboard?

    Also, I'm guessing then that the extruder motor and fans are powered off of the extruder 1 power?
     
    #8 atgunner, Mar 27, 2018
  9. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    The thermistor does NOT route to the power for the extruder on the mainboard (the heater core does) it routes through the ribbon cable connector down there on the main board. I do not recall if there is a separate connector for the thermistor, but it goes through the ribbon cable regardless.
     
    #9 mark tomlinson, Mar 27, 2018
  10. atgunner

    atgunner New Member

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    I'm guessing there's not a pin-out for the ribbon cable, is there?
     
    #10 atgunner, Mar 27, 2018
  11. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    #11 mark tomlinson, Mar 27, 2018
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  12. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    You could fake one up by tracing the connections from the wires onto the little board on top, but that would be a mess :)
     
    #12 mark tomlinson, Mar 27, 2018
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  13. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    I think in you case you can just ring-out the entire ribbon cable. Not that many wires. If there are no breaks then sadly, it may be a failure on the main board. That is custom and I am not sure how available spares are (they were non-existent earlier due to backlog). Of course with some effort you could replace it with a RAMPS/Arduino Mega :)
     
    #13 mark tomlinson, Mar 27, 2018
  14. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Functionally that single board is really no different than that combo (well, other than the input voltages being 24v, but that can be adapted too). I would probably ping them for a replacement or at least availability if you decide the main control board is at fault.
     
    #14 mark tomlinson, Mar 27, 2018
  15. WheresWaldo

    WheresWaldo Volunteer ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)
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    upload_2018-3-27_16-55-37.png

    Does this help any?
    Pins 15 / 16 are closest to the front of the printer.
     
    #15 WheresWaldo, Mar 27, 2018
    Last edited: Mar 27, 2018
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