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Solved Help please! Z axis shifting and third layer prints in air!

Discussion in 'Troubleshooting' started by zenekNY, Sep 5, 2015.

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  1. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    The SD card reader is not an issue. If not connected it will simply not be available.

    There is a picture here that may help:

    http://reprap.org/wiki/Sdramps
     
    #21 mark tomlinson, Sep 5, 2015
    Last edited: Sep 5, 2015
  2. zenekNY

    zenekNY Member

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    alright! Thank You. I just started printing the platform lifters and the 3rd layer I had problems with is perfect!! so far so good! thank You for all your help and very prompt answers!
     
    #22 zenekNY, Sep 5, 2015
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  3. zenekNY

    zenekNY Member

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    Yeah.... Next time I'll knock on wood before I get too excited [​IMG]
    It was half way done with the 3rd layer when it started screwing up again.


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    #23 zenekNY, Sep 5, 2015
  4. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    #24 mark tomlinson, Sep 5, 2015
  5. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Pay attention to the section labeled: "Second"
     
    #25 mark tomlinson, Sep 5, 2015
  6. zenekNY

    zenekNY Member

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    I'm sorry if I'll say anything wrong, but there is not "auto calibration" box in the version of matter control I have. I looked throughout the entire matter control and I couldn't find the thing. Also I've set the Z offset already because I had an issue with the nozzle dragging on the bed's surface. I moved the tip of the printhead just about a 0.1mm and moved it across the X axis and it maintains perfect gap between bed and nozzle. But when moving it on Y axis it starts touching the surface as it moves the platform.


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    #26 zenekNY, Sep 5, 2015
  7. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    That is what the portion I pointed you at is trying to help you sort out. You need to have the X axis (the carriage it moves on) approximately level side to side. That means the Z switches on both sides are triggering at about the same spot. Otherwise your print head will not be level with the bed.

    It needs to be level like that from X max to X min at Y max and Y MIN.

    Make sure the magnets that hold the build plate in are holding the plate firmly locked in on both ends. It is easy for one end of the plate to get jacked up because the magnet is not seated in the recessed spot for it. (that would be the Y max and Y min sections and if one end it sticking up you will have issues).
     
    #27 mark tomlinson, Sep 5, 2015
  8. Chris Harris

    Chris Harris New Member

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    hi there, when you replaced your power supply did you make sure to plug your ramps fan in the correct way? be sure that the fan on the underside of the printer is running as if the heat builds up down there everything starts to go crazy!
     
    #28 Chris Harris, Sep 6, 2015
  9. zenekNY

    zenekNY Member

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    The magnets sit perfectly in their spots, and the entire platforn is level except for the bed which is off by about a 0.1mm. What can I do to level the bed? It doesn't look like there's any adjustment that could be done to the platform because it sits in a fixed position.


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    #29 zenekNY, Sep 6, 2015
  10. zenekNY

    zenekNY Member

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    @ Chris Harris, should the fan blow towards the board or opposite? Before I plugged it in I looked at a picture online and I plugged it in that way. Maybe someone else had it wrong.


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    #30 zenekNY, Sep 6, 2015
  11. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    I used paper shims. You do realize that the glass plate is held to the rods by magnets? PLenty of opportunity to shim tenths of a mm.
     
    #31 mark tomlinson, Sep 6, 2015
  12. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    I am not sure it matters, but I would suggest it exhaust fan out of the case (away from the boards)
     
    #32 mark tomlinson, Sep 6, 2015
  13. Chris Harris

    Chris Harris New Member

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    as long as your fan is on it shouldnt really matter, I have mine drawing cool air onto the board. Either way you want to make sure it's constantly on and giving the boards good air circulation
     
    #33 Chris Harris, Sep 7, 2015
  14. zenekNY

    zenekNY Member

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    The fan is blowing away from the board with a substantial force and still the same thing. I also found out that the arduino board is not fed of the power supply (D1) in the place. I connected my full graphic smart controller and found out that the board is fed only through a USB. Could this cause the misalignment of the axis? Same thing could be happening to other axis too, maybe I just can't notice it.


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    #34 zenekNY, Sep 7, 2015
  15. zenekNY

    zenekNY Member

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    So I have leveled it as good as it gets, shimmed the magnets to make sure the platform is level and made sure that the stop switches click at perfectly same time. But still having isues printing. I start regretting the purchase I made... I really wish it worked but trying this hard and not seeing any positive results is very discouraging.


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    #35 zenekNY, Sep 7, 2015
  16. zenekNY

    zenekNY Member

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    I just downloaded cura 15.04.2 exported the G-code to an SD card and I'm printing of an SD card using Full Graphic Smart Controller and everything is moving well by far, I have no idea what caused misalignment on the Z axis but switching to cura seemed to help. Now I just need help powering the arduino without using the USB cable.


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    #36 zenekNY, Sep 7, 2015
  17. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    #37 mark tomlinson, Sep 7, 2015
  18. zenekNY

    zenekNY Member

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    So I could feed it with a round plug coming right of the 12V because the regulator built into arduino board will drop the voltage down to 5V. By the way, the printer just started acting up again. It's into a 6th layer and instead of going up the height of the layer, it tried printing next layer at the same height. I waited for it to be done and paused it to fix the filament and let it continue on the next layer.


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    #38 zenekNY, Sep 7, 2015
  19. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    If your Arduino is having power problems... I would suggest you look at replacing it :)
    Working around the problem is a nice, short-term fix. However, what else might be wrong with it...
     
    #39 mark tomlinson, Sep 7, 2015
  20. Mike Kelly

    Mike Kelly Volunteer

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    Sounds like your Z stepper driver is over heating. Make sure your ramps cooling fan underneath is running and lift up the printer a bit till you can print lifter feet.
     
    #40 Mike Kelly, Sep 7, 2015
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