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Solved Printer halting at beginning of long prints

Discussion in 'Troubleshooting' started by Mr_Anderson, Jan 21, 2015.

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  1. Mike Kelly

    Mike Kelly Volunteer

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    If you're only using mattercontrol then the issue is most likely matter control. As usual I suggest making MatterHackers troubleshoot their buggy software: http://www.matterhackers.com/community/forum

    If you're using cura then it's most likely a computer issue. Verify your power saving settings aren't disabling your USB ports after a certain amount of time
     
    #21 Mike Kelly, Jan 22, 2015
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  2. Mr_Anderson

    Mr_Anderson Member

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    Whatever is happening isn't a problem with mattercontrol. I am having the exact same issue with Cura. I'll try and load the model in repetier and see what happens.
     
    #22 Mr_Anderson, Jan 22, 2015
  3. Mike Kelly

    Mike Kelly Volunteer

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    Check your power saving settings to ensure that it's not the USB ports being disabled

    What does your arduino show up as in device manager.

    If all else fails, try a different USB cable.
     
    #23 Mike Kelly, Jan 22, 2015
  4. Mr_Anderson

    Mr_Anderson Member

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    The computer is seeing the arduino as an atmega 2560 so I think we're good there. I checked my power saver settings and turned off all options involving usb. I downloaded repetier host and my model shows up just fine. I guess I'll try printing from the sd again and use a different usb port.
     
    #24 Mr_Anderson, Jan 22, 2015
  5. Mike Kelly

    Mike Kelly Volunteer

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    Install the arduino ide software and change it to Arduino Mega 2560.
     
    #25 Mike Kelly, Jan 22, 2015
  6. Mr_Anderson

    Mr_Anderson Member

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    I already have the ide installed.

    So on the latest print I tried, I observed an interesting behavior: I loaded the model from the sd card, and as the printer was going through its autoleveling procedure, the extruder and heated bed started cooling down. Then, the print progress started going up by 5% a second in mattercontrol until it though the print had completed and then homed the extruder and quit moving

    Has anyone else ever seen anything like this??
     
    #26 Mr_Anderson, Jan 22, 2015
  7. Mike Kelly

    Mike Kelly Volunteer

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    Update the driver to be the arduino one. ATmega is kinda an awkward one to use and most people have better luck using the Arduino Mega 2560
     
    #27 Mike Kelly, Jan 22, 2015
  8. Mr_Anderson

    Mr_Anderson Member

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    How do I go about installing new drivers I followed the directions here http://arduino.cc/en/guide/windows#toc4 but I couldn't explicitly choose the file they mentioned, only it's parent folder and windows told me the drivers are up to date.
     
    #28 Mr_Anderson, Jan 22, 2015
  9. Mike Kelly

    Mike Kelly Volunteer

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    #29 Mike Kelly, Jan 22, 2015
  10. Mike Glass

    Mike Glass Active Member

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    Like Mike said check your power settings, If you are using a laptop change it so it does not shut off the hard drive or any of the devices, a disable hibernation and sleep mode.
     
    #30 Mike Glass, Jan 22, 2015
  11. Mr_Anderson

    Mr_Anderson Member

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    Thanks for the link. I followed it and managed to get the driver updated, now it is showing up as an Arduino Mega 2560 under control panel. However, I am experiencing the same weird progress bar issue where the printer thinks things are happening but they aren't.
     
    #31 Mr_Anderson, Jan 22, 2015
  12. Mr_Anderson

    Mr_Anderson Member

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    @Mike Glass I am running on my desktop which is running off my UPS (along with the printer) and to my knowledge I have disabled every power saving setting.
     
    #32 Mr_Anderson, Jan 22, 2015
  13. Mike Kelly

    Mike Kelly Volunteer

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    What did the gcode look like in repetier?

    I really dislike MC so i don't want to guess as to what could be wrong in their software.
     
    #33 Mike Kelly, Jan 22, 2015
  14. Mr_Anderson

    Mr_Anderson Member

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    What do you mean what did the gcode look like? The entire model showed up if that's what you mean... If it is of any significance, I tried to run the print in Cura again and I get the following error: Recv: Error:Extruder switched off. Temperature fell too much during print!

    Does that provide any insight to the problem?

    PS: I hate mattercontrol too.
     
    #34 Mr_Anderson, Jan 22, 2015
  15. Mike Kelly

    Mike Kelly Volunteer

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    Yay we have a symptom!

    Enable the pronterfaceUI and watch the temp graph.

    Sounds to me like it's a loose thermistor causing a temp drop. Check all your connections for the extruder thermistors.
     
    #35 Mike Kelly, Jan 22, 2015
  16. Mr_Anderson

    Mr_Anderson Member

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    The connection was loose on the thermistor, fixed it and now the printer seems to be working!!! Thank you so much for your help Mike.
     
    #36 Mr_Anderson, Jan 22, 2015
  17. Mike Kelly

    Mike Kelly Volunteer

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    One of my biggest gripes with MC is that it doesn't show the user any errors or a temp graph to troubleshoot stuff like this. Glad you got it working!
     
    #37 Mike Kelly, Jan 23, 2015
  18. Ben R

    Ben R Active Member

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    Printing from the SD card I have no problems. Can't find what is killing the USB communications randomly. No biggie. But haven't successfully transferred a file to the printer using USB to the printer. Have to remove the card, load it and re-insert. No biggie again now that I have tall feet on it and can get my hand under the printer.
    Glued a 120mm fan to the feet and have it blowing on the ramps board, just in case, but wasn't the only problem.
     
    #38 Ben R, Jan 30, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 30, 2015
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  19. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    It can be a hassle troubleshooting USB issues. I have had them myself. The arduino is a demanding (high current) consumer of USB. Not all ports/busses can handle it gracefully--it does not exceed the USB specification, but it does use it fully :)
     
    #39 mark tomlinson, Jan 31, 2015
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