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Unanswered X axis only moving in one direction

Discussion in 'Troubleshooting' started by Henradrie, Jun 2, 2020.

  1. Henradrie

    Henradrie New Member

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    I have a Robo R1 beta (5/16 leadscrews) that can only move the X-axis one direction. It was working fine then just started exhibiting that behavior. When it tries to move in that direction the stepper clicks but doesn't rotate.

    I've done everything I can do to narrow it down but it still eludes me.

    Motor and cable is fine: I swapped the x and y connectors on the RAMPS board and the problem shifted to the y-axis while the x-axis worked just fine.

    Driver chip is fine: I swapped the driver chip out for a brand new one, no change.

    RAMPS board is fine: I swapped the Robo's RAMPS board for a new one I had in stock, no change.

    Arduino is fine: Bought a new arduino, flashed the firmware. Same problem with the x-axis, and y-axis worked no problem. Z-axis made a horrible screech which made me realize that I installed the wrong firmware (8mm leadscrews). So I installed the right firmware and the x-axis still wouldn't work.

    At this point the only idea I have is to buy an updated controller board and move everything to Marlin 2.0 like I did when my R1+ ran into issues. I don't want to do that because it's a huge pain, and I like the the LCD screen that came with it.

    Does anybody have any other ideas I could try?
     
    #1 Henradrie, Jun 2, 2020
  2. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    So that limits it to the electronics.

    Good idea

    Likely not the problem, but it can't be ruled out -- good test.

    I would not rule this out. I would either swap another one in or at least crank up the current on it. Since you swapped wires with the Y and the motor worked, swap the X and Y stepper drivers. See what happens.
     
    #2 mark tomlinson, Jun 3, 2020
  3. Henradrie

    Henradrie New Member

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    Just tried that, no change. Even tried that with the extruder chip and nothing changed. I swapped the X and Y axis driver chips and swapped the pin connectors; the X-axis was run using the X-axis chip in the Y-axis slot. It worked fine.

    This makes me think that the problem is the RAMPS board except that the same issue exists in the exact same way despite my board choice. Even if the boards were faulty the chance of having the same error on both is remote. The one I had in storage was purchased from a local shop that only sells high quality components, not the cheapest model on amazon. I have no patience for hours of troubleshooting caused by substandard quality control.

    Even unplugged the LCD display, no change.

    Now the Z-axis has the same problem. It goes up but doesn't go down. Just makes a short click but doesn't move. And this appeared on a new arduino and RAMPS board.

    Any more ideas?
     
    #3 Henradrie, Jun 3, 2020
    Last edited: Jun 3, 2020
  4. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    http://community.robo3d.com/index.p...on-amazon-nothings-working.18413/#post-107160

    Last time I replaced a RAMPS I went through 4 new boards to get 1 that actually worked*. The electronics are not terribly complicated. If an axis/stepper will not move your possible problems are :
    1) Stepper motor
    2) stepper driver
    3) RAMPS
    4) Arduino
    5 or as always, wires & connectors. Make sure that all connectors are solidly connected.

    The clicking is the stepper motor dropping steps. That can be because the motor is bad, but normally it is because it is not getting enough current. Did you try increasing the output current on the drivers?



    *and I am convinced this is because those boards are now low-cost, high-volume items made in Asia by the lowest bidder.
     
    #4 mark tomlinson, Jun 4, 2020

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