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Solved Z axis issues after firmware update - not limit switches.

Discussion in 'Troubleshooting' started by hippy1970, Jun 6, 2017.

  1. hippy1970

    hippy1970 Member

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    Hi All,
    Thanks for taking the time to read my first post.
    I know what you're thinking, I read the other z axis posts re. limit switches, but I don't think my problem is the same...
    I have an original Robo 3d. I bough it used about 6 months ago. I believe it to be one of the kick starter models. So it's pretty basic. No heated bed etc.
    I'm really unsure as to what changes the original owner made. Apart from the 3d printed parts which I assume he fitted.
    Anyway, back to the issue at hand. I was printing fine until I decided to install the full graphic LCD. I tried the Marlin fw and decided, after staring at the config file for about an hour, it was a bad idea.
    So I searched this forum and came across the whereswaldo version of Marlin. It almost works out of the box. (Thanks very much for all your hard work).

    This printer has one z axis limit switch on the right side. It's mounted on the unthreaded bar. It's actually pretty rubbish as it moves out of positiion and has, on occasion, caused the nozzle to dive into the bed.

    The problem I have now is the Z axis home point is in mid air. After lots of frustration I manually moved the z axis until the limit switch clicked. I used the LCD to 'set home offsets' just to be safe.

    Now whenever I home the z axis the head is raised by about 10mm or so and stops. This is the same if I use MatterControl or the LCD. It then thinks Z is at zero and won't move downwards at all.

    Can someone please put me out of my misery?

    Very grateful for any help at all.

    Glenn aka hippy1970 IMG_1290.JPG
     
    #1 hippy1970, Jun 6, 2017
  2. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    The kickstarter one can not do autoleveling as used by the Robo firmware.
    So you manually level it by repositioning the switch (or adjusting the screw) so that when you home the Z the nozzle is correctly spaced on the bed.

    If it is homing in mid-air then likely the switch is miswired or you have the incorrect firmware loaded.
    Trace the wires for the switch back to the RAMPS board under the printer to make sure the wires are not disconnected.

    Reload the BETA firmware.

    http://download.robo3d.com/firmware/R1/ROBO3D_BETA_6_10.zip

    Then adjust the switch as I mentioned and it will work. You will need to manually level the bed as well.

    If you want to convert to autoleveling you can do that for a minimal expense and effort. Get it working first so you can print the couple of bits you need to add.

    https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:349935
     
    #2 mark tomlinson, Jun 6, 2017
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  3. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    It is possible that you can switch to the newer version @WheresWaldo has done and enable/use MESH leveling with the single switch, but that is best discussed in the thread he has about that version.

    Personally I added the autoleveling to both of the beta machines I had.
     
    #3 mark tomlinson, Jun 6, 2017
  4. hippy1970

    hippy1970 Member

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    Wow. That was fast, thanks.
    The limit switch works just fine with the original firmware. Now it seems the z axis just goes upwards. It will never hit the limit switch as it's way down at the bottom. It seems as though the z is going the wrong way when looking for home. If that were the case I would expect the manual control to do the same. Maybe it's just the wrong firmware. I chose the R1 with the 8mm rods.
    I'll take your kind advice and fall back to the beta fw. Then look at the auto levelling. I think the mesh levelling would work right now, I did look at it tonight, if I could only work out what's going on with the z homing.
    Right now I'd be happy to level the bed manually.

    Thank you


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    #4 hippy1970, Jun 6, 2017
  5. hippy1970

    hippy1970 Member

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    Aha. I just read your post again. You referred to my machine as beta. When you said beta firmware I thought you meant the fw was in beta. Is the fw specifically for the beta Robo???


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    #5 hippy1970, Jun 6, 2017
  6. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Yes. And it matters because the logic for the limit switches is reversed for the R1 and later. The beta did not use reversed limit switch logic for the Z. That is why yours was just always going up.... :)
    It thinks the Z is already at HOME and so goes up a little bit. Because when the Z homes it touches the bed and then raises a little.

    You can convert it to use the auto leveling (see that thingiverse link) it amounts to replacing the Z nuts with longer ones and adding one limit switch and re-positioning the one you already have, wire them in parallel and load the new firmware. Not really all that complicated.
     
    #6 mark tomlinson, Jun 6, 2017
    Last edited: Jun 6, 2017
  7. hippy1970

    hippy1970 Member

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    Thanks again. At least I now understand why it's behaving the way it is.

    I will revert to beta and perform the upgrade.

    I have a plan at last!


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    #7 hippy1970, Jun 6, 2017
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  8. hippy1970

    hippy1970 Member

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    Morning Mark,
    I have a simple question about this upgrade. How do I know if I need metric or imperial Z nuts? The instructions have the size in both formats. I am just being completely thick and they're the same thing?

    Thanks


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    #8 hippy1970, Jul 21, 2017
  9. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Depends on the model of your printer.
    The Beta used 5/16 the early R1 did too, but then they quickly switched to 8mm on later R1 models.
    R1+ uses leadscrews.

    Honestly, if you have no clue get some nuts in the correct sizes and see which one fits.
    But if you have a beta it has 5/16 rods. No question as none of those were different.
     
    #9 mark tomlinson, Jul 21, 2017
  10. hippy1970

    hippy1970 Member

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    Thanks for the info.
    Mine is definitely a beta. I've ordered the couplers and have the other parts ready.


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    #10 hippy1970, Jul 21, 2017

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