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Z crashes during auto bed level

Discussion in 'Troubleshooting' started by jwmueller, Aug 24, 2017.

  1. jwmueller

    jwmueller Active Member

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    Is anyone seeing Z crashes during the auto bed level process? I am finding that if I do not clean the IR sensor every three or so prints it will crash into the bed. It can be nasty since there is another 20mm or so for the bed to travel.

    I have been working the machine hard, 30+ hour prints and generally it has been working 24/7 since I installed the new upper rods. PETG, and some PCTG. White buildup that I see across all my printers is building up on the IR sensor. Cleaning it with IPA and a q-tip makes it happy again and it will stop the crashing.
     
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  2. Ed Ferguson

    Ed Ferguson Active Member

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    Not seen this, but thanks for the warning.
     
  3. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    The white buildup is something cast off from the nozzle, bed or model.
    Not exactly normal, but good catch.
     
  4. jwmueller

    jwmueller Active Member

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    Right, I never see it with PLA. My FlashForge machines for example, I will break them apart every few months to clean them as the cooling fans will pick all that up and you can see it accumulate over time. Might be a PETG off-gassing just searching around quickly. I only run PETG in those FF machines, and I did not see it on the R2 until I switched over off of PLA testing.
     
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  5. jwmueller

    jwmueller Active Member

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    Wanted to add a good picture of the buildup.

    Robo R2 Fan Flow Turbulence Editor.jpg
     
  6. OutsourcedGuru

    OutsourcedGuru Active Member

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    Does a sock help in a situation like this?
     
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  7. jwmueller

    jwmueller Active Member

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    ^ I see it on machines with a silicone sock, with the kapton tape, or natural nude. I reached out to MakerGeeks to ask if they have any ideas.
     
  8. OutsourcedGuru

    OutsourcedGuru Active Member

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    That's a fair amount of printing without a cleaning cycle (for PETG, I'd guess). I'm crazy, but I'd probably (over-)engineer something involving a square of green scrubby pad off (high) in the corner and a TweakAtZ routine to go clean itself once every hour or something like that. A variety of inkjet printers have this feature. By homing the X they're off in the area where the heads rub against something rough/absorptive.
     
  9. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Eh, bare nozzles do that over time. The ones we have had socked from the start stay pretty clean.
     
  10. jwmueller

    jwmueller Active Member

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    Oh sorry, I meant the white buildup not the minor amount of clag on the extruder itself. This R2 already has some serious print time on it, so I am not at all bothered by the clag on the extruder block. This machine has barely had a break from printing since I installed the new rods, not to mention some 3-day prints.

    I agree with Mark, my socked printers are nice and clean (except for one FF that had a leak under the sock). o_O
     

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