All good things › Forums › Morgan Builders forum › Some progress on Morgan build in Tennessee
Tagged: sep
- This topic has 43 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 12 years, 1 month ago by
Jack.
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AuthorPosts
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March 31, 2014 at 05:25 #2841
Jack
ParticipantFinally some progress! I bought the plastic parts on ebay back in January. I have been slowly gathering other parts and boring out holes and inserting captive nuts, etc. I ordered a pile of bearings from China and they took the expected long long time to arrive.
Box of parts
https://www.dropbox.com/s/k489wlo3g0ptn8n/2014-02-03%2011.54.15.jpgParts laid out
https://www.dropbox.com/s/d90isito21jqd5o/2014-02-12%2023.52.17.jpgThere were a few missing parts and 2 broken parts. A friend at work (my boss) printed the replacement parts for me.
Replacement parts
https://www.dropbox.com/s/87ouc6iqldzcars/2014-02-27%2018.46.42.jpgMy bed z mount bracket was wider than the top and bottom z mounts so I cut the ends off so that they could align the rods with the bearings in the bed arms. I expect this means that my hall effect sensors are going to have to stick out from their holders but I think I am ok with that.
The completed frame
https://www.dropbox.com/s/sjgp1j0gg1agfd9/2014-03-27%2011.46.25.jpgIt really seems like downhill from here. =]
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March 31, 2014 at 06:36 #2845
Steve
ParticipantCongratulations Jack.
BTW, what motors did you get?
Be sure an know the amperage <2.-
May 4, 2014 at 19:31 #3629
hfisselier
ParticipantHi! Could you share with us where you have bought you plastics part on eBay?
Thanks.
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March 31, 2014 at 07:21 #2853
Jack
ParticipantI bought 4 of these:
https://www.sparkfun.com/products/10846 -
March 31, 2014 at 18:00 #2857
Quentin Harley
KeymasterThose motors should work perfectly.
Your boss has a old prusa mendel, right? 😉
You must have one of the most colourful parts sets I have ever seen… It is most definitely going to draw a lot of attention.
Enjoy the build!
Q -
March 31, 2014 at 22:12 #2873
Jack
ParticipantI think that is what his printer is. I have a photo:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/kp9u2glu255c1ji/2012-12-05%2017.31.41.jpg
In regards to the colorful parts I really want to email the guy I bought them from and ask him about it. He said he bought the parts and decided to go with a different printer. I am really curious who it was that printed these parts. The white feet are actually glow in the dark! It is a lot of fun. It also sets the bar for my future Lilian. -
April 11, 2014 at 06:26 #3025
Jack
ParticipantWell, I think I overheated the DRV8824’s. Neither do a thing. Both have voltage out of the top of the tuning pots but no motor movement. Both A4988’s move their motors just fine and will move the X and Y as well given the chance. So the good news is that everything passed the smoke test and my Morgan moved for the first time! Yay! The bad news is I guess I will be waiting on new drivers before I can do anything.
More photos:
RAMPS https://www.dropbox.com/s/c14bu18zcao7ph7/2014-04-10%2002.50.24.jpg
Morgan with wires https://www.dropbox.com/s/dsgguumfgpt7z2g/2014-04-10%2013.45.19.jpg https://www.dropbox.com/s/lb3oi8ova1yzqep/2014-04-10%2013.45.26.jpg https://www.dropbox.com/s/tlld8cpe3hchhrk/2014-04-10%2013.45.31.jpg https://www.dropbox.com/s/i1e4sts67xdb0l4/2014-04-10%2013.45.57.jpg
First smoke test https://www.dropbox.com/s/b1c3cu7qqp5ts3v/2014-04-10%2023.06.55.jpg
Second smoke test https://www.dropbox.com/s/xzlz79z4e6w7ast/2014-04-10%2023.48.05.jpgSo very little left to do but still not printing.
Since the drivers are outputting power is there anything I can do to test them or are they a lost cause?
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April 11, 2014 at 10:19 #3037
Quentin Harley
KeymasterWell, isn’t that a pretty little Morgan!
Sorry to hear about the drivers. Perhaps get some thinner wire and a kid with good eyesight and a steady hand to do the soldering.
As I said, I now get mine made up. If shipping was not so expensive, I could have sold you the right drivers…
Time to explore international shipping options again.
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April 11, 2014 at 16:30 #3057
Jack
ParticipantI am really really *really* pleased with how my first Morgan is turning out. To help with the cost I have been buying the parts for the next section once I finished the current section. Progress has been slow because of that but I am happy with the result so far.
I actually said “I don’t want to do this” right before I plugged it in for the first time. I was really nervous that I was about to let the magic smoke out. Seeing the Z and extruder motors moving was a wonderful moment. =]
I emailed Blackbox Industries just a few minutes ago. Someone else asked them if they would ship to France and they said they would ship anywhere via DHL. Hopefully I can get a set from either you or them =] I plan to buy 4 so I will be ready for Lilian.
So close!!
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April 11, 2014 at 17:46 #3061
Jack
ParticipantTo save money I think I am going to order 2 more A4988’s and run the Morgan in lower resolution while I wait for the CoolSteps to arrive in the mail instead of paying for DHL shipping (R360). I can then reuse the pulled drivers in my future Lilian. I think I like this plan. =]
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April 11, 2014 at 17:50 #3065
Quentin Harley
KeymasterWill work. Remember, my first Morgan worked with 200 step motors and 4988’s for quite some time. Installing Coolsteps will be as simple as doubling the M92 steps for the axis, and swapping two wires in the plug to the RAMPS (coolsteps drive the other way)
Let’s get that machine running!
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April 11, 2014 at 18:25 #3069
Jack
ParticipantThanks for the warning! It looks like I should swap the outer two pins once the new drivers arrive. Hopefully I will be able to melt some plastic on Monday!!
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April 11, 2014 at 18:34 #3077
Quentin Harley
KeymasterGreat!
Swap pins 1 and 2 (two pins on the same side). You will otherwise see nothing happening, or some Morgan epileptics
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April 12, 2014 at 00:19 #3109
Jack
ParticipantDang, I was so sure I had that one.
A4988 CoolSteps
2B 1B
2A 2B
1A 1A
1B 2AI was thinking swapping 1 and 4 would give me
2A
2B
1A
1BWhere it would really give me:
1B
2A
1A
2BWhere swapping 1 and 2 would give me:
2A
2B
1A
1BThanks again =]
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April 12, 2014 at 08:03 #3117
Quentin Harley
KeymasterIf you don’t have keyed connectors, you can also simply turn the plug around… Food for thought
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April 12, 2014 at 23:04 #3141
Jack
ParticipantI am still waiting on the replacement drivers. I did not finish the wiring last Thursday once I realized that it was not going to print.
I did that today and took some photos.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/9y23nvq9b6fglib/2014-04-12%2016.33.18.jpg https://www.dropbox.com/s/747zlei7x6qdym2/2014-04-12%2016.33.30.jpg https://www.dropbox.com/s/vcm1nceht24gg73/2014-04-12%2016.33.54.jpg https://www.dropbox.com/s/qatycet92ecu5wu/2014-04-12%2016.34.06.jpg https://www.dropbox.com/s/34tw9of2v3rh4f9/2014-04-12%2016.34.29.jpg https://www.dropbox.com/s/ck543ozbmv7oc49/2014-04-12%2016.34.40.jpg
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April 15, 2014 at 06:51 #3225
Jack
ParticipantThe replacement drivers arrived. I installed them just fine but while I was setting their output voltage/current there was a fizz noise and everything stopped working. It took me quite a while to determine that the 5v regulator on the arduino clone had fried. I am powering it via the usb port for now. Onward!
All of the motors turn, all of the endstops work and I can home the bed and the arms. I had to reverse the connector for the X and Y connectors but Z was correct. All of the motors were wired red, blue, green, black from http://reprap.org/wiki/RAMPS_1.4
I am having a problem with the MANUAL_*_HOME_POS. No matter what numbers I put in there the arms home to the same location. Once it is in place I can not jog in any direction. Z will go up and down at my direction.
I thought I would go ahead and move on to calibration anyway. I was able to jog around once I started to calibrate theta. I was not sure what to put after M206.
Anyhoo…It is alive!! It runs!! Wahoo!!!!!
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April 15, 2014 at 07:35 #3229
Quentin Harley
KeymasterManual home position settings are a way to tell the firmware where home is, rather than you telling it where you want it. Home is always tied to the position of your hall effect sensors and the magnets.
You must enter the position of the homing on your machine relative to the bed zero point. This helps the maths figure out where the arms are before it can work out where it needs to go for the calibration positions.
Good to hear it is finally moving.
Sorry to hear about the clone 5v. Sometimes the makers of these clones opt for the lower current regulators (0,8A) which is enough for most projects, but tend to be a bit under spec for RAMPS. -
April 15, 2014 at 17:47 #3233
Jack
ParticipantFor some reason I totally had that backwards. I will tell it how far away it is from the bed and try again.
I was so pleased when I found the fried component. I was looking on the RAMPS board and everything I tested seemed fine. It was convenient having RAMPS power the Arduino so I may replace the regulator. Then again I am going to have to come up with 5V for the raspberry pi at some point so I may not. =]
This is so wonderful!!
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April 15, 2014 at 23:31 #3237
hoff70
ParticipantI cooked the VR on a mega during another build. Can’t remember how I did it…
I replaced it with a regular 7805 regulator bodged in place of the SMT component. It’s been running like that for a couple of years!
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April 16, 2014 at 12:00 #3249
Quentin Harley
KeymasterIt happens too easily.
I have one board that needs fixing soon…
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April 22, 2014 at 05:23 #3361
Jack
ParticipantZ-axis problems.
My first problem was the coupler. I was not able to get any tool inside the holes for the captive nuts. I ordered a metal flexible coupler.
My next problem was that the hole for the Z motor did not go far enough back. I believe I have one of those over-sized Z brackets. The bracket is wider than the top and bottom Z mounts. I had to cut the top and bottom mounts into 3 pieces.
The flexible coupler would stretch and then spring shut. I asked my boss if he would print another plastic one for me. He said he could make a metal one on his lathe quicker.
Now I have an inflexible coupler and the Z-axis is straight (after expanding the holes for the motor). The motor skips a lot of steps at the top. It looks like I have the rods too close together at the top. I spaced one *slightly* farther away and now I can move the Z easily all the way to the top.
I can not get the Z-axis to work reliably. After bed leveling if I try to print the Z does not start 0.3mm from the print head. It is more like 4mm. If I pause the print and recalibrate Z with an m206 I can get the printhead right next to the bed. Once it starts to print the head dances over the bed 2 or 3 mm away.
With the motors unpowered I can easily move the bed up and down so I do not think there is just too much friction. I am not sure what to look at next. -
April 22, 2014 at 10:09 #3373
Quentin Harley
KeymasterZ problems can be any of the following:
1. Smooth rod not parallel to the copper pipe.
2. Drill bit not parallel to the copper pipe
3. Lead screw nuts not loose enough
4. Top nut not deep enough into the z bracket, bumping at the top.For point two, moving the motor to the back does help. I changed the platform dxf recently to help with that.
Hope it helps
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April 23, 2014 at 07:27 #3377
Jack
ParticipantWow. Thank you for that. I was thinking something along the lines of a counterweight (suggested to me) or higher voltage or slower speed or fewer steps in the motor driver. Instead you tell me that if I build it right it will work ;]
The smooth rod was really close according to some calipers so I think it was ok. The lead screw nuts were a bit tight. The drill bit was not parallel. I mean it looked ok but the calipers told a different story.
I took care of 2 and 3 and it does not appear to be skipping steps. It hits the mark each time and it does not make clicking noises when I move it around. It is too late to print tonight but I am really hopeful that I will print the calibration phantom tomorrow.
Thank you so so much for everything =]
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April 23, 2014 at 08:46 #3381
Quentin Harley
KeymasterExcellent! You are so close now…
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May 1, 2014 at 04:01 #3581
Jack
ParticipantStill no closer. I ordered some heat sinks hoping that the pausing was caused by the drivers going to sleep. I was told that since I have barely warm to the touch motors that the drivers were probably not overheating. At any rate I now have heat sinks on the drivers as well as a fan and I get the same results.
I am trying to calibrate Z. I was issuing this command:
G1 X100 Y100 Z100 F10000I dropped the speed to 5000, then 1000. At 10000 the motor just makes noise and there is no movement. At 5000 sometimes it moves and sometimes it just makes a terrible noise. At 1000 it moves each time.
It always goes up for 20 or 30 mm and then stops, goes down for a bit and then continues climbing. I am pretty sure this is the part where the Z axis gets messed up. It drops a different amount at the pause and so the bed never ends up at the same height twice.
The voltage was at 0.6. I raised it to 0.74 just to see if it needed just a bit more. Same results. The power supply is putting out 13.77 volts (it is set for charging 12 volt batteries) and does not waver when the motors are moving.
The X and Y also pause at the same time when Z pauses for a moment.
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May 1, 2014 at 08:55 #3585
Quentin Harley
KeymasterI think it may be related to the maximum speed of the z drive. If you drop that down you should be able to calibrate.
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May 1, 2014 at 08:56 #3589
Quentin Harley
KeymasterDump the output of M503 here…
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May 1, 2014 at 14:38 #3601
Steve
ParticipantQuentin,
Still have problems here. Recvd new motor driver chips, so maybe still hope.
These “speed” parameters you and Jack discuss – are these the %_ACCELERATION_% params ?
Would like to be able to follow the remedies discussed, need full disclosure of comments. May need to execute for myself on my build.
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May 5, 2014 at 20:05 #3669
Jack
ParticipantSENDING:M503
echo:Steps per unit:
echo: M92 X210.95 Y210.95 Z104.00 E450.00
echo:Scaling factors:
echo: M365 X1.00 Y1.00 Z1.00
echo:Maximum feedrates (mm/s):
echo: M203 X300.00 Y300.00 Z300.00 E45.00
echo:Maximum Acceleration (mm/s2):
echo: M201 X400 Y400 Z400 E8000
echo:Acceleration: S=acceleration, T=retract acceleration
echo: M204 S9000.00 T3000.00
echo:Advanced variables: S=Min feedrate (mm/s), T=Min travel feedrate (mm/s), B=minimum segment time (ms), X=maximum xY jerk (mm/s), Z=maximum Z jerk (mm/s)
echo: M205 S0.00 T0.00 B20000 X10.00 Z10.00 E5.00
echo:Home offset (mm):
echo: M206 X-4.64 Y0.00 Z10.00
echo:PID settings:
echo: M301 P16.37 I1.36 D49.36I will try your acceleration values and see how that goes!
hfisselier: I will see what I can find out. The seller I bought from did not make the parts. I do not know where they got them. I do want to know. The parts are very colorful and people ask me about them.
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May 11, 2014 at 10:13 #3733
Quentin Harley
KeymasterProgress?
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May 20, 2014 at 17:02 #3841
Jack
ParticipantI was out of town for a week and then again this past weekend. That really slowed me down. It looks like the 400 step motor has half the torque of a comparable 200 step motor. I have a borrowed 200 step motor. I am going to see if I can either slow everything down enough to use the 400 step motor or buy a 200 step motor to replace the borrowed one.
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May 28, 2014 at 19:02 #4049
Quentin Harley
KeymasterTry to limit the Z speed to 100, or 50. It never moves that fast during a print
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June 1, 2014 at 02:13 #4177
Jack
Participantm203 z50
m370
m371 (platform zooms faster than motor can handle)It looks like m371 has a set speed that is not controlled by the max speed set in m203. Is there another command that I am missing where I set the speed that the firmware will not go faster than?
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June 1, 2014 at 02:20 #4181
Jack
ParticipantLooking at Marlin_main.cpp (line 1972) the feedrate is hardcoded to 10000. I am going to lower that and update the firmware.
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June 1, 2014 at 17:39 #4185
Quentin Harley
KeymasterThat feedrate is not set in stone. It will use the max feedrate, limited by the soft feedrate.
I’ll take a look at making it better…
Thanks
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June 1, 2014 at 22:28 #4197
Jack
ParticipantEven going down to 1/4 stepping the 400 step motor had problems consistently lifting the bed. I used a borrowed 200 step motor and printed my first object.
I had some problems with the first layer sticking. I ordered a power supply and they never shipped it (got a refund) so the heated bed is not powered.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/lqws5nps084g2ut/2014-06-01%2014.24.56.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/twi4iyzegsibcpv/2014-06-01%2014.35.10.jpgI removed a glop that was causing problems with the left side of the X leg.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/u2069pmqzfls3j3/2014-06-01%2014.38.10.jpgI let the print continue. I was going to get whatever I was going to get from my first print, even if it was just a ball of tiny threads.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/h2f2ol53z0ejsd5/2014-06-01%2014.52.36.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/m0p9z7svbpz18hn/2014-06-01%2015.02.14.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/gto7s4z9gjbtxek/2014-06-01%2015.06.52.jpgWhen the filament retracts it seems like it does not advance as far as it retreated. When it starts printing again there is a good bit of distance before plastic comes out of the nozzle again. Because of that I did not get any of the lettering on the top and very little of the top of the bottom right leg of the theta leg was printed.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ezobw8340q5kzlh/2014-06-01%2015.07.35.jpgThis is wonderfully exciting!!!
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June 2, 2014 at 22:35 #4245
Quentin Harley
KeymasterI agree.
Extruder action is a bit of black magic sometimes. Is the filament slipping, or the motor skipping steps?
If it is the latter, check your max E acceleration. Default is 10000 (I think) – you can set it down to 800 without major problems.
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June 3, 2014 at 07:59 #4265
Jack
ParticipantI can’t tell. When the bed was trying to zoom up and then stopped moving and the motor just went click click click, it was really obvious to me that the motor was skipping those steps ;]
With the extruder the outside gear spins one way and then the other. *shrug* This is another one of those 400 step motors. I bought 4 of them. I will reduce the stepping on the driver and slow it down a little and see if that makes a difference.
I had the 400 step motor running at 1/4 steps for the Z axis. Even running at 300 mm/min it was skipping steps. When I swapped to the 200 step motor I changed the driver to 1/8 so I could test without changing the steps/mm. It worked. I was able to get through the bed level calibration without an obvious click without movement. I need to see if it will run ok at 1/16.
I have not installed the 32 step drivers for the arms. I wanted to leave the wiring compatible with other units when I was having problems moving the bed. Since I have a configuration where it works (and just needs tweaking) I might as well make that swap.
I am still using the 12v battery charger (no heated bed). I ordered one of those Dell DA-2 D220P-01 laptop chargers for $10. I am hoping to be able to power the heated bed soon =]
So my todo list:
Change Z to 1/16 and see if it still works.
Change Psi and Theta to 1/32 and rewire for new driver.
Drop extruder to 1/8 stepping? These 400 step motors have very little torque.Hmm I thought the 400 step motors were close to half the torque of the 200 step motors. Unless I am doing the math wrong they are pretty close. 48N.cm vs 54N.cm (Yes I know that is before the stepper driver drops it down).
https://www.sparkfun.com/products/10846
Kysan 1124090 Nema 17 Stepper MotorIt would be great to get out of calibration and maybe print a spool holder this week =]
Thanks for all of the hand holding. I really appreciate it. I have never done a project quite like this and I have been getting help from several people =]
Oh! hoff70, Yes that it an E3D V5 and yes the fan stays on when the printing is finished. I have been leaving the fan powered until the hotend reaches room temperature. Knowing it is safe at 50C is good to know. Thanks =]
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June 4, 2014 at 00:21 #4293
Quentin Harley
KeymasterYou may be right on the stepper motor on the extruder and Z. A machine I built recently also had issues…
Will let you know.
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May 1, 2014 at 16:01 #3605
Quentin Harley
KeymasterThis is my M503
Send: M503
Recv: echo:Steps per unit:
Recv: echo: M92 X424.76 Y428.83 Z208.67 E450.00
Recv: echo:Scaling factors:
Recv: echo: M365 X1.00 Y1.00 Z1.00
Recv: echo:Maximum feedrates (mm/s):
Recv: echo: M203 X300.00 Y300.00 Z300.00 E45.00
Recv: echo:Maximum Acceleration (mm/s2):
Recv: echo: M201 X250 Y250 Z250 E8000
Recv: echo:Acceleration: S=acceleration, T=retract acceleration
Recv: echo: M204 S9000.00 T3000.00
Recv: echo:Advanced variables: S=Min feedrate (mm/s), T=Min travel feedrate (mm/s), B=minimum segment time (ms), X=maximum xY jerk (mm/s), Z=maximum Z jerk (mm/s)
Recv: echo: M205 S0.00 T0.00 B20000 X10.00 Z10.00 E5.00
Recv: echo:Home offset (mm):
Recv: echo: M206 X2.48 Y1.63 Z-7.40
Recv: echo:PID settings:
Recv: echo: M301 P22.20 I1.08 D114.00
Recv: okSpeed is a function of maximum feedrate (maximum steps per second) and Acceleration (how fast it gets to that maximum speed.
If you use the drill bit I would recommend using:
M203 X300.00 Y300.00 Z300.00 E45.00
M201 X250 Y250 Z250 E8000If you use threaded rod, use this in stead
M203 X300.00 Y300.00 Z50.00 E45.00
M201 X250 Y250 Z50 E8000 -
May 27, 2014 at 02:00 #3993
Jack
ParticipantIf you use the drill bit I would recommend using:
M203 X300.00 Y300.00 Z300.00 E45.00
M201 X250 Y250 Z250 E8000It seems that the Z moves ok at those speeds but when I issue M371 the Z seems to move much faster. Is there a way to slow it down during calibration?
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June 1, 2014 at 23:05 #4205
hoff70
ParticipantCongrats on printing!
Is that an E3D V5? I haven’t fired mine up yet but a friend who has one says to keep the fan running all the time and to keep it on post-print until the temp reaches about 50C.
Keep at it and you’ll be printing cool stuff in no time \o/
It sounds as if you need to fiddle with your E steps and retraction a bit.
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June 5, 2014 at 16:44 #4349
Jack
ParticipantI apologize in advance for the photos. I thought they were ok when I took them. The flash washed out everything white.
Since my first power supply never arrived (20A LED driver for $20) I needed to order another one. I had a power supply recommended to me and I am really happy with it so far. I bought one of those Dell DA-2 D220P-01 supplies. It is rated for 18A at 12V and cost me $10 (including shipping).
This link explains the pinout.
http://azsurplus.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2341If you do not mind some ASCII art:
_,,_ |5678| |1234| ‾‾‾‾6, 7, 8 = ground
2, 3, 4 = 12V
5 = on/off
1 = unconnected
Short 5 to ground (and keep it grounded) to turn on. Open the connection to switch off (standby).It has an arrangement of square and angled connectors that fit in certain sections of an ATX power connector.
http://www.powerstream.com/ac-12180.htmI desoldered one of those connectors off an old motherboard and then cut a section that the supply could mate with.
I took the power switch from a dead power supply, a 4 pin peripheral connector (I used one that provided power for a cpu fan so that the connectors would mate), and desoldered a fan connector.
Again – sorry about the washed out photos.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/6x0ucf4kbmkxn95/2014-06-04%2022.35.36.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/vv5faxmuxota5by/2014-06-04%2022.35.46.jpgI stripped and tinned the other side of the 4 pin connector to connect to the RAMPS board. I also connected the heated bed for the first time!!
https://www.dropbox.com/s/3k74u79cxwkrfc9/2014-06-04%2022.36.12.jpgI attached the piece of ATX power connector and the power switch with some double sided foam tape.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/5bdnpcv1p05w5md/2014-06-04%2022.57.14.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/l2icq98jtvxtq6u/2014-06-04%2022.57.36.jpgI now have a power switch!! I can use a 4 pin PC Y adapter if I need to split the power to something else. The soldered on fan connector that goes off to the right is connected to the E3D.
My original plan was to cut the cord from the supply and run the wires around but I am really happy with this setup.
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