I am trying to print a large object in ABS. My printer has an LCD/SD module. I am printing this object from SD. It has stopped in exactly the same spot both times that I have tried to print it. The extruder motor is still being held in place. The extruder heater and bed heater are still at proper temp. It happens about 2:00 into a 24 hour print on about the 4th-5th layer.
It almost sounds like a firmware problem to me because everything is functioning properly and it just freezes. It can’t be the famous printer/computer communication issue since it is printing from USB, but it is similar.
I did try recreating the g code for the second print, no success.
I thought about a hardware problem, but it seems unlikely to happen in exactly the same spot twice.
Thank you for the reply. Other objects print fine. I should have mentioned that before because it is further evidence of a software issue. I have tried to reslice it and it did not help. Does anyone know how to validate a g file? If I could validate the file, perhaps that would narrow it down to the firmware.
Yes, I use Cura most of the time. I have also tried a different SD card. I am wondering if the board is overheating.
My original statement that the printer stops in exactly the same position was not true. I attempted to print for a third time and compared the three failures. The printer is stopping at about the same time, but not exactly. The fact that it is not the exact same point each attempt now makes me think it is hardware.
This may be the longest print that I have ever attempted in the year that I have had the printer. Perhaps there is a heat issue that builds on longer prints. I installed a separate power supply for the bed, which ought to reduce stress on the board. However, I am printing ABS, so that means higher temps. Plus, I have the board cover from the Velleman site, which likely reduces cooling. I’ll try to removing the cover and using a fan to cool the board.
I also hear a high pitched whine from the extruder motor. It is not loud, but I can hear it. Not sure, but this may be a normal noise when a motor is being held in position. The motor is not hot to the touch.
I’ll post the results of cooling the board. Anyone have any other ideas?
[quote=“ichbinsnur”][quote=“mpoore”]
I also hear a high pitched whine from the extruder motor. It is not loud, but I can hear it. Not sure, but this may be a normal noise when a motor is being held in position. The motor is not hot to the touch.
[/quote]
Check the voltage set on the extruder stepper driver.
Which value is it set to?[/quote]
Okay. I have run several experiments. I removed the board cover and had a fan blowing on the board. I tried printing with Repetier instead of the sd card. I tried slicing with slic3r and with cura. Every time the print stops 2 hours into a 25 hour print. It is not stopping at exactly the same spot, but relatively close. Having done all of the above in this post and previous posts, the only thing common is the controller and hardware.
Thank you for the suggestion. It gave me the idea of checking the repetier log. It turns out that when the printer stops mid-print it reads: “echo: too long extrusion prevented”
The object that I am trying to print is large, but not too large for the bed. It is rectangular in shape. The widest side is 175mm. The longest extrusion would be from one corner diagonally to the other, but it does not fail on that extrusion. It fails on a shorter extrusion. It is also failing on about the 3rd layer, which means it has already performed an extrusion identical to the one on which it fails. This error has me confused.
I am running marlin v2. My bed size is configured correctly in marlin.
Google has directed me to some talk of this error, but nothing seems to apply to my situation.
[code]//this prevents dangerous Extruder moves, i.e. if the temperature is under the limit
//can be software-disabled for whatever purposes by #define PREVENT_DANGEROUS_EXTRUDE
//if PREVENT_DANGEROUS_EXTRUDE is on, you can still disable (uncomment) very long bits of extrusion separately. #define PREVENT_LENGTHY_EXTRUDE
#define EXTRUDE_MINTEMP 170 #define EXTRUDE_MAXLENGTH (X_MAX_LENGTH+Y_MAX_LENGTH) //prevent extrusion of very large distances.
[/code]
You find that in configuration.h
Maybe it helps to disable this :
#define PREVENT_LENGTHY_EXTRUDE
If that gives you working results try reenabling it and change the values for :
#define EXTRUDE_MAXLENGTH (X_MAX_LENGTH+Y_MAX_LENGTH) //prevent extrusion of very large distances.
I commented PREVENT_LENGTHY_EXTRUDE and retried the print.
This time the printer stopped mid 2nd layer (a little earlier than previous attempts). The z motor went haywire with a lot of vibration and very slowly raising the head.
I was able to print another object after powercycling the printer. The successful object is a version of the velleman board cover. The failed object is bigger: x 172, y 154, z 152. A large object yes, but it should print.
This seems to confirm that there is either a problem with marlin or the g code. I lean toward a problem with marlin since I have tried 2 slicers and got the same result. I also uploaded the g code to a online simulator and the simulator displayed the code correctly.
I have double checked the bed dimensions in marlin.
I don’t know where to go from here. I don’t know how to troubleshoot this. How to be absolutely sure the g code is good. Or, how to figure out exactly what is giving marlin hiccups.
Let me know when you download it so that I can delete it from my site.
It’s set for ABS. You may need to adjust nozzle temp. My printer runs cool, so I have to adjust up. I’d check or delete the other setup code depending on how you do things. I put all setup info at the beginning of every print.