At the begining everything was ok, but since 3-4 days the printer randomly stops during printing, in the middle of the object, keeping the noosle heated but not moving neither feeding anymore.
The USB connection seems totally down when it happens : I need to reboot both printer & computer (PC/Windows XP) to be able to restart my job again…
Is that a known problem/bug ? Is there a way to get further into the diagnosis ? Because I loose a lot of PLA when a 32hours object gets stuck while printing…
where you in the same room or close to the printer when it stops?
not always but sometimes yes… why ?
Since you are using it on a PC is there anything in the log area?
If you mean the bottom status bar, nope, it only says something like “6 commands”…
Do you have another PC to try it on?
If not you can copy the Gcode to an SD card and try to print in stand alone.
This may tell you something.
ok, today It has getting worse, now it does not print at all, it just starts, draws 4-5 lines and stops. It acts exactly in the same way using 3 distinct PCs (XP, Windows 7 & Windows 7 Pro), and also by using an SD card.
I’ve also tried distinct objects, including the sample Vertex logo, the result is the same…
I’ve tried to reload the firmware without any changes…
So it does not seem to be an USB problem but “something” else…
Now my printer does not work at all… 
Edit : I’ve noticed a message in the bottom line of the printer itself : “Err: MINTEMP”
Maybe the temperature sensor is down ?!
Min temp means that there is an open on the thermistor.
Check the screws at the top green connector make sure they are tight.
You can also remove 1 lead and check the resistance across the the thermistor.
You should see around 100K of resistance at room temp.
[quote=“Wrong Way”]Min temp means that there is an open on the thermistor.
Check the screws at the top green connector make sure they are tight.
You can also remove 1 lead and check the resistance across the the thermistor.
You should see around 100K of resistance at room temp.[/quote]
Check : everyting seems OK.
But it stops once it begins printing : the extruder is well heated (PLA goes out in the right way and amount) at 190°C. It stops after a few printed lines (not even finished the contour of the print).
When using repetier, this one maintains temperature once stoped and commands for moving advance very fast in the interface.
When using SD card, the target temp goes to 0°C and “Err: MINTEMP” is displayed.
I’ve contacted the resseller that sold me the printer and they’re going to exchange my motherboard. I hope it’ll solve my problem…
ok, the motherboard has been replaced and it still acts the same, allways showing “Err: MINTEMP” failure…
what can I do now ?
On your hotend check the wires for the temp sensor, could be they are touching the hotend after a few jerks and causing the machine to come up with the error after a few moves
The cover seems ok (I’ve never removed it since I’ve mounted the head). My local reseller will send me a new temperature sensor hoping this will solve the problem. I’ve already printed a lot of objects without major problems since near 2 months.
The strange things are :
- by using the repetier host, the head keeps heating at the right temperature despite the “Err. MINTEMP” in the printer (but nothing moves) ;
- by using an SD card, I’ve tried to remove the MINTEMP error by modifing the source code (setting all extruders mintemps to 0) and the motors does not stop printing anymore, but the extruder is not heated anymore at a moment when displayed temperature goes to 0°C, moment that match when stops printing (with MINTEMP set to 5°C).
To me, with my little electronics knowledte, it sounds like a glitch on the sensor or broken copper Inside the wires bringing the sensor reads to the motherboard… (?)
Here is an experience I made with my printer:
Initially I used the USB link for direct transfer of the print code. It worked very well, except some irregular stops , which I could correlate to the switching of light in the room or electrical machines nearby. So the USB line is in situ a little bit risky and sensitive on electromagnetic impacts.
When implementing a pressure advance routine into the firmware, I occasionally faced the problem, that the print was blocked for a short time. Although the additional code is not that much, I was facing a buffer under-run causing this effect. Especially for printouts with small print segments this buffer under-run appears because the data transfer via USB is at its limit and cannot provide the necessary data in time. I don’t know if this can have an impact on the standard routines too.
As a consequence I switched to SD cards for transfer of the print data, on the high speed cards I am using I didn’t observed these effects anymore.
Just a comment to the problem of Zorro_X: I sounds to me like a broken cable: working most of the time, but in a certain position it will show an open condition. Alternatively it can be a hair crack of a solder link on the motherboard or on the board on the print head. However, a cable break is hard to verify, due to the complete confection of all cable it is hard to replace a damaged one. In case of Hair break of a solder joint you have to redo the soldering correctly.
P.S.: to check for broken cable you may go to home position (where temperature reading is correct), switch off the power and measure the resistance of the temperature sensor. At room temperature, the resistance of the T-Sensor is between 80K and 90K, in parallel the motherboard is connected in parallel, which gives a significant lower resistance reading. Now move manually to the position where the error occurs and observe the resistance. An increase toward 80K is indicating a broken wire.
Hi, in my case the printer stops printing through USB as well as using an SD card.
At room temperature, the temperature sensor shows a ~110K (19°C) read with the motherboard unplugged. I’ve alredy tried to move the head “by hand” while reading on the unplugged motherboard-side connector and I don’t see any changes…
I know that checking broken wires is a pain in the …, but it does not seems linked to the position of the printing head but more to the number of straigts “drawn” in to the bed… unless oh ! it could be also correlated with the retraction (!!?) The moment it seems to shut down seems to match with the moment when it should retract the PLA to switch from the contour to begin printing the object itself (!). Could it be some kind of “power loss” because the feeder stepper motor is not working well (kind of shortcut when reversing at high speed) ???
SUCCESS !!!
Finally ! It was an inside-broken wire !
After having re-made the printhead board solderings without any success. Despite my previous tests unsuccessfull in this way and regarding hoh61 suggestions I’ve made a two wires way directly from the printhead to the motherboard for the temperature sensor, and now it works just as new !
So yes, it was something wrong with the sensor temperature but not the sensor itself but the wires ! I don’t understand how this can happen in a brand new printer, the wires are well protected and were not pinched when arrived, it is a mistery…
Nice to hear.
And the resistor value is correct too: the 100K is specified at 25°C, so with lower temperatures it must be higher. However, a value of 110K would be equivalent to a temperature of 22 … 23 °C (thermistor type 103). So please check the value again and verify the correct setting for the reference calibration curve. There may cause a few degree deviation in the temperature reading at higher temperatures.
The wires are definitelly bad… After my “fortune repair”, I’ve continue printing some objects, but by the time the fans wires went down, and now it is the heater wires thar are down !!!
I’ve cut all the wires and made new ones by soldering into the connectors… The original wires internal copper seems to be very fragile (brittle), even for soldering. I think they’re not adapted to that usage…
I’ve already lost near to a roll (1Kg) of PLA just because those bugs !!! >:-[