1 Topic by envisaged (edited by envisaged 2016-01-18 21:34:20)

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Topic: X-axis stepper

Not been in here for ages and sorry it is to ask for help

My prints (Layers) have been moving randomly, usually accompanied by a grinding noise.  After some investigation i have determined it to be a loose wire going to the x-axis motor, I have removed the motor and examined the loom from the connector to the motor and that is showing no signs of a broken cable, so I have a couple of questions if possible:-

1. does it sound like i need a new motor?

2. how do you remove and then re-attach the cog from / to the shaft as it doesn’t seem to have a grub screw?

3, is it worth opening the motor up and trying to fix the loose connection?

Thanks in advance

Stock SD4

2 Reply by 3Dex

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Re: X-axis stepper

Could be irregular voltage going to the motor? e.g too little or too much voltage?

Anyway, whatever it is I would simply swap over your Y axis motor. Swap the connectors on the control board and see if the Y axis motor has the same faults. If it does, then its likely that its not the motor but the control board at fault.

If it is the motor that needs replacing then if your cog on the motor does not have a grub screw to aid removal then my guess is that its a fiction fit cog probably with some locking agent. Removing this could require any of a number of methods (pulling really hard, heating up the cog, etc...). You may want to upload some photos.

As a result of this I would suggest that it is worth opening up the motor to see what you can see. You never know it might be a really easy fix. I had a motor stop working as it got too hot. When it cooled down and I opened it up i saw some of the insulation on the wires had melted causing the wires to short together. I simply separated them and re-insulated them with hot glue. Seems to have done the trick as its still working.

I hope some of the above helps.

On a side note, if you're in need of some high quality filament for your 3D printing then please check out our website at www.3dexfilament.co.uk

Cheers,
Will

3Dex - Suppliers of the best filament.
http://www.3dexfilament.co.uk

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3 Reply by luks (edited by luks 2017-05-15 13:29:03)

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Re: X-axis stepper

envisaged wrote:

My prints (Layers) have been moving randomly, usually accompanied by a grinding noise.

I've exactly the same issue! Did you figure out how to fix it?

4 Reply by heartless

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Re: X-axis stepper

luks wrote:
envisaged wrote:

My prints (Layers) have been moving randomly, usually accompanied by a grinding noise.

I've exactly the same issue! Did you figure out how to fix it?

have you verified it is actually the motor at fault?

swap the connector at the board end with one of the others and test it

X is also known to get very hot - this can and does cause random layer shifting. the fix is to add a fan on the bottom of the motor. a basic 40mm fan and this fan bracket should resolve that issue

SD4 #1 & #2 - Lawsy carriages, E3D v6, Rumba controller board, mirror bed plate, X motor fan, upgraded PSU & Mica bed heater
SD4 #3 - in the works ~ Folgertech FT-5, rev 1
Printit Industries Beta Tester - Horizon H1

5 Reply by luks (edited by luks 2017-05-16 17:03:10)

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Re: X-axis stepper

Okay : it's weird. I mean... ...really weird.

I tried everything to find where the problem comes from. I switched the X&Y motors, and followed everything listed here : http://wiki.solidoodle.com/fix-axis-shifting.

The most bizarre thing is the fact that the layers are moving in X direction totally randomly. It can occurs on the first layer as in the middle of the print. My motors aren't hot at all when it's happening.

In addition to that, I tried yesterday night with an another software. So I've switched from Repetier Host (the last Mac OS version that I use for months) to Matter Control, and it's working totally fine! I tried serval prints from now, and it works always with Matter Control, but fails always with Repetier. The weirdest is that I did not make any change or update in Repetier Host since at least two months, so... ...wtf?

http://soliforum.com/i/?npCZjhG.jpg

6 Reply by carl_m1968

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Re: X-axis stepper

What are your EEPROM settings in Repetier? Those override firmware settings and since Matter and Form does not have those it could be your issue.

Printing since 2009 and still love it!
Anycubic 4MAX best $225 ever invested.
Voxelabs Proxima SLA. 6 inch 2k Mono LCD.
Anycubic Predator, massive Delta machine. 450 x 370 print envelope.

7 Reply by jagowilson

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Re: X-axis stepper

VREF (motor voltage) has probably floated too low over time for X. It is controlled by a dial on the back of the board which you can adjust with a plastic screw driver. Search the board for the term "VREF" and you should find some helpful posts.

The motor is not designed for the load it's moving and is overdriven. It doesn't have to fall much for X skipping to start happening.

8 Reply by carl_m1968

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Re: X-axis stepper

jagowilson wrote:

VREF (motor voltage) has probably floated too low over time for X. It is controlled by a dial on the back of the board which you can adjust with a plastic screw driver. Search the board for the term "VREF" and you should find some helpful posts.

The motor is not designed for the load it's moving and is overdriven. It doesn't have to fall much for X skipping to start happening.

If that was the case, then why would it be fine when he is using Matter and Form Host versus Repetier which causes the problem?

think Repetier is doing something with acceleration on that axis in the EEPROM settings.

Printing since 2009 and still love it!
Anycubic 4MAX best $225 ever invested.
Voxelabs Proxima SLA. 6 inch 2k Mono LCD.
Anycubic Predator, massive Delta machine. 450 x 370 print envelope.

9 Reply by jagowilson (edited by jagowilson 2017-05-17 12:39:14)

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Re: X-axis stepper

Repetier doesn't persist the EEPROM values itself, they are loaded from the board, since the last version I used. I am not familiar with Matter Control. Just because MC doesn't have an EEPROM settings interface does not mean the EEPROM values do not apply. EEPROM can be updated at any time with M500. The behavior of M500 is host independent.

Edit: MatterControl does support EEPROM with Repetier-Firmware and Marlin: http://wiki.mattercontrol.com/OPTIONS/EEProm