Topic: Step Skips?
I have experienced step skip on the x axis twice now. Anyone know how to adjust the tension on the x belts?
Re: Step Skips?
What makes you so certain that it is a belt issue? If you are printing too close to the bed, you can snag the nozzle tip on the part and cause a skip like that too. Or a driver could be overheating and causing a motor skip. Or there could be debris on your rod causing friction. Belt too loose would be the easiest fix. I don't have a press but if it is anything like previous models, look for an M3 screw thru a belt to tighten it down. Just a guess.
SD4 w/ RUMBA, E3D Volcano, all bearings, glass bed
3 2015-01-20 15:04:37 (edited by Skyblue 2015-01-22 23:23:44)
Re: Step Skips?
mdrVB6 wrote:
What makes you so certain that it is a belt issue? If you are printing too close to the bed, you can snag the nozzle tip on the part and cause a skip like that too. Or a driver could be overheating and causing a motor skip. Or there could be debris on your rod causing friction. Belt too loose would be the easiest fix. I don't have a press but if it is anything like previous models, look for an M3 screw thru a belt to tighten it down. Just a guess.
Not too close to bed, rods clean and smooth, harness hanger attached. Cant see how to adjust belts.
Re: Step Skips?
The step skip issue has once again reared its ugly head. Happened twice in the Y axis on a long print. I checked the set screws on the y motor and was able to tighten them some more, hopefully this will correct the issue. I notice the Y motor gets hot, being enclosed like it is, and in a long print, maybe the gear is expanding more than the shaft, causing it to slip, then grab again? I figure tightening them won't hurt at least...
5 2015-01-23 04:30:54 (edited by jagowilson 2015-01-23 04:31:36)
Re: Step Skips?
Skyblue wrote:
The step skip issue has once again reared its ugly head. Happened twice in the Y axis on a long print. I checked the set screws on the y motor and was able to tighten them some more, hopefully this will correct the issue. I notice the Y motor gets hot, being enclosed like it is, and in a long print, maybe the gear is expanding more than the shaft, causing it to slip, then grab again? I figure tightening them won't hurt at least...
Is there a fan on the motherboard? The stepper drivers are probably overheating. I don't own a press so I don't know how they are cooling the board.
- cptskippy
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Re: Step Skips?
There's a fan next to the motherboard circulating air however it's laying parallel to the motherboard instead of perpendicular so I question it's efficiency.
7 2015-01-23 05:31:36 (edited by jagowilson 2015-01-23 05:32:12)
Re: Step Skips?
cptskippy wrote:
There's a fan next to the motherboard circulating air however it's laying parallel to the motherboard instead of perpendicular so I question it's efficiency.
Me too. In that case proper VREF adjustment is going to be very important. If the motors are getting hot, the drivers are too. Ideally the fan would be pointing right at the stepper chips.
Re: Step Skips?
I am experiencing skips on the Y axis now. I don't think they are "step" skips, but rather belt skips. The printer makes a loud "clunk" when moving on the Y axis, and then the remainder of the print prints about 4mm further back (on the instance I was able to measure.)
This seems more prevalent when printing at .2mm layer thickness for some reason... maybe the longer print just gives it more time to occur.
I'm at a loss. The small Y-belt that I can see seems to be tensioned reasonably well, and the pulleys are tight. I've opened a case with Solidoodle to see what they say about this and the regular jamming of the extruder.
Pics below. The third picture is particularly impressive.
Re: Step Skips?
After some head scratching, I found the cause of my step skipping. It was skipping in the y axis, there are two set screws on the y motor that were loose. I tightened them while hot, and the issue has not re-occurred.
Re: Step Skips?
I actually found that one of the mounting screws on my y-motor was loose and stripped. I had to replace it (luckily I had a compatible screw), and now I'm not having the skips.