SoliForum - 3D Printing Community — Print shifting on the Y axis

Re: Print shifting on the Y axis

2013-07-04T01:00:50Z

okie dokie so i went and followed the instructions in the video and when moving the y carriage back and forth theres a spot that it stops on like its stuck. so far im not sure if its a pulley or the Y stepper motor.

AH HA! its the STEPPER! took it apart again and detached the drive pully and manually spunthe stepper by hand and it will bind in a certain spot

this is something that solidoodle should take care of right?

**UPDATE**

Solidoodle Emailed me back already its the 4th of July! they are working on the holiday and so far are being really helpful.. Very cool.

Re: Print shifting on the Y axis

2013-07-03T18:06:47Z

If your Y axis isn't moving smoothly you should try doing the perfect circles calibration, it will help solve any slight misalignment between the two guide rails/pully mechanisms.

Re: Print shifting on the Y axis

2013-07-03T17:16:48Z

My printer does not have a fan on the electronics. And I wasn't getting any y-axis shifts - until the ambient temperature in the house (no a/c) got up to over 80F and with high humidity. I moved the printer down to the basement where it's about 60F or so and didn't have any y-axis shifts. (I did get the filament tangled at one point which caused problems, but that was operator stupidity ...)

Since I have a wooden-bed model, I also took care to re-level the bed and re-set the z-stop after it spent in few days getting acclimated to the new space.

Before ditching the printer, get the electronics cooled down a bit. And make sure the nozzle doesn't get caught up on any of those extruded bumps on the first layer. That's happened to me as well when I've had the z-stop set to high (ie. too narrow a space between the nozzle and the bed) and the flowrate too high.

Hope that helps a bit,
Matt

Re: Print shifting on the Y axis

2013-07-03T16:11:02Z

I think I was wrong, its not an over heated chip. Paying super close attention I hear that its skipping a step or something. I tried watching the belts to see what one it is but I can't tell. The belts are pretty firm. But that Y carriage is pretty stiff even after greasing it up. Now I'm pretty sure its the y carriage not moving freely enough. Its not binding but its not flowing....

This is getting frustrating I might just sell this damn thing

Here's another failed print

Re: Print shifting on the Y axis

2013-07-02T23:17:29Z

so i havent printed anything for a while machines been on but idle. printed a 20mm sqare that measured 19.80 x 20.24 x 9.56. . so obviously it is a heat related issue will have to print a cover and heatsink some bolts onto it untill i upgrade the motherboard. i will be measuring the potentiometers though just to be sure. just need to get a meter right quick.

an now the other issue im off on all my axis lol particularly the x axis. got the other two mixed up when i took it off the bed.

and i ripped kapton!

now that its idle again and the steppers are off i pulled the carriage twards me and Y feel kinda tight. the tention on the belts is not tight its just how it should be. what can i do to get Y to flow more smothly. im positive thats whats causing my issue. motor is working to hard heating up that chip.

Re: Print shifting on the Y axis

2013-07-02T19:21:01Z

thanks! i can give that a try.

Re: Print shifting on the Y axis

2013-07-02T18:26:04Z

This should only apply to the old boards. The new boards with the built in drivers use the board as a heat sink so they are rated to 2 amps.

These are the current settings for the stepper motor drivers. Keep in mind that pololu only rates the A4988 drivers for 1A max without cooling.

X axis: 1.11A
Y axis: 1.3A
Z axis: 1.25A
Extruder: 0.48A

The Y axis stepper driver is the most over driven of any of the drivers. The motor itself is rated for 1.33A so in theory all you need to do is put a small heat sink (or a 5/16" nut attached with thermal glue) and a fan and the Y-axis should be good to go.

Re: Print shifting on the Y axis

2013-07-02T18:09:26Z

i dont have any little fans ATM but i got a big box fan pointed at the motherboard right now. its helping, but i still have y axis shifting.

its really weird how it randomly just shifts like that. my X axis motor is really warm and my y axis is pretty cool. its counter-intuitive, youd think itd be the other way around.

i managed to get 3 functional thumbscrews printed, should make bed leveling way easier. but with this shifting im not gonna be able to print a cover to hold a fan over the electronics....

haha without access to the firmware source code i cant even enable a fan if i had one.... im gonna have to get a new motherboard if i expect to get any help on mods/upgrades.

Re: Print shifting on the Y axis

2013-07-02T16:53:24Z

MolecularConcept wrote:

so a fan for the motors or the controller or both?

The fan for the motherboard would be my first thing.

Re: Print shifting on the Y axis

2013-07-02T16:48:13Z

So far I have eliminated the belts and filament snaging as the cause

Re: Print shifting on the Y axis

2013-07-02T15:33:21Z

I put a fan on my electronics board and it helped with layer shifting. Also check to make sure your filament is coming off the roll easily. Occasionally mine will snag and cause a Y layer shift. +1 for the belt adjustments as well.

Re: Print shifting on the Y axis

2013-07-02T15:13:18Z

so a fan for the motors or the controller or both?

Re: Print shifting on the Y axis

2013-07-02T06:55:44Z

Switching software for layer shifts would be like replacing the engine to keep you from getting flat tires. :-p

Usually layer shifts are due to something mechanical like belts need to be tensioned and aligned, filament is snagging, rods are warped or something over heating like you stepper drivers or the motors themselves. The motors and steppers are a bit under powered and over driven from the factory and overheating is almost inevitable. The stepper drivers can be brought up to range (from 1 amp to 2 amp)literally just but using active cooling. There are several posts in the forums about it but aside from doing a quick tension check on the belts (per solidoodle official how to) the fan is your best bet.

Re: Print shifting on the Y axis

2013-07-02T06:43:33Z

If your drive system isn't operating at it's peak then lowering the acceleration values could help but be careful if you go too slow it can also affect the print quality.

Re: Print shifting on the Y axis

2013-07-02T06:34:14Z

My acceleration is 1000as well I didn't see a jerk setting I'll recheck in the am. If it continues to be a problem I'll try a fan and finally diff software... any other suggestions?