1 Topic by trayracing

  • trayracing
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2014-09-17
  • Posts: 228

Topic: Intermittent air print

bed probing has been working great for the last month. Until now. Now, most of the time, when I start a print, it tried to print the first layer a mm or so in the air.

Near as I can tell, the extruder isn't loose, nor is the bed probe. I've tried manually deploying the probe before probing and it makes no difference. The wires aren't blockking the probe's movement.

I tried adjusting the z-offset. And of course, the mystery gap didn't happen that time, so it wanted to go too low.

Anone else have a simliar experience? Any ideas?

(My printer is non-printing anyhow, since in the course of trying to figure this out, my dying bed heater finally won't get warm enough to start a print. But I may as well try and sort this out so eventually I can print when the bed gets fixed.)

2 Reply by zburhop

  • zburhop
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2014-03-17
  • Posts: 101

Re: Intermittent air print

Same with my printer!  Its been printing great then a couple weeks ago was running the calibration utility a few times. The first time was fine the next time air printed.  Now all it does is air print.  Even with the new soliprint software and proper gcode in repetier host.  Nothing but air prints!  My printer has been down for 2 weeks because of this!!

3 Reply by trayracing (edited by trayracing 2015-03-08 12:07:51)

  • trayracing
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2014-09-17
  • Posts: 228

Re: Intermittent air print

What did Solidoodle support say?

4 Reply by zburhop

  • zburhop
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2014-03-17
  • Posts: 101

Re: Intermittent air print

Support is roughly 3 weeks between replys no answer yet.

5 Reply by madfalcon81

  • madfalcon81
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2014-08-05
  • Posts: 242

Re: Intermittent air print

I ran into the same problem. I tried to print something using Slicer (solidoodle repetier) and it ruined my first print (because at one time it run very fast and the first layer detached from bed), then I did some changing in the Slicer settings. It then did this: did the levelling (OK), then the extruder goes at one side and extrude aprox 2-3 cm, in the same spot, and then it lowers the head intro that extrusion, then moves to print. Since the head is virtually filled with plastic, it cannot work. I managed the quickly remove the extra plastic before starting the printing, but then I had another problem: it starts printing in mid air (probably it has a Zoffset problem) - a little bit that 1 cm. in the air. Ideas ?

Fat kids are harder to kidnap!

6 Reply by trayracing

  • trayracing
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2014-09-17
  • Posts: 228

Re: Intermittent air print

I'm not using the SD version of RH, but I hear the way to get rid of the priming blob/anchor is to go into the slic3r settings, find the section on start G-Code, and add a semicolon to the start of this line:
   "G1 E9; extruder anchor"
You'll want to print with at least one of {skirt,brim,raft) to get the extruder primed and flowing before printing your object proper.

7 Reply by trayracing

  • trayracing
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2014-09-17
  • Posts: 228

Re: Intermittent air print

Still no word from SD on airprinting. (I can tell - you're deeply surprised)
However - I notice that the autolevel often gets skipped and this is when it air prints.
I see the autolevel command go by in the command stream.

It seems to autolevel the first print after powerup and prints fine.
The subsequent prints it skips autolevel and air prints.
This is new behavior - I was using the Press fairly successfully for a month with RH and now this.
(I don't recall changing any RH settings that would impact this.)

8 Reply by trayracing

  • trayracing
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2014-09-17
  • Posts: 228

Re: Intermittent air print

AHA!

Make that "G28 X0 Y0". Not "G28".
My printer didn't used to care, but I think after I ran SP 1.1.2, it started to.
With just "G28", the G29 returns "echo:Home x/y before z" and skips the bed probe, leading to air prints.

9 Reply by zburhop

  • zburhop
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2014-03-17
  • Posts: 101

Re: Intermittent air print

Im still stuck with an airprinting printer.....how do you change the g code in soliprint, I need calibration to work before I can move on to repetier host.

10 Reply by trayracing

  • trayracing
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2014-09-17
  • Posts: 228

Re: Intermittent air print

zburhop wrote:

I need calibration to work before I can move on to repetier host.

You can calibrate manually and you can do that in RH. See http://www.soliforum.com/topic/10518/ab … -extruder/

11 Reply by ottoangel

  • ottoangel
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2015-01-29
  • Posts: 29

Re: Intermittent air print

I solved my problem this way.

To erase you calibration data and start over, use the gcode console and send codes M502 and M500.
After that I recalibrated and it worked.