1 Topic by euwe_max

  • euwe_max
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Topic: One week after I got it... my Press is dead

Hi all,

I have just gotten the solidoodle press about a week ago and have tried to make a few prints (all unsuccessful due to calibration  issues). Today when I tried to print however, a serious error occurred and my Press is dead now.

What happened:
Usually during printing, solitouch will activate and the sensor will move downward to touch the heating bed at the start of printing. However when I was printing today, solitouch did not work and the sensor did not move downward at all. The Heating bed kept moving upwards and smashed into the printing nozzle. After a few minutes, the solidoodle press powered off, and I observed that the power light on the top was blinking. To relieve the pressure on the bed, I removed the nozzle.

When I tried to turn on the press again, I was unsuccessful, the green blinking light appeared every time I turned on the printer. After a few attempts of turning off and on the main power however,  the blinking light dissappeared and the printer was able to turn on. The thing is, it only looks like the LED light and fan is on, the rest of the printer seems to be dead. My computer which used to detect the press, does not see anything when the Press is plugged in. There is no indication of a USB device on my computer. I have tried the following but they did not solve my problem:
1. Updated to the latest Soliprint
2. Changed the USB cable to another brand new one
3. ReInstalled the serial drivers
4. Reinstalled soliprint
5. Tried 3 the above on other computers but they still did not recognize the press.

I think something happened to my solidoodle press control board when the stage crashed into the nozzle earlier. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can fix my press?

2 Reply by android78

  • android78
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Re: One week after I got it... my Press is dead

Probably log a support ticket and see if you can do either a motherboard exchange or RMA.  I think that there was someone on the forums who was changing the motherboard for a different brand, which shouldn't be too much work. 
Any other alternative, I would think, will require some knowledge of electronics and a multimeter.  The first thing is to check the power from the power supply, then see if it's generating the 5V on the motherboard to power the uP and steppers.

3 Reply by euwe_max

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Re: One week after I got it... my Press is dead

Thanks for the reply! Hmm I never thought of that, so it could be my power supply was blown or something... Alright I will go to check that out. I will take your advice and log a support ticket in the meantime as well

4 Reply by trayracing

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Re: One week after I got it... my Press is dead

You did try unplugging the power supply from the unit and the wall, and plugging it back in, right? (Off isn't as off as you might think.)

5 Reply by euwe_max

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Re: One week after I got it... my Press is dead

Hi Trayracing, I tried that out but it still didn't work... the folks at solidoodle also suspect it could be a blown power supply.. so I just ordered another power supply online which will be arriving next week... hoping thats the problem...

6 Reply by euwe_max

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Re: One week after I got it... my Press is dead

Just an update... my new power supply came in today but it still did not solve my problem... looks like the power supply is fine... this would mean mabye the controller board could be damaged? Waiting for solidoodle's response now...

7 Reply by jagowilson (edited by jagowilson 2015-03-19 16:16:03)

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Re: One week after I got it... my Press is dead

Pull it out and take a look. You may find a burned or lifted trace on the board. Have you tested the new PSU with a multimeter? Put one probe in the DC socket cylinder (positive) and one probe on the metal cylinder (ground). The PSU on the press isn't exactly robust from the reading I've done on here, so don't rule out a DOA.