1 Topic by blueprinted

  • blueprinted
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Topic: Solidoodle 4 pauses printing; resumes almost immediately

Hi guys! I purchased a Solidoodle 4 last year and it's been working great the whole time.

Just recently, I've been printing pulley sleeves and it's been randomly stopping during prints. There is still plastic oozing out of the nozzle when it stops, but the extruder itself doesn't move, leaving a very small but inconvenient blob on the surface. Not even a second later, it resumes printing.

What would be the main cause of this as it has never happened before? I suspect it might be software issue and not a hardware issue.

During the print, I was printing black ABS on hairspray/kapton tape (210 deg C @ nozzle; 110 deg C @ heatbed)

2 Reply by madkow007

  • madkow007
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Re: Solidoodle 4 pauses printing; resumes almost immediately

I am betting that it is a hardware issue - mine was doing the same thing, and it will get worse.

I had a bad usb connection, but I also suspect (now) that the stepper drivers were overheating as well.

Try getting a fan pointed directly at the controller board /stepper drivers to cool them better - the little 40mm one that SD uses on the bottom isnt enough.

SD4 with Lawsy carriages, Rumba board, & new 12v PSU, E3D v6, mirror bed plate, X motor fan.
Stock SD4
Prusa i3 kit, spring loaded extruder upgrade, Y axis belt tensioner

3 Reply by mdrVB6

  • mdrVB6
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Re: Solidoodle 4 pauses printing; resumes almost immediately

Yup, either a driver over heating or a USB connection issue.  Add a fan on the board to cool the drivers.  If that doesn't work, then it is probably a USB issue.  Are you printing from a computer?  I know I have a fairly weak laptop, and sometimes if I do so much as start a youtube video while printing, the freezes up for a second then starts again.  The solution is to not ask so much of my computer, get a better computer, or add an SD card reader and print from that.  Or print from my tablet with the G-code printr app, which I do most of the time.

SD4 w/ RUMBA, E3D Volcano, all bearings, glass bed

4 Reply by madkow007

  • madkow007
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Re: Solidoodle 4 pauses printing; resumes almost immediately

I know I have a fairly weak laptop, and sometimes if I do so much as start a youtube video while printing, the freezes up for a second then starts again.

lol, yeah, i am running ours from an old XP machine & dont do anything else with it while printing or it starts having issues. LCD & SD card reader are on the upgrade list...

SD4 with Lawsy carriages, Rumba board, & new 12v PSU, E3D v6, mirror bed plate, X motor fan.
Stock SD4
Prusa i3 kit, spring loaded extruder upgrade, Y axis belt tensioner

5 Reply by blueprinted

  • blueprinted
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Re: Solidoodle 4 pauses printing; resumes almost immediately

madkow007 wrote:

I am betting that it is a hardware issue - mine was doing the same thing, and it will get worse.

I had a bad usb connection, but I also suspect (now) that the stepper drivers were overheating as well.

Try getting a fan pointed directly at the controller board /stepper drivers to cool them better - the little 40mm one that SD uses on the bottom isnt enough.

I managed to point a small fan towards the board and it seems to do the trick. I might have to flesh out a more permanent solution to the problem though. Thanks for the tip mate!

6 Reply by blueprinted

  • blueprinted
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Re: Solidoodle 4 pauses printing; resumes almost immediately

mdrVB6 wrote:

Yup, either a driver over heating or a USB connection issue.  Add a fan on the board to cool the drivers.  If that doesn't work, then it is probably a USB issue.  Are you printing from a computer?  I know I have a fairly weak laptop, and sometimes if I do so much as start a youtube video while printing, the freezes up for a second then starts again.  The solution is to not ask so much of my computer, get a better computer, or add an SD card reader and print from that.  Or print from my tablet with the G-code printr app, which I do most of the time.

I too have a relatively old and weak laptop and even slicing fairly large or complex objects freezes the printer. I've just lived with it this whole time.