1 Topic by donagin (edited by donagin 2015-03-29 21:12:58)

  • donagin
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Topic: X axis harness defects - check if you are losing steps...

Hello all.

I bought my printer in mid March 2015, and flashed to lucs repetier host within a week.  Shortly after this, I began to loose X steps.  I assumed it was a software issue, and so turned down speeds, accelerations, and more - all to no avail.  Motors were not getting hot, nor were driver chips.  Finally, I found another user who posted that his X harness cable drags on the right side wall and handle of the printer.  He reported that he had traced the problem back to the stepper motor plug, and removing the right side was adequate to rectify his lost steps issue.  I removed the right side, and my printer lost LESS steps, but still made unusable prints (a few errors in a 12 hour print = no fun).  I fiddled with the plug, but this did not help.  I eventually disassembled the stepper motor completely, and spliced the wires directly in to the solder pads on the internal stepper motor board.  My next (14 hour) print was flawless.  I replaced the right side, and my lost steps immediately reappeared, more regularly than ever.  Right now, I can print with the side off, but not with it on.

This leads me to conclude that the actual wiring used in the harness is coming apart internally, and certain angles make the problem worse.  (It drags on the right side when the side is installed.)  I expect that I will have to refab the harness to the X axis stepper, using a higher grade of wire that can handle repeated motion.  A plastic cable guide would also be a big help, instead of letting the harness drag on the side and kink in the x axis mount.

Anyhow - if you are loosing steps, check this location.  Also, I would be curious to note if others are experiencing the same difficulty with printers in the stock configuration...

2 Reply by browning54213

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Re: X axis harness defects - check if you are losing steps...

I have been intermittently losing steps on my x as well. I will have to check this, as this could easily be the problem since I have just north of a 1000 hours on my machine. Thanks for the catch!

3 Reply by bitdorf

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Re: X axis harness defects - check if you are losing steps...

Yes, I also have the same issue.  As you said, the harness for the x-axis motor drags along the right side wall as it moves in the y direction.  I have a 1.0 and it has a tie wrap on the x-axis motor harness.  This tie wrap gets hung up on the handle recess that is on the right side wall.  This tugs at the harness and causes missing steps in the x-axis.  I guess it can also break the wires over time.

In my case, this only happens when I print something that is long enough in the y-direction to cause y-translation beyond the dimensions of the handle.  If the print is smaller in the y-direction than the handle recess, then the tie-wrap doesn't get caught up on the handle and I don't get any skipped steps.  So far, I have been printing items that are smaller than the handle width in at least one axis.  So, I always position the prints with the long axis being the x-axis to avoid long travel in the y-axis.

I do plan on fixing the harness eventually, but for now, this print orientation approach has been working for me.

4 Reply by PseudoShooter (edited by PseudoShooter 2015-03-30 19:38:30)

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Re: X axis harness defects - check if you are losing steps...

I watched a printing vid on Youtube last night and the guy had cut the wire ties on the loom to allow the bundle to hang below the window.

This might be the easy fix.

Win 8.1
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5 Reply by madmike8

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Re: X axis harness defects - check if you are losing steps...

I pressed the wires up against their mount and covered it with black duct tape.

6 Reply by madmike8

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Re: X axis harness defects - check if you are losing steps...

The duct tape has worked great so far. No hangs or skipped steps.

7 Reply by nitrogeek

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Re: X axis harness defects - check if you are losing steps...

Check the X axis home position sensor harness at the point of the zip tie. I had two of the three red wires broken.Repaired and working great.

8 Reply by donagin (edited by donagin 2015-04-18 19:50:41)

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Re: X axis harness defects - check if you are losing steps...

An update after almost a month.  As expected, the harness did start skipping again some 50 hours of printing later, even with the side off.  I drew up and printed a cable chain.  Then I glued it to the machine with acetone, and put in good quality aviation PTFE wires (I work in aviation, so this is my go-to product).  I put the side back on, and fired it up.  So far, no more problems.  A picture of the installation is included below.  You can see that I have also included a piece of wood to support the chain.

http://soliforum.com/i/?dBVE25y.jpg

9 Reply by Dave.Piekut

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Re: X axis harness defects - check if you are losing steps...

The more I read the more I regret.... I have zero hours of printing on a brand new printer that doesn't print.  I just wanted to say the cable chain is awesome!!!
So the purpose of the printer is to make parts to keep the printer working... Sweet!

10 Reply by madmike8 (edited by madmike8 2015-04-21 00:14:17)

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Re: X axis harness defects - check if you are losing steps...

Dave, that's the purpose and the great thing about 3d printers. First thing I printed was spare parts. I learned that from my other 3d printers. I'm printing with it about 10-16 hours a day. So far I've had to put a Ziptie around the extruder connector and a 2"x2" piece of duct tape over the x wires. Not bad in my opinion.

Oh, and the cable chain is cool!

11 Reply by carl_m1968

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Re: X axis harness defects - check if you are losing steps...

Dave.Piekut wrote:

The more I read the more I regret.... I have zero hours of printing on a brand new printer that doesn't print.  I just wanted to say the cable chain is awesome!!!
So the purpose of the printer is to make parts to keep the printer working... Sweet!


If you got into 3d printing thinking it was just a plug it in and go type of thing you did it for the wrong reason. It is a hobby and is not ready for the average Joe to get into and start printing contrary to what much of the advertising and marketing hype says. . You do need to do a lot of tweaking and even some mods sometimes. This is true even for $2500 Makerbots. These printers need work and often come to you damaged from poor packaging or have issue due to poor quality control that you can choose to fix yourslef or attempt to get done through a warranty. If you have the time and knowledge however it will be much faster to do it yourself and with parts on Ebay or Amazon then wait for XYZ to fart around on approval and then allow you to ship the part or even the entire printer back at your cost to be repaired or replaced. For the price of shipping back to Tiawan you could probably do the repair yourslef and more.

This Da Vinci in all honesty once you get the XYZ demons out of will print on par with and in some case better than one of those $2500 Makerbots.

It will still be some time before 3d printers really be come a common consumer product. They are still young and really should only be purchased by those willing to tinker with them and make changes to them. I mean for $500 bucks they ar worth it just for the parts alone. With a few more parts you could completly make another printer from the ground up that would cost you over $1000.

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12 Reply by rXc3NtR1c

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Re: X axis harness defects - check if you are losing steps...

Had my first big failure last night, left it to run while I was in bed. I did notice the occasional skip before that though but I thought it was just the filament catching on the lid. donagin, have you got any more pics of how you attached it to the head / body of the printer? I'm thinking that x-axis cable management is next on the list

The carnage sad

http://www.angrybeeracing.com/pics/2015-Me/2015-04-28%2007.45.31-2.jpg

Tone