Definite wiring issue

I am putting together my Prusa i3x from DIYTS and have the entire thing physically built. I wired it up as best I could with support from here and reading other posts and websites. When I began to test out the printer I ran into some problems like the lcd not working and the x axis not moving plus printrun acting weird. I was convinced it was a firmware issue but recently I downloaded the firmware of someone else that has the same exact kit as I do and they are running it fine. Still, it does not work, so that is why I know it must be a wiring issue. X AXIS: I realized the x wasn't working (could not move it with printrun) early on, I plugged the x stepper into the place on the RAMPS 1.4 for the Y stepper. I then used the Y controls on printrun and the X axis moved fine. I then plugged in the Y stepper into the X spot and that did not work. As for printrun, it was running beautifully on my computer but then it just froze and never opened so I had to delete it and re download. Now it won't even detect my printer for some reason. I have a bad feeling the printer destroyed the usb jack on my computer. Sometimes, when trying to connect the printer with printrun or plugging it in my computer will just switch off. I have a mac book pro. As for the lcd, which is apparently working for the person whom I got the marlin from is just a bunch of white blocks for me. So I'm in a place where printun won't function, my usb jacks may very well be dead, and I can't figure out what is wrong with my printer. I have all the drivers put in correctly. The stepper only came with 4 wires connected to them and I identified the pairs by jumping two wires and feeling which one made the motor harder to turn. After figuring out the pairs I wired them so that the pairs were side by side. Then I simply plugged into the slots next to the driver on the ramps 1.4. When I was able to connect to printrun my heated bed and extruder were both working beautifully. I do not have any end stops connected right now b/c I was testing them out and they gave me some trouble. I was typing the end stop check command into the command line of printun over and over again to test out the end-stops. After a while printun just froze completely. My z axis' appear to be moving but I can't really tell b/c I can't get them to make any big movements. They both just sort of make a loud noise and I can feel the z rods turning a tiny bit in one direction. I can't get smooth motion from the z's but I can press the z move command in printrun over and over again and it will just jitter and seem to shift the rods a bit of a revolution. At this point I'm too afraid to plug in my printer into my computer. Im not sure what the source of the back current is but its ugly. It seems like everyone gets their printer up and running and makes it sound so simple but I am in a spot right now where I just have no idea what to do. Any thoughts? Thank you very much

Quote
erikn
The stepper only came with 4 wires connected to them and I identified the pairs by jumping two wires and feeling which one made the motor harder to turn. After figuring out the pairs I wired them so that the pairs were side by side.

Why did you do this? I'm not sure how the RAMPS motor pins are set up, but I have a feeling this may be part of the issue. I plugged my motors into the RAMPS board as I received them, no rearrangement. My motors also have four wires.

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MakerFarm 8" Prusa i3v
RAMPS 1.4
0.4mm E3D v6 for 1.75mm

Quote
erikn
Now it won't even detect my printer for some reason. I have a bad feeling the printer destroyed the usb jack on my computer.

Does the USB on your computer detect a USB memory stick, if YES then its not blown up.

Regards

Lloyd

My motors had 4 numbers coming out but I had to connect the female jumper connection on the other end so I needed to know the order. It turned out to be the same as the order on the motors anyways, I just had to be sure. Some of the motors are working though so I don't know if steppers can even function at all when wires are miss arranged

One thing at a time, get your motors/axis working first then worry about the LCD.

To get your axis to move in both directions you will need to connect up your end-stops. The motors have to know their "home" position.
The end-stops have to be defined correctly in Configuration.h, set to true or false depending on the switches e.g:

const bool X_ENDSTOPS_INVERTING = true; // set to true to invert the logic of the endstops.
same for the Y and Z

and set if they are MAX or MIN position (and wired to the correct pins on the RAMPS)
// ENDSTOP SETTINGS:
// Sets direction of endstops when homing; 1=MAX, -1=MIN
#define X_HOME_DIR -1
#define Y_HOME_DIR -1
#define Z_HOME_DIR -1

To get your motors to move properly you will need to adjust your steppers/drivers.

I also found with my i3 build I had to change the Z "DEFAULT_MAX_FEEDRATE" to 1 from 5 to stop motor chatter (1 or 2 should work)

Once you have that working then look at the LCD issue.
For the LCD make sure it is defind correctly in your Configuration.h in the firmware you are using.

Hope this helps
Steve

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My updated Instructable on our Prusa i3 Build
[www.instructables.com]

Just tested with an external keyboard, luckily they work!

Thanks Steve,

I wired up my end stops like so: there are three connections on the end stops COM, NO, and NC. I have it set up so that I am only using NC and COM but I am changing that right after I finish this post. I found this really helpful article that I urge anyone who stumbles upon this with the same problem read. [t00tiereprap.wordpress.com] Now I will follow these directions. I also just realized that my end stop wiring had caused +5v to be sent into my computer. This made the computer shut down for safety and disconnect the usb modem and port to protect itself as well. I will solve this end stop problem and hopefully that will get everything else going. Many thanks to all!

Quote
erikn
Thanks Steve,

I wired up my end stops like so: there are three connections on the end stops COM, NO, and NC. I have it set up so that I am only using NC and COM but I am changing that right after I finish this post. I found this really helpful article that I urge anyone who stumbles upon this with the same problem read. [t00tiereprap.wordpress.com] Now I will follow these directions. I also just realized that my end stop wiring had caused +5v to be sent into my computer. This made the computer shut down for safety and disconnect the usb modem and port to protect itself as well. I will solve this end stop problem and hopefully that will get everything else going. Many thanks to all!

With mechanical (vs opto or optical) endstops you only need 2 wires, one to the S and one to the -

Steve

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My updated Instructable on our Prusa i3 Build
[www.instructables.com]

I took the whole wiring apart and putting it together one by one to figure out whats going on. My computer shut down when I had a stepper driver in and the board powered on. The second I plugged in my computer it blacked out. I replaced that driver and the comp. didnt shut down. But while testing this (just the x stepper pugged in w/ driver and ext. thermistor and bed thermistor) the bottom of the arduino mega (in between the barrel power supply and the usb 3.0 plug was getting very very hot. Like if I touched my hand to it I actually had to move it away after a second. So i shut down and now I don't know whats going on.

Check that you have a good ground connection between the electronics board and the power supply for the stepper motors. It could be that the system is trying to draw ground current through the USB cable and/or the Arduino.

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Large delta printer [miscsolutions.wordpress.com], E3D tool changer, Robotdigg SCARA printer, Crane Quad and Ormerod

Disclosure: I design Duet electronics and work on RepRapFirmware, [duet3d.com].