German RepRap X400CE Help!

Does anyone here have this machine? We purchased this machine from Germany in May and every time we try to get the printer going, we have problems. This machine has 2 extruders and a heated bed and was supposed to be delivered as a plug and play. We are supposed to get support from German RepRap, but every question we ask, they take 2-3 days to respond and the answers they give have little to do with the questions asked or direct us to figure it out ourselves. In specific, the thermistors were never calibrated, the display was in German (We are located in the US-NY and requested English), the firmware was not correctly installed, and there were many parts missing. After rewiring the Arduino Mega 2560 and updating the firmware, we are still having problems getting the hotend to reach a temperature greater than 180°C. We were able to print some very basic parts in PLA, but we cannot get the hotend to get above 185°C which severely limits us.
Any help would greatly be appreciated. Specifically, calibrating the thermistor (i.e. Repetier software says 300°C and the hotend is between 180°C and 185°C), calibrating PID values (Always gives error after 2nd cycle), and recommended Slic3r settings for feed rate, temperature, etc. for different materials (Especially 3mm PVA).

Has the Thermistor be defined correctly in the Firmware? GermanReprap are using NTC 100K Thermistors.

Xhnnas,
This is directly from the firmware:

// What type of sensor is used?
// 1 is 100k thermistor (Epcos B57560G0107F000 - RepRap-Fab.org and many other)
// 2 is 200k thermistor
// 3 is mendel-parts thermistor (EPCOS G550)
// 4 is 10k thermistor
// 8 is ATC Semitec 104GT-2
// 5 is userdefined thermistor table 0
// 6 is userdefined thermistor table 1
// 7 is userdefined thermistor table 2
// 50 is userdefined thermistor table 0 for PTC thermistors
// 51 is userdefined thermistor table 0 for PTC thermistors
// 52 is userdefined thermistor table 0 for PTC thermistors
// 60 is AD8494, AD8495, AD8496 or AD8497 (5mV/degC and 1/4 the price of AD595 but only MSOT_08 package)
// 97 Generic thermistor table 1
// 98 Generic thermistor table 2
// 99 Generic thermistor table 3
// 100 is AD595
// 101 is MAX6675
// 102 is MAX31855
#define EXT0_TEMPSENSOR_TYPE 1

Then the Calibration Table is defined below (This is where I have no idea how to correlate actual hotend values with the table):

/** Userdefined thermistor table

There are many different thermistors, which can be combined with different resistors. This result
in unpredictable number of tables. As a resolution, the user can define one table here, that can
be used as type 5 for thermister type in extruder/heated bed definition. Make sure, the number of entries
matches the value in NUM_TEMPS_USERTHERMISTOR0. If you span definition over multiple lines, make sure to end
each line, except the last, with a backslash. The table format is {{adc1,temp1},{adc2,temp2}...} with
increasing adc values. For more informations, read
[hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

If you have a sprinter temperature table, you have to multiply the first value with 4 and the second with 8.
This firmware works with increased precision, so the value reads go from 0 to 4095 and the temperature is
temperature*8.

If you have a PTC thermistor instead of a NTC thermistor, keep the adc values increasing and use themistor types 50-52 instead of 5-7!
*/
/** Number of entries in the user thermistor table 0. Set to 0 to disable it. */
#define NUM_TEMPS_USERTHERMISTOR0 28
#define USER_THERMISTORTABLE0 {\
{1*4,864*8},{21*4,300*8},{25*4,290*8},{29*4,280*8},{33*4,270*8},{39*4,260*8},{46*4,250*8},{54*4,240*8},{64*4,230*8},{75*4,220*8},\
{90*4,210*8},{107*4,200*8},{128*4,190*8},{154*4,180*8},{184*4,170*8},{221*4,160*8},{265*4,150*8},{316*4,140*8},{375*4,130*8},\
{441*4,120*8},{513*4,110*8},{588*4,100*8},{734*4,80*8},{856*4,60*8},{938*4,40*8},{986*4,20*8},{1008*4,0*8},{1018*4,-20*8} }

Try Using Type 8

#define EXT0_TEMPSENSOR_TYPE 8

I tried Type 8 and was able to get to a measured hotend temperature of 212°C on the heating block. The temperature output from the Repetier Software was 339°C. I was able to manipulate this by increasing the maximum allowable values of the thermistor in the firmware. I would like to be able to create my own table, but I am unsure of how to do that. I am not sure where to measure the voltage on the RAMPS 1.4. Even if I was able to create a custom table, I am unsure how to write the code for the firmware to utilize it.

Hello kpcote,

I bought last year the same printer, X400. After have assembled everything I have fallen on the same kind of issue you described: the hotend doesn't seem to reach the right temperature.

As shown in the image attached, on Repetier the Extruder1 indicator says it has riched 230° C, however the ABS filament does not drop fused from the nozzle as it shuld be.
Hence, this is not the real temperature at all !
As for Ext2, the indicatir is stuck to 110° C and doesn't want go over.

Have you found a solution for your problem? Even if it was supposed to be already done by GermanReprap, I have to put the right settings in the firmware and let the thermistors work correctly.
Did you find a good setup for the thermistors?

Thank you in advance. Any advice from you could be very precious for me!