Print head gets stuck/stutters half way to the other end

Didnt use the printer for about a month, and every time I start to use it again after some period - something goes wrong all by itself.

Now, the print head gets stuck and stutters in place about +60 and +80 from 0 to 214. I have no idea what causes that, but It does NOT get stuck on the way back.
As it gets stuck moving forward, the sensor counts everything as a move, so after 2 stops he is in the middle of the rod at "214".

EDIT: as it stucks and stutters, the power goes down for a sec, then back up.

EDIT: tried swapping the cables (extruder - x rod), no change

EDIT: it only stucks/stutters in place when x is homed first. when I move it after turning off the motors, it moves with no problems.

Edited 6 time(s). Last edit at 07/04/2016 01:26PM by Sardi.

Maybe there is some friction in your X axis, but it could be a simple as the screws in the power input terminal block no longer being tight.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/05/2016 02:58AM by dc42.

---

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].

I do not think there is friction, as it only stutters in:

1) forward motion
2) when the X is homed - if x is not homed, it does not stutter or gets stuck

If the power goes down for a sec, it is possibly a loose power connection or faulty power supply. It is perhaps associated with the bed and/or hotend heaters turning on rather than the X homing - try a test run with no filament loaded and both heaters turned off and see if it still does it. If not it is definitely a power issue.

I am not clear as to the exact symptoms. When you say it only happens after X is homed, does that mean that it only happens if the X motor has been switched on (which homing will do)? In other words, when it does *not* happen, is X turned off so that it can be moved by hand? If that is the case it could be a bad driver IC or short in the X motor output.

Note you must never remove or connect a motor when the printer is on, but it is OK to run the printer with one or more motors disconnected.

Dave

dmould

about the homed X - when I press "home X" on the web interface and the printer homes it (the button turns blue indicating that the X is homed) its set at 0. When I try to move it forward via web interface, it stutters at one point.
However, when it gets past the stuttering point (214/end point is in this case somewhere at 3/4 of the rod because he calculates movement although it was stuck at the same place) it does not stutter on its way back (also moving via web interface)

Also, if I home X, and then turn the motors off (turning the button orange again), when I move the head forward via web interface - there is no stuttering at any point.

Regarding the power going down for a sec, it does not go off, just drops in power and resumes after a brief second.

I always experience some sort of problems after a longer (2 weeks+) of not using this printer.

Quote
dmould
If the power goes down for a sec, it is possibly a loose power connection or faulty power supply. It is perhaps associated with the bed and/or hotend heaters turning on rather than the X homing - try a test run with no filament loaded and both heaters turned off and see if it still does it. If not it is definitely a power issue.

Dave

I guess it is a power issue.

1) all heaters off, homed X, moved X up and down the rod via web interface with no issues.

2) hotend turned on (170c), X still homed, tried moving X up and down the rod via web interface - stutter with power drop at the same point.

Can I fix this?

Did you check that the power in terminal block screws are tight, as I suggested before?

---

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].

You either have a loose power connection or your PSU is underpowered or become faulty. I suggest you unplug and plug back in all power connectors, and loosen and then re-tighten all your terminal block connections (this usually clears any surface oxidation on the connections). If that does not fix the issue, put a voltmeter across the supply right at the PSU output and observe when you turn the bed on & off. If the voltage sags by more than a volt, you should replace your PSU. 12V LED supplies are cheap and better than PC supplies. You can temporarily connect it without a case at first, being careful that you put something over the live connections, and then print a case for the supply as your first job so that it is safe. e.g. [www.ebay.co.uk] (select 360W model)

Dave

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/06/2016 08:43AM by dmould.

Got a hold of the printer after 2 months to fix this, and I got it fixed.
I removed the power cables and put them back on and now there is no power fail during the movement of the X so I presume that was the issue.

Thanks for the help!