Help to start with Prusa Mendel

Hello, I have bought a Prusa Mendel last week and I do not manage to do anything with it:
The card is an ARDUINO Mega 2560 and when I run RepRap host software, it happens nothing.
Could someone show me the way to start using it?

Are you running pronterface?
On windows?
What happens when you try to connect?

Check baud rate.

I am a little lost!
I use windows XP SP3, i have uploaded the "blink" programm to the Mega 2560, it's run but now, I do not manage to configure the RAMPS 1.4 card wich already plug in on the Mega, I have download the Sprinter firmware from ultimachine but it seems to be for Linux, "little" lost. What firmware I have to uploaded to the Arduinio Mega 2560 in order it reconize the RAMPS?

Most use marlin firmware on the prusa.

Thanks helping me, I've downloaded Marlin, select my port communication, my card, verifying, compiling and uploaded it to my mega, all seems good; I run Reprap host software and I can not move any stepper or anythings else, have I forgetten something?

Is your baud rate set to 250000 in your reprap host software?

I have changed the name of the port (COM4 for me) in the preferences of reprap host software, like mentionned in the troubleshing and the soft would not run; I saw in the DOS console that the response was not good, so I switch of the prusa and plug off the usb wire to launch reprap host sowftware to configure the baud rate at 250000 and when I switch on all, I have the same error, isn't a firmware error?

I dont have experience with just that software as i have allways used pronterface as host software.
But i can say that all the garbled words usually is because of wrong baudrate.

Yah, I use Pronterface now, as you, 250000 baud rate on COM4, it can connect and I can move the printer only when I click the home Y button, what is wrong?

Hi

I'm also very new at this but I've had some trouble understanding how the motors work, so here's what I got after some experiments and nearly destroying the belts.

The 'home' buttons will move the motors in a 'negative' direction until they hit the end stop. This will teach the firmware about each zero point on each axis.

Each 'home' button must start a motor (or in case of Z, two motors). If that is not happening there is something wrong with the wiring of the motor or corresponding end stop.

The 'X' direction moves the extruder horizontally. The 'Y' direction moves the heated bed itself. The 'Z' direction is using two motors and they move the extruder vertically.

If the motor starts moving in the wrong direction when you press 'home', immediately press the corresponding end stop by hand so it will not crash!
Then shut down the board and reverse the motor plug so it will move properly.

If you did not connect the end stops properly the motor might still try to crash so be ready to shut down the power before that happens. Then check your end stop wiring.

Do this for the X and Y.

'Y' should move the bed backwards because our point of reference is the hot end nozzle and the zero coordinate is at the front left of the bed.

The 'Z' is a bit problematic because you need to very carefully match the levels of the frame and the bed otherwise it will start hitting the bed. Be conservative while positioning the end stop there initially.

The extruder motor will not move unless the firmware detects that the hot end is actually hot. So to test that you need to warm it up first.

You should also measure how much the hot end can move in positive X and positive Y before hitting something or going off the bed. Those limits are given to the gcode preparation program, in my case 'Slic3r'.

Also it very much depends how you hold the glass to the heated bed. The clips or whatever you use might be hitting the hot end or the extruder itself.

Hi, thanks helping too, I was wrong: all my "home buttons" run, but I am not sure they are really good configured.
For the Y axe, look at the first picture before I click on the Y home button: n°1.



And the n°2 picture after few clicks.



The bed goes at the opposite at the manual end-stop and when I push it, nothing.
Wherease the Z axe went to the bed before whenI click "Z home", and after pushing the Z end-stop, it goes now to the high when I clik.
Is it normal or what file I have to change/configure to make work it properly.
And subsidiar question; why Host Reprap software can not make the communication with my Prusa even if I have uploaded Marlin into the Mega 2560?