Please help with Sintron Prusa i3... stuck at the commissioning stage.

Hi sorry for my first post being a help post.

Its all built, there were a few bits missing, but I worked around that & everything is all wired up. As far as I can tell I have Marlin's configuration.h updated to match my printer (with the exception of the LCD screen which I will add in once I get it working).

Pronterface can see the machine, but I cannot get the motors to move. X & Y seem to do nothing at all, Z hums, but nothing more.

Switches are wired with just 2 cables, if I invert the switch setting, Pronterface reports they are tripped, so I'm sure they are the right way around.

I have shut the machine down & turned the Z pot clockwise in 45deg increments, but nothing changes, the motor just quietly hums.

The pot seems to just keep spinning, despite being VERY gentle there doesn't seem to be an end stop, I was anticipating about 300deg of turn.

I'm good with computers & electrics, but not with electronics, so have no idea how I should proceed.

Anyone got any suggestions for what I do next? If you think its the configuration.h I can post it.

I have checked my power supply is producing 12V (12.24v) and I have lit a 21w car bulb with both 12v supplies to prove they have amps.

I have just uncommented the following...

#define DISABLE_MAX_ENDSTOPS

#define DISABLE_MIN_ENDSTOPS

Made no difference at all.

Just tried turning on the heat bed & the hot end, nothing happening, no volts found at the power connections on the RAMPS... configuration.h issues?

I have added it just in case...

Work through one issue at a time.

When a stepper makes no noise and doesn't move, you're either not sending it any signals or you've got it wired incorrectly. If it makes noise but doesn't move (like your Z axis motor), you probably have connections to one of the motor's coils reversed.

Start with the X axis. First, push the extruder carriage to the middle of the X axis. If the motor doesn't turn, you may have it wired incorrectly. Double check that the coils of the motor are connected back to the driver on the board correctly. You can use a digital multimeter to check the resistance of the coil from the controller board end of the cable (that will check the cable and its connection to the motor at the same time). If you read anything but a few ohms when connecting to what should be a coil, you've got a wiring problem. Set the current adjust pot on the driver to mid rotation (yes, there are no stops- they just keep rotating). Once you've got the motor running, make sure it's running in the right direction. Once that is right, set the steps/mm in the firmware. You can play with the motor current to get it running smoothly. When the X axis is working as it should, go to the Y axis, then the Z axis.

Endstops: use the M119 command via pronterface to check the status, then push and hold one of the endstop switches and use M119 again. The status should have changed. if it didn't, the switch is wired incorrectly or the configuration option in (NC or NO) is set wrong in the firmware.

Bed and extruder heaters: does the controller board show any temperature readings via pronterface? If not the thermistors are not wired correctly. If the thermistors don't show any temperature, the heaters will not turn on.

Thanks for the quick reply,

I have removed all the connections to the ramps other than the x,y&z motor connections, (I didn't remove the 4x power in & 6x power out blocks at the bottom).

Now it doesn't make a sound when I click on move Z, implying (i think) that the config is at fault.

I have checked I have power up to the driver, measuring 4.96v at the gnd & vdd pins.

All the pairs of pins to the motors are reading 0.4 ohms (the motors came with female 4 pin Molex style connectors fitted, so I was confident of them, but i checked just in case)

Also, I read somewhere that I shouldn't adjust the pots with the printer powered up. Is this correct? It makes checking changes a very slow process.

I have adjusted the pots on my stepper drivers before, you just have to be very careful not to accidentally short anything. Ideally you can attach the positive lead of your multimeter to a screw driver so that you can read the voltage as you adjust it.

where do i put the negative lead (GND pin of the driver?) and what should the voltage be?

I put the negative lead on the ground of the power input. Less chance of me screwing up.

Voltage depends on the driver board being used, but typically ranges between 0.4 and 0.6 volts.

I assume you mean the negative 5A line of the 5A and 11A lines coming into the board from the PSU?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/20/2015 02:48PM by Dibbler.

Correct. I connect to the 5A line. Not sure if the 11A line uses the same ground plane or not, but I don't even have it connected as I don't have a heated bed.

Thanks, I have to stop for a bit as my inlaws have just turned up, I will check what I have in a bit & report back.

pots all adjusted, all now sat between 0.4 & 0.6 I can tune them more later.

Still Pronterface connects but won't make the motors do anything.

Try m119 to confirm the correct status of your end stops.

There should be some test code on the reprap ramps page the flashes the LEDs and moves the motors back and forth. The should help determine if the issue is with your electronics / wiring or the firmware.

Looking at Configuration.h you posted, you currently have this (at line 41):

// The following define selects which electronics board you have.
// Please choose the name from boards.h that matches your setup
#ifndef MOTHERBOARD 33
  #define MOTHERBOARD BOARD_ULTIMAKER

#endif

The 33 (for RAMPS board) is on the wrong line and will be ignored, so you are actually selecting the Ultimaker board instead of your RAMPS board, which likely has different pin assignments for the motors etc.

Try changing to read like this:

#ifndef MOTHERBOARD 
  #define MOTHERBOARD 33
#endif

sdavi, I really thought you had it then, but alas, after the change it still does nothing.

Kurzaa, very time I tell it to move an led flashes on the Arduino, but the RAMPS board doesn't do anything. I get a 2 flashes from LED1 on the RAMPS when powering up, but that's it, no other led flashes.

I will explore M119 now.

deleted by Dibbler

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/22/2015 05:33PM by Dibbler.

I started getting compiling errors I couldn't resolve, so I started from scratch with the Marlin files & it almost lives!

I now have it moving x y & z a few clicks, but then the motors start whistling & seem to bind up like they are fighting themselves, If i unplug the usb to the computer the sound goes (the PSU is still on so it must be the usb causing it)

As mentioned earlier, you will need to adjust the pot on the drivers. Also, check to make sure the 3 jumpers are all installed for each driver, they are located underneath the driver boards.

The pots have been wound way way down from 0.4v & now the motors work without whistling etc.

fiddled with the end stops & got them working correctly.

heat pad & hot end work

extruder works (but fan isn't coming on, is it only on when needed?)

well it now all works apart from the LCD screen, which if the USB is connected it fires up but goes nuts, if no USB it is dead, but i'm working on that tomorrow & then I will start trying to print something.

Thanks for all the advice to date.

Grats on your progress.

As for the fan, if you have it plugged into D9 (?), the fan is likely controlled by your slicer / firmware and should turn on after the first layer or two if set by your slicer settings. You should also be able to turn it on manually with ponterface, though your slicer settings might turn it back off temporarily when you start the print.

If you have an all metal hotend though, with the fan blowing directly on the fins of the hotend, you will want to play with your firmware to make sure it is turned on whenever the hotend is on. Still trying to figure that one out myself.

Quote
Kurzaa
Grats on your progress.

As for the fan, if you have it plugged into D9 (?), the fan is likely controlled by your slicer / firmware and should turn on after the first layer or two if set by your slicer settings. You should also be able to turn it on manually with ponterface, though your slicer settings might turn it back off temporarily when you start the print.

If you have an all metal hotend though, with the fan blowing directly on the fins of the hotend, you will want to play with your firmware to make sure it is turned on whenever the hotend is on. Still trying to figure that one out myself.

Actually safest way is to connect the Hotend fan directly to the 12v input on the board/PSU Output.

Doug

Quote
dougal1957

Actually safest way is to connect the Hotend fan directly to the 12v input on the board/PSU Output.

Doug

I did wonder about that Doug, But I was worried about dirtying the feed with noise from the motor.

Quote
Dibbler

Quote
dougal1957

Actually safest way is to connect the Hotend fan directly to the 12v input on the board/PSU Output.

Doug

I did wonder about that Doug, But I was worried about dirtying the feed with noise from the motor.

I think you will find that it is the norm and in fact I have 2 fans on mine one on the hotend and another over the Fet's on the Ramps Board itself both powered directly from the 12V inputs on the ramps with no issues.

Having the fan on the Ramps help to keep the std fet's cool and speeds up the heatbed getting to temp.

I was thinking about doing that, I've read the motor drivers can get over hot without mechanical cooling.