Makerbot Heating Problem

alain_4 · 2016-02-14T17:34:51.000Z

Hello

Thanks for quick answer. The reading is working. it read ambiant temperature, 23 or 24° (a little optimistic) but the heating cartridge is not working, it seem there is no voltage on the 2 wires connect to the cartridge.

alain

Ilovepixels · 2016-02-14T17:36:59.000Z

Is the makerbot modified in anyway? For example glass or aluminum bed, and or an enclosure around it. Also how many hours are on it?

William_Puchot · 2016-02-14T17:45:53.000Z

I don’t know why it would do that besides the motherboard being dead… or the power module on the board being dead…

have you changed the settings in the MakerBot to change it to duel extruder… or if the sensor in the wrong port…you may be able to try the port for a second extruder on the board if it is available… and change the setting to MakerBot 2x and see if the board is dead… when you start a print douse it show the goal temp?.. i don’t know what else to say…

William_Puchot · 2016-02-14T17:47:27.000Z

I just hit 2000hours on my MakerBot rep 2… and I’m not haveing any current issue.

Lou_J_Auguste · 2016-02-14T18:08:39.000Z

Are you doing a large print? Sometimes when I’m doing a print about the size of the build plate, I have to manually adjust the heat to keep it from going too low.

Also I have found that taping cardboard around the rep 2 keeps in the heat when I’m doing a slow print.

But without more details as to what your actual problem is I’m just guessing.

alain_4 · 2016-02-14T18:20:49.000Z

I’ve I think 400 hours. It just stop while I was printing…

William_Puchot · 2016-02-14T18:39:24.000Z

ok, so if I understand this correctly you start a print and after some time, the heater block stops heating.?

Wepla · 2016-02-14T20:13:08.000Z

Alain, try swapping the wires around on the thermocouple. Polarity makes a difference.

Tony

alain_4 · 2016-02-14T20:37:38.000Z

No it don’t heat anymore. If I start a print it wait long time for heating, then it start to move but as no heat, there is no print.

alain

Jack_2 · 2016-02-14T22:18:59.000Z

I had a similar issue, it’s very unlikely to be the board, apart from the fuses it’s a fairly closed door under there. I would explore the PSU as the issue as they malfuction in a very odd ways, i.e. Supplying some power some of the time or not enough to to heat fully or constantly. I thought they were the most stable part but unfortunately they do have a life span which can be shortened by being continually left on and plugged into the wall. RS sell replacements which are cheaper than directly from MakerBot, but see if you can borrow one to test as they are still around £100.

best of luck

hyppyayonico · 2016-02-14T23:27:07.000Z

Have you ever try to reflash firmware… Try to flash sailfish. In other case take a look to a small black rectangular component with 3 pin near the heater connector… In my experience i had similar problem with the blower fan…Mine has burned with a voltage shock. The component drives current to pins. Take a tester and misure voltage when heater is off…and also when on

PrintXDreams · 2016-02-15T02:05:12.000Z

MainScreen: Preheat>Extruder “ON” or “OFF”?

Lou_J_Auguste · 2016-02-15T04:41:30.000Z

The heater cartridge provides the heat to the heater block (the aluminium block the nozzle screws up into). The Heater cartridge is a metal tube that slides into the heater block from behind with 2 white stiff cables coming out of it that have a black connector on the end. This connector plugs into a connector from the main extruder cable bundle (with white and black cable pair).

Check the connector at the base of this bundle and the wires at the base of the cartridge are not damaged (very rare).

If you have a 2X disconnect the connections for both heater cartriges and swap them over. Tell the machine to heat the right extruder. The left one should actually heat up. If it does to the same the other way around.

If the working cartridge stops working and the not working one starts heating know that the extruder cable is faulty .

Read about this here : Replicator 2 and 2X : Replacing the Extruder Cable Bundle

Buy one here : www.bilby3D.com.au (less than $20)

If the non working cartridge still does not heat then the cartridge is faulty. Open a support ticket to arrange a new heater cartridge.

Acorn3D · 2016-02-15T07:21:13.000Z

I have not had problems with the heater on my Replicator 2X, but I have had several wires break to the stepper motors, fans, limit switches. The constant motion works them back and forth until they break. Mostly they breaks occur near the respective components. While the printer was under warranty, MakerBot sent out replacement harnesses. Since the warranty expired, I have just been replacing the connectors and splicing in about 10cm of new wire (I bought a supply of silicone insulated, extremely flexible wire).

I would try to eliminate the possibility of broken wires before spending the big bucks for a new mother board. Disconnect the heater wires from the motherboard and measure the resistance between the 2 leads. I have not measured the resistance on mine but my guess is that the resistance should be less than 20 ohms. Certainly if the resistance is over 100 ohms or if its open than your problem is either the wiring or the cartridge. To decide which, just measure the cartridge resistance.

Cheers!

mauro109 · 2016-02-15T08:52:00.000Z

same problem: after heater-timeout an error “#2” has issued. I’ve changed the black/white connector (near extruder). But before all, you have to check the electrical continuity starting from the controller (black/white wires). A broken heater-resistor it’s possible, but rare.

In addition for error #3 a good solution is a capacitor on thermocoulple wires: http://www.moesadaur.ch/mega/2016/01/16/makerbot-replicator2-heating-failure-3/ .

jmulalley · 2016-02-15T19:19:49.000Z

Did you replace the thermistor?

alain_4 · 2016-02-16T05:54:02.000Z

I didn’t change thermistor. where is located this part. Where can I find new one?

Acorn3D · 2016-02-16T06:08:11.000Z

The Replicator 2 only has a thermocouple which you said you already changed. Besides, since you said it is measuring the temperature and the temperature is about ambient but the temperature is not changing, then the problem is almost certainly related to the heating circuit. Of the heating components your choices really are only the heating cartridge, the wiring or the mother board. The wiring and heater cartridge are easy to check by measuring their resistance as mentioned before. Actually the power supply could possibly be another problem but that is also fairly easy to check by measuring the output voltage(s). If the voltages are correct then you should be getting at least some heating,even if the power supply is not putting out enough current to reach the correct temperature but you are not seeing any heating, so if the voltage is correct and the resistance is correct across the heater and wires then by the process of elimination the problem is the motherboard.

Cheers!

alain_4 · 2016-02-16T06:12:21.000Z

Ok thanks

What should be the resistance for the Heating cartridge?

Is it possible to repair a defect motherboard?

alain

Acorn3D · 2016-02-16T07:00:38.000Z

It should be fairly low, although I don’t know the exact number, I would be surprised if it were greater than 20 ohms. Certainly, if the resistance is over 1,000 ohms, it is way too high! Yes, it is possible to fix the motherboard if you know what you are doing and have decent soldering tools and skills, especially doing SMD reworking. However, I am halfway decent at SMD soldering and I flubbed my mother board and ended up buying a new one. (I may still to fix the original as a spare). Of course, first you need to be good enough at component level troubleshooting to find the part(s) that need replacing.