Go to homepage
3D Printing
3D Printing Service
FDM SLA/DLP SLS MJF DMLS/SLM Material Jetting
CNC Machining
CNC Machining Service
CNC Milling CNC Turning Surface Finishing Part Marking
Injection Molding
Sheet Metal Fabrication
Resources
3D Printing Guide CNC Machining Guide Injection Molding Guide Metal 3D Printing Guide Knowledge Base Webinars Help Center
Get instant quote
Oct 2015
2 / 6
Oct 2015
Oct 2015
brien_calloway
Oct '15

I’m having trouble with my build. Step sticks, installed. Arduino mega installed and configured. motors connected. Then I started my first test print. The print failed the hotend was too far away from the heat bed. I turn off the printer and notice that my Arduino mega was not completely pushed into the Ramps 1.4 and push it in while power was discounted. When I turn on my printer again no axis worked anymore. When I attempt to movie each axis I hear and initial thumping sound and then nothing after that. No motor moves at all. My smart control display works. All components are brand new.

I’ve tried:

  • Testing different step stricks
  • Plugging motors in different slots
  • All of the above and different Ramps 1.4 board

Could the problem be my Arduino Board. I just bought it about a week ago.

Also, can anyone tell me if there are more reliable electronics to use? I’m very frustrated, I’ve been replacing pieces at an alarming rate since last year. It seems like everytime I replace a component another one brakes. I haven’t been able to print since early this year. I feel that this building experiment is over. I would like to either figure out how to make this printer reliable or find one a desktop 3D print that will give me a return on investment. Any idea? Thanks Everyone!

Please Help,

Brien

  • created

    Oct '15

  • last reply

    Oct '15
  • 5

    replies

  • 1.6k

    views

  • 3

    users

brien_calloway
Oct '15

Thanks, @boydconner I hope that he’s around. I’m not sure to do next. I don’t want to buy another mega2560 if I don’t need. Appreciate all the help I can get. I want to get up and running again soon.

Thanks,

Brien

karlzhao314
Oct '15

Have you tried removing the motors and seeing if they turn? I’ve actually had similar issues, but mine were because my acceleration was set too high so there was an initial jerk when the motors tried to move (the initial thump you described) and then a complete hang as the motor stalled since it couldn’t accelerate. That was pretty easy to solve just by turning down my acceleration, but I don’t imagine it’s the same problem with your printer.

brien_calloway
Oct '15

This is very possible, I didn’t think to adjust acceleration. Thanks for the idea @karlzhao314 I’ll give it a try and report back! Thanks, Brien

8 days later
brien_calloway
Oct '15

Just adjusted the acceleration. No joy. I’m going to replace the stepsticks and replace the boards again, and see if I can find some kind of upgrade for the electronics.