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I’ve read that SD prints are always better than printing over USB, but unfortunately my SD card reader does not function as I assume it should, i.e. doesn’t recognize that a card is inserted (Help on that would be secondary, but much appreciated!).
*In short, this is the problem: When my laptop is plugged into the wall, the printer clicks often and offsets each layer randomly. If you know how to resolve the issue right away, you might not need to read the below ramble. I don’t know, Maybe you should. 
*
So the effect of the issue, which has been going on for two weeks or so, is while printing any part, you could hear infrequent clicks coming from the printer head once every 5-30 seconds or so, and consequently, the layers would shift from 0.1mm up to as bad as 2mm! Only yesterday I believe I targeted the issue. That day I brought the laptop off the charger into my printer room on mostly full power, and started printing off a couple small parts, and they were turning out perfectly fine; I cranked out four separate parts and was working on a fifth, printing only one part at a time, because I was speculating that the layer shifts were a result of printing multiple parts in one print, and while printing that fifth one, I plugged my laptop into the wall so it wouldn’t die, and right away the printer started clicking like crazy, every second about, and before it finished printing the layer it was working on, (that layer was off by more than two mm!) I killed the print.
That gave away the problem right away; apparently I can’t print while the laptop is charging.
That will offer some consequences, such as prohibiting prints that take longer than the life of one battery running on it’s own.
Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Jonathan
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Sounds like interference on the usb ports. Some laptops have the ground connected to the case (macbook pros for example) which is what makes your finger tingle when you run it on the body of the laptop sometimes. This might mess with the usb for some reason. Two things you can try : 1. another USB cable (I had issues with USB that turned out to be a bad cable which is horrendously frequent), 2. a USB hub, preferably separately powered. Don’t buy a hub if you don’t have one already as this is just a wild guess. Try to find a friend who has one. Good luck!
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I would focus my efforts on fixing the SD card issue, as many problems can pop up when you use a laptop.
The electronics won’t recognize the SD card if you insert it after they’ve been powered up. Did you try to first insert the SD and then turn on the printer? Also in Marlin there is the option to reset the SD.
Could you give us a bit more information about your electronics, your firmware and your slicer software?
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Ahaber
4
I had an issue with the SD card reader on my first Mp select mini and had it returned to monoprice who sent out a new one that has been working fine ever since. I would recommend that you contact the printer manufacturer about exchanging it.
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JChap
5
I think the best option would be to charge the computer using an outlet on a different circuit. Not the most convenient, but it may fix the problem for now. 2 questions of my own for you: 1. Are you in the US or Europe? 2. What printer do you have?
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Octo-pi will fix this indirectly. £30 for a Raspberry Pi 3 (a cheaper one probably works too). Gives you lots more options, like wifi access to the printer. However, you should really get your laptop charger checked by an engineer (or PAT tested).
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Alright, I’ll try using a couple different cords, and perhaps I’ll try out a USB hub later on if I still can’t fix the issue.
Consequently - when I first set up the printer about 8 months ago - after I had attempted to get the machine running over USB, I unplugged the USB from the laptop and my fingers were tingling while holding it for a couple seconds. I imagine that means it’s a crappy cord, if nothing else.
I have a Raspberry Pi 3 already, though I haven’t really got started with it. I’ll have to look into that,
Thanks
So basically run an extention cord from the other side of the house to the printing room and charge it from there?
In the US of A
It’s an Alunar A6
Yeah, but I would hope they would still allow me to replace it after having had it for over 8 months. I’ll definately try, though.
Awesome, thanks for the suggestion, and I’ll compile all the necessary specs for the printer and laptop in a new comment.
Thanks everyone for your suggestions and tips. Below I’ve compiled what I can of my printer info. Take note that I’m rather inexperienced with this sort of electronics, so if I miss something that’s rather important, tell me and I’ll try to find that additional info.
*Forgot to note: Much more recently than when I first made this post, I tested the printing with my friend’s laptop while it was charging, and it worked perfectly without clicking. Now, my printer worked fine with no charging issues over the laptop for the first 2-3 months or so; it wasn’t until later that the printer started clicking. So maybe it would start screwing up after printing a while on a different computer.*
Printer is an Alunar M508 (I think it’s basically an Anet A6)
Power supply is 110V
Mainboard is the 2014 Edition, ie. Non-upgraded.
Software is Repetier Host and Slic3r
Dell E6530 Latitude Laptop
Core i5
Windows 10
Chargers are 65W
I imagine there’s more I ought to discribe, so let me know.
I run all my machines from USB and as many as 5 from a single desktop at any given time.
Since you said it’s new behavior, something is probably fried which is allowing the current from the charger to interfere with the USB signal or 5v output.
Controller boards are designed to take a wide range of voltage but most are not made to handle more than 12v. If a short in your laptop is letting 19.5v from your charger or other source into your USB then not only is this causing erratic behavior from your stepper drivers, it’s also overheating and killing your board (is the board hot?).
IMPORTANT: I would be very cautious about plugging anything into that USB port while charging (or at all) until the problem is identified. As I said, the boards are rated for 12v or more but an external drive or most other consumer electronics are expecting 5v and could be instantly fried by 19.5v or whatever voltage issue that port has.
Not sure how comfortable you are with electronics or if you have a multimeter but if so, you might want to check the voltage on the USB line (+5v/GND) while charging the laptop (Don’t attempt if not comfortable. You can cause more damage). Testing the data lines is a little more complicated but can be accomplished with some resistors and a google search, it’s also less likely to be the problem because you probably wouldn’t be able to print at all.
The laptop could have some grounding issue or the port could have failed in someway which was actually caused by the printer.
I NEVER plug a printer directly into my computer. I recommend ALWAYS using POWERED USB hubs.
Why? Without getting too technical, you have voltage for heaters, motors, and logic on one board and there is a lot that can go wrong. Similarly to above, if there is a short or grounding issue on the board letting 12v or something worse on the 5v USB, it could easily fry the port on your laptop (which is now somehow frying your printer).
But that’s just my best guess without further testing. Faulty USB cord could also be involved.
USB hubs are cheap and I have destroyed many of them with a failed/malfunctioning board or wiring error on my part.
Hope that’s helpful.
-Jesse
Wow, that’s impressive. Thank you so much for the in-depth analysis. As far as using the USB port while charging, I’ve used USB mouses, external hard drives, and phone chargers often, and never with any issues, though I have only used 2 of 4 ports connecting to the printer. I want to see if I can get the SD reader working before I venture onto the USB troubleshooting, but I’ll get back if that doesn’t work and start with testing the ports. I’ll probably read over exactly how to run through that; electronics can be sketchy. Then I’ll probably buy a USB hub regardless.
Thanks again!
