Precision Piezo Z-probe Now available.

Re: Precision Piezo Z-probe Now available.

M;kko — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 04:43:04 -0500

Quote
M;kko
Hi,
I realize this is an ancient thread. Anyway, I ordered a few days ago Precision Piezo Orion PCB from [www.precisionpiezo.co.uk]. I haven't received any confirmation or reply to my message. Do you know if precisionpiezo is still active or have I wasted my money?

My bad, replies found in spam folder!

Re: Precision Piezo Z-probe Now available.

M;kko — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 01:35:49 -0500

Hi,
I realize this is an ancient thread. Anyway, I ordered a few days ago Precision Piezo Orion PCB from [www.precisionpiezo.co.uk]. I haven't received any confirmation or reply to my message. Do you know if precisionpiezo is still active or have I wasted my money?

Re: Precision Piezo Z-probe Now available.

labraticmp3 — Mon, 07 Feb 2022 16:38:56 -0500

I am having an issue with the Precision Piezo Universal kit. I can't adjust it so that the red light comes. The blue light is lit. If I push on it the blue light will go off and sometimes the red light will come on. I followed the instructions in the manual and have made the firmware changes.

Re: Precision Piezo Z-probe Now available.

dc42 — Tue, 09 Nov 2021 02:53:48 -0500

Correct, I meant don't use ^ in front of the pin name.

Re: Precision Piezo Z-probe Now available.

lukenrd — Mon, 08 Nov 2021 11:13:42 -0500

Thanks, I'll try that but did you mean ^ not ! or should I use I1 to invert. ie (M558 P5 I1 R0.5 C"io4.in" H5 F390) instead of (M558 P5 I0 R0.5 C"!^io4.in" H5 F390)?
The problem had gotten worse, it would change to constantly on after being on a few minutes, so I tried switching to analog mode (M558 P1 C"^io3.in" I0 H5 R0.5 F420). This seems to work however Z-Probe in DWC indicates 739+/-1 (seems rather high), so I have the threshold set to 745.

Re: Precision Piezo Z-probe Now available.

dc42 — Mon, 08 Nov 2021 02:58:44 -0500

The Duet 3 Mini has permanent pull pullup resistors on all IO connector inputs. It's best not to use [EDIT] ^ in the port name to enable the internal one because that will reduce the noise margin.

Re: Precision Piezo Z-probe Now available.

lukenrd — Sat, 06 Nov 2021 14:43:10 -0400

I've been having trouble with my Orion probe the last few days. It has been working perfectly for about 2 months (since I installed it). Never touched the adjustment pot, mounted it on my kossel delta with e3dv6 hotend and duet3mini5+ Pi3B+ SBC.
My config :
; Z-Probe
M558 P5 I0 R0.4 C"^!io4.in" H5 F390 T6000 ; set Z probe type to effector and the dive height + speeds + pullup
G31 P200 X0 Y0 Z-0.011 ; set Z probe trigger value, offset and trigger height

I didn't have the pullup enabled and it worked fine. A couple of days ago it stopped working, red LED off, blue LED off, DWC: Probe 1000. Tried restarting, checked the cable connectors. Shut down for a while, restarted and red LED came on, blue LED off, DWC: Probe 0. Did some research and found comments about probe needing pullup enabled, Enabled it. Worked for a day, then happened again, this time during a calibration and nearly damaged the bed. Took it apart and inspected, looked good mechanically. Reassembled and restarted, worked for a while, then while sitting idle for 10-20 minutes the red LED started blinking and DWC flashed a few numbers, then settled on Probe 1000 with the red LED off and blue LED off. I have restarted several times and it seems stuck. Probe V+ to Gnd measures 4.6VDC, 0.0VAC. Gnd to D Sig measures 0.00VDC 0.02vAC. Gnd to A Sig measures 2.34VDC 0.02VAC. I have loosened the 4 mounting screws ~ 1/2 turn, separated the probe cable from the other cables. Disconnecting the probe cable causes the DWC to show Probe 0. Not sure what else to check.

Re: Precision Piezo Z-probe Now available.

Arakahn — Mon, 11 Oct 2021 16:55:42 -0400

Hello all. I'm getting desperate and don't know what to try anymore, and hopefully someone has ideas which could help.

Since I switched to a Hemera extruder, I had to trade off my Orion for a universal PCB (v2.85) with 4 andromedas.

I used the underbed brackets found on Thingiverse and referred to in the documentation, which I integrated in a corner bracket fitting my bed.

For the life of me I am unable to get it sensitive enough; I played with the VR1 and VR2 as much as possible, increased and decreased the tension using my bed knobs, tried analogue and digital mode, played with the dive speed from 300 to 10 000, nothing seems to work. It does register, but the force needed is so high that the extruder bracket flexes before it registers, and of course making the trigerring uneven and unreliable.

Here is my config:

M558 P8 C"!zprobe.in" H10 F10000 T6000 A2
G31 P{sensors.probes[0].value[0] +5} X0 Y0 Z-0.4

Images of the brackets attached (foil tape is to protect them from the heatbed)

Any help is appreciated! :)

Re: Precision Piezo Z-probe Now available.

kshepherd — Sat, 07 Aug 2021 07:19:34 -0400

I finally have this working reliably, repeatably and very accurately with the latest Marlin firmware v2.0.9.1
(using RAMPS 1.4 board with DRV8885 stepper controllers, but almost any 3d pronter should work with the below config).
Thank you to the designers of this probe system :)
In case it helps anyone else, here are all of my configuration parameters that relate to this Z probe.
If you have a slower Z stepper driver you cannot use the Precision Piezo because it requires a minimum Z speed to work
I also had to reduce the sensitivity pot on the board to remove false positives (clockwise from above a small amount), and tighten all the screws to make the unit very stiff.
Marlin/Configuration.h
#define Z_MIN_ENDSTOP_INVERTING true
#define Z_MIN_PROBE_ENDSTOP_INVERTING true
#define DEFAULT_MAX_FEEDRATE { ?, ?, 20, ? } // set third parameter to 20, leave others at your choice
#define DEFAULT_MAX_ACCELERATION { ?, ?, 50, ? } // set third parameter to 50, leave others at your choice
#define NOZZLE_AS_PROBE
#define NOZZLE_TO_PROBE_OFFSET { 0, 0, 0.3 } // you may need to fine tune the third parameter for your machine, using M851Z?
#define Z_PROBE_FEEDRATE_FAST (20*60)
#define Z_PROBE_FEEDRATE_SLOW Z_PROBE_FEEDRATE_FAST
// add these two lines directly after Z_PROBE_FEEDRATE_SLOW
// pause before Z probing to prevent movement jerk causing a false z probe positive, in milli-seconds
#define Z_PROBE_PAUSE_INTERVAL_MS 500 // see also src/module/probe.cpp line 602...
#define Z_CLEARANCE_MULTI_PROBE 10
#define Z_AFTER_PROBING 5
#define MIN_SOFTWARE_ENDSTOP_Z false
// Now you can enable auto bed levelling if you like:
#define AUTO_BED_LEVELING_BILINEAR
#define RESTORE_LEVELING_AFTER_G28
#define DEBUG_LEVELING_FEATURE
#define Z_SAFE_HOMING
#define HOMING_FEEDRATE_MM_M { ?, ?, (20*60) } // set third parameter to (20*60), leave others at your choice

Marlin/src/probe.cpp
Add these 8 lines at line 601 (just below "if (TERN0(PROBE_TARE, tare())) return true;"):
#ifdef Z_PROBE_PAUSE_INTERVAL_MS
if (Z_PROBE_PAUSE_INTERVAL_MS > 0)
{
millis_t time = millis() + Z_PROBE_PAUSE_INTERVAL_MS;
while (millis() < time)
idle();
}
#endif // Z_PROBE_PAUSE_INTERVAL_MS

Re: Precision Piezo Z-probe Now available.

opentoideas — Wed, 04 Aug 2021 09:39:41 -0400

I have been having trouble with my Orion lately and since it was an old version bought a new one along with the printed parts just to rule out everything.

like others have mentioned I have the sensitivity dialled in so that Z moves "just" don't trigger and even the slightest touch triggers however the only thing not triggering it seems to be the bed

the printer is an old CR-10 with many of the BLV mods to linear rail and dual Z screws

I have tried increasing the bed tension by tightening the levelling springs and Z feed rates from 300 up to 950 and the hotend at 160C but despite the Orion being very sensitive to a slight touch of the nozzle it almost always crashes into the bed and continues a couple of mm deforming the whole hotend before triggering.

I am at a loss as to where to go next as previously it worked so something must have changed but I cant see what.

any help would be greatly appreciated

Re: Precision Piezo Z-probe Now available.

Hemlig — Sun, 18 Jul 2021 19:03:25 -0400

Thanks, I also had to use sand paper to be able to close the clamp. I glued it to a V6 hotend but your way of doing it is a lot classier. I’ve also got rid of the leftovers from the support but still have problems. I guess you have better luck than me, or perhaps better printing tolerances.

Re: Precision Piezo Z-probe Now available.

Claghorn — Sun, 18 Jul 2021 18:53:18 -0400

I had a lot of leftover plastic blobbing and ends of supports in my orion mount. I 3D printed a custom sanding block in the shape of the E3D and used it to sand off the blobs. I don't know if I problem like that might keep the orion from being able to flex correctly or not, but maybe something to check. Here's my experience (showing the sanding block about half way down the page): [tomhorsley.com]

Re: Precision Piezo Z-probe Now available.

Hemlig — Sun, 18 Jul 2021 18:36:35 -0400

Quote
janth
The orion is dialed in so sensitive that it triggers when I move next to the table the printer stands on. But when I try to use the Orion, the bed moves into the hot end and beyond until it triggers. Also the Orion feels more sensitive to touches from the side than from below.

Jan. Did you ever get it to work and did you find the cause of the problem?

I have exactly the same problem as you. The Orion is more sensitive to side movements than to the probing up/down. I’ve also dialled it in so sensitive that it usually registers if I walk beside the printer. Usually any bed movement in the Z direction (corexy) is enough to trigger the Orion. But if I use any less sensitivity the Orion won’t register the probing and the nozzle will damage my bed.

I’ve tried printing several mounts to see if it fixes anything but still the same problem. Loosening of the screws won’t help either.

Re: Precision Piezo Z-probe Now available.

Moriquendi — Tue, 25 May 2021 05:03:26 -0400

@Jhonno

Please can you double check your wiring, you should be connected to the pins labelled D, the A pins are currently only usable with RepRapFirmware. The behaviour you're seeing on the A line is normal.

The digital output requires a pull up resistor otherwise it will remain at 0v. Which LEDs are lit?

Idris

Re: Precision Piezo Z-probe Now available.

Jhonno — Thu, 20 May 2021 20:00:08 -0400

Quote
Moriquendi
@Jhonno

Which version of the board do you have?

Idris

V2.85

I have been playing tonight.. With the board connected to "A" with 5V feed. I get 2.55V on the signal line. Which actually increases to about 3.5v when the Piezo is pressed. Signal on "D" shows 0V untriggered.

Re: Precision Piezo Z-probe Now available.

Moriquendi — Mon, 17 May 2021 03:54:13 -0400

@Jhonno

Which version of the board do you have?

Idris

Re: Precision Piezo Z-probe Now available.

Jhonno — Sun, 16 May 2021 18:35:37 -0400

I have a Piezo on my printer. The board detects movement on the hot end as it shoulds and flashes blue, however the control board isn't responding. With a multimeter on the signal line it shows 2.55v, but this doesn't change when the sensor triggers? Should I be able to see it drop to 0V?

Re: Precision Piezo Z-probe Now available.

Claghorn — Sun, 09 May 2021 16:58:24 -0400

Success! I got the cable hooked up to the smoothieboard and configured it as a z probe, and it seems to work great. A G30 moves the bed up till it just barely taps the nozzle, then the bed moves back down. Time to adjust my Z offset and startup code and see if I can really print things with proper thickness first layers without lots of fiddly adjustments.

Re: Precision Piezo Z-probe Now available.

janth — Thu, 06 May 2021 07:57:46 -0400

Well it was the tronxy board in general. Swapping the power supply made it better but still faulty. Now I switched to a SKR mini E3 v2.0 and that works great (and no noise). The electrical part is ready now. However, I am still not up and running. The orion is dialed in so sensitive that it triggers when I move next to the table the printer stands on. But when I try to use the Orion, the bed moves into the hot end and beyond until it triggers. Also the Orion feels more sensitive to touches from the side than from below.

I guess my custom designed print head is not great. 1st the hollow ring ring in which the Orion can “bend” has a wider diameter than the parts that came with the module. And 2nd some screw wholes do not fit which makes it all too wobbly.

I’ll report back as soon as I had time to redraw and print the print head parts :)

Best

Jan

Re: Precision Piezo Z-probe Now available.

Moriquendi — Thu, 06 May 2021 07:35:34 -0400

The noise being discussed was the result of a defective switch mode regulator, not something you're likely to experience. You won't need to take any special precautions with the digital output of the Orion.

Idris

Re: Precision Piezo Z-probe Now available.

Claghorn — Wed, 05 May 2021 21:18:28 -0400

All this talk of noise has me worried. I have to run a few feet of cable through cable chains to reach my smoothieboard. Should I use some sort of shielded cable (maybe a shielded USB cable and cut the ends off). Any minimum wire gauge recommended?

Re: Precision Piezo Z-probe Now available.

Claghorn — Wed, 05 May 2021 13:17:19 -0400

Just trying to assemble my Orion, and apparently there is enough blobbing on the inside of the springy bottom part that grabs the heatsink groove mount that it won't close all the way, so the holes won't line up for screwing on the top parts. Any better solution than 3D printing a tiny custom sanding block just the shape of an E3D groove mount?

Update: My silly sanding block did work, here's my Orion experience so far: To Orion and Beyond

Re: Precision Piezo Z-probe Now available.

janth — Wed, 21 Apr 2021 13:19:18 -0400

It was. As I said, I destroyed the regulator while measuring. I then added an external that could handle 5A but it was still the same.

The new control board arrived today but none of the connectors fits and the pin mapping is wrong so I ordered these. This printer totally pisses me off.

Re: Precision Piezo Z-probe Now available.

Moriquendi — Wed, 21 Apr 2021 13:13:18 -0400

This sounds more like a defective switching regulator than anything else. Is the 5v converter on the main board?

Idris

Re: Precision Piezo Z-probe Now available.

janth — Tue, 20 Apr 2021 14:52:00 -0400

Hello again.

I don't know how my printer worked before I switched to marlin and updated the hotend/z-stop. When the stepper motors are activated, there's 10 V (peak-peak) noise all over the place, also in the 5 V part of the control board. It does not come from the motor cables: Detaching them from the board does not make any difference. My guess is: switching the 24 V for the steppers creates noise on the 24 V part that causes even the 5 V part to have the same noise which then spreads everywhere. I don't know what else to do, so I used the situation and purchased a control board that hat silent steppers and does not need endstop switches.

Best

Jan

Re: Precision Piezo Z-probe Now available.

Moriquendi — Tue, 20 Apr 2021 14:44:56 -0400

No purpose other than for the attachment of fans, they should not be used to mount the unit.

Idris

Re: Precision Piezo Z-probe Now available.

jens53 — Tue, 20 Apr 2021 11:10:41 -0400

see attachment

Re: Precision Piezo Z-probe Now available.

Moriquendi — Tue, 20 Apr 2021 08:13:50 -0400

Do you mean on the screw top plate?

Idris

Re: Precision Piezo Z-probe Now available.

jens53 — Mon, 19 Apr 2021 16:06:59 -0400

Moriquendi, I am curious about the four hex nut shaped objects at the four corners of the Orion mount top plate .... do they serve a purpose in anything other than possibly a delta printer?

Thanks

Re: Precision Piezo Z-probe Now available.

janth — Mon, 12 Apr 2021 02:36:01 -0400

I have found a signal that switches with every emi pulse that I see on the z stop. It’s the output of the dc dc step down converter (MP1584EN) that converts the 24 V of the power supply to the 5 V needed for the microcontroller. I guess that this signal itself is not causing the emi but rather the current that runs though the cables from the power supply to the controller board in that moment. However, I broke something while measuring: there is no 5 V being generated anymore. The 24 V supply still works and if I switch to USB-supply, the rest of the board still works as well. So I guess I shorted the step down converter or some part close to it.