Folger Tech Kossel Delta 2020 Full 3D Printer Kit w/Auto-Level

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llamatrails

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davidf01
I'm not sure how to do that with eeprom. I don't even know how to turn eeprom on to do that along with everything else. I was going to look into eeprom once
I finished with all the mechanical adjustments.

EEPROM is a place where variables are stored in memory that is read from at boot and possibly during runtime. When you change the config file in Marlin and compile the code in the Arduino program, the variables are stored in EEPROM when you flash the Arduino. Boot up, and the values get read. Need to change on the fly? Send an M code like:
M92 E96.25 ; Set extruder steps per mm

Now, if you reboot after sending the above M code, you loose the M setting because the EEPROM still has the old value from the compiling. M500 stores current settings in EEPROM and M501 retreives the data from EEPROM so you can verify them. All this magic is only valid if the EEPROM is enabled in the Marlin config file.

As to the extruder issues, mine was pushing about 110mm when I asked for 100, so I had to use the M92 to adjust it until I got what I asked for. 96.25 worked for me.

In your case, is sounds like your stepper gear is either loose on the shaft or maybe the V bearing is not spinning correctly. Do you hear a grinding noise? Can you push the filament into the stepper to get it to move smoother? I recently had that problem and found the V bearing had popped the shield on one side. Got it working again, but am going to replace the extruder instead of replacing the bearing, the design isn't the greatest but it does work to get you going.

Rick

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davidf01

llamatrails

Thanks for the information. I deleted the // in front of #define EEPROM_SETTINGS and #define EEPROM_CHITCHAT. I think that lets me use eeprom. So when I did that does the current settings in my firmware get stored in eeprom? From this point
any adjustments I make gets stored in eeprom but not the firmware, correct?

I think you may be right about my extruder. I do not hear and grinding noise but I can push the filament into the stepper and I get a smoother flow at the hotend. Is there a way I can test to see what the problem is or what should I try to narrow down where the problem is?

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llamatrails

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davidf01

llamatrails

Thanks for the information. I deleted the // in front of #define EEPROM_SETTINGS and #define EEPROM_CHITCHAT. I think that lets me use eeprom. So when I did that does the current settings in my firmware get stored in eeprom? From this point
any adjustments I make gets stored in eeprom but not the firmware, correct?

I think you may be right about my extruder. I do not hear and grinding noise but I can push the filament into the stepper and I get a smoother flow at the hotend. Is there a way I can test to see what the problem is or what should I try to narrow down where the problem is?

By defining it, it will be used by the compiler to store variables there, so now your firmware is configured with EEPROM storage. Any manual adjustments you make on the gcode console are only effective until the next reboot unless you write them to EEPROM with the M500.

I'd take the extruder apart and see what is what. If it is the newer one with the lever, then it may not have a strong enough spring to push the V bearing against the filament/gear. Try applying pressure on the lever, may have to rubberband it or something to increase the tension. Also, if the vref for the stepper is too high, the motor will be so strong that the gear will spin too fast for it to bite into the filament. Drop the vref to .60 or so. Have to play with the vref against the spring tension ...

Rick

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davidf01

So I took my extruder apart and checked to make sure everything looked like there was no damage. It looked good. I adjusted the Vref down to about 65 and the extruder motor starts jerking back and forth when it is trying to feed the filament, is that normal?
I did a test and extruded 50mm of filament and it extruded about 40mm so I'm about 10mm off so far. I also did a test print and I get about 2 or 3 good layers and then filament stops coming out then a few layers later it will start coming out again or if I push
it through. I can feel the motor jerking back and forth.

Should I bump up the vref again? Should I adjust my layer settings? Mine is set to .2mm should I make it .4mm to match the size of the nozzle?

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llamatrails

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davidf01

So I took my extruder apart and checked to make sure everything looked like there was no damage. It looked good. I adjusted the Vref down to about 65 and the extruder motor starts jerking back and forth when it is trying to feed the filament, is that normal?
I did a test and extruded 50mm of filament and it extruded about 40mm so I'm about 10mm off so far. I also did a test print and I get about 2 or 3 good layers and then filament stops coming out then a few layers later it will start coming out again or if I push
it through. I can feel the motor jerking back and forth.

Should I bump up the vref again? Should I adjust my layer settings? Mine is set to .2mm should I make it .4mm to match the size of the nozzle?

You shouldn't have any jerking.
The extruder will only push the filament through unless you have your slicer set to do retraction. Then it will push, pull back to stop oozing when crossing air, and push again.
I'd use Pronterface to extrude say 100mm and see if it is smooth. Of course, the heat has to be up. Then try 200mm, then 300mm. Get it all smooth before you complicate it with running a part. See if it still jerks, fix that.

Rick

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davidf01


Yes that's what I did. I used Pronterface to extrude the 50mm and only got 40. The extruder was jerking forwards and backwards while it was trying to extrude. I heated the hotend up to 185 then did the extrude. That is how I figured out it was being jerking. I put a pencil mark on the gear and could see it
Jerking backwards and forwards when it was trying to feed the filament. How do I check to see if slic3r is set to retract? I'm guessing it I can stop the jerking
I could get a much better feed length.

Any ideas?

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llamatrails

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davidf01


Yes that's what I did. I used Pronterface to extrude the 50mm and only got 40. The extruder was jerking forwards and backwards while it was trying to extrude. I heated the hotend up to 185 then did the extrude. That is how I figured out it was being jerking. I put a pencil mark on the gear and could see it
Jerking backwards and forwards when it was trying to feed the filament. How do I check to see if slic3r is set to retract? I'm guessing it I can stop the jerking
I could get a much better feed length.

Any ideas?

Yeah, your 185 is too low. Been there, done that too. Bump it up to 210 and try again.

Rick

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davidf01

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llamatrails

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davidf01


Yes that's what I did. I used Pronterface to extrude the 50mm and only got 40. The extruder was jerking forwards and backwards while it was trying to extrude. I heated the hotend up to 185 then did the extrude. That is how I figured out it was being jerking. I put a pencil mark on the gear and could see it
Jerking backwards and forwards when it was trying to feed the filament. How do I check to see if slic3r is set to retract? I'm guessing it I can stop the jerking
I could get a much better feed length.

Any ideas?

Yeah, your 185 is too low. Been there, done that too. Bump it up to 210 and try again.

Rick

If I put it at 210 the filament drips out of the nozzle when it's just sitting there? How do I stop that?

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fattmann
I am curious if there is a delta printer G-code primer that I could read some where. I'm trying to follow the Configuration Manual, but I haven't a clue what some of the commands are supposed to be doing, so It's not really helpful when things go wrong...

For example, it has you use the F4000 at the end of changing the Z coordinate- why? What does Fxxx do? Or even the Gx? I really want to understand. I was browsing the RepRap Wiki but it has information on all firmwares, and does seem to cover the F commands. Any resources anyone might be able to point me in would be appreciated.

Side question- I still can't figure out why my printer runs away from me and bottoms out the X axis when I press the red YX butting in Pronterface. I assume that's supposed to be the (0,0) button, but again I haven't a clue since it doesn't populate anything in the console when you press, so I don't know what command it's sending.

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davidf01

This extruder issue is driving me nuts. Here is a video showing what the extruder is doing. I'm extruding 50mm of filament in this video. I put a pencil
line on the gear so you can see what it is doing. If you have aby ideas let me know.

[youtu.be]

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llamatrails

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davidf01

This extruder issue is driving me nuts. Here is a video showing what the extruder is doing. I'm extruding 50mm of filament in this video. I put a pencil
line on the gear so you can see what it is doing. If you have aby ideas let me know.

[youtu.be]

Let's break this down to keep it as simple as possible.

Open pronterface and heat up the hotend to 200.
On the hotend side, pull out the filament and teflon tube.
Now, in pronterface, set the extrude length to 100 and the speed to 100. Hit extrude.

Does it still stutter and jerk or does it push the filament through the teflon tube?
If it stutters and jerks, try it again with the teflon tube removed from the motor side.
If it still stutters and jerks, try it without any filament. The motor should run perfectly in both extrude and retract.
If not, I'd replace the A4988 driver.

Rick

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davidf01

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llamatrails

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davidf01

This extruder issue is driving me nuts. Here is a video showing what the extruder is doing. I'm extruding 50mm of filament in this video. I put a pencil
line on the gear so you can see what it is doing. If you have aby ideas let me know.

[youtu.be]

Let's break this down to keep it as simple as possible.

Open pronterface and heat up the hotend to 200.
On the hotend side, pull out the filament and teflon tube.
Now, in pronterface, set the extrude length to 100 and the speed to 100. Hit extrude.

Does it still stutter and jerk or does it push the filament through the teflon tube?
If it stutters and jerks, try it again with the teflon tube removed from the motor side.
If it still stutters and jerks, try it without any filament. The motor should run perfectly in both extrude and retract.
If not, I'd replace the A4988 driver.

Rick

RIck, thanks for your help.

I think we are getting someplace. I removed the hotend and extruded and it worked but not every time. I did get some skipping after the first extrude but not as bad as before.
I then removed everything up to the extruder including the teflon tube and it extruded just fine, no skipping. My teflon tube is stuck in the brass fitting because for some reason
the blue release part is not working so now I need to figure what it is I need to order to replace it. But if I attach the teflon tube to the extruder it feels tight but it does extrude with no skipping.
I changed my DEFAULT_AXIS_STEPS_PER_UNIT to 95 and I'm getting close to the requested extruded amount but that is only through the teflon tube. I'm guessing I should attach it to the hotend
without the nozzle to see where it gets hung up. Does that sound about right to you?

What are the brass fittings called?

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davidf01

RIck, thanks for your help.

I think we are getting someplace. I removed the hotend and extruded and it worked but not every time. I did get some skipping after the first extrude but not as bad as before.
I then removed everything up to the extruder including the teflon tube and it extruded just fine, no skipping. My teflon tube is stuck in the brass fitting because for some reason
the blue release part is not working so now I need to figure what it is I need to order to replace it. But if I attach the teflon tube to the extruder it feels tight but it does extrude with no skipping.
I changed my DEFAULT_AXIS_STEPS_PER_UNIT to 95 and I'm getting close to the requested extruded amount but that is only through the teflon tube. I'm guessing I should attach it to the hotend
without the nozzle to see where it gets hung up. Does that sound about right to you?

What are the brass fittings called?

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SlowFoot

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davidf01

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llamatrails

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davidf01

This extruder issue is driving me nuts. Here is a video showing what the extruder is doing. I'm extruding 50mm of filament in this video. I put a pencil
line on the gear so you can see what it is doing. If you have aby ideas let me know.

[youtu.be]

Let's break this down to keep it as simple as possible.

Open pronterface and heat up the hotend to 200.
On the hotend side, pull out the filament and teflon tube.
Now, in pronterface, set the extrude length to 100 and the speed to 100. Hit extrude.

Does it still stutter and jerk or does it push the filament through the teflon tube?
If it stutters and jerks, try it again with the teflon tube removed from the motor side.
If it still stutters and jerks, try it without any filament. The motor should run perfectly in both extrude and retract.
If not, I'd replace the A4988 driver.

Rick

RIck, thanks for your help.

I think we are getting someplace. I removed the hotend and extruded and it worked but not every time. I did get some skipping after the first extrude but not as bad as before.
I then removed everything up to the extruder including the teflon tube and it extruded just fine, no skipping. My teflon tube is stuck in the brass fitting because for some reason
the blue release part is not working so now I need to figure what it is I need to order to replace it. But if I attach the teflon tube to the extruder it feels tight but it does extrude with no skipping.
I changed my DEFAULT_AXIS_STEPS_PER_UNIT to 95 and I'm getting close to the requested extruded amount but that is only through the teflon tube. I'm guessing I should attach it to the hotend
without the nozzle to see where it gets hung up. Does that sound about right to you?

What are the brass fittings called?

They are "pneumatic connectors", they are made with different threads so you have to find out what you are using.
If you are about to order things, check the size of your extruder pulley too. I don't think you should use anything larger then a Mk8 pulley on a direct drive extruder.

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llamatrails

Quote
davidf01

RIck, thanks for your help.

I think we are getting someplace. I removed the hotend and extruded and it worked but not every time. I did get some skipping after the first extrude but not as bad as before.
I then removed everything up to the extruder including the teflon tube and it extruded just fine, no skipping. My teflon tube is stuck in the brass fitting because for some reason
the blue release part is not working so now I need to figure what it is I need to order to replace it. But if I attach the teflon tube to the extruder it feels tight but it does extrude with no skipping.
I changed my DEFAULT_AXIS_STEPS_PER_UNIT to 95 and I'm getting close to the requested extruded amount but that is only through the teflon tube. I'm guessing I should attach it to the hotend
without the nozzle to see where it gets hung up. Does that sound about right to you?

What are the brass fittings called?

I've had the teflon tube stuck in the connector, it took holding down the blue ring and a lot of force to pull the tube out. The end of the tube may not be cut cleanly, I've seen some folks take a drill bit to bevel the inside edge. If the cut isn't clean, it could cause the filament to feed off center and hang.
Another thing is the PTFE sleeve inside the hotend may be hanging it or it isn't seated inside correctly. It should slide out. Take the nozzle off the hotend and make sure the path through it is clear.

When I heat up the hotend and pull out the filament, I can then take a piece of filament and push it back in with liquid filament coming out the nozzle. It should be that easy.

Rick

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davidf01


So I took my extruder apart and checked to make sure everything looked like there was no damage. It looked good. I adjusted the Vref down to about 65 and the extruder motor starts jerking back and forth when it is trying to feed the filament, is that normal?
I did a test and extruded 50mm of filament and it extruded about 40mm so I'm about 10mm off so far. I also did a test print and I get about 2 or 3 good layers and then filament stops coming out then a few layers later it will start coming out again or if I push
it through. I can feel the motor jerking back and forth.

Should I bump up the vref again? Should I adjust my layer settings? Mine is set to .2mm should I make it .4mm to match the size of the nozzle?

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tjnamtiw

Quote
davidf01


So I took my extruder apart and checked to make sure everything looked like there was no damage. It looked good. I adjusted the Vref down to about 65 and the extruder motor starts jerking back and forth when it is trying to feed the filament, is that normal?
I did a test and extruded 50mm of filament and it extruded about 40mm so I'm about 10mm off so far. I also did a test print and I get about 2 or 3 good layers and then filament stops coming out then a few layers later it will start coming out again or if I push
it through. I can feel the motor jerking back and forth.

Should I bump up the vref again? Should I adjust my layer settings? Mine is set to .2mm should I make it .4mm to match the size of the nozzle?

I stumbled upon your post just now and I had a similar problem with the new spring loaded feeder. When I took mine apart, I spun the brass feed gear and felt it hang up on the inside diameter of the feed motor end bell. I took the gear off and turned it down 0.01" in diameter. No more hanging and it feeds consistently now. I just did a 40 mm test cube and X and Y were perfect and there were no more misfeeds. Give it another look.

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SmileySXT
I am looking to buy the Folger Tech Kossel 2020, what a great price. I think it is a great printer with quality parts, I would just like a little more build volume.

Has anyone taken the Folger Tech Kossel 2020 and expanded on the width and height by using larger 2020 beams?

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SmileySXT
I am looking to buy the Folger Tech Kossel 2020, what a great price. I think it is a great printer with quality parts, I would just like a little more build volume.

Has anyone taken the Folger Tech Kossel 2020 and expanded on the width and height by using larger 2020 beams?

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SlowFoot

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SmileySXT
I am looking to buy the Folger Tech Kossel 2020, what a great price. I think it is a great printer with quality parts, I would just like a little more build volume.

Has anyone taken the Folger Tech Kossel 2020 and expanded on the width and height by using larger 2020 beams?

Out of the kit you will only be able to use the printed parts (that are OK but not much more), the pulleys, the nut and bolts and the hot end. The motors are on the weak side, the metal corners have some issues, the rods are a bit thin and the electronics are on the brink to handle the printer. I would recommend to find a XL-kit or, probably better, source the parts your self. I also suspect that deltas, for the same accuracy, are harder to set up the bigger they are.
I also would like something bigger then the Kossel but I have not decided on what track to go, a larger delta, a H-bot or a portal printer. May be next year..........

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SmileySXT
I am looking to buy the Folger Tech Kossel 2020, what a great price. I think it is a great printer with quality parts, I would just like a little more build volume.

Has anyone taken the Folger Tech Kossel 2020 and expanded on the width and height by using larger 2020 beams?