Causes of Layer shifts on a Delta?

I have recently been working to upgrade my delta printer from traxxis rods and roller carriages ---> linear rails and magnetic arms. After all the hardware changes i recommissioned and calibrated the printer. I think i have everything configured correctly but i am getting layer shifts in all my prints. The layer the shift occurs on is rather inconsistent. Judging the prints from when the shift happened i cannot be sure what the problem it..... I am using the above upgrades with duet electronics DC firmware and differential IR probe and a highly modified T3DP3D R1 Kit.

Some trouble shooting ideas i Have...

Are layer shifts related to the durability of the timing belts? these are still the originals

Could tightening belts too much cause this problem? I also changed over to aluminum belt tensioners from robottdigg they are very nice and allow for precise tensions of the timing belts

Any feedback is appreciated this is a new problem and i'm not sure how to approach it.

Have you checked for loose pulleys?

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Large delta printer [miscsolutions.wordpress.com], E3D tool changer, Robotdigg SCARA printer, Crane Quad and Ormerod

Disclosure: I design Duet electronics and work on RepRapFirmware, [duet3d.com].

is this full layer shift or wall not straight enough ?

I know that if this is wall not straight enough ( shifting in/out) and your pulley are not loose, have a bigger tension on the belt can fix this. Mine 1 M long extrusion register with a guitar tuner I dont exactly remember the note but I think its in my build thread somewhere, I was afraid to have them this tight but it fix all my wall problem I had.

I check and tightened all my pulleys i am test printing now.

My problem is very much a layer shift. print seems so be going well very nice smooth lines then a random shift in layers.

I will update after the attempt. Thanks for the feedback!

No improvement still layer shifting on me the as before. Any other ideas?

Which firmware version are you using? There was a bug several versions ago that in some configurations could lead to missed steps when certain amounts of pressure advance were configured.

After a layer shift event, run M122 and check that the Step Errors count is zero.

Otherwise, it's likely that the nozzle is hitting a blob or curl-up on the print and causing a motor to skip steps.

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Large delta printer [miscsolutions.wordpress.com], E3D tool changer, Robotdigg SCARA printer, Crane Quad and Ormerod

Disclosure: I design Duet electronics and work on RepRapFirmware, [duet3d.com].

I assume your linear rails run smoothly and that your bed is secure, and that your motor currents are high enough (but not too high, stepper driver thermal shutdown is a prime cause of layer shifts).

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Simon Khoury

Co-founder of [www.precisionpiezo.co.uk] Accurate, repeatable, versatile Z-Probes
Published:Inventions

Okay i have rechecked everything with VERY fine detail. My Z motor pully was tight however over time has loosened up and slipped off the flat part of the motor shaft instead the set screw was on a curved part of the shaft which was causing it to slip.

I am fearful of the other problems you mentioned, however i am hopeful after identifying a clear mechanical problem that this was the issue, i think i have this one figured out i am calibrating and commissioning when i get home from work today. I will update with results probably tomorrow.

DC What firmware version is the duet in now? It has been a while i am sure there has been updates i should update out of good practice.

THanks again for the support

Quote
Ace67aod
DC What firmware version is the duet in now? It has been a while i am sure there has been updates i should update out of good practice.

Current firmware is 1.18.1. See [github.com] for the change log and upgrade notes.

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Large delta printer [miscsolutions.wordpress.com], E3D tool changer, Robotdigg SCARA printer, Crane Quad and Ormerod

Disclosure: I design Duet electronics and work on RepRapFirmware, [duet3d.com].

So i keep getting error when using bossac to write the firmware to the board. Reads Device found on COM5. Erase Flash. No such file or directory.

What am i doing wrong the flash is erased per my device manager readout. I am typing the filename exactly the same as it is? Not sure?

What bossac command line are you using, what is the firmware file called, and which folder is it in?

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Large delta printer [miscsolutions.wordpress.com], E3D tool changer, Robotdigg SCARA printer, Crane Quad and Ormerod

Disclosure: I design Duet electronics and work on RepRapFirmware, [duet3d.com].

i have a file name "Temp" on my desktop that i put the bossac .exe file in then i extracted all the contents of your most recent update RepRap Firmware-dev is the original file name as it was from the download. When attepting this i changed the firmware file name to RepRapFirmware-1.18.1 could this be the problem. (Basically i tried default didnt work i changed name and the command and still same error)

Both are in the same "Temp" folder

Let me know what you think i can try a few thing tonight.

THanks

Quote
Ace67aod
i have a file name "Temp" on my desktop that i put the bossac .exe file in then i extracted all the contents of your most recent update RepRap Firmware-dev is the original file name as it was from the download. When attepting this i changed the firmware file name to RepRapFirmware-1.18.1 could this be the problem. (Basically i tried default didnt work i changed name and the command and still same error)

Both are in the same "Temp" folder

Let me know what you think i can try a few thing tonight.

THanks

"No such file or directory" mean that it didn't find the filename you gave it. Did you mean to enter RepRapFirmware-1.18.1.bin instead of RepRapFirmware-1.18.1 ?

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Large delta printer [miscsolutions.wordpress.com], E3D tool changer, Robotdigg SCARA printer, Crane Quad and Ormerod

Disclosure: I design Duet electronics and work on RepRapFirmware, [duet3d.com].

I am so very terrible at programming which is unfortunate. So pardon my ignorance here that is exactly what i was typing i thought .bin needed to be attached to the end of the filename for some unknown reason i will retry tonight and try a print and see if layer shift continues.

yeah most def not the problem. Still getting the some error

Device found on COM6
Erase Flash

No such file directory found

I have tried it with, without the .bin and every other way i can think of. I have not a clue whats going on. The old firmware is cleared i see the correct listing under my COM port on device manager. so i know its been erased. Any ideas whats going on...?

Fixed my file path i was trying to pass it the wrong firmware file.

Hi Ace,
Do you still have your shifts on a layer?

I had something like that before and although I investigated my belts and pulleys at first I didn't discover any play or something else. After a week of frustrations I again went over all of it and than I discovered a play at the belt joints with my carriages. Grrrrrr
I fixed it and all was fine again

Hope you have solved your problem too because I recognize the frustrations that comes with it