Print stopping unexpectedly

Hello, recently bought a ramp shell 1.4 and am using the Arduino Mega 1280 with the 10.10 pronterface and ubuntu, but I had problems with printing, because each time the print in the middle, someone could help me with this?
thank you
ps. worked hard to put part of buffer'm not getting satisfactory results using firmware sprinter

Can you try with Windows (even if it is within a Virtual Machine with vmplayer)?

misan

I tested it directly from windows xp and it worked perfectly ... I wanted to use ubuntu because it would have repsnapper 2nd version but may be compatibility issues between hardware and system

I was having trouble with ftdi_sio driver in 64 bit lInux only. Is your version 64 bits too? I reckon it is a driver problem as I have several systems running 32 bit 10.4 Ubuntu talking to FTDI-based arduinos without a problem.

misan

Hi Daniel,

Sorry just got back to your PM. Not sure if I can help - is your printer stopping completely, or pausing? IE missing or skipping steps? I have a very similar setup to yours and have had trouble with missing steps. Never fully resolved though, my latest effort to fix is adjusting the buffer like this - [forums.reprap.org]

Hard to tell if it worked or not though - have previously gotten through three hour prints only to have the problem re occur ...

Might look at the driver again and retest with windows too. This seems to be quite a broad issue and not based on a single cause. Opto end stops can cause trouble, power supplies too, usb cables, pololu settings all seem to be possible influences.

Anyway let us know how you get on / got on. I'd be particularly interested to see if that buffering link above has any effect for you.

John

I am making new tests on a new machine with different hardware to see if the problem is the system's compatibility with the PC for the same piece was printed in windows XP and it worked perfectly ... I'll post results today

even with a totally different computer did not work, I think it's a problem, perhaps in our arduino, or the compatibility between our system and arduino mega ...
I could not debug the error still

Problem solved:

A ferrite torus was enough to stop my computer to get USB disconnects caused by EMI.

misan

I was getting random resets - each of which I later found was matched with a usb disconnect due to EMI as reported in the ubuntu syslog. I didn't ever prove it but I think they were the result of glitches induced when the extruder heater switches off. When I enabled PID control of the heater (which makes the problem worse because it switches the heater much more frequently), the resets happened more frequently and I was getting spurious end stop activations as well (I did manage to prove those). I fixed it (fingers crossed) by installing a transient voltage suppression diode as described here (forums.reprap.org)

@ CeeThreeEs - How did you manage to prove that you were getting spurious end stop activations? And could this still happen with the endstops unplugged? Finally could EMI still cause trouble when printing from SD? Sorry for the barrage - any comments much appreciated :-)

I added debug into the sprinter linear_move() function. It read the state of each end stop while it was doing the move and built a string with a 1 for end activated and 0 for not activated and then printed it out if any of the end stops were activated.

I didn't test with endstops unplugged, but, yes, it could still happen with them unplugged as it was just electical noise in my circuit which was sometimes enough to register on the arduino pin being used for endstop testing.

The EMI disconnect shouldn't cause you trouble when printing from SD - I've had them while printing from SD and the print has continued ok. However, the fact that they occur means that there is something up with the electronics which can cause other issues.

Note that when I was getting spurious end stop activations, they were only momentary and didn't stop the print - they just caused it to go a bit haywire as illustrated here.

@evans2481:

My result was different. EMI disconnects (or maybe reconnection) would reset my Arduino MEGA when printing from SD (so print was stopped).

misan

Ah - you are right. I've made the auto-reset-on-usb-connection feature switchable on my board. It is usually switched off and I only switch it back on when I need to download new firmware.

My problem was also with interference, was solved with a shielded cable with filter

Which cable(s) did you shield?

---

Bob Morrison
Wörth am Rhein, Germany
"Luke, use the source!"
BLOG - PHOTOS - Thingiverse

I don't have Ramps electronics (Sanguinololu) but I do get periodic disconnects of the USB connection. One thing I found that was causing it was a fluorescent magnifier that I have near the printer. Any time I moved the magnifier, the USB would disconnect from the printer and stop printing. I stopped using the magnifier but still get disconnects, so I supposed it is some other EMI in the house causing it. Trying to eliminate things on at a time.

Where can I get one of those ferrous torus magnets?

Roy

Radioshack has some if you're too impatient (like me) to wait for mail order, I got a cylindrical clamp on ferrite and it seemed to help. Biggest help was offloading the HBP to a different supply though. I'll load my ATX 5V line down better to ballance the loads and try again with the HBP later.

Thanks, I picked up a couple different types at Radio Shack this evening. We'll see if I keep getting USB disconnects.

Roy

did you manage to solve the problem... because i have a similar issue..