Ramps 1.4 USB issue

hi all
I have been having a problem with my Ramps board (new) and killing usb on megas. The first thing I need to check is the possibility of a ground loop issue, which I shall do next - but I was wondering if there was anything else I should check? both boards to die have used the ch340 chip. The boards have worked to the point of moving steppers around, heating the bed etc so it's certainly not an instant fault. I have hit all end stops successfully so I doubt it's an end stop short issue.

cheers!

I had this problem, when I would plug in the 3D Printer to the computers USB ports it would cause several problems, the worst was it would short my PC causing a reboot.

Finally is caused the 5.25 "Card reader to smoke and burn.

I solved this Problem by Purchasing two raspberry Pi's connecting them permanently to the 3D Printer then using wired Network service to OctoPrint to communicate.
With the Pi's never being plugged and unplugged the ground difference did not short out the computers components.
With a large Plus! adding Octoprint's streaming Video and many other of Ocotprints features to enhance the 3D Printing environments.

Now this is only one fix, the other is a lot of troubleshooting to find a grounding problem between the 3D Printer's controller and the Computer's you are connecting.
Have the same problem on one computers Speakers, If I plug in the computer and forget to plug in the speaker then after the computer is running then plug in the speaker it will temporally short of the system rebooting the computer. (With the invention of the Power blocks came the ground loops, (Floating Grounds are not Grounded))
Anyway, I chose the easiest solution with the most befits OctoPrint on a Raspberry Pi2.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/12/2018 10:39PM by Roberts_Clif.

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Computer Programmer / Electronics Technician