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Extruder motor skipping steps only around the middle of the X-axis.

Posted by tarquinio 
Extruder motor skipping steps only around the middle of the X-axis.
April 15, 2020 09:44PM
Hello everyone.

So recently my printer has been driving me crazy with a very specific and wierd issue. I noticed that the extruder was missing steps. In the beginning I assumed they were random step skips, then I noticed they were always on the same area. Finally I noticed that the problem only happens around the middle of the X axis (none of the axis motors skip any steps, only the extruder does). To make sure the extruder was not clogging because the nozzle was too close to bed, I even tried printing in mid-air, and I can still hear it clicking when skipping steps, only when passing that same zone. And it skips it on all the layers, not just the first ones.
I will attach some images to try and show the problem. I marked with a green square the zone where the problems occur. You will notice that there are many step skips inside that zone, and none outside it.


Hardware:
Prusa I3 Hephestos from BQ with direct drive extruder.
Ramps 1.4 with A4988 (initial), BTT SKR V1.4 with TMC2130 (current)
Had it for like 5/6 year without any major issues.

What I tried:
Making sure the bed was leveled and perfectlly flat (it's a glass bed)
Replaced the extuder and the gears
Replaced the electronics recently (upgraded to a 32 bit board).
Tried different slicers (Cura and Slic3r) with different settings at slow speeds.

I can't really figure out what might be happening here. Any suggestion on what might be the cause or any other tests I can try would be appreciated. Thank you in advance for your attention.
Attachments:
open | download - test1.jpg (114.4 KB)
open | download - test2.jpg (117.9 KB)
open | download - test3.jpg (105.1 KB)
open | download - test4.jpg (107.6 KB)
Re: Extruder motor skipping steps only around the middle of the X-axis.
April 15, 2020 10:19PM
Check the cable to the extruder motor at the extruder end. After a lot of use the connector can come loose and/or wires can break from all the flexing, especially if the printer has a drag chain with a too-small radius of curvature. The wires can break inside their insulation, so you won't be able to tell with a visual inspection. You'll have to connect a meter and then move the cable around to see if the resistance changes. If the motor leads have become intermittent they may have damaged the driver chip, so you may need to replace that, too, if the cable has failed.


Ultra MegaMax Dominator 3D printer: [drmrehorst.blogspot.com]
Re: Extruder motor skipping steps only around the middle of the X-axis.
April 16, 2020 06:57PM
Did some tests today. I could not detect any problem with the cable or the connectors. Still, I decided to make a new cable anyway and give it a go... And it seems to be working! smiling smiley
I guess the problem occurs only in very specific positions are very briefly. Since I replaced the cable, haven't noticed a single missed step.

Thanks again for your suggestions smiling smiley
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