Stepper Going Bad?

I wonder how often the Stepper motors go bad?
I have printed several small parts and I never have had issues until I tried to print a longer part.
Seems like the stepper is loosing it's position in the long runs and the Y axis is getting offset I tried printing several smaller parts after the fact they are very accurate.

My knowledge on steppers from the web is not enough to determine a solution yet, just wondering if anyone else has experienced this type of problem?
I am 99% it is the motor, just trying to find an excuse to not have to dismantle my machine.

Cheers!

I have the same problem, Did you try with a slower travel speed?, after many attempts I drop all speeds to 30 mm/s and although it is more delayed I remove this problem

I have tried slowing things down. I think that could be an issue of the servo not getting enough current or if the hardware is not up to it.
I will play with speeds and accelerations. Thanks for the post!

I just tried to print the part rotated 90 degrees (Longer distance in the X direction) and I am getting the same problem. So apparently it is not a stepper motor issue.
I have slowed down and speed up , accelerations, Jerk, etc...

Now this became a puzzle?!!

If you are getting the offset along the same axis after rotating, your belt tension probably needs to be adjusted so they dont slip.

It could also be a current problem, which is easy enough to check so you might as well.

---

greghoge.com

HUGE 3D PRINTER PARTS SALE!!!

Try decreasing your acceleration values for X and Y. I had a similar issue on my printer, and taking the acceleration down to 300mm/s/s certainly seems to have helped. Your prints will be slower, but at least it will help you identify if that is indeed the problem and you can always increase them later on.

I reccomend that you check this thread out...
Shift to left at the same point in the print
[forums.reprap.org]

And yes, amrbekhit is on the right track.... slow it down.

REDUCE your acceleration in your firmware to reasonable real world values.
Personally I think a lot of these initial firmware acceleration values in most firmware packages were meant to impress, display and showcase the speed capabilities of the machine/printer itself, and not necessarily turning the machine in to a workable 3d printer that produces reliable quality prints.
Print FAST (and with high firmware acceleration values) throw the print in the garbage when done, Print SLOWER (and with slower acceleration values), and you stand a chance a achieving a successful high quality print.

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I too had the same problem... particularly with some geometry (using small detail areas or thin wall cross sections).

After chasing my tail with checking the mechanics (gears, pulleys etc.), changing slicers, and print speeds, changing stepper motor driver current etc. to no avail, I new I was on the wrong track. The offset problem was seemingly random (but was not random) and drove me nuts, until I ran across a post on Jerk.

Turns out it was the Jerk speed value was way to high, I radically reduced the Jerk Value from 20 to 10 in my Marlin Firmware (located in Configuration.h)
// #define DEFAULT_XY JERK 20.0 // (mm/sec)
#define DEFAULT_XY JERK 10.0 // (mm/sec)
NOTE : at 15.0 I was still having the offset problem.

Reducing Jerk to 10 has turned my printer into a much more friendly sounding printer, less jerky of course/smoother and NO More offsets in my print.
My printer now runs smooth as silk and doesn't sound like it's rattling itself apart while printing.

Hope this fixes your offset problems also.

__________

Ditch... Slic3r as it always seem to have tool/extruder path, and acceleration issues.

So here's my little copy and paste rant on using a competent slicer...
Have a quick glance at the Slic3r Forum... [forums.reprap.org]
Nothing more than a extensive bug list that goes on forever and grows with every new release of Slic3r.
I used to read this Slic3r blog daily, then I got a clue... You can't circumvent crappy slicing software by manipulating your slicer profiles, modifying your firmware or blaming your machine.

FYI... NOT sure why anybody is still using Slic3R beyond v7.02b (v7.02b is a great simple and competent slicer).

I sadly laugh when I see people trying to fix problems with this continual problematic slicer >Slic3R v7.02b.
I finally gave up after Slic3R v9.8; recouped my life, and no more wasted time and plastic, and moved forward away from Slic3R.
Every new Slic3R upgrade version has a new set of unresolved problems. I tried EVERY Slic3R version v7.02b - v9.8 extensively and utilized every smart so called fix for the problems... result garbage can full of melted plastic, hundred of frustrating hours endured/wasted, and saw my life passing me by. I'M DONE, DONE, DONE and DONE with Slic3R !!!

I used Skeinforge v41-v50 as my primary slicer for the last 2 years, but it has a memory limit which restricts you from printing more than simple trinkets and objects.

Over the last year, I print very complex and close tolerance engineering prototypes (0.1mm Layer Height @ +- 0.05mm tolerance) all day long everyday using KISSlicer, IMO it is the best slicer solution out there. NO more Slic3r wasting my time and memory limitations using Skeinforge, I have my life back now and time to do other things other than melt plastic in to useless shapes and fill the garbage can.

Note : KISSlicer is seemingly and sadly going defunct it appears, and is no longer maintained by it's creator/owner, but is still the best overall slicer ATM.
Download from here:
www.kisslicer.com

Information here:
- Kisslicer Refugee Camp - Google Groups
[groups.google.com]

_____________________

Your problems should be all be history now.

Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 02/20/2014 01:38PM by ShawnT98027.

-SOLVED

Hello Guys. Thank you so much for the input and the help.

I had all my values slowed down initially, they are way too high from default.

The real problem was my power supply not being able to supply enough current.

I think it would require a lot of current for the long runs and it would overheat.

Power supply changed and problem solved! THANKS!

Quote
gmh39
If you are getting the offset along the same axis after rotating, your belt tension probably needs to be adjusted so they dont slip.

It could also be a current problem, which is easy enough to check so you might as well.

Thanks, the problem was current. Gave it more AMPS and she is happy now!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/01/2014 09:43PM by soldanr.