Help with first-time setup!

I have built a Mendel90 Sturdy and I am having trouble setting it up properly.
I am using a Azteeg X3 with a NZXT 650W 80+ Siliver PSU.
I am having issues with the endstops.
My endstops appear to be mounted in the maximum locations not the minimums. I had them wired as Normally Open at first but read that this isn't optimal for the safety of the machine. So I rewired them to NC. Either way they are wired I have had the issue of the board cutting all power when they are triggered. Now that they are wired NC they all have to be triggered to power on the board.
In addition to that I don't know which stepping setting is optimal for my configuration. My steppers are the SD6128's that came with my board and are capible of 1/64 microstepping they are currently jumpered at 1/32. I was thinking of setting them to 1/16.

Im a bit lost with these issues so if anyone else can share their advice and/or config files it would be greatly appreciated.

Pictures of my Mendel90:

[imgur.com]

[imgur.com]

Your end stops are wired wrong at the controller, you have them shorting the power to ground instead of signal & ground.

Thanks for the reply! I have wired them to the signal and ground and I will be testing it soon.
Also is it odd that all of my endstop mountings seem to be where the maximum would be for each axis. Particularly the x-axis. I don't want to run the head into the printbed while calibrating the home point.

That fixed the powering off problem! Thanks again @stephenrc!

Normal configuration for Mendel90 is X and Y are min and Z is max. That is conventional when viewed from the back. If you want it conventional from the front then make them all max.

See [hydraraptor.blogspot.co.uk] for the rational for Z max.

See the manual for how to calibrate Z without running the head into the glass.

Setting the microstepping bigger than 16 may limit your top speed with an Atmega. I haven't tried it.

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[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

I don't mind it either way then. It just seemed like I was doing something wrong! lol

Would you recommend 1/16 or less?

Thanks!

Has anyone used the Azteeg x3 before? I am having a hard time figuring out the configuration.h file for this board.

I have the Marlin RC version and it includes my board but it seems to have a bunch of stuff I don't need with it.

Quote
.Jata
I don't mind it either way then. It just seemed like I was doing something wrong! lol

Would you recommend 1/16 or less?

Thanks!

I can only recommend 16 because that is the only setting I have tried with Mendel90. More microsteps will be quieter but the top speed will be less. Also a lot of boards have this problem [hydraraptor.blogspot.co.uk], which I fixed on the Melzis for the kits: [hydraraptor.blogspot.co.uk].

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[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

I have them jumpered for 1/16 now and I can get some smooth movement, but I can't figure out how to configure marlin properly. I have downloaded "Marlin-Marlin_v1_Mendel90" from neildarlow. When I try to make changes to his marlin config I get an error when saving; [The sketch already contains a file named "Marlin.ino"] so I cannot upload it to my board...

Fixed the saving error but now it won't compile because of this:

Build options changed, rebuilding all
C:\Users\jata\Documents\Mendel90\Marlin-Marlin_v1_Mendel90\Marlin-Marlin_v1_Mendel90\Marlin\Marlin.ino:42:28: fatal error: LiquidTWI2.h: No such file or directory

#include LiquidTWI2.h

^

compilation terminated.

exit status 1
Error compiling for board Arduino/Genuino Mega or Mega 2560.



Update: I don't get that issue when uploading the Marlin RC firmware..

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/23/2016 08:41PM by .Jata.

LiquidTWI2 is a third party library for LCD support that can be found here: [github.com]

I don't have an lcd for it. So I guess I just need to delete this from my marlin file. I am just wanting basic functionality of the printer. I'm lost on what is actually needed as far as code goes. Also does the printhead need to be in the home position before powering it on or do I need to use pronterface to move it home?

My Azteeg X3 board has screw terminals on all three minimum endstop pinouts, but just pins on all the maximum pinouts. All of my endstops are physically located in the maximum positions. Can I just invert the X, Y and Z endstops in the software and it work out fine? I don't have pin connectors at the moment or I would have just wired it as it should be to begin with.
Thanks to everyone for the help thus far!

- .Jata


Edit:

With what I stated above should these limits be the opposite of what they are? (ie. switch the values from (HOME_DIR 1 to HOME_DIR -1) and (from max 200 to min 200))

// ENDSTOP SETTINGS:
// Sets direction of endstops when homing; 1=MAX, -1=MIN
// :[-1,1]
#define X_HOME_DIR 1
#define Y_HOME_DIR 1
#define Z_HOME_DIR 1

#define min_software_endstops true // If true, axis won't move to coordinates less than HOME_POS.
#define max_software_endstops true // If true, axis won't move to coordinates greater than the defined lengths below.

// @section machine

// Travel limits after homing (units are in mm)
#define X_MIN_POS 0
#define Y_MIN_POS 0
#define Z_MIN_POS 0
#define X_MAX_POS 200
#define Y_MAX_POS 200
#define Z_MAX_POS 200

Thanks again!

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/25/2016 07:39PM by .Jata.

If you are not familiar with the settings by far the easiest way to set it up is to use Neil's version of Marlin and change the board definition to Azteeg.

No you don't need to manually home the machine before powering it up. Just make sure the X carriage is not on the far left. You can then home with the host and your slicer's start.gcode should contain a homing sequence so it homes before every build, see [github.com].

To convert the MIN endstops to MAX endstops you can swap the pins in pins.h so that the ones you want to use are on the screw terminals. For normal configuration it is just the Z switch that is MAX.

HOME_DIR is +1 to go towards MAX, -1 to go towards MIN and has to correspond with the switch input you are using. For X and Y you can using either MIN or MAX as long as they are both the same. Since the origin is in the centre of the bed on Mendel90 it makes little difference.

No you don't swap the MIN and MAX values. MIN should always be less than MAX. For Mendel90 the origin is in the middle so MIN = -100 and MAX = 100.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/26/2016 07:04AM by nophead.

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[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]