Stuck on bed plane compensation

Hi Everyone,

I received my Ormerod kit on Friday after noon and have been working on it since, i really enjoyed the build but getting a little frustrated now as i cant work out the problem.
I am stuck on bed plane compensation, I have followed the steps using the same coordinates as the instructions and ive got to the part where you run the CIRCLE.G file.
Im not sure if im doing it right but i go onto SD on the printer interface and choose circle.g then ok. When i do this i expect the nozzle to go around the bed in a circular motion
(as described in the instructions), but actually the axis will home, X first, then Y and then Z starts to home the nozzle comes into contact with the bed pushing it down and then it rises up to 4.99mm above Z-0 to do the circle.

Does anyone know why? I thought that was the normal thing, so i have tried a print but it done a similar thing but it didn't rise to 4.99mm height it just ripped through the tape on the bed.

What distance should the nozzle be from the bed when the instructions says 'you can just see light between the 2'. could we say a sheet of paper, 2 sheets?

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks
Paul

And the funny thing is that i have just pressed the 'Home' icon and the axis all home but the Z hits the bed again. I raise the nozzle up again to the height i set it before and the number is 2.3mm

2.3mm is the setting i used and put into the config.g file 'G31 Z2.3 P690'

???

It sounds like the Z homing isn't working consistently. A couple of things to check/do:
1. Update firmware, and make sure that the same version of the SD card files are on your SD card: [www.reprappro.com] . This should fix the Z homing problem, as it's probably not homing on a reflective point.
2. Check that the SD card is being read AT STARTUP. I just added these instructions yesterday, and they are critical: [www.reprappro.com]

A sheet of paper is fine to use; they're usually 0.1mm thick, for regular copy paper, if that helps.

Ian
RepRapPro tech support

Hi Paul,
I haven't got an answer for you, I'm afraid. I take it that you have edited the 'circle.g' file, and not just used the existing one? The instructions talk about moving the head and setting each point with P0, P1, P2 and P3, but really it's easier to make a not of the Z position at each point and then put that in the circle.g file. (See the 'paper technique' below - this means you can use your eyes and one hand to jog the Z down, and use your other hand to 'feel', for the correct height with a sheet of paper)
All I can suggest is that you 'home' the axis individually - X, then Y, then Z. I haven't used the 'home all' command yet myself - I'm still at the 'take things step by step' stage myself!
As you can see from looking at it ('Wordpad' is better than 'Notepad' for viewing .g files, if you're using Windows) the 'circle.g' file contains no homing commands, unlike the 'ormaxis.g' file which does.


Re. ormaxis.g, I found it easier to zero the x, Y and Z axis individually myself, then run my setbed.g file, set my extruder and bed temperatures, then run a modified ormaxis.g file. The modifications I made were to remove its home commands, and its 'wait for all temperature' commands.


>"What distance should the nozzle be from the bed when the instructions says 'you can just see light between the 2'. could we say a sheet of paper, 2 sheets?"
People on these forums suggest using a sheet of 80gsm (standard printer paper, cut to size, placed under the nozzle so that the paper can still be moved around yet with a bit of friction. This method works for me and is much easier on my eyes than squinting at the nozzle and bed!

Good luck!

Hey,

Thanks for the replies.

The Z, Y & Z axis all home fine when they are done seperetley but its seems that the home all command messes it up??

I have now edited the circle.g and ormaxis.g the files and ill give it another go.

I thought it could be something to do with the files so i downloaded a cube file and am trying that quick. The first layer has come ok, but i think the nozzle caught on it when it went to the next layer and it jumped about. also the extruder retracted about 100mm between layers, doesnt seem right.

Cheers for the help and ill let you know how i get on.

the home all axis must have a bug, or i haven't set something right! i hope Ian can shed some light on it?

Cheers
Paul

Yes, update your firmware! Home all is fixed in the latest version (actually, a couple of weeks ago). What firmware version are you on?

Ian
RepRapPro tech support

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/19/2014 12:37PM by droftarts.

Hi Ian,

I upgraded it last night.

serial: M115
FIRMWARE_NAME:RepRapFirmware FIRMWARE_VERSION:0.57a ELECTRONICSuet DATE:2014-01-16

Cheers
Paul

That's good. Did you update the SD card with the contents of SD-Image, to keep them on the same version? This is important, because the firmware calls sub-routines from the card. If they're not there, it doesn't know what to do, and the 'Home all' is a specific case. The sub-routines are in the 'SD-image/sys' folder: [github.com]
You can actually adapt these, and specify your own behaviour when they're called.
Try iamburny's web interface; it's way better than ours! [forums.reprap.org]

Ian
RepRapPro tech support

Ian,

I believe they are on the same version as i followed the steps and only downloaded this version.

Ill check it again though. what settings/files do i need to keep from my SD so that when i put the new files on the SD card i don't loose all the settings ive been adding all day?


Ill have a look at that web server as well. I have emailed you regarding the current one. It randomly works, and more often than not it doesn't work.

Cheers
Paul

Keep any file that you've added or changed. You may have changed config.g, and if you've done the axis compensation, you may have a setbed.g file. Test homing in Pronterface. Another possible problem may still be from homing after the compensation (setbed.g) has been applied. I can't remember if that's still an issue...

The web interface should work a lot better with the firmware update, and even better again with iamburny's. Some people have reported problems when connected with both USB and web interface, others when powering from USB, and others still when powering from ATX. I'm not sure what causes these variances. I would generally recommend powering the 5V from ATX, not USB.

Ian
RepRapPro tech support

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/19/2014 01:44PM by droftarts.