Heat Bed and Z Axis Problem

Hi,

So I'm very new to the whole 3d printing thing so bear with me. I'm using a prusa mendel i3 printer, which someone else had built and was working perfectly up until recently. The Z axis stopped responding at all (both on pronterface, and using SD prints directly into the printer). As of yesterday (after the Z movement had started to tank), the motors were jumpy, but functional, and I therefore suspect a firmware issue.

Upon attempting to upload a new version of marlin to deal with the problem, though the thermistors are functional, the heated bed is not heating past room temperature, and the green LED under the bed is not turning on. I've read a bunch of posts suggesting to look for hardware problems, but the problem only began after updating Marlin, so again, I suspect it's probably firmware issue.

Any suggestions?

Attached are my cofig.h and pins.h

Config.docx
Pins.docx

What electronics are you using? If this is mis-configured the pin settings will be wrong and it will do things like not heating the bed.

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[3DKarma.com] - suppliers of quality, affordable 3D printer kits and filament for the UK market.

Using Arduino mega 2560 and RAMPS 1.4. Wiring scheme as pictured here:

[reprap.org]

Have you modified pins.h at all?

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[3DKarma.com] - suppliers of quality, affordable 3D printer kits and filament for the UK market.

No. I haven't modified pins at all.

I got the heating working, but the z axis still doesn't seem to communicate. When connected to pronterface, the display on my prusa registers movement in the z axis, even though the motors are not working or making any noise.

After detaching the threaded rods and starting again, the first few z axis movements produce little jerks in the motors, but they then stop responding

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/10/2015 01:05PM by eaziza.

Possible your driver board is bad, I would try plugging the motor in to another axis to see if it will move.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/10/2015 01:56PM by AquaticsLive.

I'd first get the firmware from your friend who built it. Then compare the configuration.h and pins.h between your downloaded and friends version and work out what settings you need to copy and what parts are new in the configuration.h and what settings needs some attention in your case. If I were you I'd just upload the old 'tried and tested' firmware and get back to trouble shooting hardware first. It's much easier to work from a known good than keep adding unknown variables to your problem like a new firmware.

Then I'd troubleshoot the Z axis not moving part. Also check the PSU, it may be on the brink of failure.