Folger Tech 2020 i3 Printer Kit (Official Thread)

Quote
therippa

Quote
zarnold16
I just got back from work and now im gonna config my printer, but the power supply wont ouput anything and the input it wired correctly i believe. The single circular prong is the earth ground correct, and the other two are interchangeable? I got it to work I had a cord mixed around. Now a new question what is the easiest way to make a belt tighter. The Y Belt is very loose now after I set everything to the home position.

I just went through tightening the Y belt the other day. The guides online say when it's tight enough, you should be able to pluck it and it'll sound like a cello bass string. No matter how hard I tried to get it tight by pulling on the belt, I couldn't get it tight enough. I ended up unscrewing the motor, installed and tied down the belt on the Y carriage holder at an eyeballed point where I knew it would be tighter than I could get it by hand (I marked off on the belt the tightest I could get it before), and then screwed the motor back on the frame rail. It's tight as a cello string now.

Wow, I guess I built mine blissfully ignorant. Which guide says that? I actually installed a tightener since my y belt was pretty loose and it only made it skip in that direction. I removed it and it's back to working fine. :confused:

Double post

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/27/2015 08:44AM by markts.

Quote
markts

Quote
therippa

Quote
zarnold16
I just got back from work and now im gonna config my printer, but the power supply wont ouput anything and the input it wired correctly i believe. The single circular prong is the earth ground correct, and the other two are interchangeable? I got it to work I had a cord mixed around. Now a new question what is the easiest way to make a belt tighter. The Y Belt is very loose now after I set everything to the home position.

I just went through tightening the Y belt the other day. The guides online say when it's tight enough, you should be able to pluck it and it'll sound like a cello bass string. No matter how hard I tried to get it tight by pulling on the belt, I couldn't get it tight enough. I ended up unscrewing the motor, installed and tied down the belt on the Y carriage holder at an eyeballed point where I knew it would be tighter than I could get it by hand (I marked off on the belt the tightest I could get it before), and then screwed the motor back on the frame rail. It's tight as a cello string now.

Wow which guide says that? I must have built mine blissfully unaware. I actually installed a tightener on the y belt but then it started skipping so I removed it. :confused:

Must have missed that too.. I had to loosen my Y also as it was skipping

Quote
msaeger

Quote
[email protected]
I can get it "working" by changing settings or pin plug-ins. But what I can not figure out is why when I hit Y or Z they home like they should but the X just marks where ever it is sitting as the new "home" location.

Mine never seems to respond to the manual controls in repetier correctly but it prints just fine.

I am in the same exact position you are in. My X-carriage does not work properly and I double checked everything that was recommended on this forum. Also, the X-carriage stepper motor get very hot compared to the other stepper motors. Do you also encounter this issue?

Quote
samaral

Quote
msaeger

Quote
[email protected]
I can get it "working" by changing settings or pin plug-ins. But what I can not figure out is why when I hit Y or Z they home like they should but the X just marks where ever it is sitting as the new "home" location.

Mine never seems to respond to the manual controls in repetier correctly but it prints just fine.

I am in the same exact position you are in. My X-carriage does not work properly and I double checked everything that was recommended on this forum. Also, the X-carriage stepper motor get very hot compared to the other stepper motors. Do you also encounter this issue?

X carriage motor is getting too hot because of two variables.. you need some type of lube on its rails and the stepper controller for that stepper needs the Vref lowered.. if it is set way too high it can overheat that stepper and ruin it...

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/27/2015 10:24AM by mike3.

Quote
samaral

Quote
msaeger

Quote
[email protected]
I can get it "working" by changing settings or pin plug-ins. But what I can not figure out is why when I hit Y or Z they home like they should but the X just marks where ever it is sitting as the new "home" location.

Mine never seems to respond to the manual controls in repetier correctly but it prints just fine.

I am in the same exact position you are in. My X-carriage does not work properly and I double checked everything that was recommended on this forum. Also, the X-carriage stepper motor get very hot compared to the other stepper motors. Do you also encounter this issue?

My X motor gets hot too but I don't think that's at all related to the issue with not listening to the manual controls. I turned down the stepper driver a little and the motor is cooler.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/27/2015 10:27AM by msaeger.

---

Newbie with Folgertech 2020 i3.

Quote
msaeger

Quote
samaral

Quote
msaeger

Quote
[email protected]
I can get it "working" by changing settings or pin plug-ins. But what I can not figure out is why when I hit Y or Z they home like they should but the X just marks where ever it is sitting as the new "home" location.

Mine never seems to respond to the manual controls in repetier correctly but it prints just fine.

I am in the same exact position you are in. My X-carriage does not work properly and I double checked everything that was recommended on this forum. Also, the X-carriage stepper motor get very hot compared to the other stepper motors. Do you also encounter this issue?

My X motor gets hot too but I don't think that's at all related to the issue with not listening to the manual controls. I turned down the stepper driver a little and the motor is cooler.

Try this go back into the printer settings and carefully set them exactly like in the config manual exactly what is written there except X home set it to max and move your X stop one pin to the left..

I've done that problem comes in Repetier's home button on the X-axis. instead of bumping it off the end stops like Y, and Z it just sets the current position as home.

Quote
[email protected]
I've done that problem comes in Repetier's home button on the X-axis. instead of bumping it off the end stops like Y, and Z it just sets the current position as home.

You should have received an extra endstop .. and if you haven't done it yet.. switch it with the X stop

Quote
msaeger
Accidently broke a blade off the cool block cooling fan it was too loud from being unbalanced to use at all so I replaced it with one from a external cd-rom enclosure. This new one is so much quieter than the one that came with I wonder it it's moving enough air. How would I know if it's not cooling enough?

I did that too. Twice actually. The first time I broke the fan, only one blade broke off and I was able to glue it back on with CA glue. The second time I broke three blades off so I had to replace the fan. My replacement fan is more quiet also. As long as the block the fan and heatsink is not too hot to touch, I think it should be OK.

I did not get any extra end stops. I have placed the X one on the right, and on the left. I have checked the config.h and the pins.h files against what is listed on the forums and the manual. It's the way the X axis homes in Repetier that is making me nuts.

Quote
[email protected]
I did not get any extra end stops. I have placed the X one on the right, and on the left. I have checked the config.h and the pins.h files against what is listed on the forums and the manual. It's the way the X axis homes in Repetier that is making me nuts.

try using one of the other end stops on the X .. to establish it is indeed working or not... process of elimination ...

I have switched them out and the problem is not in the end stop switches. Even checked them with M119 to verify them. Other people have this issue and have just said screw it since it prints fine. I just wish it acted like Y and z in repitier. I am thankfull for the suggestions though and will try anything I can.

My printer is still not printing well and is jamming up a lot. I was having problems with the hotend thermistor reading much higher than it actually was. I used some muffler sealer to get better contact between the thermistor and the brass tubing it sits in and that has helped a little. When I read the temp with the multimeter probe it's only about 5 deg. C less at the heater block, but at the nozzle it is about 35 degrees colder when the temp is set to 200 deg. C. I think the cold nozzle temp is what is jamming it up. The nozzle got a little loose so I tightened it up, but now there is a small gap between the top of the nozzle and the heater block.

Is there a certain way to put the hotend back together to get the nozzle in good contact and not have plastic oozing out from the top or bottom of the heater block?

Also, is anyone using something to insulate the nozzle?

Quote
Lagomorph
My printer is still not printing well and is jamming up a lot. I was having problems with the hotend thermistor reading much higher than it actually was. I used some muffler sealer to get better contact between the thermistor and the brass tubing it sits in and that has helped a little. When I read the temp with the multimeter probe it's only about 5 deg. C less at the heater block, but at the nozzle it is about 35 degrees colder when the temp is set to 200 deg. C. I think the cold nozzle temp is what is jamming it up. The nozzle got a little loose so I tightened it up, but now there is a small gap between the top of the nozzle and the heater block.

Is there a certain way to put the hotend back together to get the nozzle in good contact and not have plastic oozing out from the top or bottom of the heater block?

Also, is anyone using something to insulate the nozzle?

Stock hot end is hit or miss. Mine was pretty good, but for PLA the heat break is junk. The location of the thermistor is terrible too. I would put upgrading the hotend at the top of the list of possible upgrades. Once I got my E3D V6 in and running well, I haven't had a single jam and all my prints look much nicer. No oozing either.

---

My creations/2020 aluminum parts/FolgerTech i3 upgrades [www.thingiverse.com]

I'll look into that. How did you attach yours? Do you leave off the heatsink and attach it like the stock hot end or do you need something else to hold it?

Quote
mike3

Quote
markts

Quote
therippa

Quote
zarnold16
I just got back from work and now im gonna config my printer, but the power supply wont ouput anything and the input it wired correctly i believe. The single circular prong is the earth ground correct, and the other two are interchangeable? I got it to work I had a cord mixed around. Now a new question what is the easiest way to make a belt tighter. The Y Belt is very loose now after I set everything to the home position.

I just went through tightening the Y belt the other day. The guides online say when it's tight enough, you should be able to pluck it and it'll sound like a cello bass string. No matter how hard I tried to get it tight by pulling on the belt, I couldn't get it tight enough. I ended up unscrewing the motor, installed and tied down the belt on the Y carriage holder at an eyeballed point where I knew it would be tighter than I could get it by hand (I marked off on the belt the tightest I could get it before), and then screwed the motor back on the frame rail. It's tight as a cello string now.

Wow which guide says that? I must have built mine blissfully unaware. I actually installed a tightener on the y belt but then it started skipping so I removed it. :confused:

Must have missed that too.. I had to loosen my Y also as it was skipping

Just finding random guides on google, they all said it should be pretty tight. I haven't experienced and skipping, and both the quality of my builds and the dimensional print tolerances have improved.

Quote
Lagomorph
I'll look into that. How did you attach yours? Do you leave off the heatsink and attach it like the stock hot end or do you need something else to hold it?

I made one of these : [www.thingiverse.com]

It has a couple issues, and I am working on improvements, though for now, it seems to be working pretty good.

read earlier in the thread for more information. I posted a bunch in this thread about my clogging issues.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/27/2015 02:41PM by mel0n.

---

My creations/2020 aluminum parts/FolgerTech i3 upgrades [www.thingiverse.com]

Hey all, really need some advice here. Pretty discouraged.

I shorted my stepper driver in the initial build out and severely damaged the Arduino Mega. I ordered a new Mega, which I then installed and instantly smoked as well. Two Megas down. I then ordered an all new RAMPS/Mega combo, went to install today, checked EVERYTHING with a multimeter before powering on, even assembled with an ESD bracelet. Loaded Marlin, everything worked great. Then I powered down and installed my 4 "good" drivers. Blew the Mega on powerup. F*CK. Three Megas down. Looks like my drivers were actually the problem. I got rid of the driver I blew initially as soon as it happened, and used the spare in my kit. So, what do I do now? 4 new drivers, a second new RAMPS, and a fourth new Mega? Or four new drivers, and a FOURTH new Mega? Hard to tell if my new Ramps is damaged. animoose.. bought the same RAMPS you did on Amazon. Much cleaner and color coded. Do I get Folgertech on the line and have them send me 4 new drivers and a new Mega? I'm in the hole here pretty deep. As an electrical/robotics engineer, I understand the problem with the initial short, but am very upset that this last round occurred, I took all the preventative steps and the drivers damaged my equipment.

I'm having one helluva time getting my new machine to work properly, specifically getting everything set to home. Everything assembled relatively well. Where exactly is home on this machine? I would imagine the far back right corner, but I'm not sure. I've followed some of the steps previous in this thread, but I still can't figure out what's going on.

My setup:
-Standard build according to the FT-provided instructions
-X endstop at the far right (when looking at the printer)
-Y endstop at the far back (triggered by one of the bed bearing mounts)
-Z endstop under the 3d printed mount on the right

My Repetier-Host is setup with:
Printer shape tab
Home X: Min
Home Y: Min
Home Z: Min
X min: 0
X max: 200
Y min: 0
Y Max: 200
Bed Left: 0
Bed Front: 0
Print area width: 200
Print area depth: 200
Print area height: 185

Basically, everything is configured as in the config guide.

I've trimmed my X/Y/E stepper pots to 0.35, and Z to 0.55

All that to say, I'm /not/ running the FT-provided firmware, but rather the Marlin firmware linked previously in this thread.

When a print job is started (I'm trying to do little 10mm cubes at first), everything looks good until the point where it draws the loop around the base of the object. Then it runs off far to the X left and pretends it's printing in empty space, with no bed underneath. Fortunately (?) the extruder doesn't pull any filament when it is in fact doing what would be printing.

I'd like to get this thing working today. What do?

Quote
mel0n

Quote
Lagomorph
I'll look into that. How did you attach yours? Do you leave off the heatsink and attach it like the stock hot end or do you need something else to hold it?

I made one of these : [www.thingiverse.com]

It has a couple issues, and I am working on improvements, though for now, it seems to be working pretty good.

read earlier in the thread for more information. I posted a bunch in this thread about my clogging issues.

If you don't mind me asking, what issues are you having with the current design?

Quote
dbrewski

Quote
mel0n

Quote
Lagomorph
I'll look into that. How did you attach yours? Do you leave off the heatsink and attach it like the stock hot end or do you need something else to hold it?

I made one of these : [www.thingiverse.com]

It has a couple issues, and I am working on improvements, though for now, it seems to be working pretty good.

read earlier in the thread for more information. I posted a bunch in this thread about my clogging issues.

If you don't mind me asking, what issues are you having with the current design?

I had been going through the proccess of dialing in some print settings and was getting some decent prints. I had my first extruder jam while printing the #3DBenchy. Before the jam it was comming out OK (there was some drooping of layers at the bow).

After that the extrusion was comming out of the nozzle flat/thin with little chunky bits in it instead of the nice round string I got before and it wouldn't stick to the bed very well. I tried clearing it out some more and trying various temperature settings (I had been using 185/180 earlier and getting good results, but now that seems too low).

In the pictures the round stepped piece was printed before I begasn having trouble. It came out OK ecxept for the top, which was bending around as the hot end moved over it. Next is #3DBenchy.
The third picture shows a test piece made while I was trying to get temperature and other settings right. The fourth picture is the same piece after getting it to print completely without clogging or layers seperating.
The last two pictures are comparing the piece to one I had printed before I began having trouble. I am also getting that diagonal (resonance?) pattern that I hadn't had before. And the primeter width is thicker than before.
The older one had a width of 0.48mm and the new one is 0.67. I'm not sure where that changed.

Anyways, that's where I'm at right now. I am waiting on an order from Folger Tech with some spare parts for the extruder. Luckily I haven't had any trouble with the drivers that some seem to be having. My only other issue right now is in leveling the bed and adjusting the Z home reliably. I am getting a slight bow on the glass for the print bed such that it is higher in the middle than at the corners.

Well after several days of great printing.. my extruder stopped heating up... has anyone else had this problem.. I can still home and move x,y,z manually.. when I check the contacts on the ramps board there is no voltage... Can anyone help,, can I hook up the Extruder heater wires directly to 12v to see if it is working ..and how can you check the thermistor.. and if these both check working .. what could be the problem? thanks mike

OK the heating element works ...I hooked it up directly for just a moment it does get hot...

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/27/2015 06:50PM by mike3.

Quote
mike3
Well after several days of great printing.. my extruder stopped heating up... has anyone else had this problem.. I can still home and move x,y,z manually.. when I check the contacts on the ramps board there is no voltage... Can anyone help,, can I hook up the Extruder heater wires directly to 12v to see if it is working ..and how can you check the thermistor.. and if these both check working .. what could be the problem? thanks mike

Have you recently started using your heatbed as well? I was printing PLA fine without the bed turned on, and decided try with it on. Repetier would report "Extruder Heating", but the temp wasn't rising on the hotend. Turns out your heatbed needs to come to temperature before the hotend starts heating up, and I wasn't being patient enough to realize this.

Update..

Folgertech offered to send me 4 new drivers and a new Mega. I re-ordered the RAMPS board as well. Complete electronics replacement. My new tactic will be to run a small bead of hot glue starting from the VDD pin on the drivers to the end of the driver PCB on the bottom side. That way, only the ground pin used for tuning will be exposed. Kicking myself for not doing this in the first place. We'll see how it goes.

Quote
therippa

Quote
mike3
Well after several days of great printing.. my extruder stopped heating up... has anyone else had this problem.. I can still home and move x,y,z manually.. when I check the contacts on the ramps board there is no voltage... Can anyone help,, can I hook up the Extruder heater wires directly to 12v to see if it is working ..and how can you check the thermistor.. and if these both check working .. what could be the problem? thanks mike

Have you recently started using your heatbed as well? I was printing PLA fine without the bed turned on, and decided try with it on. Repetier would report "Extruder Heating", but the temp wasn't rising on the hotend. Turns out your heatbed needs to come to temperature before the hotend starts heating up, and I wasn't being patient enough to realize this.

no i have been using the bed all along... it didn't matter if the bed was up to temp... as soon as the extruder was ... it would start printing now the bed temp will go past its set value but the extruder never heats at all.. and printing never starts

I found the best way to check the voltage is to put the ground test lead into the ground pin hole for the second hotend driver. Then you can check any driver pot with one test probe.

Quote
mike3

Quote
therippa

Quote
mike3
Well after several days of great printing.. my extruder stopped heating up... has anyone else had this problem.. I can still home and move x,y,z manually.. when I check the contacts on the ramps board there is no voltage... Can anyone help,, can I hook up the Extruder heater wires directly to 12v to see if it is working ..and how can you check the thermistor.. and if these both check working .. what could be the problem? thanks mike

Have you recently started using your heatbed as well? I was printing PLA fine without the bed turned on, and decided try with it on. Repetier would report "Extruder Heating", but the temp wasn't rising on the hotend. Turns out your heatbed needs to come to temperature before the hotend starts heating up, and I wasn't being patient enough to realize this.

no i have been using the bed all along... it didn't matter if the bed was up to temp... as soon as the extruder was ... it would start printing now the bed temp will go past its set value but the extruder never heats at all.. and printing never starts

I reflashed the Arduino Board .. but it still dosn't heat up

Quote
mike3

Quote
mike3

Quote
therippa

Quote
mike3
Well after several days of great printing.. my extruder stopped heating up... has anyone else had this problem.. I can still home and move x,y,z manually.. when I check the contacts on the ramps board there is no voltage... Can anyone help,, can I hook up the Extruder heater wires directly to 12v to see if it is working ..and how can you check the thermistor.. and if these both check working .. what could be the problem? thanks mike

Have you recently started using your heatbed as well? I was printing PLA fine without the bed turned on, and decided try with it on. Repetier would report "Extruder Heating", but the temp wasn't rising on the hotend. Turns out your heatbed needs to come to temperature before the hotend starts heating up, and I wasn't being patient enough to realize this.

no i have been using the bed all along... it didn't matter if the bed was up to temp... as soon as the extruder was ... it would start printing now the bed temp will go past its set value but the extruder never heats at all.. and printing never starts

I reflashed the Arduino Board .. but it still dosn't heat up

Did you physically check if the hot end is heating? If it does, yet its reporting it doesn't then likely your thermistor is the problem.

If it doesnt heat up, and there's a voltage on the hotend terminal at ramps, then your cartridge have a problem.

If it doesnt heat up, and there's no voltage on terminal at ramps yet repetier reports its heating up extruder, then its somewhere on the extruder fet or even at its gate pin that arduino is supposed to drive.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/27/2015 08:55PM by wderoxas.