Folger Tech 2020 i3 Printer Kit (Official Thread)

Shoot. I went to print something tonight and I was getting clicking at the extruder. I sometimes hear that, but once it gets going it clear up and everything is fine, but not tonight. It seems like something is clogged.

I watched this video to (try to) take apart the hot end.

[www.youtube.com]

Unfortunately, I can't remove the threaded tube from the block (it seems as though the 1.5mm set screw is stripped?) and the whole thing is kind of a mess. So what to do? Buy new parts.

Is this all I need to replace everything (this is from FolgerTech)

Dual Extruder Block - 6mm $ 8.99 $ 8.99
Threaded M6 tube with PTFE/Teflon core for 1.75mm used on Prusa i3 Kit $ 5.99
3D Printer Hot End Assembly with Block, Nozzle, Heater, & Thermistor $ 7.99
3D Printer 0.4mm Extruder Nozzle Print Head for MK8 Makerbot RepRap $ 2.99 (extra nozzle)

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/20/2016 11:09PM by markts.

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sonnylowe

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UltiFix

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sonnylowe

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UltiFix

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Bert3D

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peeejayz

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sonnylowe

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therippa
So I just ordered a BLTouch to replace my inductive sensor, would someone mind updating the wiki page with the basic instructions?

Done

Are they that much better than inductive sensors? Just wondering it its worth getting one. I have an inductive on the way, but if its better I'll keep the inductive as a spare.

That's what I was wondering as well. I have a BLTouch on the way, and I'm sure it is better than the servo setup I'm using now, and should be easier than the switch to an aluminum print bed to make an inductive sensor work.

If you have a working inductive sensor setup, the only advantage I can see would be that it measures to the top of the surface, where the inductive sensor measures to the metal plate. That means you need to insure whatever you put on top of the metal plate is always the same thickness. That's probably not really a huge limitation, but one time I accidentally put my glass plate on top of one of the corner screw heads, and because the autolevel probed it and just adjusted, I didn't even notice it wasn't flat. Prints worked fine anyway. If it was sensing the bed underneath, that would have been a problem.

I haven't gotten my BLTouch, or tried an inductive setup, so I'd love to hear from others how they have worked for them.

So let me get this straight, there are 2 kinds of autolevel, one were this are servos moving the bed, and the other is a sensor and the z axis just moves up and down to compensate for bed level changes, im assuming the second choice is cheaper. Right? What are most of you guys doing?

They both work exactly the same, they just use different means to check the levelness of the bed. Either way the Z motor make the adjustment while printing.

The BLtouch and Servo/Micro Switch Setup work by actually touching the surface you are printing on. An Inductive Proximity Sensor measure how close you are to a metallic surface without actually touching it. A Capacitive Sensor measure density changes in almost anything, so it can read the glass, BuildTak, or possibly the Kapton Tape surface, otherwise it works just like the Inductive Sensor. If you look through the thread you will find lots of info and lots of opinions on both.

As far as cost, the Inductive Sensor and BLtouch cost about the same if you buy an aluminum build plate. If you can find the Capacitive Sensor I suggested earlier it can be as little as $15.00 with no need to buy any other build plate material.

There is success with all three setups, every person running them likes their choice for one reason or another, they all do the basically the same thing, it's really just your preference...

Awesome! I will go back and find the capactive sensor and favorite it, once I get this printer running im going to go upgrade crazy

EDIT:
Goodness, the search function is awful! I searched and went back and looked at previous pages and can't find it.
[www.ebay.com]
Would something like this work ok?

That would work, however I think they are all 18mm in diameter...that's pretty damn big if you ask me...

Edit: I think one of these is your better option...China...US

Awesome, thanks!

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sonnylowe

Edit: I think one of these is your better option...China...US

sonny, with the E2K-X4ME1 sensor, are the the instructions the same as listed on the wiki? Did you have to build a voltage divider as I have seen people do for some inductive sensors or do you just hook it up to the ramps board? Does it connect where the z end stop would normally connect?

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Zeegzeigler

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Mach

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Zeegzeigler

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Mach

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Zeegzeigler
[qoute=Mach]

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Zeegzeigler
Move your X and Y endstop connector one place to the left on the ramps board. The printer will not move until you homes it. If the endstops are not setup properly, the printer will hit them, and then keep trying to move in that direction since it will never get the signal to stop. If you ever want to move your endstops, look at the comments I added in the configs above and that should give you a good idea what to uncomment and comment.

thanks! so i do i just delete the old? i moved the end stops,ill have to do this part later hopefully works! thanks. is there a way to mount the x endstop on the left with the existing printed part? idont have acess to a printer right now. thanks!

The above configs are just segments of the endstop config section, so they replace of the configs that look similar to them, not the entire endstop section. You should be able to put the endstop holder that comes with the printer on the left until you can print a better one. Just keep in mind that the above config will have to be changed to match the printer if you put it on the left since it is set to be on the right.

thanks! ill keep in on the right for now,but for some reason the end stops still dont work. i moved them a,ll to the left 1 slot. so they are in 1,3 and 5. also the y home moved to the front of the printer,is that correct? ill see if i can start to understand what the configs mean lol. i really appreciate the help.

Move only the X and Y connectors if you want the Z to home to the bottom. If the Y endstop is in the back, but the bed moves to the front, just reverse the Y motor connector on the ramps.

oh my god your glorious man! you had me confused for awhile,but all the end stops are working and homing! i love you! haha. so now a few more questions lol. my home is the front right corner,is this going to mess with anything? i have heard about mirroring. im guna test print with me luck! i guess ill figure it out. thank you so much! you have no idea.

Yes, I believe that your prints will be mirrored with the config values I gave. I think the solution to this is to change #define INVERT_X_DIR from true to false, and to reverse your X axis motor connector on the ramps. Good luck

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Folger Tech I3 2020 Wikia page: [folgertech.wikia.com]

Custom Folger Tech I3 2020 custom search

Baby steps...I finished my build and did a few prints. The attached image is my first print, a 10mm cube in ABS. It's messy, but I'll take it for a first print. After some driver voltage adjusting, the printer's quiet and happily spits out little plastic parts. So far, my printer is a stock 2020 except for Misumi bearings, x endstop on the left, and a borosilicate glass bed with BuildTak.

BuildTak seems awesome. I printed ABS with a 70C bed and my prints seemed to stick really well.

My BLTouch got here yesterday, so I plan on printing a bracket for that soon.

My build had mostly standard issues: bolt sizes and some over extruded 3d printed parts. Oh, well, and the small fire on one of the drivers when I first plugged it in.

Thanks for all the help here and on IRC. I really appreciate the great community!

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sonnylowe
As far as cost, the Inductive Sensor and BLtouch cost about the same if you buy an aluminum build plate. If you can find the Capacitive Sensor I suggested earlier it can be as little as $15.00 with no need to buy any other build plate material.

IF you buy an aluminum build plate. But it's not necessary.

I'm running an inductive sensor and printing on glass by putting a thin (28ga) galvanized steel between my glass and heated bed. I got the idea from here: [gyroe3dprinter.blogspot.com] But I'm using the inductive sensor that Folger sells for $2.59. I thought I had a suitable sheet of steel on hand but all my pieces were too small. A sheet large enough to cut two build plate sizes pieces from was only $5 at the local hardware store so I have inductive auto level up and running for about $8.

I did luck out in that the folger sensor while rated for 6-36v is working just fine at 5v. I'm told this varies wildly though even from sensor to sensor from the same manufacturer so don't count on it. Even if it doesn't run at 5v it's an NPN sensor so it sinks current from the RAMPS and you don't need the voltage divider with it.

So while I really like the bltouch in theory and would love to have one - $33 vs. $8 on my current budget the inductive wins out.

That said I wouldn't suggest using the Folger inductive sensor. It's only a 4mm sense distance and with my 3mm sheet of glass I barely have 1mm clearance under the sensor and adjusting it is tricky since there's such a small range in which in works. I just ordered a $5 one off ebay that has an 8mm sense distance to upgrade to. It's also an NPN so it should just swap in...but may need a bit more voltage to work reliably...we'll see.

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punkkills

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sonnylowe

Edit: I think one of these is your better option...China...US

sonny, with the E2K-X4ME1 sensor, are the the instructions the same as listed on the wiki? Did you have to build a voltage divider as I have seen people do for some inductive sensors or do you just hook it up to the ramps board? Does it connect where the z end stop would normally connect?

Yes, the same voltage drop mode is required. The one weird thing I noticed was unlike the Inductive sensor which is NO...supplies 5v only when triggered, my sensor is NC...drops 5v when not triggered (just like the endstops) I had to go back into Marlin and change this (const bool Z_MIN_ENDSTOP_INVERTING = false) back to TRUE...

All the Ramps connections are the same as the Inductive Sensor.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/21/2016 04:25AM by sonnylowe.

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markts
Shoot. I went to print something tonight and I was getting clicking at the extruder. I sometimes hear that, but once it gets going it clear up and everything is fine, but not tonight. It seems like something is clogged.

I watched this video to (try to) take apart the hot end.

[www.youtube.com]

Unfortunately, I can't remove the threaded tube from the block (it seems as though the 1.5mm set screw is stripped?) and the whole thing is kind of a mess. So what to do? Buy new parts.

Is this all I need to replace everything (this is from FolgerTech)

Dual Extruder Block - 6mm $ 8.99 $ 8.99
Threaded M6 tube with PTFE/Teflon core for 1.75mm used on Prusa i3 Kit $ 5.99
3D Printer Hot End Assembly with Block, Nozzle, Heater, & Thermistor $ 7.99
3D Printer 0.4mm Extruder Nozzle Print Head for MK8 Makerbot RepRap $ 2.99 (extra nozzle)

THIS is the only replacement part you need ;-)

---

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FolgerTech Wikia Page

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Homing Bump

I’ve been cleaning up my config.h and noticed that if I DISABLE_MAX_ENDSTOPS (I’m using X Min endstop on the left, so I have no Max endstops at all) then I will get a ‘bump’ when homing (home, retract short distance, re-home). After further investigation it seems this is intended behaviour:-

Configuration_adv.h (Marlin 1.0.2)
//homing hits the endstop, then retracts by this distance, before it tries to slowly bump again:
#define X_HOME_RETRACT_MM 5
#define Y_HOME_RETRACT_MM 5
#define Z_HOME_RETRACT_MM 3
//#define QUICK_HOME  //if this is defined, if both x and y are to be homed, a diagonal move will be performed initially.

Configuration_adv.h (Latest Marlin 1.1.0-RC3)
//homing hits the endstop, then retracts by this distance, before it tries to slowly bump again:
#define X_HOME_BUMP_MM 5
#define Y_HOME_BUMP_MM 5
#define Z_HOME_BUMP_MM 2
#define HOMING_BUMP_DIVISOR {2, 2, 4}  // Re-Bump Speed Divisor (Divides the Homing Feedrate)
//#define QUICK_HOME  //if this is defined, if both x and y are to be homed, a diagonal move will be performed initially.

I'm guessing this wasn't happening before as Max Endstops were always showing as triggered and so the printer wouldn't move towards Max when doing the homing bump?

Does anyone know why there is a homing 'bump'? I’ve done a few google & reddit searches but can’t find an explanation.
I’m assuming it’s for a more accurate home position (HOMING_BUMP_DIVISOR in 1.1.0-RC3 slows it down) but after not having the bump from the beginning it now feels wrong when the printer homes with this enabled!

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Boffster
Homing Bump

I’ve been cleaning up my config.h and noticed that if I DISABLE_MAX_ENDSTOPS (I’m using X Min endstop on the left, so I have no Max endstops at all) then I will get a ‘bump’ when homing (home, retract short distance, re-home). After further investigation it seems this is intended behaviour:-

Configuration_adv.h (Marlin 1.0.2)
//homing hits the endstop, then retracts by this distance, before it tries to slowly bump again:
#define X_HOME_RETRACT_MM 5
#define Y_HOME_RETRACT_MM 5
#define Z_HOME_RETRACT_MM 3
//#define QUICK_HOME  //if this is defined, if both x and y are to be homed, a diagonal move will be performed initially.

Configuration_adv.h (Latest Marlin 1.1.0-RC3)
//homing hits the endstop, then retracts by this distance, before it tries to slowly bump again:
#define X_HOME_BUMP_MM 5
#define Y_HOME_BUMP_MM 5
#define Z_HOME_BUMP_MM 2
#define HOMING_BUMP_DIVISOR {2, 2, 4}  // Re-Bump Speed Divisor (Divides the Homing Feedrate)
//#define QUICK_HOME  //if this is defined, if both x and y are to be homed, a diagonal move will be performed initially.

I'm guessing this wasn't happening before as Max Endstops were always showing as triggered and so the printer wouldn't move towards Max when doing the homing bump?

Does anyone know why there is a homing 'bump'? I’ve done a few google & reddit searches but can’t find an explanation.
I’m assuming it’s for a more accurate home position (HOMING_BUMP_DIVISOR in 1.1.0-RC3 slows it down) but after not having the bump from the beginning it now feels wrong when the printer homes with this enabled!

This is normal in all aspects of homing from CNC's to the advance measuring equipment I use daily. Both my touch and optical CMM are shut down in their last position. When starting up in the morning they need to be homed. They will travel at a higher rate of speed till they bump the end stops then they will back off and home again at a slower rate of speed for more accurate positioning.

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sonnylowe

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markts
Shoot. I went to print something tonight and I was getting clicking at the extruder. I sometimes hear that, but once it gets going it clear up and everything is fine, but not tonight. It seems like something is clogged.

I watched this video to (try to) take apart the hot end.

[www.youtube.com]

Unfortunately, I can't remove the threaded tube from the block (it seems as though the 1.5mm set screw is stripped?) and the whole thing is kind of a mess. So what to do? Buy new parts.

Is this all I need to replace everything (this is from FolgerTech)

Dual Extruder Block - 6mm $ 8.99 $ 8.99
Threaded M6 tube with PTFE/Teflon core for 1.75mm used on Prusa i3 Kit $ 5.99
3D Printer Hot End Assembly with Block, Nozzle, Heater, & Thermistor $ 7.99
3D Printer 0.4mm Extruder Nozzle Print Head for MK8 Makerbot RepRap $ 2.99 (extra nozzle)

THIS is the only replacement part you need ;-)

I've looked at the possibility of doing this, but here's where I get overwhelmed. After the thorough and extensive assembly (http://wiki.e3d-online.com/wiki/E3D-Lite6_Assembly) I now have to find a suitable mount, etc etc. And that's going to be difficult to print if my printer isn't working.

I do like how folks on this forum are careful about the pictures they post but quite often on Thingiverse, I often for various parts people post pictures of ... something. I think I'm not mechanically inclined enough to be able to distinguish what the heck I'm supposed to be looking at! And that's what scares me about changing the hot end.

Is there someplace that sells everything I need to get together? (thinking back, I bet folks here have documented their upgrade - I should go look)

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/21/2016 09:46AM by markts.

Holy cow, the inmates have taken over the asylum! (sorry inmates...) I leave for 24 hours and there are 3-4 new pages on this thread. It's great to see all the enthusiasm.

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nobrakes
Reflashed it shows them open but nothing when closed ? I sure would like to print something !
Maybe a bad RAMPS I will send an email to FT, it's a new build.

Just an observation, but folks on this thread need to stop blaming RAMPS for everything. In my view, it is extremely unlikely in this case. Take a look at the RAMPS schematic and you will see that the only thing it does is host a few mosfets to turn heaters on and off, and then reroute the Mega pins to more convenient locations for connectors. It's a pretty darn simple board. The endstop connectors are just a direct pass through Mega. My recommendation is to start troubleshooting the problem to narrow it down. Are the endstops receiving 5v? Does the signal pin show 5v when open and 0 when closed? What if you ground the signal pin on RAMPS? Does M119 show closed? I think a few of these simple troubleshooting tests can help narrow down the problem and see if FT really needs to send you a new RAMPS board or maybe something else.

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elkayem

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nobrakes
Reflashed it shows them open but nothing when closed ? I sure would like to print something !
Maybe a bad RAMPS I will send an email to FT, it's a new build.

Just an observation, but folks on this thread need to stop blaming RAMPS for everything. In my view, it is extremely unlikely in this case. Take a look at the RAMPS schematic and you will see that the only thing it does is host a few mosfets to turn heaters on and off, and then reroute the Mega pins to more convenient locations for connectors. It's a pretty darn simple board. The endstop connectors are just a direct pass through Mega. My recommendation is to start troubleshooting the problem to narrow it down. Are the endstops receiving 5v? Does the signal pin show 5v when open and 0 when closed? What if you ground the signal pin on RAMPS? Does M119 show closed? I think a few of these simple troubleshooting tests can help narrow down the problem and see if FT really needs to send you a new RAMPS board or maybe something else.

This is great advice, maybe we should add a trouble shooting section to the Wikia Page!?!?

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Hello everyone. This is my first post. I bought a Folger Tech 2020 i3 for Christmas and have been printing for a couple of weeks. My experience has been the same as most of the posts I've been reading. The
only real problem I had was with a shorted thermister, but FT send me a new hot end. The attached file is an example print of the "Marblevator Mini" from Thingiverse. The blue crank and gears(inside) are FT ABS and the yellow is FT PLA. I have a lot to learn and more tuning to do. Moosteria's blog and this forum have been very helpful, so thanks to everyone. This is my first experience with 3D printing but microcontrollers and electronics have been my hobby for about 20 years. I chose the kit because of the aluminum frame, price and availability of cheap parts . I am very happy with the printer.

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Chrisryn

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Boffster

Homing Bump

This is normal in all aspects of homing from CNC's to the advance measuring equipment I use daily. Both my touch and optical CMM are shut down in their last position. When starting up in the morning they need to be homed. They will travel at a higher rate of speed till they bump the end stops then they will back off and home again at a slower rate of speed for more accurate positioning.

Ah thought as much! Well I've left Max Endstops Disabled so my config.h is more correct, so just need to get used to it now! Can't really see a benefit to it though, although I suppose if you needed to home mid-print to change the filament.....

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sonnylowe
This is great advice, maybe we should add a trouble shooting section to the Wikia Page!?!?

I think would be a huge benefit to have a definitive build guide and configuration.h that the majority agree on that we can point people to (here and from the wiki), that way everyone will have the same setup and same config starting out. E.g. Endstops on Min and Stepper cables all connected the same way round.
That should help with 90% of the problems people seem to be having.

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nobrakes
My 3d view and slicer views are blank and after reading the Repeiter website I suspect the video card in my old computer is not up to the task, can anyone suggest an inexpensive video card that will work?

Thanks

I had a problem with the on board video with my Dell Optiplex 760 not working with Repetier or Pronterface. The error I got was "552: UserWarning: Could not set vsync; unsupported extension". I bought a EVGA 200 GeForce 210 from Newegg. It solved my problems and works on my small form factor PC even though the power supply doesn't meet the specs the card calls for. Here's a link to the card.
Newegg GeForce 210

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markts

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sonnylowe

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markts
Shoot. I went to print something tonight and I was getting clicking at the extruder. I sometimes hear that, but once it gets going it clear up and everything is fine, but not tonight. It seems like something is clogged.

I watched this video to (try to) take apart the hot end.

[www.youtube.com]

Unfortunately, I can't remove the threaded tube from the block (it seems as though the 1.5mm set screw is stripped?) and the whole thing is kind of a mess. So what to do? Buy new parts.

Is this all I need to replace everything (this is from FolgerTech)

Dual Extruder Block - 6mm $ 8.99 $ 8.99
Threaded M6 tube with PTFE/Teflon core for 1.75mm used on Prusa i3 Kit $ 5.99
3D Printer Hot End Assembly with Block, Nozzle, Heater, & Thermistor $ 7.99
3D Printer 0.4mm Extruder Nozzle Print Head for MK8 Makerbot RepRap $ 2.99 (extra nozzle)

THIS is the only replacement part you need ;-)

I've looked at the possibility of doing this, but here's where I get overwhelmed. After the thorough and extensive assembly (http://wiki.e3d-online.com/wiki/E3D-Lite6_Assembly) I now have to find a suitable mount, etc etc. And that's going to be difficult to print if my printer isn't working.

I do like how folks on this forum are careful about the pictures they post but quite often on Thingiverse, I often for various parts people post pictures of ... something. I think I'm not mechanically inclined enough to be able to distinguish what the heck I'm supposed to be looking at! And that's what scares me about changing the hot end.

Is there someplace that sells everything I need to get together? (thinking back, I bet folks here have documented their upgrade - I should go look)

As far as printing a mount, once you find one you like you might be able to find a local printing service at 3Dhubs There are three with-in 20 miles of me

Many people here are using the E3D Hotends with the FT Direct Drive setup, so you should be able to get some advice, or maybe the search in my sig can find it for you!?!?

E3D now offers all their Hotend assembled, although I'm not sure Filastruder would have them yet!?!?

I would also be happy to print a mount for you and send it to you, I would just need to know which one you wanted...

Sonny

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Thanks for the replies. It was the min length.

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Boffster

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Chrisryn

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Boffster

Homing Bump

This is normal in all aspects of homing from CNC's to the advance measuring equipment I use daily. Both my touch and optical CMM are shut down in their last position. When starting up in the morning they need to be homed. They will travel at a higher rate of speed till they bump the end stops then they will back off and home again at a slower rate of speed for more accurate positioning.

Ah thought as much! Well I've left Max Endstops Disabled so my config.h is more correct, so just need to get used to it now! Can't really see a benefit to it though, although I suppose if you needed to home mid-print to change the filament.....

I am not really sure the home bump would be needed with the FT printer, I haven't ordered mine yet, my work machines and every CNC I have ever programmed have encoders or glass scales that track their xyz position and that is why it is needed.

On a side note I just ordered an ultimaker 2+ for work and I have access to a form labs 1. When I get my FT 2020 and get it running I am going to do an accuracy check on all 3 using my CMM's. Just out of curiosity.

The endbump caught me off guard after upgrading to 1.1.0-RC3 as well. But I've gotten used to it.

Enabling QUICK_HOME was a bigger difference and one I'm really enjoying. I love the sound it makes as it homes X and Y simultaneously - almost like a little jet engine spooling up


Also, for anyone who checked out the link I shared for 1.1.0-RC3 configured for our setup Boffster noticed two things worth noting:

1) I still have it setup for the Ramps 1.3 config and there's now a proper 1.4 config. I wasn't sure why it wasn't using 1.4 on therippas config and saw that the only major change between 1.3 and 1.4 was to the servo1 pins which I don't use so I left it using the 1.3 config. But if you're doing autolevel with a servo you may need to swap that to 1.4 (change BOARD_RAMPS_13_EFB to BOARD_RAMPS_14_EF for the servo to work correctly.

2) I put in custom PID values for the bed heater...but I totally forgot to enabled PID for the bed so my values aren't even being used.

I'll definitely enable PID on the bed and give it a try tonight, though my bed has been holding fairly well already. I'll probably also try the BOARD_RAMPS_14_EFB setup to make sure it's working.

One thing that may be useful to the Wiki,

I had some issues with my Arduino & LCD last night and the following fixed it, I'm just not sure where it would go in the wiki (maybe it shouldn't). I hadn't seen the recommendation to clear out the EEPROM before, but I think it's a good idea.

Start of proposed addition to troubleshooting section of Wiki:>>>>>>

The issue: My LCD was covered with the lowercase letter n with a line above it. I've had this before when I had the wrong LCD lines in configuration.h uncommented. This time was different since it would not respond to Repetier. Repetier just showed one or two errors followed by a string of random characters and re-flashing it made no difference. After some reading, it was an easy fix.

Solution:
1. Unplug RAMPS board from Arduino Mega board. Inspect both for physical sings of damage. If both boards look good proceed to 2.
2. Re-flash Arduino Mega with EEPROM clear sketch.
In Arduino IDE:
File - Examples - EEPROM - eeprom_clear
Upload sketch to Arduino.
Lights on the Arduino should blink rapidly while the sketch is uploading to the Arduino, then show very little/no activity.
3. Re-flash Arduino Mega with simple sketch to verify Arduino is functional (not fried).
File - Examples - 01.Basics - Blink
Upload sketch to Arduino.
After uploading the lights should continuously blink slowly.
4. Re-flash again with modified Blink sketch to verify it's not a fluke.
modify these lines:

 delay(1000);

to

 delay(100);

After uploading the lights should continuously blink a lot faster than it did last time.
5. Now the EEPROM should be clear and the Arduino is verified to be functional.
Upload the version of Marlin that worked for you previously.
Disconnect the USB cable to the Arduino and re-install the RAMPS shield to the Arduino, verify all RAMPS connections if necessary and reconnect Repetier to the Arduino.

This fixed it. It now responded to Repetier and functioned as it should.

If step 5 still doesn't work, download a fresh copy of Marlin from "TheRippa" or from the FT google drive, and upload it to the Arduino. If this doesn't solve the issue, it's likely your Arduino either has a corrupted version of Marlin (or something is corrupting it) or your Arduino is unable to be flashed and should be replaced.

<<<<<<End of proposed addition to troubleshooting section of Wiki.

Thoughts?
Is this appropriate to add to the wiki?
Changes?

I hope this can help someone who has the same problem.
Rollinns

Anyone had muck luck with TPU here on the stock extruder and hot end?

It prints fine, I'm getting a rough finish. which I need to try and resolve.

Also the hot end holding the temperature. I cannot get it to hold 220 while printing this yet ABS it does 230 fine. It just keeps dropping to something around 200 which is useless

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/21/2016 01:00PM by peeejayz.

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sonnylowe


As far as printing a mount, once you find one you like you might be able to find a local printing service at 3Dhubs There are three with-in 20 miles of me

Many people here are using the E3D Hotends with the FT Direct Drive setup, so you should be able to get some advice, or maybe the search in my sig can find it for you!?!?

E3D now offers all their Hotend assembled, although I'm not sure Filastruder would have them yet!?!?

I would also be happy to print a mount for you and send it to you, I would just need to know which one you wanted...

Sonny

Thanks Sonny!

I took the plunge and ordered the E3D Lite6 kit from Filastruder - got the tracking number already (would be cool if it made it on Saturday, but that's wishful thinking). I'm hoping I can get the old hot end working enough to print animoose's mount for the E3D. It looks like that's all I need to get started? Then when I get it going I'll look into a fan mount. Thanks guys!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/21/2016 01:35PM by markts.

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elkayem

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nobrakes
Reflashed it shows them open but nothing when closed ? I sure would like to print something !
Maybe a bad RAMPS I will send an email to FT, it's a new build.

Just an observation, but folks on this thread need to stop blaming RAMPS for everything. In my view, it is extremely unlikely in this case. Take a look at the RAMPS schematic and you will see that the only thing it does is host a few mosfets to turn heaters on and off, and then reroute the Mega pins to more convenient locations for connectors. It's a pretty darn simple board. The endstop connectors are just a direct pass through Mega. My recommendation is to start troubleshooting the problem to narrow it down. Are the endstops receiving 5v? Does the signal pin show 5v when open and 0 when closed? What if you ground the signal pin on RAMPS? Does M119 show closed? I think a few of these simple troubleshooting tests can help narrow down the problem and see if FT really needs to send you a new RAMPS board or maybe something else.

The other thing I've seen, is that when it is the RAMPS board, it is not the board design, or a component on the board, but a soldering issue with the specific board in question. I had a problem with mine, and after reflowing some questionable looking soldering, it worked great.

The other thing I've seen is with the wiring harnesses. I've had three that were bad. One was a broken wire, causing it to work intermittently, the other two, though, were due to pins not being crimped correctly. This too, was an intermittent problem, and one caused my left Z motor to skip steps, getting out of level with the right. In one case the wire was barely in the crimp, and in the other it was too far in, and the crimp only got insulation, and barely penetrated making intermittent contact with the wire. So add swapping wires to the troubleshooting list. My problem followed the wire, not the motor or ramps connection. When I tested the wire with the meter, it appeared to have a good connection, because I was putting enough stress on it to make it connect, so the problem was not easy to find. Accidentally wiggling the wire while checking with the meter ultimately revealed the fault. Everything has worked fine since correcting these issues.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/21/2016 03:01PM by Bert3D.

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Folger Tech 2020 i3 Wiki

Custom google search for the Folger Tech 2020 i3 forum topic by Animoose

My Thingiverse Designs

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markts

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sonnylowe


As far as printing a mount, once you find one you like you might be able to find a local printing service at 3Dhubs There are three with-in 20 miles of me

Many people here are using the E3D Hotends with the FT Direct Drive setup, so you should be able to get some advice, or maybe the search in my sig can find it for you!?!?

E3D now offers all their Hotend assembled, although I'm not sure Filastruder would have them yet!?!?

I would also be happy to print a mount for you and send it to you, I would just need to know which one you wanted...

Sonny

Thanks Sonny!

I took the plunge and ordered the E3D Lite6 kit from Filastruder - got the tracking number already (would be cool if it made it on Saturday, but that's wishful thinking). I'm hoping I can get the old hot end working enough to print animoose's mount for the E3D. It looks like that's all I need to get started? Then when I get it going I'll look into a fan mount. Thanks guys!

Let us know how you find it, I'm tempted to upgrade to one, E3D are only 10 minutes down the road so I can just pop and get one.

I added the wiki to the custom search engine. If anyone thinks this is a bad idea, let me know.

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See my blog at [moosteria.blogspot.com].

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Boffster

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sonnylowe
This is great advice, maybe we should add a trouble shooting section to the Wikia Page!?!?

I think would be a huge benefit to have a definitive build guide and configuration.h that the majority agree on that we can point people to (here and from the wiki), that way everyone will have the same setup and same config starting out. E.g. Endstops on Min and Stepper cables all connected the same way round.
That should help with 90% of the problems people seem to be having.

I have the printer coming, and once I get the printer up and running i will move my endstop to the left (With an upgraded adapter), but currently I have no idea where to put the endstop on the right.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/21/2016 04:03PM by UltiFix.

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markts

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sonnylowe


As far as printing a mount, once you find one you like you might be able to find a local printing service at 3Dhubs There are three with-in 20 miles of me

Many people here are using the E3D Hotends with the FT Direct Drive setup, so you should be able to get some advice, or maybe the search in my sig can find it for you!?!?

E3D now offers all their Hotend assembled, although I'm not sure Filastruder would have them yet!?!?

I would also be happy to print a mount for you and send it to you, I would just need to know which one you wanted...

Sonny

Thanks Sonny!

I took the plunge and ordered the E3D Lite6 kit from Filastruder - got the tracking number already (would be cool if it made it on Saturday, but that's wishful thinking). I'm hoping I can get the old hot end working enough to print animoose's mount for the E3D. It looks like that's all I need to get started? Then when I get it going I'll look into a fan mount. Thanks guys!

"Expected Delivery Day: Saturday, January 23, 2016"

Woo hoo! I've got some work to do to get the mount for it printed. It looks like the assembly of the hot end isn't insignificant either (I didn't see the assembled version Sonny).