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P802M Prusa i3 Unofficial Support Thread

Posted by gwc2795 
Re: P802M Prusa i3 Unofficial Support Thread
July 03, 2016 05:58AM
The marlin code in [drive.google.com] has the 5-button keypad integrated.

ViPeRT
what sensor are you referring to?
Re: P802M Prusa i3 Unofficial Support Thread
July 03, 2016 06:44AM
i buy this sensor:

[www.banggood.com]

Also i upload the Marlin RC5 that you posted to my P802M and the motor don't move, they making noise but don't move, when i go back to Repetier everything is ok.
Re: P802M Prusa i3 Unofficial Support Thread
July 06, 2016 04:19PM
Awesome job on the RC5!

I was a bit frustrated with the original firmware supplied by Zonestar.
The autolevel never seemed to be right, particularly the very last corner that it would probe.
It always reported it as 2mm higher than all the other spots (which couldn't be possible).
I always had to twiddle the screws while it made the brim until the extrusion was flat and even all around the bed.
Now it is soooo much better!

For your patched RC5, I needed to enable pullup resistors on the x, y and z min sensors for it to work properly on my rigs.
The Z axis kept giving me problems until I ripped out all the old versions of Arduino from my system and performed a fresh install of 1.6.9.
There was an older (pre 1.5?) Sanguino hardware directory that was most likely the culprit.
A fresh link for the Sanguino files under preferences, a trip to the boards manager and then a re-install and all was right with the world.

I am still trying to figure out how to apply .patch files on Github so that I can try on RC6!

Thanks again and once more,

Great Job!
Re: P802M Prusa i3 Unofficial Support Thread
July 07, 2016 06:11AM
Quote
ViPeRT

Can you show me how you connect the sensor to the board?

Take a look here or here.

You must place a voltage divider between sensor and melzi, otherwise it will burn our your atmega chip. Double check the sensor pinout and check the output signal switching with multimeter and some metallic stuff (spoon, scissors or whatever).

There's some headache with switching distance. For aluminum it is ~30% of steel value. This mean that your 4mm sensor will switch @1.5 mm. Take you time to make sure sensor switch before the nozzle touches the table.
Re: P802M Prusa i3 Unofficial Support Thread
July 07, 2016 06:29AM
Quote
davidmilunic
I am still trying to figure out how to apply .patch files on Github so that I can try on RC6!

download patch for windows, copy patch.exe and p802m.patch to Marlin source folder and run in cmd

cd somewhere\Marlin
patch < p802m.patch

Rejected by patch changes you will have to deal manually.
Re: P802M Prusa i3 Unofficial Support Thread
July 07, 2016 06:44AM
Quote
phisik
Quote
ViPeRT

Can you show me how you connect the sensor to the board?

Take a look here or here.

You must place a voltage divider between sensor and melzi, otherwise it will burn our your atmega chip. Double check the sensor pinout and check the output signal switching with multimeter and some metallic stuff (spoon, scissors or whatever).

There's some headache with switching distance. For aluminum it is ~30% of steel value. This mean that your 4mm sensor will switch @1.5 mm. Take you time to make sure sensor switch before the nozzle touches the table.

I used a voltage divider and check that the signal output is 5v (black wire)

the brown wire to the 12v from power supply
the blue wire to ground from power supply
the black to the yellow wire of the end stop

As i say when i upload Marlin RC5 that you poted the motors don't move, make noise even when i disconnect the sensor
Re: P802M Prusa i3 Unofficial Support Thread
July 14, 2016 09:01AM
In these days i had big trouble with my zonestar prusa, prints suddenly hangs after a variable number of hours (1 to 4), the problem happens either using serial and SD card.

I thought it was caused by too much ambient heat but it happens even at night; any ideas?

Thanks in advance
Re: P802M Prusa i3 Unofficial Support Thread
July 14, 2016 11:25AM
Quote
glimpse79
In these days i had big trouble with my zonestar prusa, prints suddenly hangs after a variable number of hours (1 to 4), the problem happens either using serial and SD card.

I thought it was caused by too much ambient heat but it happens even at night; any ideas?

Thanks in advance

I need more information. Does it finish part of the print with the print head finishing above the project, does the print head stop mid print, does the bed and head heater turn off. Can you give more detail please. I have had similar issues but they were caused by different things that is why I am asking for more information.
Re: P802M Prusa i3 Unofficial Support Thread
July 14, 2016 11:29AM
Quote
gwc2795
Quote
glimpse79
In these days i had big trouble with my zonestar prusa, prints suddenly hangs after a variable number of hours (1 to 4), the problem happens either using serial and SD card.

I thought it was caused by too much ambient heat but it happens even at night; any ideas?

Thanks in advance

I need more information. Does it finish part of the print with the print head finishing above the project, does the print head stop mid print, does the bed and head heater turn off. Can you give more detail please. I have had similar issues but they were caused by different things that is why I am asking for more information.

it stops mid (random) print; then it turn off extruder and bed.
Re: P802M Prusa i3 Unofficial Support Thread
July 14, 2016 12:15PM
Quote
glimpse79
Quote
gwc2795
Quote
glimpse79
In these days i had big trouble with my zonestar prusa, prints suddenly hangs after a variable number of hours (1 to 4), the problem happens either using serial and SD card.

I thought it was caused by too much ambient heat but it happens even at night; any ideas?

Thanks in advance

I need more information. Does it finish part of the print with the print head finishing above the project, does the print head stop mid print, does the bed and head heater turn off. Can you give more detail please. I have had similar issues but they were caused by different things that is why I am asking for more information.

it stops mid (random) print; then it turn off extruder and bed.

One thing to try. In the middle of the board is jumper JP15 PWR-SEL the default jumper position is center and right (you will see VREG) which supplies 5VDC from the on board voltage regulator chip. Change the jumper position to left and center (you will see UScool smiley which will supply 5VDC fome the USB cable from the computer. Do a print using serial print to see if it hangs. Once this is solved you will want to change the jumper back to use the on board VREG so you can use the SD printing option.
Attachments:
open | download - VREG.jpg (550.8 KB)
Re: P802M Prusa i3 Unofficial Support Thread
July 14, 2016 01:02PM
Quote
gwc2795
Quote
glimpse79
Quote
gwc2795
Quote
glimpse79
In these days i had big trouble with my zonestar prusa, prints suddenly hangs after a variable number of hours (1 to 4), the problem happens either using serial and SD card.

I thought it was caused by too much ambient heat but it happens even at night; any ideas?

Thanks in advance

I need more information. Does it finish part of the print with the print head finishing above the project, does the print head stop mid print, does the bed and head heater turn off. Can you give more detail please. I have had similar issues but they were caused by different things that is why I am asking for more information.

it stops mid (random) print; then it turn off extruder and bed.

One thing to try. In the middle of the board is jumper JP15 PWR-SEL the default jumper position is center and right (you will see VREG) which supplies 5VDC from the on board voltage regulator chip. Change the jumper position to left and center (you will see UScool smiley which will supply 5VDC fome the USB cable from the computer. Do a print using serial print to see if it hangs. Once this is solved you will want to change the jumper back to use the on board VREG so you can use the SD printing option.

ok thanks, but why it worked for months with the jumper in different position?
Re: P802M Prusa i3 Unofficial Support Thread
July 14, 2016 04:15PM
Quote
glimpse79
Quote
gwc2795
Quote
glimpse79
Quote
gwc2795
Quote
glimpse79
In these days i had big trouble with my zonestar prusa, prints suddenly hangs after a variable number of hours (1 to 4), the problem happens either using serial and SD card.

I thought it was caused by too much ambient heat but it happens even at night; any ideas?

Thanks in advance

I need more information. Does it finish part of the print with the print head finishing above the project, does the print head stop mid print, does the bed and head heater turn off. Can you give more detail please. I have had similar issues but they were caused by different things that is why I am asking for more information.

it stops mid (random) print; then it turn off extruder and bed.

One thing to try. In the middle of the board is jumper JP15 PWR-SEL the default jumper position is center and right (you will see VREG) which supplies 5VDC from the on board voltage regulator chip. Change the jumper position to left and center (you will see UScool smiley which will supply 5VDC fome the USB cable from the computer. Do a print using serial print to see if it hangs. Once this is solved you will want to change the jumper back to use the on board VREG so you can use the SD printing option.

ok thanks, but why it worked for months with the jumper in different position?
Let me know if it this solves you problem on a similar print.

The Melzi board has a limited amperage transfer of power to the extruder and the heated bed. By suppling the power from the PC power supply this will determine if you are having a voltage drop on the 5VDC side.
Re: P802M Prusa i3 Unofficial Support Thread
July 14, 2016 04:44PM
Quote
gwc2795
Quote
glimpse79
Quote
gwc2795
Quote
glimpse79
Quote
gwc2795
Quote
glimpse79
In these days i had big trouble with my zonestar prusa, prints suddenly hangs after a variable number of hours (1 to 4), the problem happens either using serial and SD card.

I thought it was caused by too much ambient heat but it happens even at night; any ideas?

Thanks in advance

I need more information. Does it finish part of the print with the print head finishing above the project, does the print head stop mid print, does the bed and head heater turn off. Can you give more detail please. I have had similar issues but they were caused by different things that is why I am asking for more information.

it stops mid (random) print; then it turn off extruder and bed.

One thing to try. In the middle of the board is jumper JP15 PWR-SEL the default jumper position is center and right (you will see VREG) which supplies 5VDC from the on board voltage regulator chip. Change the jumper position to left and center (you will see UScool smiley which will supply 5VDC fome the USB cable from the computer. Do a print using serial print to see if it hangs. Once this is solved you will want to change the jumper back to use the on board VREG so you can use the SD printing option.

ok thanks, but why it worked for months with the jumper in different position?
Let me know if it this solves you problem on a similar print.

The Melzi board has a limited amperage transfer of power to the extruder and the heated bed. By suppling the power from the PC power supply this will determine if you are having a voltage drop on the 5VDC side.


OK, i'm trying now, for information the error i get when hangs is a generic: Communication timeout - reset send buffer block

I'll update you when the print ends or hangs smiling smiley

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/14/2016 04:47PM by glimpse79.
Re: P802M Prusa i3 Unofficial Support Thread
July 15, 2016 01:42AM
Quote
glimpse79
Quote
gwc2795
Quote
glimpse79
Quote
gwc2795
Quote
glimpse79
Quote
gwc2795
Quote
glimpse79
In these days i had big trouble with my zonestar prusa, prints suddenly hangs after a variable number of hours (1 to 4), the problem happens either using serial and SD card.

I thought it was caused by too much ambient heat but it happens even at night; any ideas?

Thanks in advance

I need more information. Does it finish part of the print with the print head finishing above the project, does the print head stop mid print, does the bed and head heater turn off. Can you give more detail please. I have had similar issues but they were caused by different things that is why I am asking for more information.

it stops mid (random) print; then it turn off extruder and bed.

One thing to try. In the middle of the board is jumper JP15 PWR-SEL the default jumper position is center and right (you will see VREG) which supplies 5VDC from the on board voltage regulator chip. Change the jumper position to left and center (you will see UScool smiley which will supply 5VDC fome the USB cable from the computer. Do a print using serial print to see if it hangs. Once this is solved you will want to change the jumper back to use the on board VREG so you can use the SD printing option.

ok thanks, but why it worked for months with the jumper in different position?
Let me know if it this solves you problem on a similar print.

The Melzi board has a limited amperage transfer of power to the extruder and the heated bed. By suppling the power from the PC power supply this will determine if you are having a voltage drop on the 5VDC side.


OK, i'm trying now, for information the error i get when hangs is a generic: Communication timeout - reset send buffer block

I'll update you when the print ends or hangs smiling smiley


I have strange result... now (after the jumper settings) print hangs but after some secs continue (shifted, so to trash). I sow a live "hang" and in that case for some secs printer, motors and fan stop; then starts again. sad smiley
Re: P802M Prusa i3 Unofficial Support Thread
July 15, 2016 08:08AM
Quote
glimpse79
Quote
glimpse79
Quote
gwc2795
Quote
glimpse79
Quote
gwc2795
Quote
glimpse79
Quote
gwc2795
Quote
glimpse79
In these days i had big trouble with my zonestar prusa, prints suddenly hangs after a variable number of hours (1 to 4), the problem happens either using serial and SD card.

I thought it was caused by too much ambient heat but it happens even at night; any ideas?

Thanks in advance

I need more information. Does it finish part of the print with the print head finishing above the project, does the print head stop mid print, does the bed and head heater turn off. Can you give more detail please. I have had similar issues but they were caused by different things that is why I am asking for more information.

it stops mid (random) print; then it turn off extruder and bed.

One thing to try. In the middle of the board is jumper JP15 PWR-SEL the default jumper position is center and right (you will see VREG) which supplies 5VDC from the on board voltage regulator chip. Change the jumper position to left and center (you will see UScool smiley which will supply 5VDC fome the USB cable from the computer. Do a print using serial print to see if it hangs. Once this is solved you will want to change the jumper back to use the on board VREG so you can use the SD printing option.

ok thanks, but why it worked for months with the jumper in different position?
Let me know if it this solves you problem on a similar print.

The Melzi board has a limited amperage transfer of power to the extruder and the heated bed. By suppling the power from the PC power supply this will determine if you are having a voltage drop on the 5VDC side.


OK, i'm trying now, for information the error i get when hangs is a generic: Communication timeout - reset send buffer block

I'll update you when the print ends or hangs smiling smiley


I have strange result... now (after the jumper settings) print hangs but after some secs continue (shifted, so to trash). I sow a live "hang" and in that case for some secs printer, motors and fan stop; then starts again. sad smiley
Are the stepper motors hot when this happens? Are the heat sinks on the 4988 driver chips hot? If the 4988's get too hot they shut down to avoid heat damage and then they (4988's) start up again.
Re: P802M Prusa i3 Unofficial Support Thread
July 31, 2016 02:55AM
Hi Guys,

Thank you for this thread! I bought the troxy version off aliexpress, built and tested only to find the server controller non functional for the extruder. There is no info at all included in the support files and the seller is not being very helpful., so I've been trying to replace the bad melzi with an extra MKS gen 1.4 board I have. Phisik thanks for you especially thorough support and firmware configuration, but i'm running into compiling errors and and then exit code of #error Oops! Make sure you have 'Sanguino' selected from the 'Tools -> Boards' menu.

Is your configuration specific to the melzi board(can i just remove the advanced configuration changes to make it work)? is there a patch for the latest RC5 that doesn't include melzi specific modifications? I'm not really familiar yet with arduino, so it's a bit difficult to piece together what the necessary steps are to get this printer functioning properly on a standard Marlin Firmware on the MKS gen 1.4

Thanks for any help you guys can provide.

Cheers,
Nick
Re: P802M Prusa i3 Unofficial Support Thread
August 05, 2016 02:52AM
My code was tested for Melzi board. You can try to change motherboard type to BOARD_MKS_13 and recompile. To switch off ADC keypad do the following in configuration.h
// comment these out
// #define  ADC_KEYPAD              1   //zonestar 5keys keypad
// #define ADC_KEYPAD_DEBUG      1
// #define  ADC_KEYPAD_LATENCY      14  // 10 - fast, 40 - slow (x14 TIMER0 cycle time, see temperature.cpp)

// and add these to enable LCD
 #if DISABLED(ULTRA_LCD)
    #define ULTRA_LCD
  #endif

Quote
ncarota
Is there a patch for the latest RC5 that doesn't include melzi specific modifications?
Nick

No. The only feature that is added by the patch is 5 button keypad. If you don't need it feel free to use latest official Marlin code.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/05/2016 03:04AM by phisik.
P802M Prusa i3 FIRMWARE question
August 09, 2016 04:21PM
Hello all,

I had broken my adc port for the END TEMP due to a broken thermistor or something like that , I am not sure. I replaced the thermistor and the DEF error disappeared. My heat bed temp works fine but my END TEMP is on 245 degrees at room temperature.
So I double , triple checked everything and there were no shorts thermistors were brand new and had good values. I came to the conclusion that the ADC port might been burned out or something.

So, good news I have made an attempt in repairing the adc port or replacing the adc port myself.

I have looked at the melzi 2.0 schematics and found that pin 30 on the mcu is for END TEMP and I switched it with pin 37 SS-SD something for my SD CARD READER I think it is a slave select pin if I'm not mistaken for the SPI port on the atmel mcu.
Now I have broken or cut off the original END TEMP pin on the mcu and luckily there was a via standing in the way little bit further from the mcu about 5 -10mm so I clean it up. Pin number 37 that is supposed to act like a SS for the SD is also adc and I just desolder it and pull it up a bit on the mcu.
I did my best solder a jumper wire between pin 37 and the via on route from pin 30. Now with little or no luck I should be able to fix my END TEMP .

I started up my printer and got immediately a DEF error on both END TEMP and BED TEMP which is normal because , if I previously disconnected one of those thermistors from the board I would get the same error so is only natural since the END TEMP pin number 30 is not connected to the rest of the board anymore. I then also got to see what the SD CARD says and as I expected I push the '' MOUNT SD CARD '' button but with no change at all. So this function do not work anymore meaning that I will have to print through the USB.

The last remaining thing for me now is to modify the firmware and here is where I need help. I need to change somehow in the firmware the END TEMP pin from 30 to 37. I don't know how it is assigned in the firmware and which number it should or would have. Pin number 30 and 37 are the real MCU pins.
Anyway... anybody an idea how I should get started ? Please keep it as simple as possible without the need of programming devices, since I have a usb port and the firmware is working on it I'm looking for a way to modify the firmware with a software or some kind.

Please advice

greets
Attachments:
open | download - mcupinsdesolder.jpg (378.7 KB)
open | download - mcupinsjumpersolder.jpg (320.3 KB)
open | download - temperror.jpg (199 KB)
open | download - mountcarderror.png (309.4 KB)
Re: P802M Prusa i3 FIRMWARE question
August 10, 2016 06:34AM
I can not help with the repair of the board but you can buy a new board here
[www.ebay.com]

Hope this helps

Gerry

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/10/2016 06:34AM by gwc2795.
Re: P802M Prusa i3 Unofficial Support Thread
August 12, 2016 08:01PM
Hello!
Anyone out there that have a good firmware for P803M with Melzi board and no autolevel. If it have autolevel i can just disable it in airduino. So no Hex file plz.
I have single motor on my 802m.. So no need for leveleing.. Ever.. If you dont fiddle with it smiling smiley
Thanks...
Re: P802M Prusa i3 Unofficial Support Thread
August 14, 2016 09:47AM
Remove G32 or G29 from the start script and that will disable bed leveling with out changing firmware.
Re: P802M Prusa i3 Unofficial Support Thread
August 15, 2016 06:40AM
Hi.
Well.. I do not have any good firmware at all right now... The autolevel is the least of problem smiling smiley
Re: P802M Prusa i3 Unofficial Support Thread
August 15, 2016 06:48AM
Do anyone have the X axis motor mount and X idle in cad format? I have them in STL.. Buy when trying to import into Solidworks the whole thing crasches..
I would prefer the N model but M works too.. I am going to make some specific Changes to bearing diameter. I have gotten my hands on some SKF bearings but they are 16mm in dia instead of the 15 bthat are std on the machine.
Re: P802M Prusa i3 Unofficial Support Thread
August 29, 2016 06:45PM
Hi, colleges!
I'ld like to report bout successful upgrade of our prusa, at zero price.
The power supply of printer is typically 12v 20a, and it has voltage adjustment. From the box mine was 12,13v. I've increased voltage to 14v and noticed no problems in 2 weeks. Indeed, there are reports about safe increasing upto 14,6v, but those reports refer to RAMPS board, I don't know whether our Melzi is same cool, I simply did not want to risk. You think 12 and 14 is little difference? Look: heatbed has resistance 1,3om. With 12v supply heatbed voltage is about 11,5v (if You have voltage loss >0,6v think about replacing cables), so, the power is 11,5 * 11,5 / 1,3 = 101,7W. With 14v supply power is 13,5 * 13,5 / 1,3 = 140,2W. After that "upgrade" my table heats 25 to 100° within 11min, before was 30min. And hotend became same quick. Do not forget to disconnect output 12v wires (to mainboard) when adjusting voltage. And understand all risks. If don't understand, don't do it.
One more: If You use glass with aluminium table, that sensor works great with our prusa: LJ18A3-8-Z/BX it has 8mm trigger distance.
Re: P802M Prusa i3 Unofficial Support Thread
September 05, 2016 01:13PM
Been away for a bit. Haven't touched the printer in such a looooooong time.
Reading up on what has been happening over the last ......8 months. Cough!

Still need to wire up the LJ18A3-8-Z/BX.

Sigh....

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/05/2016 01:14PM by Gatchaman.
Re: P802M Prusa i3 Unofficial Support Thread
September 06, 2016 05:41AM
Anyone are using this update?

DUAL EXTRUDER FOR P802 spinning smiley sticking its tongue out

[es.aliexpress.com]
Re: P802M Prusa i3 Unofficial Support Thread
September 08, 2016 06:14PM
Hello out there!
Do anyone have cad files of Zonestar P802M Front and rear brackets?
I am upgrading to square tubing as rails with pom wheels, and need to edit the models in Solidworks. But i have big problems importing STL files. my solid mostly crashed or freezez sad smiley
So...

And would need them fthe same for the P802N aswell, it is up for upgrade aswell smiling smiley
I hope that someone can help me out.. Thanks!
Re: P802M Prusa i3 - suggestion to speed up bed heating
September 14, 2016 09:21AM
I have the Tronxy variant of this printer, and have added a LJ18A3-8-Z/BX capacitive proximity sensor to do autoleveling. I found that sometimes the sensor failed to detect the 3mm aluminum build plate, and also that the sensor seems to detect components in the bed heater through the build plate (so this will look like bumps to the firmware).
To solve this problem, I bought some scrap metal cut to match the build plate. I believe the stuff is called 'mild steel' - whatever, it rusts and is about 0.85 mm thick. I placed this between the bed heater and the build plate, and indeed my sensor seems to be more reliable detecting the bed plate.

I also found when I did this, that my bed heating times went from 10+ minutes to 4 minutes (to 115C). Now it is in the range of the time to heat the extruder, so no longer an issue for me.

I think this effect has been the result of filling in air gaps between the bed heater and the build plate, rather than something special about the coefficient of heat transfer between iron and aluminum. If this is the case, you may be able to speed up your bed heating time with a few layers of aluminum foil (I would place shiny side up towards build plate) between the bed heater and the build plate.
I also use cardboard and aluminum foil under the bed heater as an insulator, as is suggested elsewhere. This helped a little, but nothing like the change above.
Interested to hear if others can get a similar result.
Re: P802M Prusa i3 - suggestion to speed up bed heating
September 14, 2016 09:36AM
Quote
robmilr
I have the Tronxy variant of this printer, and have added a LJ18A3-8-Z/BX capacitive proximity sensor to do autoleveling. I found that sometimes the sensor failed to detect the 3mm aluminum build plate, and also that the sensor seems to detect components in the bed heater through the build plate (so this will look like bumps to the firmware).
To solve this problem, I bought some scrap metal cut to match the build plate. I believe the stuff is called 'mild steel' - whatever, it rusts and is about 0.85 mm thick. I placed this between the bed heater and the build plate, and indeed my sensor seems to be more reliable detecting the bed plate.

I also found when I did this, that my bed heating times went from 10+ minutes to 4 minutes (to 115C). Now it is in the range of the time to heat the extruder, so no longer an issue for me.

I think this effect has been the result of filling in air gaps between the bed heater and the build plate, rather than something special about the coefficient of heat transfer between iron and aluminum. If this is the case, you may be able to speed up your bed heating time with a few layers of aluminum foil (I would place shiny side up towards build plate) between the bed heater and the build plate.
I also use cardboard and aluminum foil under the bed heater as an insulator, as is suggested elsewhere. This helped a little, but nothing like the change above.
Interested to hear if others can get a similar result.

WOW!!! That is interesting and worth a try.
Re: P802M Prusa i3 - Repetier, autolevel, Z_MIN_ENDSTOP - SOLVED.
September 14, 2016 10:18AM
I seem to have autoleveling working with Repetier 92.9 -- good enough for several successful prints today, and the only issues have been design mistakes rather than not sticking to the bed.
I have the LJ18A3-8-Z/BX sensor wired in parallel with the Z endstop, and the endstop is at the bottom (Z MIN, not Z MAX, so same as when I got the printer first built).
I spent days with a problem of being unable to get the extruder close enough to the build plate. Everything seemed right, the extruder would Z home to where the sensor triggered, then move closer by Z_PROBE_HEIGHT, and that gap was correct for where I wanted to start printing -- but when I printed, I could see the gap was larger, and I could not change it with Z_PROBE_HEIGHT changes or Z offset changes in my slicer software. I found lots of similar stories searching the web, lots of 'I gave up and switched to Marlin'. I have not found my solution below referenced anywhere.

I eventually concluded that there is safety code in Repetier that does not allow moves past the endstops while printing. The way to demonstrate this is to Z-home, then go up and try to come back down to 0. The firmware reports it has reached 0, but actually there is a larger gap and you can't get the extruder as close to the bed again (assuming my configuration where the sensor triggers before the extruder is close enough to the bed and you compensate with a positive Z_PROBE_HEIGHT).

By disabling ALWAYS_CHECK_ENDSTOPS, I was finally able to get past this problem. Note that this will most certainly make it so that the extruder can crash into the bed if you tell it to; don't do that.

I wrote a short and trivial gcode program to test the bed levelling, attached to this post. Set the Z_PROBE_HEIGHT such that you can really feel the drag on a sheet of paper pinched between the extruder and the build plate. Do your autolevelling and distortion correction (I didn't get success without distortion correction turned on, and this code helped me realise that my build plate is slightly uneven in places). Run the code; it will bring the extruder down to Z=0 at 9 places around the bed, and pause for 1 second at each place. If it's really working, you should feel the same drag on the paper at all 9 places for the 9 1-second stops.

Here's the relevant lines from my Configuration.h:

#define min_software_endstop_x false   // software endstops true = can't go past min/max spec below even autolevel home
#define min_software_endstop_y false
#define min_software_endstop_z false
#define max_software_endstop_x true
#define max_software_endstop_y true
#define max_software_endstop_z true
#define ENDSTOP_X_BACK_MOVE 5      // move back this far before probing endstop
#define ENDSTOP_Y_BACK_MOVE 5
#define ENDSTOP_Z_BACK_MOVE 2
...
#define ENDSTOP_X_BACK_ON_HOME 1  // move back from endstop after homing
#define ENDSTOP_Y_BACK_ON_HOME 0  //1  // if 1, Y endstop not left triggered after homing 
#define ENDSTOP_Z_BACK_ON_HOME 0
#define ALWAYS_CHECK_ENDSTOPS 0 //1     // if 1, G0/G1 moves tested for endstops, can't go past but say we did
...
#define X_MAX_LENGTH 285        // farthest point = X_MIN_POS(-45) + X_MAX_LENGTH(285) = 240
#define Y_MAX_LENGTH 215        // Y_MIN_POS(-5) + Y_MAX_LENGTH(215) = 210  [hits belt connection]
#define Z_MAX_LENGTH 240
#define X_MIN_POS -45           // these are labels! endstop defined as (X_MIN_POS = -45)
#define Y_MIN_POS -5
#define Z_MIN_POS 0
#define DISTORTION_CORRECTION 1
#define DISTORTION_CORRECTION_POINTS 5
#define DISTORTION_CORRECTION_R 100
#define DISTORTION_PERMANENT 1
#define DISTORTION_UPDATE_FREQUENCY 15
#define DISTORTION_START_DEGRADE 0.5
#define DISTORTION_END_HEIGHT 1
#define DISTORTION_EXTRAPOLATE_CORNERS 0
#define DISTORTION_XMIN 40 //20   // for determining Z_PROBE bed correction matrix below
#define DISTORTION_YMIN 40 //20   // values found by trial and error to keep sensor over bed
#define DISTORTION_XMAX 160 //170
#define DISTORTION_YMAX 150
...
#define Z_PROBE_Z_OFFSET 0
#define Z_PROBE_Z_OFFSET_MODE 0
#define UI_BED_COATING 1
#define FEATURE_Z_PROBE 1
#define Z_PROBE_BED_DISTANCE 10 //3 //10             // this doesn't seem to do anything?
#define Z_PROBE_PIN ORIG_Z_MIN_PIN
#define Z_PROBE_PULLUP 1
#define Z_PROBE_ON_HIGH 0
#define Z_PROBE_X_OFFSET -20
#define Z_PROBE_Y_OFFSET -45
#define Z_PROBE_WAIT_BEFORE_TEST 0
#define Z_PROBE_SPEED 2
#define Z_PROBE_XY_SPEED 200
#define Z_PROBE_SWITCHING_DISTANCE 3
#define Z_PROBE_REPETITIONS 5
#define Z_PROBE_HEIGHT 0.7                //  positive values bring extruder down closer to bed
#define Z_PROBE_START_SCRIPT ""
#define Z_PROBE_FINISHED_SCRIPT ""
#define Z_PROBE_REQUIRES_HEATING 0
#define Z_PROBE_MIN_TEMPERATURE 150
#define FEATURE_AUTOLEVEL 1
#define Z_PROBE_X1 40
#define Z_PROBE_Y1 40
#define Z_PROBE_X2 160
#define Z_PROBE_Y2 40
#define Z_PROBE_X3 160
#define Z_PROBE_Y3 160
#define BED_LEVELING_METHOD 0
#define BED_CORRECTION_METHOD 0
#define BED_LEVELING_GRID_SIZE 5
#define BED_LEVELING_REPETITIONS 5

hth,
rob.
Attachments:
open | download - pos9chk.gcode (302 bytes)
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