P802M Prusa i3 Unofficial Support Thread

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gwc2795

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Scottjar
I've also had the same issue with 3d star on the melzi board. They've sent the firmware but the instructions are terrible. Read the reprap and repetier sites as you need to use the correct arduino IDE and board info to load it. If you can I've logged a dispute as I can't re-flash the board.
Any help would be good for me I really don't want to have to buy another board
Any ideas on how to solve the problem on the arduino IDE not connecting I've tried the usual moving com ports.

Have you ever been able to connect to the Melzi board?
Did you install the FTDI driver on the SD card that came with your printer?
Are you using a MAC?

Hi I've never been able to connect to the board. It turned on once then that was it just blocks on the LCD. I used the drivers on the sd card. I'm using a pc on windows 7

Scott: Does the printer works offline?
If everything went wrong you can remove the board out of the printer and try a direct connection via a short USB cable without ANY peripheries connected. You should see it in your device manager. If not (or no LED flickering) the board (or some parts of it) is dead.
EDIT: Another reason could be a bricked FTDI. Google for it. As I can remember the win driver on my SD Card was the "evil one" and bricked temporary my FTDI

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/18/2016 04:49PM by madias.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/18/2016 05:13PM by madias.

Some information about different filaments with this printer:
At first: I use blue tape *only* and a well calibrated bed (do calibration under heated up conditions! (both: extruder and bed) If you are using a lower temperature (extruder+bed) for the next print you MUST do it again. (expansion due heat about 1-2mm!)
If the object is very small I use a little bit of self mixed ABS juice (aceton + some snipplets of ABS over night) even for PLA!

PETG: Works *very* well with our printer! Heatbed 70-80 degrees, extruder 210-240. Really fine calibrated bed needed for a sticky first layer (and/or ABS juice) My favorite filament at all!
Soft PLA (maybe all flexible filaments): Problem with the extruder mechanics: filament is too soft and wraps around the extruder gear. I've done many tricks but the extruder isn't really useful for this. Only solution without changing hardware: slow print speed (30) with a weak extruder spring.
Wooden filaments: Yeah. Avoid it or use it with a separate noozle (0.5). Our extruder spring is much too stiff and it breaks easily the filament. I use a weaker spring for it. Happy cleaning!
ABS: No problem with my modifications I posted before. The key is a high temperate bed (90-100 minimum) and the use of ABS juice.

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madias
Scott: Does the printer works offline?
If everything went wrong you can remove the board out of the printer and try a direct connection via a short USB cable without ANY peripheries connected. You should see it in your device manager. If not (or no LED flickering) the board (or some parts of it) is dead.
EDIT: Another reason could be a bricked FTDI. Google for it. As I can remember the win driver on my SD Card was the "evil one" and bricked temporary my FTDI

Follow the advice given by madias

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madias
Scott: Does the printer works offline?
If everything went wrong you can remove the board out of the printer and try a direct connection via a short USB cable without ANY peripheries connected. You should see it in your device manager. If not (or no LED flickering) the board (or some parts of it) is dead.
EDIT: Another reason could be a bricked FTDI. Google for it. As I can remember the win driver on my SD Card was the "evil one" and bricked temporary my FTDI

Hello this is the message that I'm getting in Arduino avrdude: stk500_getsync(): not in sync: resp=0x00
The PC can see it also it is showing as a fdti chip on the software on their site and has a number greater than 0000 it is 6001. Any more help would be grateful

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/19/2016 06:29PM by Scottjar.

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Scottjar

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madias
Scott: Does the printer works offline?
If everything went wrong you can remove the board out of the printer and try a direct connection via a short USB cable without ANY peripheries connected. You should see it in your device manager. If not (or no LED flickering) the board (or some parts of it) is dead.
EDIT: Another reason could be a bricked FTDI. Google for it. As I can remember the win driver on my SD Card was the "evil one" and bricked temporary my FTDI

Hello this is the message that I'm getting in Arduino avrdude: stk500_getsync(): not in sync: resp=0x00 the PC can see it also it is showing as a fdti chip on the software on their site and has a number greater than 0000 it is 6001. Anymore help would be greatful

Make sure the com port and printer have the same baud speed set.

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Gatchaman

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Scottjar

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madias
Scott: Does the printer works offline?
If everything went wrong you can remove the board out of the printer and try a direct connection via a short USB cable without ANY peripheries connected. You should see it in your device manager. If not (or no LED flickering) the board (or some parts of it) is dead.
EDIT: Another reason could be a bricked FTDI. Google for it. As I can remember the win driver on my SD Card was the "evil one" and bricked temporary my FTDI

Hello this is the message that I'm getting in Arduino avrdude: stk500_getsync(): not in sync: resp=0x00 the PC can see it also it is showing as a fdti chip on the software on their site and has a number greater than 0000 it is 6001. Anymore help would be greatful

Make sure the com port and printer have the same baud speed set.

Just tired that as 115200 and hasn't worked thanks

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/19/2016 06:34PM by Scottjar.

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Scottjar

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Gatchaman

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Scottjar

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madias
Scott: Does the printer works offline?
If everything went wrong you can remove the board out of the printer and try a direct connection via a short USB cable without ANY peripheries connected. You should see it in your device manager. If not (or no LED flickering) the board (or some parts of it) is dead.
EDIT: Another reason could be a bricked FTDI. Google for it. As I can remember the win driver on my SD Card was the "evil one" and bricked temporary my FTDI

Hello this is the message that I'm getting in Arduino avrdude: stk500_getsync(): not in sync: resp=0x00 the PC can see it also it is showing as a fdti chip on the software on their site and has a number greater than 0000 it is 6001. Anymore help would be greatful

Make sure the com port and printer have the same baud speed set.

Just tired that as 115200 and hasn't worked thanks

Are you using Cura or Repetier-Host?

1. Serial Monitor works with 115200? can you read what the printer transmit?
2 as I wrote before my melzi board was without bootloader. scroll back reading it.
3. auto reset jumper on board is installed?

BTW: It would be much easier to help you if you would answer *all* our questions

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/20/2016 05:58AM by madias.

I have ordered a p803m too and i'm wondering which hot end is included?
Is it an E3D?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/20/2016 05:08AM by ErikL.

Erik: I think you mean P802M. As there are *many* different types sold as "P802M" we cannot guess what hot end is included - you should post the link where did you bought it.

Yes, P802M it is

I bought it from a website called "justcompare.nl" but they do not longer sell it.
How can I identify the hot end ?

I also have a different question: I tried printing Ninjaflex but it's too soft and gets stuck between the gears inside the extruder. Isn't there a fix for that?
I was thinking that maybe we could insert a small metal tube right under the gears so the ninjaflex is pushed down and can't bend towards the extruder gears?

Zonestar told me they have no solution for this except buying a newer model P802P or P802Q which do support flexible materials.

Hot end: Sorry, without photos or links we can't do anything.
flexible filaments: Yes, I know this problem for a week. I didn't found the final solution, but here some things I found out (or researched for it):
Extrem low print speed: 30 down to 15. This helps best, but is annoying.
Softer spring for the extruder filament gear. Annoying, because you have to change it everytime
There are some ready made extruders on thingiverse for using flex. fil.
for the links, read this really interesting blog entry: [www.gyrobot.co.uk]

I thing your idea with the metal ring is just fine, if you can do this, but it must be extrem precise, otherwise it wont help.

looks like zonestar is going more professional: [www.aliexpress.com]
now with metal frame but on the photo the upper plate looks thin, VERY thin.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/20/2016 08:11AM by madias.

I will take some pictures of the hot-end later and post them here.

I tried printing at 15mm/s but the ninjaflex still got stuck. So lowering the speed didn't help for me.
I didn't try a softer spring but this is indeed annoying, having to change it every time I change material...

Can I just print a new extruder from thingiverse ? Doesn't it have to be built from metal, like the original extruder is?
I'm not sure how hot it will get there..

I'm wondering if something like this would work for flexible filaments -> [www.thingiverse.com]

For sure you can print a whole extruder (holder/mechanics). If you have the time for that The original design was also printed out. But I'm not sure if I would rather prefer PETG over PLA for doing that.
There are many links for thingiverse extruders in the blog I posted!

The extruder I have right now is not printed out? It's completely built in metal... Except some plastic where the blowerfan is mounted. but the rest of my extruder is metal

Yes, this should work with that [www.thingiverse.com]
...and something like that: [www.aliexpress.com]

just google for "wade extruder" they are all printed out.

something like this would be also interesting:
[www.thingiverse.com]
but won't have enough space on the bottom to do this without redesign the extruder.
edit: ok, with this [www.thingiverse.com] with can do it! just exchange the metal filament guide with this and the upper link. Maybe some adaptions for the skrewholes must be made!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/20/2016 08:33AM by madias.

I think the easiest solution will be a modified version of [www.thingiverse.com]
This can be inserted in the current extruder to force the flexible filament down, giving it no room to bend towards the extruder gears.

The problem: this version on thingiverse doesn't fit our extruder in the P802M.

We should design a similar thing like that that will fit inside the extruder and which can be mounted with screws.
The extruder's lower metal plate has 2 screw holes at the top which can be used for that.

I'm pretty new to 3D printing so I don't have much experience with drawing a thing like that. But if nobody else has time for this I will try to do this later.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/20/2016 09:09AM by ErikL.

Another possibility could be to measure out the original metal filament feeder/guide remix it with a better guide line and print it out with PETG.
The whole thing is not on my priority list, I just think (and plan) it. I'm generally not happy with our extruder solution: It's a pain to insert new filament and more pain if something went wrong - everytime to disassamble the whole thing is not the funny part of the game. So a new "intelligent design" for the whole guide/feeder would be a wise idea. We also should buy this: [www.aliexpress.com]

I'm actually not having any issue with inserting new filament?

I just heat the extruder to 100°C and push the metal clip on top, then take the old filament out. I never had any problem with that ?
Inserting new filament: push the metal clip, insert new filament as far as it goes. Heat the extruder and when it's hot, tell it to extrude some filament. I usually extrude a couple of cm so the old filament is out. When the new filament is comming out I stop extruding and I can start printing.

What's the problem you have with it?

fyi: The printer I have looks exactly like this one -> [nl.aliexpress.com]

Except my pcb has no screws for the motors, just white plugs.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/20/2016 09:33AM by ErikL.

my problem occurs after the gear in the metal hole of the heat element. Often (when the filament is not perfectly straight) i cannot fit the filament into this hole inside the extruder. But I set the screw of the heat element a little bit deeper so the hole is deeper, maybe this helps BUT the gap between gear and heater skrew is much higher, so even worse for flexible fil.

printer: ok, we have nearly the same one (if not exactly), so you own a simple full metal direct drive extruder, nothing special.

Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 01/20/2016 09:55AM by madias.

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Scottjar

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Gatchaman

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Scottjar

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madias
Scott: Does the printer works offline?
If everything went wrong you can remove the board out of the printer and try a direct connection via a short USB cable without ANY peripheries connected. You should see it in your device manager. If not (or no LED flickering) the board (or some parts of it) is dead.
EDIT: Another reason could be a bricked FTDI. Google for it. As I can remember the win driver on my SD Card was the "evil one" and bricked temporary my FTDI

Hello this is the message that I'm getting in Arduino avrdude: stk500_getsync(): not in sync: resp=0x00 the PC can see it also it is showing as a fdti chip on the software on their site and has a number greater than 0000 it is 6001. Anymore help would be greatful

Make sure the com port and printer have the same baud speed set.

Just tired that as 115200 and hasn't worked thanks

All I ever got when I tried to boot up was corrupt rubbish or two lines of blank 'space' characters on my printers lcd 95% of the time. I power the melzi board via usb now. I don't trust the printers psu. So after faffing about with updating the firmware I've given up on 115200 and changed everything to 57600 in the repetier "printer settings" PC com port and Melzi board. When things go wrong I think the printer Melzi defaults to 57600 and "getsync(): not in sync" I think means a port just can't sync at your current speed settings. Yes the com port will show in device manager but you need to slow things down a bit. Once they match you'll be able to "read" the firmware chip. By the way delete the -e option in the " -b57600 -e" command before you do anything when messing around with the avrdude. Now just try a "read" just to see if the avrdude can communicate with your printer firmware chip. The -e option actually erases the chip if I read this right [www.ladyada.net] go down the page a bit and you'll see "-e: This erases the chip, in general we don't use this because we auto-erase the flash before programming." I know its a pain but cycle through the different speeds up to 57600bps. When you can at last read the chip and save to a file you're good to go then add the -e back and follow the instructions. I was erasing my chip every time I did a comms check with a read but didn't know why <@_@> till I did a google search on avrdude. Never used that program before so thought it would be a good idea to find out with the heck I'm doing to my printer!

I haven't even printed anything yet and I've had the printer.... going on 3 months :-D. It's on my desk at work and I'm just wearing it in at the mo just letting it do dry runs to iron out any mechanical issues and clunky bearings. Next stage is read up about auto bed levelling and what parts to buy and once that is sorted I'll actually start doing test prints............. when the different noozle sizes come from china ...........maybe :-)

Don't give up.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/20/2016 12:11PM by Gatchaman.

I'm also thinking about adding auto bed leveling to my P802M printer but I'm wondering if this is the right sensor ? -> [www.ebay.co.uk]
Can anyone please confirm? I'm ordering different parts from the same seller so I could add this sensor and I won't need to pay additional shipping costs..

Should work, but 4mm detecting distance is really less. For example: If you are using Blue Tape (1-2mm) you have only 2-3mm left to your metal plate (it works only with metal plates!)
I also bought this one:
[www.aliexpress.com] (8mm distance)
and even your suggested one:
[www.aliexpress.com]

The 8mm one is really bigger than the 4mm one...
But I didn't installed both of them yet.

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madias
Should work, but 4mm detecting distance is really less. For example: If you are using Blue Tape (1-2mm) you have only 2-3mm left to your metal plate (it works only with metal plates!)
I also bought this one:
[www.aliexpress.com] (8mm distance)
and even your suggested one:
[www.aliexpress.com]

The 8mm one is really bigger than the 4mm one...
But I didn't installed both of them yet.

is available a guide to upgrade the P802M with auto leveling sensors? from sensor type to firmare upgrade?