Show all posts by user

Re: Software won't let DC motor and Heater run at same time - 15 years ago

Ah. Sometimes I get this: typically, though, if I turn on the heater, wait for target temp, then click extrude it works OK. I can normally turn temp on/off and extrude forwards/backwards with no problem, but occasionally the temp counter stops updating and the buttons stop responding. Restarting the host software seems to kickstart it back to working. This suggests it's a communication error or

by DaveR - RepRap Host

Re: Software won't let DC motor and Heater run at same time - 15 years ago

It doesn't definitely sound like a software problem. Try disconnecting the heater or motor connections (so you don't have any power load) and just watch the LEDs. If you can turn those on and off with the software, then it's a power issue (the load of both at the same time?) Of course, if those lights fail to turn off, then it is.

by DaveR - RepRap Host

Re: Where are people? - 15 years ago

I'm in the south west, near Bath. Let me know if you're in the area! Renoir

by DaveR - United Kingdom RepRap User Group

Re: computer requirements? - 15 years ago

If you run into problems you can use the Skeinforge software to slice it (might take longer on an Asus, but should work) and the replicatorG to feed the gcode to your reprap. No GUI to take cpu cycles!

by DaveR - RepRap Host

Re: RepRap Software shows wrong temp from Thermistor - 15 years ago

If the thermistor is disconnected or there is a broken connection somewhere you get all kinds of numbers out. But for that kind of number , check your thermistor type and the settings in the .h file in the arduino software. if you have the wrong beta values you can get wrong temps.

by DaveR - RepRap Host

Re: Open questions for Zach - 15 years ago

Zach, you rock dude. Respect.

by DaveR - General

Re: Stepper Driver Circuit effecting thermocouple temperature?? - 15 years ago

Note that some cheap'n'cheerful computer power supplies have been found to handle far less than the currents stated on the box. Typical computer use doesn't often hit the max, so they work fine in PCs. I've had problems building high-powered PCs where a '500w' PSU couldn't supply enough current on the 12v line for the machine to boot when everything was plugged in. 'named' brands often supply muc

by DaveR - Controllers

Re: Bitsfrombytes extrusion barrel experiences - 15 years ago

After drilling my BfB barrel to 3.5 mm I was able to examine the effect of the plug formation. Disassembling the extruder after a 240c extrusion shows that the melted section flowed all the way up the barrel right into the PTFE - about 4mm into the PTFE the plug stopped. This meant pushing is against friction along the whole length of the barrel. Lowering the temp *should* cause the melting to

by DaveR - Plastic Extruder Working Group

Re: Can you drive a 3.6V motor using PWM motor driver? - 15 years ago

Reporting back: Nophead, you seem to be right (again). I tried altering the arduino PWM frequency (hacking the timer division speed) both up and down and neither produced a significant improvement. I removed the gearbox and replaced the motor with a 6V smaller one, ripped from an old toy. This worked better, but the motor seemed to stall easily. It still was able to drive the gearbox from the

by DaveR - Controllers

Can you drive a 3.6V motor using PWM motor driver? - 15 years ago

I'm trying to drive a 3.6v motor from an electric screwdriver using the standard PWM DC driver circuit. I know that it's 12v PWM, but I was able to run a small (3v) motor during testing the board with no problem. Running from the original 3.6v or even 2.4v batteries, it runs fine. However, hooked up to the RepRap, it just buzzes (aprox 100hz?). My initial guess was the 12v PWM was not enough -

by DaveR - Controllers

Re: Bitsfrombytes extrusion barrel experiences - 15 years ago

I'm also having problems with the BfB extruder and ABS. I drilled the PTFE and heater barrel to 3.5mm which fed my ABS much smoother: however, the screw still has trouble driving the filament. I can extrude slowly using extra hand force.

by DaveR - Plastic Extruder Working Group

Re: Open questions for Zach - 15 years ago

OK, since everyone else is having a go, I'll join in. There seem to be several conflicting points being discussed, so I'm going to attempt to untangle them a little. I've been on both sides of the open source debate: I've written code for open source projects, and I've also used open source to build commercial products in my day job. 1) The majority of open source developers are not inherently,

by DaveR - General

Quick'n'dirty extruder - 15 years ago

I modelled a very quick and dirty extruder design based on recent reading of everyone else's progress and nicking their ideas. Any comments are welcome - better explanation on my blog: DaveR

by DaveR - General

Re: stepper motor wiring & color codes - 15 years ago

The colours for several types of stepper motor are here: which tells you the ABCD colours: and then the board connectors are here:

by DaveR - Mechanics

Re: stepper motors have a mind of their own?! - 15 years ago

Yep. I had this after a few minutes, using the original heatsinks. The x-axis would start to 'jiggle' back and forth. I did three things and now mine's A-OK: I can't be sure which one it was... I adjusted the current settings until the steppers have just enough current to move: (http://renoirsrants.blogspot.com/2009/01/tuning-stepper-circuits.html) I added some bigger heatsinks: Also, I seem

by DaveR - Mechanics

Re: Good examples? - 15 years ago

oops. I bow to your superior knowledge. The filament section I retrieved from the freezer (a few hours at -10) seemed to be pretty normal - the bend and fracture were comparable to room temp filament. (on a single sample, measured by eye - ymmv)

by DaveR - Let's design something! (I've got an idea ...)

Re: Good examples? - 15 years ago

ABS has a melting temp of >200C, so it should be fine with hot wax (>60C), chocolate, foodstuff temp - just not hot sugar! ABS is also licenced for food use, so it shouldn't give off nasty chemicals. I haven't put it below 0C yet (I'll go and put a chunk of filament in the freezer now and report back in a few hours.) DaveR

by DaveR - Let's design something! (I've got an idea ...)

Re: Arduino G-code Interpreter - motor one direction - 15 years ago

I recently started using the GCode firmware. I wrote up a wiki page (http://objects.reprap.org/wiki/Getting_Started_with_the_Arduino_GCode_Firmware) to help others get started, although I think you've managed to get that far. If you run the RepRap host software, you can point it at the G-Code on the arduino, and use the stepper tab to move the steppers using buttons on the screen. If this works,

by DaveR - RepRap Host

Re: idea for making fine-pitch SMD device trace widths possible - 15 years ago

I found this wandering the web related to this: Thought it might be interesting to you chaps DaveR

by DaveR - Plastic Extruder Working Group

Re: stepper motors - 15 years ago

If you're still having problems: disconnect everything apart from a single stepper board with a single stepper plugged in. Remove the stepper from any mechanics or disconnect the belt/chain drive. Upload the arduino code from this page and connect the wires as described to the arduino. Make sure you can actually see if the motor is turning - attach a sticker or sellotape to the motor so you

by DaveR - General

Re: stepper motors - 15 years ago

On the boards there is a small adjustable resistor that controls the amount of current fed to the steppers. If this is too low, they might not move. Note the more current, the hotter the stepper driver chips get. I attached some pretty big heatsinks to mine. (More notes on my blog) The colours for several types of stepper motor are here: which tells you the ABCD colours: and then the board c

by DaveR - General

Re: PWM board lights are all on... - 15 years ago

My stepper drivers seem to get a *lot* hotter than the PWM drivers. I have put big heatsinks on the steppers, and smaller, seperate HS on the PWM.

by DaveR - Controllers

Re: PWM board lights are all on... - 15 years ago

I did the exact same thing and had the same problem. The heatsinks are *apparently* connected to something internal, so when one goes live the current travels through the heatsink and switches the others on. I unrolled an aluminium PB heatsink and bolted it through all three holes. Same problem - one live, all live. After I cut the heatsink into 3 pieces so they weren't touching, it all worked

by DaveR - Controllers

Re: Puzzle Printing - 15 years ago

Check out the Petaminx (including STL files!)

by DaveR - Let's design something! (I've got an idea ...)

Re: Wire glue (Conductive glue) - 15 years ago

sounds like we'll have to wait until someone comes up with a conductive plastic we can use to reprap with... :-)

by DaveR - Plastic Extruder Working Group

Wire glue (Conductive glue) - 15 years ago

Just came across an interesting product: Might be an possible alternative to fields metal or conductive paint. I haven't tried anything or researched it yet. Claims to be 'microcarbon' - might be interesting to try some in a fab@home style syringe to lay down a simple PCB. I've no idea what the resistance might be like. Any thoughts? DaveR

by DaveR - Plastic Extruder Working Group

Re: the usual newb questions - 15 years ago

Hi. I was in the same position some months ago. I bought the V2 electronics kit and the V2 bits from bytes kit. I managed to put it together over some weekends and evenings, and have it complete. I haven't quite got around to printing yet, because I had RSI and surgery, so I've only just been able to get back to it. I've detailed my build on I built it in my front room with a small set of ha

by DaveR - General

Re: Any chance for HELP? - 15 years ago

I had that problem - I had wired the 3-pin connectors the wrong way. Measure the +5v/0v polarity on your endstop boards - I'd blown mine. More here: Good luck and I hope you fix it

by DaveR - RepRap Host

Novice RepRap builder back on the air - 15 years ago

Hi all I'd just like to let you know that I've recovered from Carpal tunnel (RSI) surgery and I've resurrected my RepRap building blog (http://renoirsrants.blogspot.com/). I'll be writing up some retrospective posts as to the limited progress I made during the four months of downtime. DaveR

by DaveR - Reprappers

Re: cutting down motor shaft? - 15 years ago

I used a standard small hacksaw to cut the shaft to the right length. I had to cut two of the motor shafts - the X and Y motors. I had to hold the shaft with pliers to get the cut started, but once started it cut through OK. 'measure twice, cut once' Once you've cut the end, you'll probably need to file off any rough edges. The other thing that helps is filing a flat in the side of the motor

by DaveR - Reprappers