Show all posts by user

Fan control - 9 years ago

My cooling fan is possessed by satan. After replacing my Printrboard Rev D with a new Printrboard Rev D, the fan is misbehaving. When I power the board up, the fan comes on at 100%. It will continue running until there's a z-axis move, then it will shut off. After about 2-3 minutes, the damn thing comes back on. I am using the same Marlin firmware I used in the previous Printrboard and the fan

by RickRap - Controllers

Re: Stepper jams/sticks - 9 years ago

will overheating cause them to jam or stick? Or is the voltage basically 'locking' the stepper magnetically? They don't seem to be overheating (staying in the 45c range)

by RickRap - Stepper Motors, Servo Motors, DC Motors

Re: are my stepper drivers dead? - 9 years ago

Got the new board in. Hooked everything up. Tuned the steppers and got everything working - sort of. I flashed the board with same Marlin firmware that I had used on the previous board. The fan came on immediately and won't turn off until the Z-axis moves. Then it turns off and comes back on after about 3 minutes. Plus, the steppers seem to 'lock up' once things get going. I cranked the voltage

by RickRap - Controllers

Stepper jams/sticks - 9 years ago

I replaced my Printrboard controller board due to some mysterious damage (read about it here ). I flashed the board with the same Marlin firmware I'd used on the previous Printrboard. Everything seemed to work ok (with the exception of the fan). Started a print run and after about 3 layers into it, the steppers started jamming/sticking. Started with the y-axis, but eventually they were all doing

by RickRap - Stepper Motors, Servo Motors, DC Motors

Re: are my stepper drivers dead? - 9 years ago

I'm with you. There's definitely something weird. The only thing I can think is that the printer tried it's best to keep going, but with the filament now completely jammed, the extruder, z-axis, and x-axis were fighting hard to keep going. With the voltages pretty much set at maximum, those steppers just kept going even though they couldn't and it fried all the stepper drivers. I don't see any vi

by RickRap - Controllers

Re: are my stepper drivers dead? - 9 years ago

yes. Fans, hot end and bed are working. I can connect to the board and I'm able to see it in repetier.

by RickRap - Controllers

are my stepper drivers dead? - 9 years ago

lovely Started a 5 hr print run before going to bed. Next morning discovered the filament had tangled in the reel. The extruder kept pulling and pulled the reel down from it's perch. The reel fell on top of the controller board. The print had stopped at some point. Not sure if it was due to the reel falling on the board or if something else happened. Now none of my steppers are working. I had tu

by RickRap - Controllers

Re: El cheapo controller - 9 years ago

It may be easier to buy via eBay (most likely the same suppliers). I ordered a RAMPS board for $7.00 with 5x polulu drivers @ $12.00

by RickRap - Controllers

Re: El cheapo controller - 9 years ago

you're right. I shouldn't worry about the fuse. There will not be a heated bed on these printers though I suppose people may want to add one later. But that's beside the point. This is an extension class for hobbyists. RAMPS it is. Though I have seen Printrbot clone controllers for about $65. Though I can't seem to find anyone with them in stock. I may go with the alie/alibaba route. The cla

by RickRap - Controllers

El cheapo controller - 9 years ago

I am putting together a class where the students will build a 3D printer (of our design). I'd like to keep the total cost of the machine around $300. Wholesale pricing on hardware isn't a problem. But I would like to find an extremely simple, basic controller board. It doesn't have to be fast. It will only need headers for 4 steppers, hotend, and fan. Should be easily configurable via marlin or s

by RickRap - Controllers

Re: Rotary 3D printer? - 9 years ago

QuoteKenzu I have designet one that is BiPolar - It's still i alpha, but it prints. My friend (the software guy) and I will release it as a kit and we are gonna open source it. Target is KISS, so no heatbed, high speed or high resolution. (it's at the moment 50 micron per step at outer cirle) The atteched file is from the first prototype, we have secound running, but I have no pictures yet.

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

Finger toys for fidgety fingers - 9 years ago

I made a few sets of the Nautilus gears and my kids love 'em. They're fidgety and like having stuff like that handy. Now I have a request for something smaller. I'm thinking a planetary gear model would be good, but what other models can anyone think of that would be good for fidgeting that would fit in a pocket?

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

Re: Anybody tried these closed self lubricating bearings with teflon - 9 years ago

I received a sample from PBC Linear using the Simplicity bearing on a Simplicity shaft. This is the combination recommended by PBC Linear. These things are silky smooth. These are not the same as the bushings you mention, these are much more robust. One bearing will set you back $20+. For 2 per axis your at $120 in bearings. But this would virtually eliminate all slop. Thomson offers a similar

by RickRap - Reprappers

Re: Integrated Controller - 9 years ago

Raspberry Pi + Octoprint looks like the way to go:

by RickRap - Controllers

Re: Integrated Controller - 9 years ago

Thanks for clarifying Doug

by RickRap - Controllers

Re: Integrated Controller - 9 years ago

Quotethe_digital_dentist This all sounds like an argument to have the CAD machine next to the printer, not for an external controller that allows remote start/stop. As you say, you have to clean the bed off before you can restart the print. QuoteRickRap My issue with the SD card is that it's a pain if you are making a lot of changes to a design. More than once I've had to stop a print after rea

by RickRap - Controllers

Re: Integrated Controller - 9 years ago

My issue with the SD card is that it's a pain if you are making a lot of changes to a design. More than once I've had to stop a print after realizing a design flaw (or that I sliced the model outside of the printing area). With SD card, I'd have to go back to my CAD machine and copy changes to the card. With my current setup I just scrape the bed clean (I have my system setup to home after cancel

by RickRap - Controllers

Integrated Controller - 9 years ago

My current setup for the control board (QUBD Printrboard) is to run it from a PC via USB/Serial. I happen to have many PCs laying around the house, so that's not really a problem for me to dedicate a PC for this. The QUBD Printrboard (red one) supports an SD card. So, technically I could dump my gcode to that, sneakerware it over to the printer and load it up. However, I am really lazy and don't

by RickRap - Controllers