I am thinking of getting the Z-axis upgrade from printrbot,

3D Printing
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I am thinking of getting the Z-axis upgrade from printrbot, for my printer it jr(v1). Can anyone tell me if I will need to calibrate Esteps when I make the switch? I have not yet figured out where or how to do this. I use Repetier on a mac to run my bot and the only instructions I am finding online seem to be using pronterface. I am fairly new at this and any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

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You will have to if the pitch of the z axis screws is different. Can you find out what the current and new z screws are? If they’re the same, no worries, just leave it :wink:

If they’re different then you will have to update the Z-steps (not the e-steps) which sounds scary but what I do is have my finger on the reset button ready to push it if the firmware uploaded was wrong (has happened to me before) and things start moving in the wrong direction!

Generally that’s what goes wrong… Too fast, wrong way, too far, too much or little extrusion… All things that if you catch them early won’t be a huge problem :wink:

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You can use repetier and yes, you may need to calibrate esteps.
All you need to do is measure the actual distance travelled of the Z axis for a distance specified in repetier, do some simple maths and either change the steps/mm in eeprom or use arduino software to update your firmware.
So, for instance, with the Z axis in its home position, use the gcode command ‘G1 Z100’ (you are telling the Z to move 100mm up) then measure the distance the Z axis has travelled. If it’s exactly 100mm, no change required, if not, divide the measured value by the value you input into repetier and multiply the result by your current steps/mm value. The number you end up with is your new steps/mm value.

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And you can update the e steps in firmware on repetier.
Unfortunately you’ll have to look through the printrbot forums to tell you how to do it as a calibration guide is hard to find.

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Apparently not.

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Thanks for input everyone. So I am THIS lost; I thought ‘e steps’ referred to the steps on any given axis related motor. This, I was thinking that all three(x,y,z) axis had Esteps. So I had better back up. Can a yo e tell me what the ‘e’ In ‘E-steps’ stands for? Maybe that will help me to grasp the concept a lil better.
I have had my printrbot jr o my about 5 months or so, I bought it used and have had to fix/improve it, but that has been all mainly hardware/build related. Installing Repetier and arduino and getting it printin went easily, which I hadn’t expected. I just want to give a bit of I do on my level of experience and understanding so that my ignorance can be gauged and hopefully excused:)
Thanks again. I am going to take a look at arduino when I get home and see what I learn. Thank you community*

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Sorry for the auto typos ! Meant to say that I just wanted to give a bit of info on my experience…

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Aaaah- thank you Peter! I should have been able to deduce that. Haha. Thanks

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This is great- barely through my coffee and already have learned something*
I am also new to the platform of social media for this sort of thing. I can see I should have been active on here months ago. Thanks

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@boog_nish when your a connected to your printer with repetier, open the ‘config’ drop down menu and select firmware eeprom settings. You will find your steps/mm values for all axis plus a bunch of other often altered values. These can all be adjusted on the fly with out using the arduino software.

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Thanks for asking this! I have a similar, yet different, need for the exact same info.