Printrbot simple metal just lost its X axis calibration (5 1/2 hours into a 6 hr 10 minute print) I heard it sound like it was binding, I started looking at it and saw filament was hanging on the left side. The print head was at least 1/2 inch to the left of the print, in mid air dropping filament. Then the binding got worse when the bed went to the far right the binding got worse on every motion. Has anyone experienced this? This is about my 20th print and didn’t have this issue. If you look at the seams on the tape you can see it started the print off-center from the start…
Well, I’d be looking under the bed first. Pictures of the top of the bed don’t really help in diagnosis. This a pre-assembled Printrbot Simple Metal, or factory-assembled?
I looked under and everything was still in place and bolted down, the belt was secure. I after the binding sound I looked at it and literally saw the X home “border” shift over as the carriage returned to the left side of the plate
This was the kit and I assembled it, I followed Toms video alongside the assembly instructions on printrbots website. I have had it 2 weeks with no issues until today where it just came crashing down :-/
Sounds like a typical layer shift. Overheated drivers, or motors can cause it. Loose belts can cause it. High speeds can contribute to it. So many factors…
Hmm so it’s a common thing? If you look at the first pic you see it was going well, then you see the strands starting to accumulate. I didn’t know this was a thing. Ironic that what I am printing is a base to improve cooling to the undercarriage (where the x axis motor is)
@Carlton_Dodd is right on the money here. An overheated driver can cause a temporary shutoff, or binding in the carriage can certainly cause skipped steps. Make sure the bed is moving nicely completely back and forth and that it doesn’t bind. If it’s not binding, throw a small fan pointed at the whole thing and make sure that motor/driver isn’t overheating.
I checked the undercarriage and noticed there was a 1-2mm gap on the forward rod/ left side… but it won’t let me post a pic
Should I perform some sort of calibration or does the G29 function eliminate the need for me to do that
Be sure you start printing around 49mm/sec and travel speed below 100… Just get the hang of it. Have you calibrated the extrusion? Since the print went find for a while and is quite large, your layers could be overextruding and stacking up too tall or it’s just warping on the edges and lifting- bumping the tip then skipping because of a mechanical bump.
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Brook
I loaded the profile as recommended on your site Brook, its currently set to 45mm/s print, and 70mm/s for travel. The prints look great, but this was just really peculiar. I removed the bed and reattached it, it seems there was some slop on the belt, I will give it another try with smaller prints before I try the large one again, thanks for the advice
@Rigo_Arevalo
“…there was some slop on the belt…”
We have a winner.
I’d bet actual money that was your cause.
Hopefully. When I initially assembled it there as absolutely no issues, I had removed the bed to clean it, it may be possible when I reattached the bed is when there was an issue
Ok, here is a video of my situation, this is video 1 of 2, the second is shot but needs a little editing for the best description https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgleC-tzL5A
Here is the second video which shows the problem recurring https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oqFbRcfxz8
It looks like your hotend is moving up and down during retraction in the second video and I don’t think it is supposed to do this. This could cause the hotend to hit part of your print while printing. To fix it, the screws need to be tightened on your extruder (the two bottom screws facing you on the extruder motor) and you are also probably going to have to re-calibrate your Z probe.
In the items you can print, I would verify they are printing out in the correct size for each axis. If they aren’t, it could be an e-step issue. Maybe the X motor e-steps are not correct? Having a too high of a number can cause the motor to move more then necessary, resulting in a larger printed part in that direction and the axis trying to move more then it can.
Another thing is to make sure the bed dimensions are correct for your printer in Cura. It would be under the Machine menu and then Machine Settings. According to the PrintrBot Simple product page, it should be 150 for the X, Y, and Z axis.
if your print have lose its correct position try to see if you can tight the belt for the axis. what speed do you print in?
@Eric_LeFort which Printrbot did you have before? When the bed is to the far right, the sensor is at least 31mm from the edge of the bed, so the sensor problem is ruled out. I have seen pics of the older ones and se where this may have been an issue, thanks for the effort tho, I’m still out to resove this issue. Thats what I get for removing the bed to clean it, after initial assembly I had absolutely no issues…
@Patrik_enerstrand The print speed was 45, and after tightening the best it seems the issue got worse …
Ok… thats strange. I pulled out my calipers and measured it, and the probe is actually 26mm away from the “curve” of the bed. So you have the heated bed option? I don’t so my bed is wider than the 150mm. its 240mm from the edge of the screw to the edge of the opposite screw plus an additional 12mm to the edge of the bed