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Generic Default wrote:I just stuffed the connector pins on the switch into it more; apparently they were loose. Now the fan is running on the power supply but I still can't move the steppers or heat anything. The thermistors seem to be working correctly though. What do you mean by swap the jumper on the rambo?

those connectors should be soldered. the switch is not the stuffing type..;/

there is jumper on the rambo that allows you to power the system from pc supply and not the usb port. the jumper is near the usb port, just move it to the bottom two pins. though if your power is working now this wouldn't cause your steppers not to move.

I pushed my crimp pins into the connectors more and now the motors work. I can read the temperature and heat up both the hot end and the bed. The only problem I have now is that something feels horribly wrong with my motors. They can only make full steps; microstepping will make a quiet buzzing noise until the movement is rounded to the next full step. The moving parts feel extremely jerky because of it, and any motion makes a loud sound if it's continuous. Also, I just tried the G28 command and the platform started moving down and toward the x tower. I can't move the platform up in the Z direction at all. The motors just buzz and nothing happens. What should I do?

there's is a lot going on here. pins on the connectors need to go all the way in till they click in place, looks like you solved that.

are far as the other stuff, did you follow along in the manual written by geneb, he has a new version out supposedly updated from the old.
everyone here with the new rambo boards are running 16 microstepping. I would check your settings again according to that manual. see if you missed something.
invert axis in the firmware to change direction of movement, to either true or false depending, so if its true set it to false, if false set to true.

You may want to check the status of your end-stops "limit switches" if you haven't already. They should all read low unless triggered.

I checked the limit switches multiple times and they're working fine. The temperature control works great for both the hot end and the bed. I finally got the arms to move smoothly by cramming the crimps in the 4 pin connector for the X axis, but they slide out easily after a while. I don't like the 4 pin design.

Now I just need to invert my axises to be able to G28 home. I inverted the directions in the configurations file like the directions said, but how do I upload the code to the rambo? I attached a screenshot of the error last time I tried.

there are locking tabs in the pins, if they get crushed they wont lock in place

And they don't lock if you don't seat them far enough.
it is VERY IMPORTANT that you get the motor wires properly crimped and properly seated in the connectors, the motor drivers do not like having the motor connector unplugged while power is applied, it can destroy the driver and a loose connection is basically like randomly unplugging motor wires.

The movement starts out smooth after I jam the pins into the 4 pin connector, then it gets more and more jerky until it's back to a vibrating mess. The pins must be vibrating themselves loose, and I can't figure out how to get them to stay in. They are past the little lock-in tab part of the crimp, which is as far as I can push them.

I still can't upload the firmware. I followed the directions in the latest manual but they aren't very specific about how to upload code. See the screenshot a few posts above.

try arduino 1.0.3 and above, doesn't seem you have the files loaded in your arduino ide, when you select repetier.ino/ repetier.pde file. it should open all the files that need to be uploaded.

not sure that you can just upload the config.h file like that.

do have a pic of your pins? i'll take pic of what they should look like for you

make sure this tab isn't bent down, it should be sticking up as shown. if its bent down, take some tweezers and slightly bend it back up.

On the firmware front, you need to load the Repetier.pde file into the arduino ide, not just configuration.h.
I suspect you are not pushing the connectors in far enough, but I'd need to see a picture.
As I say in my previous post you need to make sure the connections are good, if they are not you can damage the RAMBO board.

OK more bad news on my end.

I just spent the last 30 minutes trying to upload the firmware to the rambo using that .ino file, and it never actually finished uploading. So I stopped it after about 30 minutes and now the repetier software won't connect to the printer.
I also checked my crimp pin inserts, and they look just like that picture. The plastic pin connectors that actually fit into the rambo receptacles are wobbly, but I think that's normal.

I got mine the maker faire.

Generic Default wrote:OK more bad news on my end.

I just spent the last 30 minutes trying to upload the firmware to the rambo using that .ino file, and it never actually finished uploading. So I stopped it after about 30 minutes and now the repetier software won't connect to the printer.
I also checked my crimp pin inserts, and they look just like that picture. The plastic pin connectors that actually fit into the rambo receptacles are wobbly, but I think that's normal.

The shouldn't be wobbly, did you feel the click when the pins go into the connector?
You should.
There is a point when inserting the pins where it looks very similar but it's not in far enough, you should not be able to see the pin from the top, and that often means using a pair of pliers to push the pin in using a small amount of the insulated wire at a time. If it was easy to get the pin in then its probably not far enough, although sometimes you get lucky.
I absolutely hate dupont connectors FWIW, the same pitch Molex connectors are much better designed and have a lot more space for the wire insulation and are much harder to mess up.

I finally hooked up the extruder stepper. When I press retract, it vibrates back and forth. It turns maybe 5 degrees in one direction, then reverses and turns the opposite way.

My crimps are jammed as far into the connectors as they will fit. I tried pressing them in more with needle nose pliers, and they won't go any further.

The other axis steppers are still inconsistent. Right now the Z axis isn't working, the x axis is working fine, and the Y axis isn't putting out enough torque as it should be.

EDIT

Now the extruder is working fine, and I didn't even change anything.

Generic Default wrote:I finally hooked up the extruder stepper. When I press retract, it vibrates back and forth. It turns maybe 5 degrees in one direction, then reverses and turns the opposite way.

My crimps are jammed as far into the connectors as they will fit. I tried pressing them in more with needle nose pliers, and they won't go any further.

What you are describing is exactly what you get with incorrectly wired steppers.

The stepper wiring is definitely in the right order. I get different results every time I open the electronics door, even if I don't change anything. So I think this might go back to the off/on switch having loose pins, or it could be the 4 pin connector sockets that are loose between the plugs and the rambo board. I'll try sticking tape on the bottom half to act like a shim; that should prevent them from wobbling so much.

Generic Default wrote:The stepper wiring is definitely in the right order. I get different results every time I open the electronics door, even if I don't change anything. So I think this might go back to the off/on switch having loose pins, or it could be the 4 pin connector sockets that are loose between the plugs and the rambo board. I'll try sticking tape on the bottom half to act like a shim; that should prevent them from wobbling so much.

show me a pic of your connectors / crimps something isn't right here.

Here are some pictures of the wiring.

from that second pic i can tell you thats your problem. your pins aren't crimped properly not allowing you to push them all the way in, doesn't even look like the locking tab is in the hole either.

you might want to get a new set of pins and recrimp them with a better tool. it should look like the photo i posted. I believe you may also be shorting some of those pins together, with them not being all the way in, they could come out and short (causing other problems)

also if your using blue tape to splice your wiring, its just a matter of time till something comes apart.

do it right the first time (or in your case the next time) and you might not have some of these issues.
pins are all the way in, locking tab protruding into locking hole

I had a flaky on/off switch when I first assembled the machine. It would actually start up and then cut off after a while. I thought I had a bad power supply. I talked with Steve at Seemecnc and it turns out the insides of the switch are sensitive to overheating when you solder the wires to them. I replaced the on/off switch with a beefier one and have had no problems since. I don't know if they have updated the switch since then (March).

Broose wrote:I had a flaky on/off switch when I first assembled the machine. I thought I had a bad power supply. I talked with Steve at Seemecnc and it turns out the insides are sensitive to overheating when you solder the wires to them. I replaced the on/off switch with a beefier one and have had no problems since.

if you do it right, you shouldn't overheat the switch.

cambo3d wrote:

Broose wrote:I had a flaky on/off switch when I first assembled the machine. I thought I had a bad power supply. I talked with Steve at Seemecnc and it turns out the insides are sensitive to overheating when you solder the wires to them. I replaced the on/off switch with a beefier one and have had no problems since.

if you do it right, you shouldn't overheat the switch.

I'm not saying I did it correctly! I probably used a Weller soldering gun which has way too much power because my iron was out of commission at the time.

I think I had that same problem with my switch. There is really no decent way to solder the wires to it without melting the plastic that the pin is stuck in, and then it starts sliding around in it. I might just get some alligator clips and hang them out of my electronics door as an easy way to turn it on or off. Or maybe I'll just solder the two wires directly together and use the power supply switch instead.


As for crimp connectors, I only have 10 of them left on that little sheet-belt thing. That's not enough to redo all four steppers, and I can't figure out how to actually hook the little crimp-side-piece-thingies around the wire. Mine are just smashed together, which apparently won't let them fit into the 4 pin connectors. I thought that was how it was supposed to be!

So, are there any ways to get around this? Are there any stores that sell crimps locally, and how much do they cost? I still don't know what gauge of wire the stepper wires are, or what size of crimps to use.

Thanks!

Generic Default wrote:I think I had that same problem with my switch. There is really no decent way to solder the wires to it without melting the plastic that the pin is stuck in, and then it starts sliding around in it. I might just get some alligator clips and hang them out of my electronics door as an easy way to turn it on or off. Or maybe I'll just solder the two wires directly together and use the power supply switch instead.


As for crimp connectors, I only have 10 of them left on that little sheet-belt thing. That's not enough to redo all four steppers, and I can't figure out how to actually hook the little crimp-side-piece-thingies around the wire. Mine are just smashed together, which apparently won't let them fit into the 4 pin connectors. I thought that was how it was supposed to be!

So, are there any ways to get around this? Are there any stores that sell crimps locally, and how much do they cost? I still don't know what gauge of wire the stepper wires are, or what size of crimps to use.

Thanks!

you can get a beefier switch that wont be prone to heat damage from radio shack.

For the pins, ultimaker.com sells replacement pins or you can get them from mouser.

the part numbers to the pins from mouser are 538-16-02-0102 for the 22-24 gauge pins/wires and 538-16-02-0096 for the 24-30 gauge pins/wires. there cheap I keep a lot full handy for mods. They probably sell the correct crimper or a universal one, which is what i used. if you look up the part number it should tell you what crimper to use on the website. i believe genes new manual also list one.

Here's a thread with photos on how to crimp with needle nose pliers, or better, you can get a crimper
http://forum.seemecnc.com/viewtopic.php ... mps#p12194
I didn't trust my crimping capabilities with pliers so I also soldered the connections a little after crimping, making sure it wasn't so much solder that the crimp wouldn't fit into the connector