Z axis won't home, can't calibrate
So for some reason my Z axis will no longer home properly and I can't run any calibrations. The printer worked fine till the recent firmware update, and then after 1 successful print started failing. Here is the behavior.
for ANY Z-home type action:
1) Z moves ++ (up) till the steppers start skipping steps at the top of the Z travel (ok that seems fine)..Does this for a second or two (seems long for collision detection but ok).
2) Machine says it will look for the 4 bed spots and to remove the metal plate and place a piece of paper under the nozzle... (sure that seems fine and like normal)
3) Z moves -- (down) about 20mm and then stops with the following error "Calibration Failed Check axis and run again"
I have power cycled the machine, kicked off the wizard, powered the machine off then scrolled the Z axis to the bed, and done all kinds of other debugging efforts and i get the same error every time...
I now have a machine that will not print so I am dead in the water :(..
Firmware-3.5.0-1749
So any advice on how to fix my Z axis so I have a printer again?
Re: Z axis won't home, can't calibrate
sounds like a pinda fault,
do you have a check endstops option, or check pinda option in your calibration menu?
if so, action the menu option, and hold a piece of metal near the end of the pinda, you should see the status change, if that's ok, try wiggling the cable bundle behind the Xaxis see if the status changes, (it should not change as the cable bundle is wiggled
the cable on my pinda broke due to flexing... giving the results you report.
regards Joan
I try to make safe suggestions,You should understand the context and ensure you are happy that they are safe before attempting to apply my suggestions, what you do, is YOUR responsibility. Location Halifax UK
Re: Z axis won't home, can't calibrate
Pinda state is changing correctly in the UI, and I just recorded it failing slow motion to see if I can see the sensor go off randomly in the movement (it did not.
So the error is not the sensor..
One interesting thing, when I leave the error screen and go to the settings>Move Axis>Move Z> its set to +005.0 (even though its near the very top of the machine) it will let me go down to 000.0 but even though thats still quite far from the top of the bed won't let me go further down (soft limit I would imagine) but it will let me crash up as high as I want.. and the steppers just keep skipping steps while they dutifly try to go up... I would guess there is an upper soft limit at play too..
My read on it is its hitting Z-0 and going "wow no bead" and erring out.. what I can't figure is why Z++ limit (when homed) is telling the machine its at roughly +030.0 instead of what ever the actual top of the machine should be....
What should I look at next?
Josh
Re: Z axis won't home, can't calibrate
Just got my i3 MK3 this week, and it is doing the same during my initial calibration.
I can pass the self test ok, but then moving on to calibration, the first thing it does is for the z axis to go to the top. It stutters there for few seconds then drops 5 mm. There, the z axis value resets to 0. Further calibration fails, with the reason that I should check axis. If I from the menu try to lower z, I cannot under the value of 0. And it just stays there, almost at the top.
If I skip calibration, then the z value is ok with 0 being at the bottom. Everytime I try calibration, it ends up the same way.
Any good advice is very welcome!
Re: Z axis won't home, can't calibrate
Solved! Problem was faulty wiring to P.I.N.D.A. probe.
Re: Z axis won't home, can't calibrate
glad you found the fault Michael,
shame Josh didn't find his fault.
Joan
I try to make safe suggestions,You should understand the context and ensure you are happy that they are safe before attempting to apply my suggestions, what you do, is YOUR responsibility. Location Halifax UK
Re: Z axis won't home, can't calibrate
yah I am still stuck.. The inductive sensor is working fine for me...
So next thoughts?
Re: Z axis won't home, can't calibrate
does auto home, work from the LCD menu?
Joan
I try to make safe suggestions,You should understand the context and ensure you are happy that they are safe before attempting to apply my suggestions, what you do, is YOUR responsibility. Location Halifax UK
Re: Z axis won't home, can't calibrate
Auto home claims to work...
I also just got feedback from support that firmware 3.5.1 just released so I'll be trying that.. And to try a complete factory reset (not just re-running the wizard). So after I try those things tonight I'll post and see if either helped.
Re: Z axis won't home, can't calibrate
Cheers Josh
Joan
I try to make safe suggestions,You should understand the context and ensure you are happy that they are safe before attempting to apply my suggestions, what you do, is YOUR responsibility. Location Halifax UK
Re: Z axis won't home, can't calibrate
Sadly no dice for my machine... I will continue to update here if support or I figure out a fix incase others's machines die like mine now has.
Re: Z axis won't home, can't calibrate
Sadly no dice for my machine... I will continue to update here if support or I figure out a fix incase others's machines die like mine now has.
Can you post a picture of your extruder please?
I think I may be able to diagnose the issue, there’s not much to go wrong if your PINDA is reporting state correctly to the controller.
Re: Z axis won't home, can't calibrate
um sure... not sure how it could be mechanical.. But given its a brick right now I am up for any help 🙂
Re: Z axis won't home, can't calibrate
Couple things.
Your Zip Ties are oriented incorrectly, if they're hitting the right side of the gantry that could be fouling things:
Your fan wire is not routed in the Extruder body clearance intended for that and the PINDA wire - it's getting pinched on the smooth rod.
Can you also get me one from the back of the extruder?
Re: Z axis won't home, can't calibrate
So in triple checking everything again, the PINDA is now always reporting as Z1.. it was reporting correctly when I started this thread, but nope, now its always off (not on, because even unplugging it reports Z1 and not Z0...
the Zipties seem to match the manual having just checked them again (granted I'll have to break all that down to replace the PINDA). and good catch on the fan wire miss-route.. Must have moved or fallen out of its route sometime in the 6 months I have been using it.
Re: Z axis won't home, can't calibrate
So in triple checking everything again, the PINDA is now always reporting as Z1.. it was reporting correctly when I started this thread, but nope, now its always off (not on, because even unplugging it reports Z1 and not Z0...
the Zipties seem to match the manual having just checked them again (granted I'll have to break all that down to replace the PINDA). and good catch on the fan wire miss-route.. Must have moved or fallen out of its route sometime in the 6 months I have been using it.
The signal wire has gotten damaged if the status is not reporting to the MCU.
You could attempt to locate the break and splice, but if it's under warranty they'll just send you a new PINDA.
If you are six months old then you are using the spiral wrap extruder harness, I would advise you to request textile sleeve harness material for the extruder and the bed when you go in for RMA. (Make sure you specifically request the bed sleeve, it's not available separately like the extruder harness as part of the R3 extruder upgrade package.
If I were a betting man, your PINDA failure occured at the entrance to the Einsy box, you should also upgrade your Einsy box to the new style with clamps.
Re: Z axis won't home, can't calibrate
Zipties seem to match the manual having just checked them again (granted I'll have to break all that down to replace the PINDA). and good catch on the fan wire miss-route.. Must have moved or fallen out of its route sometime in the 6 months I have been using it.
FYI Zip-tie routing has been updated with the R3 design, so follow the updated online guide when you get your textile sleeve for the extruder.
Happy that the issue was tracked down!