A thread for My Rostock Max V1 build - For Questions

[Cobaltrod]

Welcome to my build thread. Ok, So what did I get and where am I currently stuck… I got me a Rostock V1 Max with (2) hotends with the original nozzles and fans, (2) Trick laser top mounts with (2) EZstruders, carbon fiber arms, zero lash straps and an E3D hot end with nozzle and fan. I also have 2 spools of exciting Grey ABS. I plan to start out using just one extruder with the original nozzle, then moving to (2) hotends with the original nozzles and fans, then multiple extruders with 2 E3D hot ends with fans. I’ve got the printer assembled and am stuck on getting it calibrated. Here are my issues and questions so far….

Questions on the Build/Assembly…
1. The Nozzle assembly seems loose; tight at the top where it’s tightened down, but with a little play at the bottom where it’s not… is this right?
2. I could not get the LCD display to work [get the dreaded white boxes]with the original firmware (Marlin) or the latest firmware (.83 or .91). Once I loaded PolygonHells hacked version of FW, the display comes right up. I’d like to get to the latest version of FW with the LCD display working, just not sure the best way to get there (like coping some code chunks.).
3. The cheapskate assembly on my Z axis seems loose, with more play than the others, but it seems tightened as much as it goes.. what more can I do?
4. Will I need a bigger Power Supply (than what comes with the V1 Rostock)to support multiple extruders and 5 accessories?

Questions on the Calibration…
I completed the following (and everything before it) with no issues (copied from the Assembly guide).
[“Issue a G28 command – the axes should travel all the way up and “bounce” off the limit switches. Send “G0 Z300 F3500”. This will move the effector platform down a few centimeters. The idea is to get them off the end stops so we can move things around a bit. While learning how the motion controls work, please keep the Z height (the distance from the tip of the hot end to the build surface) a few inches above the build platform. We haven't set the Rostock MAX's true Z height yet and you don't want to smash the hot end into the bed by accident. Initiate the “PID Auto tune” routine. Send the command “M303 S200”. This begins the auto tune process. Send the command “M303 P1 S60”. This will start the auto tune process for the heated bed.

Here’s what I’m trying to do but getting stuck (again, copied from the Assembly guide)
[“Okay, now we need to find out what the actual Z height on your machine is. Send the G28 command to the Rostock MAX…Once the hot end and bed have reached the target temperatures, measure the distance from the tip of the brass nozzle on the hot end to the surface of your build plate. Add 2mm to this figure and write it down. Open up the EEPROM table editor and edit X max length, Y max length and Z max length (All 360.75mm). Save the EEPROM editor and open up the Printer Shape tab on the Printer Settings dialog. Enter the number you entered in the Printable Height field as shown in Fig. 18-8. Now comes the task of making that figure as accurate as we can. Send the command “G0 Z10 F3500” to the Rostock MAX. It should send the hot end to a spot roughly 10mm above the build surface. We added 2mm in the measurement step in order to give us a bit of wiggle room here. Lay a sheet of notebook paper on the heated bed and begin to bring the Z height down 1mm at a time. Click on the “down” Z arrow in the 1mm segment (it's the center segment of the arrow)”]

Where I’m stuck is this, When I send the G28 command, I don’t see that I’m given the Z height. the axes travel all the way up and “bounce” off the limit switches, but the LCD display increments to whatever Z height is specified in the FW or EEPROM (363, 360, 400 respectively each iterative try.) Also, when I send the command “G0 Z10 F3500” to send the hot end to a spot roughly 10mm above the build surface, the hot end only move to half-way down the total length of the Axis or Z height. I can’t seem to get my Z-height set right.. Even manual controls won’t allow me to move the hot end down more. Anyone have any ideas why I may be having issues with this or how I can resolve and get past it?

[Cobaltrod]

Before anyone posts a reply, I played with it long enough to figure out my Z height and get it working correctly. For some strange reason it's 725mm. I had to make some changes in firmware and correct Z max values in printer settings, shape. I also got the cheapskate tightened up, along with the belt on the Z tower. I'm still not satisfied with the way the hot end and nozzle are attached, they are too loose, but I'm working on that problem right now.

[Eaglezsoar]

Is it the original nozzle that seems loose at the bottom? If so, it sounds like it is not tightened down to the Peek section in the middle. The Peek section has a screw thread at each end and must be loose for the nozzle to have
play in it. Check and make sure the Tan section of your hotend is tight at each end. If everything appears tight with the Peek section then the Nut at the top may be slightly loose.
The E3D has good mounts on Thingiverse and I am partial to the one designed by 626Pilot for the Bowden E3D when you mount your E3D.

[geneb]

Your Z height is NOT 725mm. If you've got the old, sharp drive gears on the stepper motors, you'll need to adjust the firmware to tell it what the tooth count is - I think the v1 manual covers this, but I'm not sure. You also need to make sure what version of RAMBo you've got - if it's a 1.0 board, it'll only do 8th steps, otherwise it needs 16th - you'll need to adjust the firmware for that as well.

My suggestion would be to use the .91 firmware from SeeMeCNC, make the changes needed for your older machine and then follow the calibration process in the v2 manual.

g.

[JohnStack]

And if you do load the new firmware - pay specific attention to configuration.h before starting. The axis values in the file (as of Friday night) were incorrect. I believe all of yours will be false if its the old Rostock. Lastly, you might have to set the Extruder direction to inverted as well.

[Cobaltrod]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the responses. Let me catch you up with where I’m at and where I need help. First, an update from my last post.
I was able to get things tightened down and set my Z-height well enough for it to work. I was able to verify my RAMBo is the 1.2 and I was able to get the latest FW .91 uploaded and have my LCD work. Over the course of the last 35 days since I first posted, I have been able to print only a handful of things. Mostly I’ve been calibrating, trying, breaking, ordering, waiting, installing, trying, updating, calibrating, trying, breaking waiting… It’s been a vicious cycle. But I do now come to the table with a little more competency.
I’m coming to the conclusion that something is wrong and I need help finding and correcting it.. and I must also be doing something wrong to be going through the hot ends like I am.
I think there is something wrong with calculating my Z-height. I have so many problems with this between the LCD, EEPROM, FW and Printer settings. You’d think it was simple enough, distance from the nozzle to the bed in homed position.. measurement is 360mm, but LCD calculates Z-height to 414. 360 works in FW, but not in EEPROM. 414 works in EEPROM but not in FW. Regardless, printing via each, it appears, seems to result in the next layer being printed a little “into” verses “on top” of the last layer. I could use some help figuring this out so I can print correctly.
The other major issue I’m having is with extrusion and the hot ends. Extrusion appears to only work properly about 25% of the time for me. I find it absolutely necessary to have fans set on the peek section to have any hope of a successful print. I have issues having the Fan on for jobs and end up having to manually set fans on and adjust fan power to high to get fans going for each job. When I forget or the fans don’t get set going, no extrusion occurs, and often I’m trying to get the clog unstuck by pulling and pushing on the PLA at the cold end…I’ve have two of the original nozzles melt-down to an unusable condition already. I’m now ready to abandon these nozzles/hot ends and go with the E3D unless I can get them to work more reliably or figure out what I’m doing wrong. IF anyone has any recommendation or words regarding successful extrusion of PLA through the original nozzles, I could use some because I’ve just had the worst luck.