Help! Rostock Max just stops printing...Hot End stays on etc

[Gkrumpe]

Hello SeeMe CNC Forum!

I love my Rostock Max, but I'm having a very serious issue.

My printer just stops mid job! This problem makes my Rostock Max virtually useless to me.
I don't know what to do. It has ruined 3 print jobs and wasted 3 days.

It fails regardless of using USB or SD Card.

I'm behind on printing an important model, I'm a small business owner and I can't survive without being able to print full models for prototypes of my ongoing projects.


Here's what happened: I'm simply printing an object about 5" x 3" with support material etc.
The printer does a great job printing part of it... it just randomly craps out part way, after about 8 hours or something, and it just sits with the hot-end on and blackens a point of the half-model, and gums up the nozzle until I discover it...


If anyone knows what i can do to prevent this please advise me. I'm loosing my mind!


Thanks,

Geraint

[lordbinky]

Force Ascii mode in repetier host, disconnect the LCD, and make sure the temperatures in the base aren't getting hot so either get a small fan on the rambo or keep the door open for airflow (this is just to eliminate potential problems). Eliminating the root cause first so you can print is likely your main concern, from there restoring the extras can be done at a better time. Try running the print from USB through repetier host, if the problem clears up it then a fan for rambo if it was heat and if it was the LCD it can be reconnected with some ferrite chokes on the LCD cables or shorter cables, maybe even arranging them better could be a solution.

[dsnettleton]

Obviously you tried lordbinky's suggestion of running the print from USB already, since you've said as much. I would check for a short somewhere. Try printing a model and jiggling wires around during the print. If you can reproduce the issue on command this way, it's probably a short. You'll be able to find the actual wire that's shorting out on you too.Also, if you're near your printer and you hear it stop running, try navigating through the SD card menu and clicking "continue print." If you're quick enough on it, your print may be recoverable.

[lordbinky]

Maybe I wasn't clear on that last post, You run the print from USB AFTER all the suggested solutions are performed, especially the disconnect the LCD cables which coincidentally makes USB the only option since the SD card is disconnected with that move.

Since getting the printer to work without stopping was more urgent than narrowing down the specific cause, my intent was that Gkrumpe try all the possible solutions to likely issues all at once and then narrow it down later when it is more convenient.

[Gkrumpe]

Thanks for the ideas ya'll!

I thought maybe I had mistakenly left my usb plugged in while printing from the SD Card, after I was able to print the same job flawlessly (after 3 days and 4 failed print jobs later)...

Turns out that it wasn't the USB at all. I'm going to try the ferite chokes to the lcd display and wrap every single wire with emi shielding tape.

I'm so incredibly frustrated, maybe I should wrap myself in aluminum foil.


On a side note: has anyone had a problem with Repetier Host's Slicer always laying down a raft layer regardless of a '0' raft layer setting??

Please tell me there is a new release of Repetier coming soon...

Cheers,

G

[dsnettleton]

I've had trouble with Slic3r not laying down a raft when I told it too. I fixed it by adding a brim. Which leads me to my suggestion. Make sure you've set your brim to zero. If it's high enough, it could look a lot like a raft. Just to clarify, a skirt is a line around the object, used to prime the extruder before getting started. A brim is material added to the first layer, making contact with the print object, and extending around it in order to assist in adhesion to the build plate.

Also, on a side note, Slic3r is actually a separate program from Repetier Host. If it gives you trouble, you can download an older version and link to the executable by clicking the Setup button in Repetier Host under Slic3r. Right now, I'm using 0.9.9 myself. I think it's one version behind the newest. But it's easy enough to switch back if you want the latest features. Just remove the text from the Slic3r Executable box, and Repetier Host will default to the version it's packaged with. You can keep the configuration directory empty, so your settings will carry over. Slic3r will give a warning for unknown options, but gracefully ignores them.

Or you can use Skeinforge, which is also a separate program. It doesn't come packaged with Repetier Host, so you have to download it and configure it as well. I personally think Slic3r is more user friendly, but that can come down to preference.