Analog_Banana's Rostock Max in the UK

[analog_banana]

So.. Four and a half months in now and still trying to get this printer working.
Trying to stay positive
After much playing with temperature regulation and measurement my test prints were getting much worse, not always recognisable as a cube etc..

so my vendor very kindly offered me the new EZstruder cold end
http://shop.seemecnc.com/EZStruder-Cold ... -70780.htm

So I'm going to giver that a try, apparently this could be the problem.

Does anyone know of a manual or instruction PDF I can use to install this and
also reference info about the right settings for the firmware and repetier?
*EDIT*
Found the manual as part of the new main assembly pdf....
http://forum.seemecnc.com/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=987
*EDIT*

I'm going to print something one day...

[analog_banana]

Still working on getting this machine running.
Things have moved on in the Rostock world since I started trying in April 2013
I'm going to re-start from scratch with my calibration and testing in the hope of printing something.

Does anyone know the latest and best firmware / PDF step by step manual?

For 2014 I'm planning to:
Switch to ABS prints
buy the latest hot end
reflash the firmware in the RAMPS board
completely recalibrate

Happy new year to everyone!

[Eaglezsoar]

Still working on getting this machine running.
Things have moved on in the Rostock world since I started trying in April 2013
I'm going to re-start from scratch with my calibration and testing in the hope of printing something.

Does anyone know the latest and best firmware / PDF step by step manual?

For 2014 I'm planning to:
Switch to ABS prints
buy the latest hot end
reflash the firmware in the RAMPS board
completely recalibrate

Happy new year to everyone!

I'm not sure if this is what you are looking for but the latest assembly / calibration manual is here: http://www.geneb.org/rostock-max/Rostoc ... -Guide.pdf
There is no step by step for the firmware but there is a topic on upgrading to the latest Repetier firmware here: http://forum.seemecnc.com/viewtopic.php ... 483#p26483

[analog_banana]

Thanks Eaglezsoar,
Maybe the latest and untested software is a bad idea.
What I should perhaps say is:

Any opinions on the best and most reliable, tested Firmware and Software for this kit:

Rostock Max
RAMPS 1.4 electronics (NOT RAMBO!)
EZ struder Cold end Kit
SeemeCNC Bowden Hotend (Mk 1 original)
Onyx Heated Bed

Thansk for any suggestions!

[Eaglezsoar]

Thanks Eaglezsoar,
Maybe the latest and untested software is a bad idea.
What I should perhaps say is:

Any opinions on the best and most reliable, tested Firmware and Software for this kit:

Rostock Max
RAMPS 1.4 electronics (NOT RAMBO!)
EZ struder Cold end Kit
SeemeCNC Bowden Hotend (Mk 1 original)
Onyx Heated Bed

Thansk for any suggestions!

Do you know what version of software you have on your Ramps now?

[analog_banana]

I am using the firmware that was emailed to me by the UK vendor Creative Machines.
the README begins like this:

WARNING:
--------
THIS IS RELEASE CANDIDATE 2 FOR MARLIN 1.0.0

by seemecnc

***This firmware is modified for use with Rostock MAX and similar***

It is a combination of

https://github.com/jcrocholl/Marlin
https://github.com/tonokip/Marlin

and other tweaks/changes

The configuration is now split in two files
Configuration.h for the normal settings
Configuration_adv.h for the advanced settings

Gen7T is not supported.

Quick Information
===================
This RepRap firmware is a mashup between <a href="https://github.com/kliment/Sprinter">Sprinter</a>, <a href="https://github.com/simen/grbl/tree">grbl</a> and many original parts.

Derived from Sprinter and Grbl by Erik van der Zalm.
Sprinters lead developers are Kliment and caru.
Grbls lead developer is Simen Svale Skogsrud. Sonney Jeon (Chamnit) improved some parts of grbl
A fork by bkubicek for the Ultimaker was merged, and further development was aided by him.
Some features have been added by:
Lampmaker, Bradley Feldman, and others...

[Eaglezsoar]

So you are still running the old version of Marlin.
I recommend that you download the latest version of Repetier Software that has been released by SeeMeCNC.
You can download it here: https://github.com/seemecnc/RostockMAX
Download the Zip file then you will have the latest Manual and the Firmware.
Unzip the Zip file that you downloaded and you will have a few folders created, the ones we are interested in is the manual and the firmware.
Before we go any further we need to know what is inside your printer such as the number of teeth on the pulleys that are on the motors.
If the number of teeth on the pulleys is 20 then you can proceed with the upgrade, if it is not 20 then it is a bit more difficult because there is a lot more editing that needs done.
If the number of teeth is 20 then you can go into the Repetier folder that you downloaded, find the configuration.h file and open it with notepad. Find a line that has
#define MOTHERBOARD 301 and change it to #define MOTHERBOARD 33 and save the file.
Before going any further I need to know if you know how to use a program called Arduino. If you know what it is then you use it to open the Repetier.ino file in the Repetier folder
and upload the firmware to your Ramps board. After uploading you go to section 17 of the manual, software installation, and follow the manual to the very end.
If you don't know what Arduino is then let me know and we can go into more detail. If the number of teeth on your pulleys is 15 then we need to do a lot more editing before you
can upload the new firmware.

[analog_banana]

Thanks!- I certainly know how to flash an Aurduino and all the other steps you mention,
I managed it all fine when I first assembled the Max.

It's Information I'm lacking, not the skills - I've had a lot of conflicting advice,
so I'm trying to get a good basic setup guide from people who have actually got their machines working.

How to measure tooth count while the pulleys were in the machine?
I made an impression on a tablet of blu-tak attached to a thin steel rule.

15 teeth!

Re configs:
Would this online config maker widget be a good way to set my configs?
http://www.repetier.com/firmware/v091/
- or is that crazy untested teritory?

Really appreciating the continued support BTW..

[Eaglezsoar]

Sorry, I did not realize your advanced level of knowledge. But put yourself in my place, from one user to the next I don't know the knowledge level until I am told. Enough of that.
The Online config maker will work for you but you need some numbers.
For your motherboard type it is 33
For your 15 tooth gears the Steps per mm should be 105.67 for all axis.
If you are using the Steves extruder the steps per mm should be 584
If you are using the EZStruder the steps per mm should be around 92.68 (the extruder values will change when you do calibration on the extruder.
I would user thermistor type 1 for the hotend and heatbed.
Motor currents should be anywhere from 175 to 225 I know SeemeCNC defaulted to 225 on some of the releases they did.
I have not used the online configurator and I do not know all the questions it asks. If it asks a question you do not know the answer to I would go to Google and type in site:forum.seemecnc.com arm length if you need to know the arm length which is 269mm
on a standard RMAX. I use the Google because it is very effective at finding things on this forum.
I can't think of any other numbers you might need but you might want to print out a screen capture from the Marlin EEPROM there may be something in it that you may need.
I wish you the very best if you decide this method of upgrading and when you are done you will have the very latest Repetier.
If you have any more questions shoot me another message.

[analog_banana]

Thanks Eaglezsoar - hope I didn't sound too indignant
I just didn't want you to go through the process of writing me a ground-up manual

That is totally the info I need, How you acquire this knowledge is incredible!

I have just received some ABS from Amazon, so after 8 months of PLA faliures I am going to try ABS printing,
and gradually upgrade my machine to modern hardware and software specifications.

Thanks again!

[Eaglezsoar]

Thanks Eaglezsoar - hope I didn't sound too indignant
I just didn't want you to go through the process of writing me a ground-up manual

That is totally the info I need, How you acquire this knowledge is incredible!

I have just received some ABS from Amazon, so after 8 months of PLA faliures I am going to try ABS printing,
and gradually upgrade my machine to modern hardware and software specifications.

Thanks again!

When you do the firmware upgrade using that configurator would you let me know how it turned out? I need to get back some reports on how well that works, if it works okay I will recommend it more often.
Happy Printing!

[analog_banana]

Hi again!
I'm hoping to clear up some mixed information on Steps per mm

106.67
This is the figure given for Steps Per MM in GeneB's original PDF manual - written around the time I bought my MAX.

Can I ask where you sourced the figure 105.67 for Steps Per MM?

The two sound close enough to be a typo - the only reason I want to double check...

[Polygonhell]

15 tooth pulley with 2mm spacing, 200 steps per rev and 8x uStepping gives
(200x8)/(15x2) steps/mm
53.333

If you have a later RAMBO that supports 16x uStepping the number is twice that or 106.666667

[analog_banana]

Thanks Polygonhell - so 106.67 it is then!

Now Looking at the thermal sensor settings:

my original firmware has them as this:
#define TEMP_SENSOR_0 5
#define TEMP_SENSOR_1 0
#define TEMP_SENSOR_2 0
#define TEMP_SENSOR_BED 5


Based on the advice of Eaglesoar - I think they should actually be this?
#define TEMP_SENSOR_0 1
#define TEMP_SENSOR_1 0
#define TEMP_SENSOR_2 0
#define TEMP_SENSOR_BED 1

I'm wondering if having the sensors set to 5 has been causing this:
Every time I have been doing a PID autotune the results are wildly different.
I try averaging the results, but it seems pretty pointless as the Kp, Ki Kd seem to double or half from test to test.
(I run the autotune at print temp with the peek fan on, from room temp each time)

[Eaglezsoar]

Hi again!
I'm hoping to clear up some mixed information on Steps per mm

106.67
This is the figure given for Steps Per MM in GeneB's original PDF manual - written around the time I bought my MAX.

Can I ask where you sourced the figure 105.67 for Steps Per MM?

The two sound close enough to be a typo - the only reason I want to double check...

http://forum.seemecnc.com/viewtopic.php ... 5&start=10 is where I got the steps per mm, but use the steps that Polygon gave you, the other had to be wrong because I know that Polygon is not.

[Eaglezsoar]

Thanks Polygonhell - so 106.67 it is then!

Now Looking at the thermal sensor settings:

my original firmware has them as this:
#define TEMP_SENSOR_0 5
#define TEMP_SENSOR_1 0
#define TEMP_SENSOR_2 0
#define TEMP_SENSOR_BED 5


Based on the advice of Eaglesoar - I think they should actually be this?
#define TEMP_SENSOR_0 1
#define TEMP_SENSOR_1 0
#define TEMP_SENSOR_2 0
#define TEMP_SENSOR_BED 1

I'm wondering if having the sensors set to 5 has been causing this:
Every time I have been doing a PID autotune the results are wildly different.
I try averaging the results, but it seems pretty pointless as the Kp, Ki Kd seem to double or half from test to test.
(I run the autotune at print temp with the peek fan on, from room temp each time)

When did I give you those temp sensor values?

[analog_banana]

This is the part of your post I was looking at, which I may well have misinterpreted.

"I would user thermistor type 1 for the hotend and heatbed."

Here are (I think) the explanations of Thermistor codes, taken from the Configuration.h file:

//// Temperature sensor settings:
// -2 is thermocouple with MAX6675 (only for sensor 0)
// -1 is thermocouple with AD595
// 0 is not used
// 1 is 100k thermistor - best choice for EPCOS 100k (4.7k pullup)
// 2 is 200k thermistor - ATC Semitec 204GT-2 (4.7k pullup)
// 3 is mendel-parts thermistor (4.7k pullup)
// 4 is 10k thermistor !! do not use it for a hotend. It gives bad resolution at high temp. !!
// 5 is 100K thermistor - ATC Semitec 104GT-2 (Used in ParCan) (4.7k pullup)
// 6 is 100k EPCOS - Not as accurate as table 1 (created using a fluke thermocouple) (4.7k pullup)
// 7 is 100k Honeywell thermistor 135-104LAG-J01 (4.7k pullup)
//
// 1k ohm pullup tables - This is not normal, you would have to have changed out your 4.7k for 1k
// (but gives greater accuracy and more stable PID)
// 51 is 100k thermistor - EPCOS (1k pullup)
// 52 is 200k thermistor - ATC Semitec 204GT-2 (1k pullup)
// 55 is 100k thermistor - ATC Semitec 104GT-2 (Used in ParCan) (1k pullup)

[analog_banana]

By the Way - I am still using with the old firmware from April 2013 for now, so these are snippets from
"RELEASE CANDIDATE 2 FOR MARLIN 1.0.0"

I'm hoping to stabilize the machine as it stands and then move on to updated firmware...

[analog_banana]

spending 5 to 8 hours a day on this for the last 5 days.

I have not been able to get one loop of filament to stick to the bed in ABS or PLA
for the last 2 days.

AAAAAAAAAARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[mhackney]

What surface are you printing on? I see you have an Onyx, what are you printing on to?

[analog_banana]

Had some sleep, feeling slightly less exasperated now.
I have been printing on the following:

4mm plate glass, cleaned.
4mm plate glass, cleaned with window cleaning solution (windolene / generic)
4mm plate glass with hairspray, 1, 2 or 3 coats
4mm plate glass with glue stick coating

ALL the above have been successful for one or two test prints at some stage.
But then I get days or weeks of total faliure. No repeatablility.
This leads me to beleive the problem lies elsewhere.

Next:
I have some Acetone on the way to make ABS juice.
I am also going to try Kapton tape and blue painters tape.
(If I don't give up)

[geneb]

As far as glue sticks go, this is what you should be using: http://www.elmers.com/product/detail/E5 ... e-stick%2f

This is the stuff that SeeMeCNC ships with the Orion and it works very well.

g.

[analog_banana]

Thanks for the advice!
I will get some shipped over from the USA.

[analog_banana]

Many Thanks to Mhackney, GeneB, Craig Hardman, Jon at SeemeCnc, Charl at Creative Machines
and everyone on this forum for your help.

I am finally getting repeatable results.
Here are the main things that held me back:

If PLA is not working, try ABS.

Try adjusting you "First Layer Height" to get adhesion.
The manual says .3mm experiment lower or higher - .1mm worked for me.

That's what got me printing.
Some test yoda images are attached. Bear in mind these are 50% scaled prints so the detail is low.

After 9 months, I am now declaring this build log closed

[Tinyhead]

I know it's been a month, but I'm just starting out too and using PLA to start. I had a real adhesion issue too and used the blue painters tape and isopropyl alcohol. It worked wonders. Have to put a heat cycle on the bed to get it to come free easily or it takes the tape with it.