Printrbot simple isn't so simple!

Question

I have put together a Printrbot simple kitset for my school and I can't get it to work.

My main problem is that when it connects to the Repetier software it sees all of the axis measurements incorrectly.

x moves about 85mm, y moves about 18mm and z moves about 150mm but says it is moving 10mm.

I tried updating the firmware as it made the same errors when using Pronterface.

But to no avail! It still does the same thing.

Any ideas would be appreciated!

Former Member · Accepted Answer

From what you've said, there's only one logical explanation. You tell the printer to move 10mm, and it ends up moving significantly more than that. My best guess is it's sending the wrong number of steps (for the stepper motor) per 1mm. So if it's 120 steps for 1mm, yours is thinking some other number entirely.

This is from the getting started guide on printing the wrong size, which would also equate to motors moving the wrong amount. Yours just happens to be an extreme case. This is what it says:

Print not correct size (G-Code)

Verify values for X,Y,Z by typing command M501.

Values should be X119 Y119 Z2020 E100.

If for some reason values are not this, change with G-code command M92 X119.

Save settings on firmware with M500 command.

Type M501 to verify change has been made.

But.... that section from the getting started guide is a little brief and won't help if your printer needs different values than the default. I'd recommend this calibration guide, http://zheng3.com/2013/06/02/calibrating-the-printrbot-simple/

I hope that helps! It really, really sounds like your problem is that it has the wrong step values.

Former Member · Answer

Thank you very much that was correct and the guide was awesome!