Simplify3D User Forum

To start off there is no support for my printer so I hope somebody here can give me advice. I appreciate you taking the time to look at this.

I have a PowerSpec 3D from Microcenter which is basically a rebranded Flashforge and it's running Sailfish. Turn your audio down before watching the videos becuase I have some equipment that's pretty loud in the background.

Both prints are the same item on medium defaults with a brim.

First issue:
I'm having a problem with shifting on the X axis. In the video you can see it skipping and hear a hard "click" when it skips and then the print is shifted to the right.

https://youtu.be/DAd7K7eHYgw

For troubleshooting I've tried tightening the belt (it wasn't loose) but the issue is persistent. Watching it print it seems like it's being blocked by something and then skipping but I can't find any blockage. I've also lowered the print speed to a crawl but that doesn't help either. It doesn't always skip in the same spot and might skip as soon as the print starts or an hour in to the print.

Second issue:
This one is really weird. Sometimes my printer just stops printing and reboots. Again, this problem is intermittent and doesn't always happen at the same time.

https://youtu.be/pDMw8T-t1Cw

For troubleshooting I've tried to find something online related to this but haven't found much. Some people have said taking off the bottom panel can help because it sometimes causes a short but that didn't do anything either.

I have the FlashForge version of your printer. I've noticed that mine will reboot when I connect the USB cable to some computers (but not all of them). If yours is connected by USB, you may try unplugging the cable and printing off SD card and see if it still happens.

....and the skipping might be caused by too fast movements whilst printing or moving the head.

Take a look at your print speeds and slow them down to see if the skipping stops. Have a read here:
https://www.simplify3d.com/support/prin ... salignment

giantpune wrote:I have the FlashForge version of your printer. I've noticed that mine will reboot when I connect the USB cable to some computers (but not all of them). If yours is connected by USB, you may try unplugging the cable and printing off SD card and see if it still happens.

I print off of SD card exclusively so there's no USB plugged in

dkightley wrote:....and the skipping might be caused by too fast movements whilst printing or moving the head.

Take a look at your print speeds and slow them down to see if the skipping stops. Have a read here:
https://www.simplify3d.com/support/prin ... salignment

Thanks but I did state in the OP that I've tried slower speeds to no avail. The printer is capable of faster speeds and worked quite a bit faster than I've been running it for tests. For testing I slowed it down between 2800mm/m - 3200mm/m for print and travel speed

A bad power supply would actually explain both of these problems. If you are getting inconsistent power to the printer, then the motors will most definitely occasionally skip steps, and if the power fluctuates too much, most electronics boards will actually end up resetting themselves. I've seen this many times before.

So I'd suggest checking that. Could be the power supply itself or just bad wiring.

CompoundCarl wrote:A bad power supply would actually explain both of these problems. If you are getting inconsistent power to the printer, then the motors will most definitely occasionally skip steps, and if the power fluctuates too much, most electronics boards will actually end up resetting themselves. I've seen this many times before.

So I'd suggest checking that. Could be the power supply itself or just bad wiring.

It could be wiring, I added a cooling fan a while ago. Things were working for a while with the cooling fan though, so that might not be it. I'll take that out and look for anything else that might be wrong and try printing again.

I removed everything I didn't need, cables all look good. Still having the restart issue. I haven't had the offset issue after removing things even though I'm printing at 3600mm/s and travel speed at 4200mm/s.

First:
Micro center doesn't know anything about 3D printers, but their warrantee and repair are pretty good. If it is still under warrantee, get it back to the store and they will fix it for free..

If you're out of warrantee:

If it is just the X-Axis skipping, you likely have a bad stepper driver. you can buy the stepper drivers for 15 bucks from flash forge-usa.

The Stepper drivers are the little chip-like carrier boards on the motherboard. There are 5 of them.
You can swap the driver from the unused extruder to see if that fixes your problem. (mine had the same problem, and yes, it fixed it)

Don't put the bad stepper driver back in--just run the machine with only one extruder until you replace it. It could also be causing the random re-boots.

Good luck!

MichaelHerron wrote:First:
Micro center doesn't know anything about 3D printers, but their warrantee and repair are pretty good. If it is still under warrantee, get it back to the store and they will fix it for free..

If you're out of warrantee:

If it is just the X-Axis skipping, you likely have a bad stepper driver. you can buy the stepper drivers for 15 bucks from flash forge-usa.

The Stepper drivers are the little chip-like carrier boards on the motherboard. There are 5 of them.
You can swap the driver from the unused extruder to see if that fixes your problem. (mine had the same problem, and yes, it fixed it)

Don't put the bad stepper driver back in--just run the machine with only one extruder until you replace it. It could also be causing the random re-boots.

Good luck!

Out of warranty but I'm still chasing that rabbit with Micro Center. After removing all unused wires (extra cooling fan, left stepper motor, and left motor fan) so far the skipping has gone away, at least in my limited tests. The reboot in the middle of printing is still persistent though.

If I wasn't saving up to get married I might just buy an Ultimaker or something because this printer, while great, has been a constant source of trouble.

It seems like you have a couple different issues which should be easy to resolve. I have several of these and they are great machines with a few tweaks. The issue that you're seeing with the X axis is a known issue on lots of these style printers. Although it could be the stepper driver it is much more likely to be a bad stepper motor cable (and probably the end stop cable as well). I had the same thing happen to mine after about 200 hours on it. Those cables aren't rated for the flexing they get and they will eventually fail. I found a broken lead on one of the wires. It is usually intermittent and when it opens the motor misses steps and clunks, etc. You can unplug it at the MB and use an ohm or continuity meter to check each wire for sure. When I found the bad spot I could see it open and close if I pulled on that part of the wire. The gray endstop cable (my printer included a spare) can fail where the wires internally short and cause an intermittent short from 5V to ground. From your description I would go ahead and replace them both. I've only had to replace it once but I now keep spares onhand as I look at that and a normal wear part now that will need to be replaced again.

The PowerSpec 3D Pro is basically a FlashForge Creator Pro except is has a smaller 320 Watt power supply which can cause lockup issues since it isn't large enough. I ran into two printers that did this. The recommended fix is to replace it with the same heavy duty 350 Watt power supply that the Flash Forge comes with. You can get it from Mouser for around $50 plus shipping. It is a Mean Well SE-350-24 and is a direct bolt in replacement. I've done this upgrade on all my printers. It will resolve and prevent odd issues with the printer. Just make sure that when you install the power supply you check the input voltage switch and set it correctly. They come set to 220V and I had to flip the switch to 110V. If you don't switch it for the correct voltage it will cause problems! That it why I think the PowerSpecs went with the smaller 320 Watt supply since that has a wide input voltage and doesn't need to be set.

When you have the bottom cover off also check/tighten all the screws where the wires attach to the connectors and also the screws on the power supply. I've seen several cases where those screws were loose from the factory. With all the shaking from the movement as they built things it is good to recheck every once in a while.

From what I have found it came from the factory with an early release of Sailfish 7.7 with the name changed to Version 1.2 on the display. One nice thing about these printers is that they have the 2560 processor with the extra memory onboard. I've upgraded all of mine to the latest release of Sailfish 7.7 from Thingiverse (ReplicatorG-0040r33) from: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:32084

You need to press and release the reset button on the printer just before uploading the new Firmware. Definitely worth the upgrade and I have done it on 8 of these printers. and two MonoPrice printers (didn't need to press reset on those) The firmware is the (Creator X/ Creator Pro wth 2560 chip) You can verify the chip by looking at your board before the upgrade.

Once you're done you'll have a Flash Forge Creator Pro (for a fraction of the price) and a solid work horse of a printer!

There are also some upgrades on Thingiverse (clips, etc) that make the printer easier to use. One is also running the glass bed upgrade which makes printing with ABS a pleasure.

Robert