Cura 4.12.1 help

[Toolferone 0]

I am a very basic user and I need help. My current set up is a 2017 iMac 27" 5k with Montery OS, Ender 3 pro with Micro-swiss direct drive & hot end.

 

I had some problems when I installed the direct drive, but got it working with some help from MicroSwiss. Then 2 weeks later and several successful prints,  I upgraded to the new Cura 4.12.1 software. When the printer reaches temp and starts moving the head to the starting point the"X" & "Y" axis motor spins for a few seconds after the table is at the end of their travel. Sounds horrible as the drive gear slips past the belt teeth. Also, "Z" starts at about 10mm for the bed and it starts to print hanging in mid air.

 

HELP!!!! 

 

TIA

 

Tom,

[GregValiant 1,351]

Post the Gcode file and a project file.  To make a project file - load your model into Cura, set it up to slice, and then select "File | Save Project".  The will create a 3mf file that includes your model, your printer, and your settings.

[Toolferone 0]

I went into the printer settings in Cura and there was no "Start G code". I went to the Micro-Swiss website and got the code they have for the new direct drive and hot end replacement I have. We are closer. The X&Y don't over drive now, but the Z is about 1.25" off the table.

 

Here is the code from Micro Swiss:

G90

G28 X0 Y0 ; home X axis

M117 Please wait - 37%

M206 X-5 Y-10 ; change offset

M500 ; save settings

G0 X0.0 Y0.0 ;

M117 Please wait - 65%

G4 S15 ; wait

G28 X0 ; home X axis

M106 S0 ; turn off cooling fan

M104 S0 ; turn off extruder

M140 S0 ; turn off bed

M84 ; disable motors

 

[GregValiant 1,351]

That isn't right.  The direct drive has nothing to do with the StartUp Gcode, you have the Ending Gcode grafted onto that StartUp Gcode and you aren't homing the Z (which is probably your problem).

Once you run the M206 followed by the M500 you can take it out of the start gcode since you have saved the new setting to memory.  You should have a menu in the LCD to enter the Home Offsets directly if you need to do it again.

The M117 lines just send a message to the LCD screen (if supported by the firmware) so you can leave those out as well.  I think the second G28 is the problem.  It should be G28 Z rather than homing the X again.

This is my Ender 3 Pro StartUp Gcode and Ending Gcode.  It will work for your printer.

 

; Ender 3 Custom StartUp G-code

M140 S{material_bed_temperature_layer_0} ;Start to heat the bed

M109 S{material_print_temperature_layer_0} ;heat the hot end and wait

M190 S{material_bed_temperature_layer_0} ;wait for the bed just in case

G92 E0 ; Reset extruder

M220 S100 ;reset Feed Rate

M221 S100 ;reset Flow Rate

G28 ;Home all

G1 Z12.0 F3000 ; Move Z

G1 X1.0 Y20 Z0.3 F5000.0 ; Move

G1 X1.0 Y200.0 Z0.3 F1500.0 E15 ; Draw the first purge line

G1 X3.0 Y200.0 Z0.3 F5000.0 ; Move

G1 X3.0 Y20 Z0.3 F1500.0 E30 ; Draw the second purge line

G1 E28 F1800 ;Retract 2mm

G92 E0 ; Reset Extruder

G1 Z12.0 F3000 ; Move Z Axis up

G1 X5 Y20 Z10.3 F5000.0 ; Move over to prevent blob squish

;End of StartUp Gcode

 

;Ender 3 Pro Ending Gcode

G91 ;Relative positioning

G1 E-2 F2700 ;Retract a bit

G1 E-2 Z0.2 F2400 ;Retract and raise Z

G1 X5 Y5 F3000 ;Wipe out

G1 Z10 ;Raise Z more

G90 ;Absolute positioning

G1 X0 Y{machine_depth} ;Present print

M106 S0 ;Turn-off fan

M104 S0 ;Turn-off hotend

M140 S0 ;Turn-off bed

M220 S100 ;reset Feed

M221 S100 ;reset Flow

M84 X Y E ;Disable all steppers but Z

;End of Ending Gcode

[Toolferone 0]

9 hours ago, GregValiant said:

That isn't right.  The direct drive has nothing to do with the StartUp Gcode, you have the Ending Gcode grafted onto that StartUp Gcode and you aren't homing the Z (which is probably your problem).

Once you run the M206 followed by the M500 you can take it out of the start gcode since you have saved the new setting to memory.  You should have a menu in the LCD to enter the Home Offsets directly if you need to do it again.

The M117 lines just send a message to the LCD screen (if supported by the firmware) so you can leave those out as well.  I think the second G28 is the problem.  It should be G28 Z rather than homing the X again.

This is my Ender 3 Pro StartUp Gcode and Ending Gcode.  It will work for your printer.

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to help me out!!!  It is printing now and so far so good. 

[GregValiant 1,351]

Is the print in the middle of the build surface?

[Toolferone 0]

On 12/28/2021 at 9:23 AM, GregValiant said:

Is the print in the middle of the build surface?

Yes it is.

[simonk 0]

On 12/28/2021 at 3:51 PM, GregValiant said:

That isn't right.  The direct drive has nothing to do with the StartUp Gcode, you have the Ending Gcode grafted onto that StartUp Gcode and you aren't homing the Z (which is probably your problem).

Once you run the M206 followed by the M500 you can take it out of the start gcode since you have saved the new setting to memory.  You should have a menu in the LCD to enter the Home Offsets directly if you need to do it again.

The M117 lines just send a message to the LCD screen (if supported by the firmware) so you can leave those out as well.  I think the second G28 is the problem.  It should be G28 Z rather than homing the X again.

This is my Ender 3 Pro StartUp Gcode and Ending Gcode.  It will work for your printer.

 

; Ender 3 Custom StartUp G-code

M140 S{material_bed_temperature_layer_0} ;Start to heat the bed

M109 S{material_print_temperature_layer_0} ;heat the hot end and wait

M190 S{material_bed_temperature_layer_0} ;wait for the bed just in case

G92 E0 ; Reset extruder

M220 S100 ;reset Feed Rate

M221 S100 ;reset Flow Rate

G28 ;Home all

G1 Z12.0 F3000 ; Move Z

G1 X1.0 Y20 Z0.3 F5000.0 ; Move

G1 X1.0 Y200.0 Z0.3 F1500.0 E15 ; Draw the first purge line

G1 X3.0 Y200.0 Z0.3 F5000.0 ; Move

G1 X3.0 Y20 Z0.3 F1500.0 E30 ; Draw the second purge line

G1 E28 F1800 ;Retract 2mm

G92 E0 ; Reset Extruder

G1 Z12.0 F3000 ; Move Z Axis up

G1 X5 Y20 Z10.3 F5000.0 ; Move over to prevent blob squish

;End of StartUp Gcode

 

;Ender 3 Pro Ending Gcode

G91 ;Relative positioning

G1 E-2 F2700 ;Retract a bit

G1 E-2 Z0.2 F2400 ;Retract and raise Z

G1 X5 Y5 F3000 ;Wipe out

G1 Z10 ;Raise Z more

G90 ;Absolute positioning

G1 X0 Y{machine_depth} ;Present print

M106 S0 ;Turn-off fan

M104 S0 ;Turn-off hotend

M140 S0 ;Turn-off bed

M220 S100 ;reset Feed

M221 S100 ;reset Flow

M84 X Y E ;Disable all steppers but Z

;End of Ending Gcode

I am a 3D novice. After installing the Micro Swiss Direct Drive Extruder, I modified my g-code in Cura Ultimaker and dug myself deeper and deeper into a hole including reversing the movement of the X and Y stepper motors and stuffing up the head offsets. Everything I tried seem to make the problem worse. On another forum I was told I would have to install a bootloader, flash new firmware and start from scratch. So I bought an Arduino Uno and the patch cables, downloaded all the files etc, then couldn't get it to compile for my 8-bit CPU. Sorry, long story. Anyway I was about to give up, then I started looking for example g-codes and found your post. It worked perfectly. Thank you so much.

[GregValiant 1,351]

Well there ya go.  Happy printing.

If you have an ABL system there is a minor change you can make to the StartUp Gcode that will keep the hot end from drooling all over the build plate during probing.

 

Since you changed the hot end and thermistor have you run Auto-Tune (M303) to adjust the PID setting?  If the PID numbers are off then the hot end temperature can bounce around instead of staying right at the set temperature.

Edited March 21, 2022 by GregValiant