Heated bed upgrade kit - heatbed doesn't heat :(

[onkelgeorg 36]

Hi all,

 

yesterday I managed to install my heated bed upgrade kit which I ordered in October 2014 already.

 

Installing it was not a big deal, after approx. 3 hours everything was fine, except of one thing: The heated bed doesn't heat :(

 

I followed the installation guide to 100% and installed the new firmware 15.02.1 with Cura.

btw: in this firmware is a minor problem also: The z-steps are set to 533.3 but he correct value is 200.

This issue had been posted here in November already. Is there still the wrong value in the firmware installed by Cura or did I made mistake?

Nevertheless the heated bed seems to be recognized by the firmware and it the current temperature is displayed on the controller.

 

When I set the heated bed to 70° nothing happens at all - it doesn't get warmer.

 

I checked the output voltage on the heated bed PCBs output and there are only 0.3 volts. So I am afraid that the board ist faulty, or is there any other possibility for this behaviour?

 

Any help is appreciated.

 

Cheers,

Joerg

 

[amedee 349]

I followed the installation guide to 100% and installed the new firmware 15.02.1 with Cura.

btw: in this firmware is a minor problem also: The z-steps are set to 533.3 but he correct value is 200.

This issue had been posted here in November already. Is there still the wrong value in the firmware installed by Cura or did I made mistake?

 

If you have the wrong z-steps, then you have installed the wrong firmware...

The correct firmware should be 'MarlinUltimaker-HBK-250000.hex'

(There is no way Cura can see if you have an HBK or not, so if you have not changed your machine config in Cura, it will by default still install the 'blue tape' version )

 

[onkelgeorg 36]

no, you are wrong may be my writing is a little bit confusing

I installed the new firmware using Cura and after the succesful installation Cura displayed the .hex number you mentioned.

Otherwise the Ulticontroller wouldn't give the possibility to use the heated bed, right? On the Ulticontroller there is a possiblilty to check the Firmware version, it says: 15.02.1

I naturally setup a new machine in Cura also.

btw: the wrong z-steps were already reported in November: http://umforum.ultimaker.com/index.php?/topic/8305-wrong-default-axis-steps-per-unit-in-branch-marlin-um-heatedbedupgrade/?p=78122

any other idea?

 

[amedee 349]

btw: the wrong z-steps were already reported in November: http://umforum.ultimaker.com/index.php?/topic/8305-wrong-default-axis-steps-per-unit-in-branch-marlin-um-heatedbedupgrade/?p=78122

 

 

And I gave there the same answer...

Either you have a custom built heated bed and you have to build your own firmware, or you have the official Ultimaker heated bed kit (HBK) and by using the MarlinUltimaker-HBK-250000.hex you will get the right STEPS_PER_UNIT.

You don't have to believe me -- just read the source code: https://github.com/Ultimaker/Marlin/blob/Marlin_UM_HeatedBedUpgrade/Marlin/Configuration.h#L458

(The post you are referring to is from a guy trying to use the HBK firmware on a self-built HB, which obviously gives the wrong steps per unit as he did not change the z stage)

 

[onkelgeorg 36]

ok, I understand.

But why can it be the wrong firmware? I did everything exactly as recommended in the installation manual of the original kit.

And again: If I really have the wrong firmware installed, why is it possible to set a temperature for the heated bed? If the firmware is wrong the printer shouldn't 'see' any heated bed, right?

Is there any other way than installing it through Cura? May be I should give this a try?

Thank you for getting into this issue.

 

[amedee 349]

Apologies if I confused you, but my remark regarding the firmware was only about you mentioning the 'wrong' steps per unit, not about the fact that your bed is not heating.

Regarding the firmware if it says "Ultimaker:_15.xxx" and you have the option to preheat the bed in the "Preheat PLA1" menu, then you definitely have the right firmware.

The next step is to measure the voltage coming out of the bard where de bed is plugged in (while pre-heating), this will tell us know if the issue is with the bed / bed cable or on the electronics side...

 

[onkelgeorg 36]

hehe, ok

Yes I have the option to preheat the HPB, that's what I did when I measured the 0.3 V on the output, after I have chosen the "Preheat PLA1" option.

The temperature is set to 70° but the HPB stucks at 20° and doesn't change.

So I removed the large plug with the two thicker wires from the PCB and measured approx. 0.3 Volts.

 

[aviphysics 9]

I think the next step would be to rule out the cable by probing the connector on the board.

[amedee 349]

Can you also measure what happens on your main board when you switch the bed on (on the big green HB connecteor where you screwed the red/black wires) ?

If we don't have anything there, then we have a problem on the mainboard...

If we do have some voltage, then we can measure on the other side of the cable (on the HB extension board) to see what we have there...

 

[aviphysics 9]

BTW, just for the sake of thoroughness, you should double check the connections between the main board and the HBK board. Maybe even post a picture.

[anon4321 16]

I think aviphysics has a good recommendation. Take and post pics. Of interest is how you have them black and red wire connected to the heater output on the UM shield, The red must be in the terminal nearest to the outside of the board or the right most terminal if the power switch is at the top. And the black next to in in the HOT BED terminal.

See the two pics at the bottom of page 13 here: https://ultimaker.com/download/178/Assembly_Manual_-_Heated_Bed_Update_kit_1.1_%281%29.pdf

The red and black cable must be correctly connected and you should have about 18.5V at both ends when the bed is heating.

 

[onkelgeorg 36]

Can you also measure what happens on your main board when you switch the bed on (on the big green HB connecteor where you screwed the red/black wires) ?

If we don't have anything there, then we have a problem on the mainboard...

If we do have some voltage, then we can measure on the other side of the cable (on the HB extension board) to see what we have there...

 

Good point, I will check it after work this evening.

Thanks to all other posters, I will double check and take some pics.

Cheers,

Joerg

 

[onkelgeorg 36]

Hi all,

here is my update:

First I checked the voltage on the mainboard as suggested by Phil - Result: 18.66 V

Then I checked the voltage on the new PCB: 18.66 V - uuummm... strange...

Both LEDs (on the output and the input) were lit, so I gave it a try and set the heated bed to 70°. It started to heat up immediately.

Sorry that I don't have a final conclusion what the error was. Fact is that I didn't change anything, but now it works :shock:

So what can I say? Thanks to all people that tried to help with their ideas.

Cheers,

Joerg

 

[amedee 349]

Happy to hear it's working!

Maybe we had a bad contact in the cables...

Anyway, happy printing!

 

[LePaul 321]

I'm have the very same issue...PCB has the green indicator light...but no temp

[LePaul 321]

I created a new thread for this in the Hardware Troubleshooting section of the forum