(Fixed)Used Ender 3 pro - odd issues with axis movement and auto home goes to center of build plate
(Fixed)Used Ender 3 pro - odd issues with axis movement and auto home goes to center of build plate
Edit: Fixed by replacing the main board. I probably could have just added a BLTouch which was considered, but the USB port was unusable and I need that. I'm keeping the old board to mess around with it for later though. Possible good learning experience to be had.
I picked this up as an Amazon return/open box. The person that returned it just swapped their old printer and returned it.
Anyways, I was able to get it running and starting it up I am able to move all axis like normal. But when I select Auto Home the z will lift about 5mm. This lift happens no matter where it's located. The head and print bed will move to their zero points and touch the sensors then both move to roughly their center points.
From this point all the axis will only move in the positive directions (starting at ~145 and can move to 150 but won't move back to the 145 position. X, Y, and Z will all do this).
From what I found, it sounds like the BLTouch firmware may be installed, as there is also a leveling option in the menus. I'm not sure if this would explain the axis movement issues though.
I have tried reseating all connections, tightened power supply connections, resetting to factory through the menu and gcode, and changing/updating firmware.
Updating the firmware seems to be failing as it boots up normally and the versions don't change (formatted to FAT32 with 4k sectors). I'm guessing I may need to replace some hardware but if there's anything else I can try first, I would love to get some input.
Printer info: Ender 3 pro, software 2.0.8.27, hardware 4.2.2, 2.0.8.2 April 28 '22
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From what I found, it sounds like the BLTouch firmware may be installed, as there is also a leveling option in the menus. I’m not sure if this would explain the axis movement issues though.
Sounds correct, with a BLTouch you usually calibrate Z by probing the center of the bed.
It likely starts by lifting Z to avoid damaging something, because the printer doesn't know if it has a safe distance to the build plate before it is fully homed, e.g. the nozzle might scrape the bed if it was touching when you powered on the printer. I think both normal and BLTouch firmware does this though.
Grab the firmware that matches your printer, i.e. both mainboard version and accessory-wise, from Creality's support page. Based on what you've told us I think it should be the file named "Ender-3 pro 4.2.2 mainboard firmware (32 bit) 16 Jan. 2021". You can of course try a third party build of Marlin, but perhaps try the official one first? Btw. did you get the hardware version (4.2.2) by opening the printer and looking at the mainboard, or is that what the firmware reports? Not sure if it's possible to get this wrong or if it wouldn't even start if you flash it with something else. Maaaaybe it's possible that it could only move in one direction because the firmware doesn't match the hardware? Only seen this happen with a single axis before, not all of them..
Let's hope it's only a case of the wrong firmware, and that the printer you got doesn't have any mechanical issues too. If someone else has returned this to Amazon there's an even bigger risk than usual that it has some flaw. I've met people who bought new printers from Amazon and had to return multiple units before they got one that was fully working.. Supposedly there's a pretty big business around repackaging returned printers to make them look new so they can be sold to some other unexpecting Amazon customer, and they don't check any other functionality than that it turns on.
Ender-3 pro 4.2.2 mainboard firmware (32 bit) 16 Jan. 2021”.
Thanks for the input. I tried your suggestion and it didn't load onto the board. When powering on it did the same as the other times I tried and just booted normally. I also have custom Marlin ready to compile and I think if that doesn't work I will probably pick up a new mainboard. I opened it up and looked at the board itself to verify the hardware version before moving along with troubleshooting. I think I may need a new mainboard anyway because the USB port is all jacked up and I can't get one in. I assume it's probably broken and I'll need it working for OctoPrint at some point.
This printer was purchased through a 3rd party that sells returned Amazon printers with no returns and a warning "There could be any number of issues with what you get" kind of thing. It was only $80 USD. I knew what I was gambling on and honestly I probably would have purchased the same or similar off Craigslist or something at around the same price and knowing I would probably need to fix it up somehow. I'm not mad, just annoyed that someone would do that lol. It's also my second (could consider my 3rd I suppose) printer and digging deeper to learn more about it all is an experience I'm enjoying and have been looking forward to. I may get another from the same store at some point.
Thanks again for your help!
IIRC this board has a feature to prevent it getting stuck in an infinite flash loop, so it won't flash a firmware when the file on the sdcard has the same name as the last firmware. If you tried flashing "firmware.bin" try renaming it to "firmware7347.bin" or something else random.
At least in the past, Microcenter has regularly ran a campaign where they sell an Ender 3 Pro for $99 to "new customers", so from what I've heard you just get some friend or relative to register with their phone number to take advantage of the deal :) If yours is fixable its of course a better deal, but more of a gamble like you say.
Definitely better to take these risks when you have a little bit of experience with 3d printers. I was a little worried that this was your first printer and you were trying to fix it by looking up stuff online. If I were going to replace the mainboard of my Ender I'd probably go with Mellow's FLY puppet because I run Klipper already and I like it a lot. Or if you want to stay with Marlin I think FLY E3 Pro V3.0 is a decent choice. Having a board with 5 stepper drivers makes upgrading to dual Z much easier
I tried renaming the firmware as well and didn't work. I'll probably pick up a new board at this point.
I'm currently running Marlin on my other printer and have been curiouse to try others. What about Klipper do you like? I might go that route.
Thanks for the board suggestions, I'll definitely look into those, they should really nice so far.
I like printing fast, so Klipper's resonance compensation helps maintaining good print quality at higher speeds. I've done manual calibration of it and that worked really well for me, so I don't think an accelerometer is mandatory. Pressure advance also improves print quality, but Marlin has linear advance which I think does something similar.
I also think it's very convenient to keep the whole configuration in a text file and just reload it with the press of a button. Marlin has some settings in EEPROM which you can change through printer menus while others require a serial connection to the printer, but for "advanced" settings you have to recompile the entire firmware and flash it. Most things can be circumvented by adding overrides to the slicer start gcode, so it's not really an issue, but over all working with Klipper feels more consistent and streamlined.
I also think having a full web based UI that I can control from any computer, like Mainsail, is really nice. But a disadvantage is that the display I have connected to the printer (the stock E3v2 display) does not work with Klipper so I have to use my phone to interact with the printer if I don't have a laptop in the same room.
Well, shit.
Looking at some of that stuff real quick, at face value, I'm really liking these options and features. This will be a good start with the Ender as I've got my Vyper setup for things that I need quality in and don't care about speed.
I think I'll move the Ender to Klipper and get out set for speed and useful prints over cosmetic needs. It's been annoying printing a bracket or clip with those settings and a .2mm nozzle that takes 8 hours when I know I can get it printed in at least half the time.
Thanks a ton for the suggestions and your input. These kind of changes and modding were exactly what I wanted to do with my Vyper a while ago but didn't because it was my only printer and already tuned.
Fun times are ahead for Kronin!
Good luck!