Marlin installed on MKS Gen v1.4 with TMC2130, steppers won't move

[AndyBoatman]

I've got a Maker Select v2.1 that I'm installing an MKS Gen 1.4 and TMC2130s in SPI mode with Marlin 1.1.9-bugfix. These are the drivers I bought. My problem is the steppers refuse to move. Also, this LCD works, but turning the knob causes the board to reset. The X, Y, Z positions on the LCD flash between "0" and "?", and when I try to home, the LCD says homing failed, printer halted, please reset. This is on the terminal:

Code: Select all

    Send: G28 X0 Y0
    [...]
    Recv: echo:busy: processing
    Printer seems to support the busy protocol, will adjust timeouts and set busy interval accordingly
    [...]
    Recv: echo:busy: processing
    [...]
    Recv: echo:busy: processing
    [...]
    Recv: Error:Printer halted. kill() called!
    Changing monitoring state from "Operational" to "Error: Printer halted. kill() called!"
    Changing monitoring state from "Error: Printer halted. kill() called!" to "Offline (Error: Printer halted. kill() called!)"
    Connection closed, closing down monitor

I followed these two tutorials to set everything up. M122 returns this, which makes me think I have the SPI wired correctly. Here is my configuration.h and configuration_adv.h. I'm stumped. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[AndyBoatman]

Turns out the LCD and SPI pins were conflicting. Reassigning them seems to have solved part of the problem. Now though, I can get the X and Y steppers to move, but the Z axis will move down normally, but up it makes a lot of noise. If i "help" it turn, it moves up some. Is there something wrong with my driver setting? Both Z steppers are connected to the same driver. I can home the Y axis successfully, but homing the X axis causes a homing failure and the controller reboots.

[Stefan]

Hi Andy,

(Couldn't help with the MKS, but think I can answer your current question.) You've got two motors drawing from the same driver, so turn up the z-driver amp setting in configuration_adv.h. Keep in mind that this will create more heat, so be sure to have a plan for cooling. I wouldn't be surprised if your x-homing problem is related: the extruder has to move up first in the z-direction in order to safely home x. If your z is having problems moving up, that might be cause of the failure.

-Stefan

[AndyBoatman]

I tried setting the current to 1000mA in configuration_adv.h for the Z driver, but when I start up, it's set to 800mA. I'm not sure if that is the expected behavior. I can set the current with M906 Z1000, then M122 reports 1000, but it doesn't seem to make a difference. It might be a little louder, but that could be my imagination. I also increased the DEFAULT_MAX_FEEDRATE on the Z from 2 to 3, which I saw in another thread. Not sure what else to check now. I'd love a suggestion.

[Stefan]

Hi Andy,

Loading defaults from the printer should clear up the 800mA vs 1000mA; it's a Marlin thing that I've seen, too.

Could there be a mechanical cause for this? I'm not sure what would let the motors move down properly but whine while trying to moving upward. If there were a problem with software endstops, I don't think the motors would make any noise at all (but if you have them enabled, you might try turning them off.)

Try swapping drivers to see if there is an issue with one? Use other pins for the SPI? (I have a RAMPS, so I can't give you specifics, but I do know that the recommended pins did NOT work for me).

Absolutely worst case: use an A4988 for Z. (Not a great answer, but it might get you printing)

-Stefan

[AndyBoatman]

I had been using marlin-conf to build and flash my MKS, so I decided just to use the arduino IDE. It fails to verify when I include the TMC2130stepper library, even when using a clean Marlin directory with default configs. Any idea why that might be?

As for your other suggestions, I don't have spare steppers or drivers to try. I'm coming from a melzi board that came in my printer, and it has integrated drivers. I've tried other pins for the SPI, and a cold reboot of the board doesn't incorporate my 1000mA settings. I don't think it's mechanical. The Z axis has a hardware endstop, but the other axes do not.

EDIT: forget about the IDE issue, I figured that one out. Didn't realize I wasn't supposed to manually include the U8Glib and TMC2130stepper libraries.

Otherwise, I'm thinking I may need to wire my Z steppers in series, rather than parallel like I have them now.

EDIT2: Well, I finally figured out the issue. None of my settings were being applied from configure.h or configure_adv.h. If I manually set the current, feedrate, and steps for the motors, everything works beautifully. So, what's going on with my settings? Also, the LCD still resets the printer when I turn the knob. And I can't home X. I can see the position numbers climbing on the LCD, but it doesn't move and then the printer halts. Is that an endstop problem? I'm using sensorless homing, and it seems to work fine on the Y axis.

[AndyBoatman]

I figured out why the knob reset the printer. The EXP2 is also reversed on the RepRapDiscount Full Graphic Smart Controller. I thought it was just EXP1 that was backwards. So, that's everything working, except for the X axis won't home. When I try to, it just moves a tiny bit, and I can see on the LCD it's trying to move to X-300. A few seconds later, the printer halts. I swapped the Y and X endstop jumpers, just to make sure one wasn't bad, but they both seem fine. I swapped the X and Y drivers, and the problem stays with the X axis. If I just manually jog the X axis, either with the LCD or GCODE, it moves as expected. I'm at a loss as to what to try next.

EDIT: Actually, I was wrong, the problem does follow the driver. Swapping it to the Y axis has caused it to behave the same way, and X would home successfully. I'll see if my soldering was bad on the DIAG pin on one of them.

EDIT2: Well, it looks like I have a bad driver. Even in the Z axis spot with a mechanical endstop, it still halts the printer when homing. For now, I swapped it to the extruder, and I can now home all 3 axes without halting the printer! Should I be worried about the driver that won't home?

A new problem did develop, though. The X axis when homing just bumps to the left a bit and calls that home. I played with the sensorless threshold, and 12 worked well for me.

[Stefan]

Hi Andy,

At least there is progress. I kept my mechanical stops; they were already there and didn't require any tuning. I've always had a handful of Pololu drivers sitting around just in case because they seem so fragile.

Try using M502 to restore your firmware settings. That problem with not taking the current change is just a weird quirk of Marlin (you did nothing wrong).

-Stefan

[AndyBoatman]

I actually managed to print something last night, but it didn't turn out too well.



The X axis wobbles like crazy. I think something might have broken with all the Z axis craziness. You can see what I mean in this clip.



What's going on here? That's not supposed to wobble like that, is it?

[AndyBoatman]

OK, so I tightened the X carriage rods and that solved the X axis slipping. Now the Y axis is slipping! Everything on the Y carriage is tight as I can get it, but it still does it. Do I need to increase my stepper current or something?

EDIT: That didn't help. In fact it got much worse. I increased the Y driver current to 950 and the Y homing threshold to 12, and this is what I get.