Strange problem with ABS, Stepper heating up

Hi everyone

(Makerfarm 8") Ramps 1.4, NEMA 17's

I'm relatively new to 3d printing but so far have been able to print PLA with great success. All my steppers remain cool to the touch and prints come out great.

I decided to try printing in ABS the other day and for whatever reason the stepper on my extruder becomes extremely hot about 10 minutes into the print. Also noticed temps are going up very slowly and dropping when the fan kicks on. (factory settings)

If i try adjusting it on the board it just stops working so I'm as low as I can possibly go with it still functioning.

Switch back to PLA, no problems at all.

My ABS prints are coming out great, my only issue is the stepper motor becomes too hot to touch for more than afew seconds

Any help would be appreciated.

I'd also like to add that now my jhead is holding strong at 225 but my bed has dropped from 110 to 97/98 and wont go any higher. It starts out right and slowly drops.

I use fans on my extruder steppers. They easily keep the heat down. Without the fan, the steppers get hot enough to burn my fingers.

1. If the fan you are talking about is the fan blowing on the extruder head, disconnect the fan from the RAMPS board and connect it directly to either one of the power input points from your power supply. That way, the fan will always be on and the temperature of the extruder will stay constant.

2. If it is the stepper motor that is heating up, then there is too much current going through it. You will have to adjust the variable resistor. Look here ( http://3dprintboard.com/showthread.p...formance/page2 ) for discussions about doing that.


3. For your problem with the printer bed, it is not getting enough current. Get a 12V horn relay from an auto shop and wire the relay between your power supply and bed. Use connections from D8 on the RAMPS board to switch the relay on and off.
DO NOT PUT A RELAY BETWEEN THE POWER SUPPLY AND EXTRUDER HEAD. You'll end up frizzling your Arduino board.

Old Man Emu

Well you can check your stepper driver for how much current it is getting,

But these motors are kinda normal to run that hot, also so far i have heard, how slower the movement in a long period, How hotter it will become.

As heated bed goes, for me it stays between 107-110. You could try a relay like Emo said.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DrLuigi

You could try a relay like Emo said.

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Hey!!!!

This is Old Man Emu:
Attachment 852


This is an EMO:

Attachment 853

Quote:

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Originally Posted by old man emu

1. If the fan you are talking about is the fan blowing on the extruder head, disconnect the fan from the RAMPS board and connect it directly to either one of the power input points from your power supply. That way, the fan will always be on and the temperature of the extruder will stay constant.

2. If it is the stepper motor that is heating up, then there is too much current going through it. You will have to adjust the variable resistor. Look here ( http://3dprintboard.com/showthread.p...formance/page2 ) for discussions about doing that.


3. For your problem with the printer bed, it is not getting enough current. Get a 12V horn relay from an auto shop and wire the relay between your power supply and bed. Use connections from D8 on the RAMPS board to switch the relay on and off.
DO NOT PUT A RELAY BETWEEN THE POWER SUPPLY AND EXTRUDER HEAD. You'll end up frizzling your Arduino board.

Old Man Emu

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Thank you for the advice with the fan. I will definitely do that.

I have adjusted the current on the stepper drivers. I have it as low as I can go with out it stopping extrusion. I can print PLA for 10 hours with out getting anywhere near as hot.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Someguy87

Thank you for the advice with the fan. I will definitely do that. I have adjusted the current on the stepper drivers. I have it as low as I can go with out it stopping extrusion. I can print PLA for 10 hours with out getting anywhere near as hot.

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WIN!

Old Man Emu

Quote:

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Originally Posted by old man emu

WIN!

Old Man Emu

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Sadly for me.. I mean I adjusted it and same story. Works great for pla and still gets crazy hot for abs

😭

I have my extruder motor fan wired directly to the power supply and simply tie-wrapped directly to the motor. It turns on when the power does. My nozzle fan I left in place.

Figured out that my power supply was too weak. It was forcing me to have to turn the current to high to get it to extrude

thanks for the help everyone.