Creator X died...

[roguesqd]

Well, my Creator X gave up the ghost...and she died. I have only had the machine for 6 months.

I was having an issue where my extruder was not moving in the x axis (it was just grinding). I narrowed it down to an overheating issue and the small fan underneath the machine that cools the board failed. Flashforge support sent me a new fan and everything seemd to be working for about 3 hours...then the machine completely died. Seemed to be getting no power at all.

I tried turning it off/on multiple times with no power (no lights, no display screen...nada damm thing). I did notice though that when the machine was switched to on...when i manually moved the buld plate up/down, the screen would briefly flicker on/off on the display but it only flicker...so some power is getting through.

Anyone have any ideas what the problem could be? Possible failure in the power supply?

[WayTooManyHobbies]

My Lulzbot Taz 4 will show the same kind of screen flicker if I move an axis with the machine powered down. I speculate that it's due to the stepper motors acting as mini generators when they're moved, and back-feeding the electronics.

For your issue, I'd suspect either power supply or electronics board. I'm not familiar with the Creator X, but could you wire up an alternate power supply?

Another thought - if Flashforge won't replace the board, could you purchase a "generic" RAMPS setup and retrofit? I would think that the running gear (bearings, steppers, linear rods, etc.) is still fine.

Good luck with your issue.

[roguesqd]

I tested the power supply with a multi-meter and it is reading 24V coming out (and the power supply says DC output 24V)...so the power supply seems fine.

Guess it is the board

[jfkansas]

I imagine that fan going out may have let some of the components overheat. They worked for a little bit again when you added the cooling fan back but they were weakened when the fan went out and they finally failed.

[Teledog]

Any obvious burned parts on the main board?
Also, when my FFCx arrived , it was dead..the spade lug connectors at the underside/back were barely hanging on- had to tighten them all with pliers.
Good luck!

[Mjolinor]

If you have 24 volts output from the PSU and the steppers will flash the backlight on the LCD then one suspects it to be the power supply on the main board.

This should not be a hard fix. Where in the world are you?

[jdg56]

Sigh. My PowerSpec just suffered the same symptoms, mostly. I was working Friday night, and twice the printer went out. Both times it rebooted and was ready to go again.
Yesterday it worked fine, but this afternoon, it died and will not boot.
I did not notice any reduction in noise that would indicate a fan problem before it went.
[time passes]
Ok, after replacing my old and wonky multimeter, it turns out that the power supply is producing 0VDC on either the positive or negative rails. There is a green LED lit up on the power supply, and the PSU fan is running, so power is coming in at least that far.

Verified the new meter with several batteries to make sure it was working.

The PSU is a Mean Well SP-320-24. Sager/Powergate has them for US$61.30. Ordering now.

I hope that's all it is, and that it didn't take out the mainboard when it went.

Anyone have any suggestions for replacing the mainboard if it was an innocent bystander casualty of this PSU failure?

If i must, should I get the FlashForge mainboard, or should I look at something more,... open?

Wish me luck and speedy delivery!

Cheers,

John

[Mjolinor]

Are you measuring the voltage between the positive and negative terminals?

If you are measuring ground to positive and ground to negative then it will read zero on both as the 24 volt output of the PSU is isolated from the grounds normally.

[jdg56]

Uh oh. Yes, I was. I figured it should be putting out 24VDC in respect to ground.

Damn.

I guess I have to try to measure it again, don't I?

[time passes]

Yep. 24.3VDC positive-to-negative.

So, about my mainboard question...

[jdg56]

I'm chatting with MicroCenter right now. It's within 180 days, so I hope I can get some warranty relief.

I have to bring it in for warranty repair. Maybe I should pick up a Printrbot kit to keep me busy whilst I wait.

Actually, I have a Makerbot Cupcake that a friend 'loaned' to me before I bought the Creator. I think I'll tinker with that and see if I can get it working for him.