My brand new A1 is Wacko! Help!

The part where it runs in the square over and over looks like it failed the nozzle clump detection - though it doesn’t look like it should have. The fact that it goes back to the wiper after each time it goes to the right rear and drops would indicate that it’s trying to clear a clump from the nozzle. It drops just off the edge of the plate to make sure it doesn’t hit anything, with the premise being that if there is a filament clump on the nozzle from adhesion issues on the first 2 layers the clump will strike the edge of the plate and it can sense that it hits something. That may all just be being caused by the whole alignment issue, though, as there clearly is no clump there.

Just wanted to point that out as the whole running in a square issue is probably just a side effect of the alignment problem, and if the correct issue existed what it’s doing there is a correct thing for it to do. It’s probably just not passing that test due to the whole thing being out of alignment, and correcting the alignment will likely correct that as well. That said, it will always go to the right corner after it finishes the second layer and dip down a bit. Normally, it will simply go right back to the print after that without making the square and going back to the wiper.

IMG_9989

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VERY informative! Thank you! I was especially concerned about the trip to the right rear corner after putting down a perfectly good layer and after my machine positioning was corrected. I have everything back in order now and I will make a separate post outlining that for the benefit of others who might screw up like I did.

I don’t think we’re really guilty of beating a dead horse. But if you think so…

LOL, aimed at really how many times you’ve had to describe what you felt was wrong.

I usually reserve that for filament drying discussions, but we feeling a little off. No offense meant.

None taken bro. But here’s a summary that does make mention of the horse thing. There may be others who think I/we were doing a beat down:

My A1 problem has been resolved. I will give a brief summary of what happened for the benefit of others who may be using a not-deep-enough countertop against a wall. If this sort of information puts you too sleep because you’re not the nerdy type, maybe forums on photography would be more your cup of tea:

  1. This is my first A1, my third BBL printer.

  2. I was aware that earlier Al’s had a potential fire hazard and that BBL rectified the problem.

  3. When setting up my machine I noticed a plastic projection, (not unlike a body part of mine and about the same size) protruding from the rear of the machine. No one told me so and I didn’t read it anywhere, but I assumed this projection was there to prevent placing the machine too close to the while. This would protect the upgraded wiring design from undue stress.

  4. I assumed that this projection would assure enough room for full Y+ travel. You know what they say about assumptions. But I manually moved the bed there anyhow and it seemed minimal but adequate, maybe.

  5. When the weird behavior began, I double checked to make sure the bed wasn’t hitting the wall. It wasn’t. But my forum friends pointed out to me that the bed was apparently crashing into the cable between the bed and the wall producing the same effect. Duh!

  6. A forced incomplete fulfilling of a gcode command forced the stepper motor to skip steps in audiblle protest and forced it to begin an erroneous routine.

  7. An extension to my countertop, though unappealing to the interior decorators among us, made it possible to move well away from the wall and leaving a good 1-3/4" of space from the wall to the end of the would-be safe space projection.

Mind you that the machine passed the extensive new-printer setup calibration while in the too-close-to-the-wall condition.

After adding the space so that my A1 pokes out in the room, I printed some brackets that force the correct positioning of the machine after any future removals of the machine for maintenance or cleaning.

Someone suggested the beating of a dead horse. It takes a lot of time to make this post. I could just enjoy the benefits of your suggestions and move on. But I get a lot from others who donate their time. And when you do a lot of getting, you ought to do a little giving. End (till next time).

See photos:

From those last 2 pics, I think your gonna still have problems.
It still looks like the bed is going to hit the wall.
You want to push the bed all the way back, and then give it another 2" for cord clearance…JMO

You said 2". I’ve got about 1-3/4" from the end of the projection alone, and another 1-1/2" from the end of the projection to the machine. I’ve watched it run through its paces including a full Y+ travel. It’s got plenty of room now. But thanks. I appreciate your thoughts.

I just don’t see it from those pics, the cord is already against the wall.
Can you post a few pics with the bed pushed all the way back…pic from the side & a pic from the top…??

Where it’s positioned, does the front of the build plate move all the way back to the nozzle?

I’m not sure I understand how the bed could position itself incorrectly relative to the nozzle if the bed can achieve a full Y+ movement. Now that the bed is obstructed by absolutely nothing, and since the gantry is stationary, I can’t imagine what else the operator could do. I’m about to run a routine so that the printer lays down filament for the largest possible square that the bed can accommodate. I expect it will do just fine.

Agree with others that you are still too close to the wall. In your picture the bed is lined up with the front of the printer and the cable is already pushed against the wall.
What if you turn the printer sideways? If it fits sideways on the counter you won’t have to worry about the wall interfering with anything.

Might I suggest this.
Stand approximately 4 feet from the wall and put your hands out directly in front of you.
Take a full step (yall see what I did there) forward. What happens. You hit the wall.

Now start again, arms out, but take a step backwards and this is your new starting position. Take a, ahem, step forward. You don’t hit the wall, right. Right?

This is what everyone is saying. In the above example your starting point would be where the base of the printer is, and the arms are your print bed. If you move towards the back you hit the wall (or the cords) and stop. Can’t go any further.

Now if you move your starting position further from the wall, beyond the reach of your arms when moving backwards, you don’t hit the wall, thus your print isn’t going to be affected.

So to solve your probem you are going to have to either move the printer further out from the wall, which looks like you can’t do, or turn it sideways so the bed can travel all the way back without hitting anything at all, and move forward without hitting anything at all. Thus it can take all the steps it needs, and won’t skip any.

This has been my Ted Talk, thank you.

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I have no problems with this

It’s true that the cable rubs a little bit on the wall, but it doesn’t seem to interfere with printing. But maybe I’ll cut a hole in the wall and print a frame so that it doesn’t look as ugly. I’m not beyond doing something like that. My printer room is all for me. I do what I want to in there. :slight_smile:

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Thanks main. But everyone seems to be missing the point that my printer is well away from the wall now. When the bed is pushed fully back, it’s an inch, a full inch from the wall. I don’t know how increasing that air space will do anything for me. Maybe I’m missing something.

is it hitting anything? anything at all when it goes back?

Yep. I don’t have that much space, but the bed pushed fully back is a full inch away from the wall. When I was a kid, carpenters used to say “A miss is as good as a mile.” (I was born in 1945 so that might not use that saying anymore). When I started this thread, there was no “miss”, it was a “hit”.

It’s not just about the bed, it’s about the cord also.
Leave it that way, you’ll be replacing the cord within 6 months.

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Thank you. I’ll keep an eye on it.