Is this forum still active?

[Riptide360]

Looking for the best place to post my Printrbot Play questions.

This forum seems dated and has no folders for specific Printrbot models.

Is this still the official Printrbot forum?

I'm dealing with an issue where my Printrbot Play 1505 with a Rev F5 printrboard that came assembled won't USB connect with Cura unless I unplug the black wire from the ICSP connection that powers my Hot End fan for my recently replaced Ubis 13S (had the 13 before).

I wrote 2 instructables in my quest for an answer, and I've narrowed it down to this wire, but I don't know how to rewire it so I can have the upper fan on constantly and if needed the lower fan on using the M106/M107 commands (they get ignored).

As a new forum user I can't post the URL, but if you go to instructables
and search for:
How-to-Unclog-Your-Printrbot-Plays-Extruder/
and
Troubleshooting-Printrbot-Plays-USB-Connection/
you can see my progress

thanks for any assistance!

Stephen

[RetireeJay]

Well, for starters, the Printrbottalk forum is definitely still active, with about a dozen posts a week. (Not counting spam)
The Moderators and some others use the feature "View recent posts" - and the recent posts show up flagged in red until viewed (regardless of which sub-forum they are in).

However, this forum has never been an "Official" Printrbot forum. For quite a while there was an active sub-forum in "General" that Printrbot monitored, but they pretty much don't look at it anymore. When you come here, you get unofficial volunteer help.

There was a debate a while back about having sub-forums for specific models, but almost all topics of interest span several or all Printrbot models; the fundamentals of FDM printing, stepper motors, resistance heaters, thermistors, etc. are constant, and Printrbot has only used a small handful of different extruders. (Maybe the most recent electronics, the G series replacement for the Printrboard, will deserve its own sub-forum).

To get to your question, if you are using the correct pin (pin 1) on the ICSP connector (and your board doesn't have any flaky faults on it) then in principle there should be no interaction with the USB. Now, maybe there is some electrical noise being generated by your fan that is causing a problem. Just as an experiment, you could try connecting the black lead from your fan directly to one of the black leads coming in on the power connector. That will move the noise off from traces on the board. If you still have a problem after doing that, then perhaps the fan's electrical noise is being "broadcast" and the USB wiring is picking it up like an antenna.

Going back to my ham radio days, the methods for reducing this kind of interference are to twist the wires from the fan together so they are like a DNA helix, and to keep the fan's wire and the USB cable wiring as far apart as possible.

[ktfergus]

Hi Stephen,

Having the fan run constantly on my Play drove me nuts; one of the first things I did after I removed the extruder housing was to disconnect the hotend fan. I've found you don't really need constant cooling with the 13s. If you can't get the hotend fan running, try a few prints without it & see how things go.

I replaced both fans with one 40mm Noctua mounted at an angle to cool the hotend & prints. I print PETG @ 240C & TPU @230C. The fan runs only when I'm cooling the print & I haven't had any jams. Here's a pic of my first set up:


I'm currently experimenting with this configuration:


However, I've found the blower fan at 100% is too strong & I'll probably switch back to the Noctua mounted on the z probe at an angle...

Hope some of this helps,

Kelly

[Riptide360]

Jay & Kelly,

Thanks for the warm welcome and great tips!

It is good to know that the differences between Printrbots is really just an evolution in Printrboards, Hot Ends and Bed Sizes.

I think I've resolved the upper fan grounding problem (printing a test right now). I wrote up the problem at:

I like the info on fan alternatives. The upper fan is maddenly loud so anything that I can do to minimize the noise and let the wife let me run prints at night would be welcomed!

thanks,

Stephen

[RetireeJay]

Hey, I don't single-handedly run this forum! Plexus is the Owner and master administrator. Mooselake, Pxt, thawkins, Ktfergus, blort, and many others contribute often.
(See: I did read your instructables post all the way through.)

[Josephwillian]

Yes, this forum is still active. And I don't know why you ae asking this question. I faced the technical problem with my account issue on this forum. But now my account is active and working fine. I think you should post your Instructables on this form so that all we can take benefits from the information.