I am fed up with troubleshooting. My projects are starting to pile up and I seem to keep discovering a new issue every time I start up my lowrider cnc. I have a RAMPs 1.4, Arduino MEGA 2560 and the DRV8825 stepper drivers with a LCD display. Similar to this set here.
I had my machine working already - next time I start it up, I can see that the display had some pixle issues - but I could still read the screen so I did not worry overly - but soon realized I also had some issues with z-probing.
I could resolve that with simply switching the clamps on the touch plate and the mill bit around - at least with probing triggered via Repetier host it worked - but today I found one of my y-axis stepper motors not responding. After a bit of disconnecting the plugs and switching them around, it somehow worked again - but when starting the job, the z-probe again did not function (started from the display).
In short - I don’t want to troubleshoot anymore - I wonder if I should simply dump my control board in the bin and get something else. Is it fair to blame it on the Ramps? Unfortunately, getting e.g. a RAMBo does not seem to be so straight forward here in Europe either…
Do you have suggestions for me to propell my progress on actually working with the machine and not on the machine anymore?
RAMPS is old, but pretty solid… These problems sound to me more like wiring issues than the board itself.
Now the RAMBo is probably the most straightforward upgrade from the RAMPS that you have, but other options do exist. The SKR 1.3/1.4 have some support and should be easier to find.
In Europe you should be able to get Duet hardware easily enough (Kind of expensive, but should be easy to find.) A couple of us are using Duet boards to run our machines, and can help you with a working configuration and wiring guide.
I’m pretty sure though that what you are experiencing is a wiring issue. Those little Dupont connectors are a pain to get just right, and if they aren’t you get all kinds of phantom issues. I have used a RAMPS controller for years on end without having to touch it or its wiring once I got everything connected solidly.
Do what Dan says, check all the wires. If that does not work out, the Open CNC Shield sold by a German guy is a great alternative, you can basically use every controller with it and have your choice of drivers etc. since it’s a modular board.
Thanks for your thoughts - my wiring is messy - but that aside - should I have paid some attention to using any special types of wires (shielded) or run wires not direcltly along each other?
