MP3DP arduino mega usb communication burnt out and drivers over heating

#1

so got my printer to finally print today. did a 20 mm calibration cube a few times and it printed great and the heat sinks didnt get really hot or warm and everyhting was working great.

then all of a sudden during another test print my computer turns off and resets and so does the arduino. after that i could not communicate with the board anymore through my computer. the power light came on but the communication lights did not light up nor could i find it on my computer that it was connected. i plugged in my screen i bought off this website and the firmware and 3d printer still works. i checked some circuits and come to find that i was getting power from usb but no communication. now this was a brand new arduino mega bc the one that came with the combo i bought off here did the same thing yet still worked.

then as i was trying to print off sd and see if the printer was still working the heat sinks for y and z axis got really hot which was werid and the motors sounded different like they were struggling.

any ideas on what i did wrong or how to fix this?

#2

It can be a faulty Arduino. I bought a couple and had the same problem with one too. It seemed to still work, but if I would plug it in to my Macbook, it would crash. Switched to another mega and everything worked again. So why did my other Arduino break down? Probably because of my power supply. I used an atx pc supply and they can have certain voltage spikes when you start it and my cheap chinese electronics don’t really like that. So you might want to check your power supply with a multimeter. My old power supply gave off 14volts when i switched it on…

#3

i bought another mega just incase something like this happened and im getting the one that acted up replaced soon.

i just dont get it.

i checked my power supply and its outputting 12.15 V when i measure with my multimeter.

should i have not plugged in my computer into the adruino while the power supply is on? like could my computer have outputed too much voltage or something through the usb causing the problem?

the space between the voltage plug and the usb connection on the board was really hot when the computer restarted and it could not communicate with the arduino anymore.

also not i feel the drivers are getting hotter quicker through the heat sinks and im worried if maybe its my ramps board needing to be replaced too.

is there anything i can be testing to systematically figure out what may be wrong with my boards and printer?

the board still works because i have that seperate lcd connected and it works great.

what is to be expected heat wise when running a board like this for 3d printing? i just dont want to keep damaging boards. thanks

#4

Exactly what is plugged into you board. A picture of everything would help.

#5

thats my instagram. i posted the pics on there.

#6

if you need more pics let me know.

i was ultimately wanting to get away from using the computer and just use the lcd. but i did not have the lcd hooked up with the computer and board.

and it was running for about an hour or two before it messed up.

#7

also for the drivers i have them set around 0.65 volts just like they came. are they supposed to get hot while just sitting there or after a little big of motor movement? are they set too high?

#8

On the green plug your white is negative and black is positive?

#9

Yes it is. I used what I had at the time.

#10

You need to find the data sheet and set your drivers to match your steppers.

You have shown the board but not what is plugged into it. Since this is not all my stuff and I don’t know what you are doing with it I can’t answer specifics.

#11

i am using everything you had listed with the links. its either from amazon or your shop

the motors are rated for 2 amps and 2.2 volts. i have the drivers set at 0.65 volts each including extruder

what am i not showing? i have it wired just like i am supposed to. the green power plugg has 2 different sets of power coming from the psu and i have the continous fan wires attached, i have the other fan control through d9. i have the heat bed in D8, and the extruder D 10. i have T0 and T1 with the thermisters. i have all the steppers connected with the polarity i wanted. the z has both stepper connectors connected and not coming off one connection. i dont have endstops connected.

#12

The links are for illustrative purposes they aren’t necessarily the best or cheapest for the job. That said they will work.

You have burnt out two megas?

Try a different USB cable, this is probably the issue.

Double check your fan polarities, wiring them wrong can draw too much power.

Stepper voltage is fine, it has nothing to do with your problem.

I am not sure what is happening. It works fine with the lcd but issues when it is all plugged into the computer? If you have an LCD there is no need for a computer to be plugged in. If that is the issue just don’t do it.

You are describing the 5v regulator on the arduino getting too hot. That is usually from trying to draw too much power.That usually happens when people plug in fans and LED’s on the ramps board. The typical problem from a driver issue is they are shorted and pop instantly.

#13

yes. the first one from you and the second i bought from radioshack but i believe the usb chip is just burnt bc i checked the voltage regulator and it is showing 5 volts and the only part of the arduino board that is getting hot is at the chip that is used for usb communication. i have tried different cables with no luck.

the fan polarities are correct.

i am fine wihtout using the computer but what am i losing when i cant connect my computer to fix a firmware problem or something? or is that not an issue and i should just being using the lcd with no problems?

with the lcd the motors work and evyerhting seems fine and it will start a print but i felt the driver heat sinks get really hot and didnt know if that was normal which i am printing a fan holder for them on another printer.

so are you saying i dont have a problem at all and should just move on? i just dont want any other problems nor was i expecting to have problems this late in the game. i just dont want to mess up my first built 3d printer.

#14

If you need to update the firmware you can just pull the mega off the bottom and flash it then plug it back in.

The drivers will get hot. If they get too hot they have built in thermal protection and will stop until they cool down. A fan is recommended.

You should be fine.