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If you are building the Proforge 2/2S with the Dual Switching Extruder, complete the build with stages 5, 6 and 7 of the Dual Switching Extruder Guide.
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Download the GitHub repository for the Proforge 2S. Inside will include the following that you will need for this stage of the build:
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Marlin Printer Firmware
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Touch Screen Firmware
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USB Drivers
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Also download pronterface:
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Pronterface- Printer Control Software
Mac version of Cura now also up, download here.
The Windows version of Cura is now up, Mac version will be up tomorrow afternoon, thanks for your patience! :)
Apologies in the delay, software links are now up.
We all need to have this software hyperlink fixed. Software is needed for hardware. Thanks.
Yeah, the link seems to be broken. Does anyone know where the software is available for download?
The download link does not work.
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You will also need to download and install the Arduino IDE.
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We recommend downloading V1.8.1, as this is what is used in this guide.
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In the USB driver folder on PC double click on the CH341SER Driver - PC.EXE file. On MAC see the Readme.pdf file in the Mac folder.
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You may need to right click, "run as admin" to open.
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Once open, click INSTALL.
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Once done, you should get a success message, click OK and close the programme.
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Disconnect the touch Screen display from the control board.
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Connect the printer to your computer via the blue USB cable.
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Open the Arduino IDE that you installed in step 3.
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Right click, Run as Admin
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Go to File -> Open
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Navigate to Marlin -> Marlin.ino in the Printer Firmware folder that you downloaded.
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Check you have downloaded the correct firmware depending on whether you are building the Proforge 2 or 2S.
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Go to Tools -> Port and select the port the Proforge 2/2S is connected to.
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There should only be one but if you have others disconnect the Proforge from your computer to deduce the correct COM port.
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Set the Board and Processor to Mega 2560
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Click upload.
Hi David,
On Windows right click on the start icon and go to device manager. With device manager open connect the printer via usb, it should pop-up as a new COM port. If not try connecting the usb cable directly to the control board, you may have a bad mount cable which we can replace if this is the case.
If the printer is connecting but just not showing up on the Arduino software then we recommend downgrading to version 1.8.1 (the one used in these instructions). Older Arduino IDE’s can be found here: https://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/OldSoftwa...
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Once the firmware has done uploading keep the USB connected and power up the Proforge 2/2S via the mains power cable.
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Check that the Hotend fan is spinning.
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Check that the electronics fan is also spinning.
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Launch Pronterface directly from it's folder.
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Select your COM port, and set the baudrate to 250000.
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Connect to the Proforge 2/2S.
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Once connected send an M119 command through the terminal on Pronterface.
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It should read back open for both the endstops and probe.
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Move by hand the axes so as to trigger the X & Y endstops. A green light should shine.
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Send the M119 command again - the X & Y endstops should return with a TRIGGERED message.
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Whilst holding a metal object under the probe (a red light should shine) send the M119 command.
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Pronterface should return: z_min: TRIGGERED.
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Disconnect the USB Cable and power off the printer from the mains.
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Copy the contents of the Touch Screen Firmware folder (depending on whether you're building a Proforge 2 or 2S) to the included SD card.
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Make sure only the contents of the folder is on the SD card.
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Make sure the printer is powered off and disconnected from your computer.
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Reconnect the Touch Screen to the control board.
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Insert the SD card with touch screen firmware on it.
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Power up the Proforge 2/2S. The Touch Screen display should now power up also and begin installing the firmware.
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Wait for the install on the Touch Screen to finish, it should only take a minute.
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Once done uploading you should have a screen that looks like this.
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Check that you are getting correct temperature readings (Celsius), ie. room temperature.
Hi. I am building the Proforge 2S with dual extruders and the heated bed upgrade and at this stage i see all 3 icons(heated bed, and both extruders) but only Extruder 2 shows the correct ambient temprature. Extruder 1 shows -15c and the heated bed show 166. To verify that the thermistors are working i tried to connect each and every one of them to the Extruder 2 and they all show their respective ambient tempratures, confirming that the thermistors work individually. However no matter what thermistor i connect to the other 2 connectors on the controller, i get no other reading. Do i have to enable something in the arduino code to enable the other ports on the controller? Has anyone else ran into this. Additionally preheating the bed or any of the extruders does not change their temprature.
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Go to Settings -> Fan
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Power up to 100%
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Both of the blower fans should start running.
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X-Axis: Pressing the left arrow will move the bed to the right, and vice versa.
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This is correct as the nozzle position has moved in a negative direction relative to the platform.
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Y-Axis: Pressing the down arrow will move the Hotend towards the front of the printer and vice versa.
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Z-Axis: Pressing the double up arrow will move the gantry up and vice versa.
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You will not be able to move to a positive position from your original starting position - this is normal.
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If an axis moves in the opposite direction double check that you have uploaded the Proforge 2S Firmware if you are building with TMC2100 drivers. If you've uploaded the correct firmware and are still getting incorrect motion, see next step.
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If an axis is not moving power down the printer and check steps 19, 20 and 21 relating to the stepper drivers and stepper driver jumpers.
My touchscreen is broken (form submitted), so I can’t do the Z-axis test from there, however I’ve tested both via OctoPi and Ponteface and my Z-axis won’t move at all (not even a peep from the motors).
Checked:
- Jumpers are installed
- Red stepper is correct
- The parallel joiner is correct (red wires the same on both ends)
- Tried flashing the firmware again and still no love
- Z-axis probe works fine
- When off, the Z-axis motors twist and the gantry moves freely
Save re-cabling later, I have installed the stepper motor and driver for the DSE setup - would this be impacting? If not, any ideas as to what’s wrong?
Try swapping the motor cables around and see if the problem changes motors.
so having a few issues here:
- X-axis moves in the correct direction, but after pushing the button twice, nothing happens anymore, although the bed is not at the endstop.
- Y-axis does not move at all, no matter what I do
- Z-axis does the exact same thing as the X-axis.
please help me out here
First thing is to check the stepper drivers, always power down before making changes on the electronics board.
Just updated the instructions to include what Swimtoto just mentioned, hope this helps.
I correctly downloaded the Marlin firmware for Proforge 2S.
The X-axis works perfectly: the Home X button moves the hotend towards the endstops and stops when the endstops is touched; while the Home Y button makes move the hotend to the opposite of the endstops. I need to shut down the printer to avoid any crash when the hotend touch the beam.
Moreover, Home Z button works good (the gantry goes down) but doesn’t stop when the probe is trigerred… (The tests with Pronterface were all good with the X, Y, and Z Axis and the M119 command)
I have an issue at this step.
When I press Y+ button, the hotend on my Proforge 2S move to the opposite of the endstop.
How is it possible ?
I double checked the wiring and everything is correct. It looks like my Y-axis motor rotate “upside down”.
How can I fix this ?
Is the same thing happening for the X-Axis? Double check that you have downloaded the correct firmware, if you have the stepper drivers with the blue heatsinks (TMC2100) on the x and y axis then you need to download and install firmware for the Proforge 2S.
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If an axis from the previous step moves in the wrong direction power off your printer and disconnect the touchscreen.
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In the aruino IDE go to the "configuration.h" tab.
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Scroll down to lines 855-858. (Go to File -> Preferences and check "Display line numbers")
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#define INVERT_X_DIR true
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Change true to false to switch the motors direction depending on the problem axis (X, Y or Z).
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Re-upload the firmware.
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Once uploaded, connect back the touch screen and power up the printer from the mains again.
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Continue from the previous step.
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Using the touch screen go to Tools -> Home.
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Home X
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With X homed the nozzle should land above the right edge of the print surface.
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If you find the nozzle not lining up correctly in the X direction adjust the endstop trigger to achieve better alignment. The distance between the end of the beam and the edge of the metal part should be approximately 6mm.
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Home Y
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The nozzle should land about 1cm from the top edge of the print surface, this is OK.
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If you have the Flexplate upgrade make sure it is on the platform before starting.
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Lower the gantry by hand so that the nozzle comes close to the print surface. Once close enough the red light on the probe should come on.
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The nozzle tip should always remain above the surface when the probe is triggered. The bottom of the probe should always remain above the tip of the nozzle.
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Nozzle too close or hits the print surface before the red light on the probe comes on:
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Lower the probes position on the mount and check again.
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Red light on probe but nozzle tip is too far away from the print surface:
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Raise the probes position on the mount and check again.
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The optimal position of the probe is around 18mm from the bottom of the probe and the bottom of the lower nut as shown in the 3rd image.
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The Proforge 2/2S features automatic bed-levelling but to help get more accurate results we need to first make sure that the bed is physically as level as it can be.
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Adjust the z-motors so to get the distance between the nozzle and print surface along the y-axis (gantry) equal.
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Use a folded piece of paper to feel the gap between the nozzle and print surface.
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Next use the springs on the platform to level the print surface in the X-direction (or both the X & Y direction if you're building the Proforge 2).
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Turn the screw anti-clockwise to raise that corner of the platform.
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Use a folded piece of paper to feel the gap between the nozzle and print surface.
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To check that the probe and bed is set up correctly we are going to Home all of the axes together.
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Using the touch screen go to tools -> Home -> Home All
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X & Y will automatically home first. Then the probe should move to the centre of the platform and slowly lower until it's triggered.
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The gantry will go up at first and then begin lowering - this is normal.
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Have your finger ready on the power switch to power off in the event of a crash. If you do crash the hotend into the platform re-check your probe postioning - it's likely too far above the nozzle and needs lowering.
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With a successful Z Home go to Tools -> auto-level. Press ONCE.
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The axes will home again and the sensor will now go around the platform probing 9 points.
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Again, have your finger ready on the power switch to power off in the event of a crash.
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Once the Auto-levelling has been completed, re-home all of the axes to return the nozzle to the centre of the platform.
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Take the folded piece of paper and place it between the surface and nozzle.
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On the touch screen go to Tools -> Move and toggle the distance selector to 0.1mm.
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Use the touch screen display to lower the nozzle (z-axis) in 0.1mm increments until it begins to grip the paper.
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Make a note of the Z height displayed on the top right of the touch screen when the paper begins to be gripped. (This value will be 3.00mm to begin with, this is normal.)
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In this case it ended up being 1.40mm when the paper began to be gripped, but this value will be different for everyone.
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When done raise the nozzle up about 80mm.
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Take the included sample of PLA filament out of its packaging.
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Use the included pliers to cut a sharp end.
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Place the spool of filament onto the spool holder and feed the filament through the filament sensor.
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Press down the Idler arm and push the filament in through the feeder and through the PTFE tubing until it reaches the Hotend and you can't push it in any further.
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Before powering up the Hotend make sure that the black PTFE tubing is pushed all the way down the Hotend, it should go into the Hotend by 6CM. Double check, as running filament through the hotend with the PTFE tube not all the way down will ruin the Hotend.
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On the touch screen go to Tools -> Preheat
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Heat the Hotend up to 200C.
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Wait for the Hotend to heat up.
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Caution - the Hotend will cause burns if touched while hot!
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With the Hotend up to temp and the filament loaded, go to Tools -> Extrusion.
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This is the length of filament that will be fed, each time you tap the down arrow.
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This is the speed setting.
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You should have a smooth and continuous flow of plastic coming out of the Hotend nozzle.
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The extruded plastic will be hot!
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NOTE: When powering down from a hot Hotend, power the hotend down first and let it cool to at least 100C before completely powering off - as this prevents the heat from rising up the Hotend with the absence of the fan cooling it.
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If you are not getting any filament extruded check the extruder motor is turning in the correct direction (anti-clockwise) to feed the filament. See next step if your extruder is turning in the wrong direction.
Thank you again for your reply. I was able to troubleshoot the Extruder issue. I determined that the stepper driver on E0 was actually bad. Because you had thoughtfully included a spare stepper driver in the kit, I was able to swap it in and get everything working. I used M82 , G92 E0, T0, G1 F200 E-10… then swapped to T1, and executed the commands again. Both extruders are running! Now I just need to swap in a new shielded cable for the Servo and I’ll be up and running. Thanks again!
I noticed that there is an issue with the length of the Servo extension cable. The servo is not reliably responding to the 1, 2, 3 menu items either. When I connect the servo directly to the control board, all is well; when I connect it via the extension cable, the servo will not reliably switch and never holds its position. This also puts the control board into an error state, which may be affecting the performance of the Extruder motors. I am working to get a shorter (110cm) Dupont cable fo r the servo to test.
The cable may be faulty by the sounds of it, especially if you think it’s interfeering with the extruder motors. Could you email us at info@makertech3d.com and we’ll do our best to help you with the extruder motors and provide a replacement servo cable.
Thank you for the reply. I have check those things too. Tried both extruders, both set to 200 degrees. I can manually push filament thru the nozzles. The motors don’t ever attempt to move. I have tested hooking the E0 motor to the Z stepper, the motor functions perfectly, so I know the cables and the motors are good. I have tried measuring voltage to the motors, but it appears that there is no signal to actually turn on the stepper driver(s). It is very odd that both Extruders would be non-responsive. One might think that #define DISABLE_E true was set, but it’s not.
I have the same issue. Neither extruder motor runs. I have checked the stepper drivers, the trimpots, wiring. nothing happens.
Check that the hotend is above 180 degrees first before extruding, the printer prevents extruding below this temp. Also check that the extruder gear is turning and not just the shaft of the motor.
Hi, my Extruder motor is not running. I have checked the cables and tried switching out the stepper driver, but no luck.
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If an extruder from the previous step moves in the wrong direction power off your printer and disconnect the touchscreen.
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In the Aruino IDE go to the "configuration.h" tab.
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Scroll down to line 863. (Go to File -> Preferences and check "Display line numbers")
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#define INVERT_E0_DIR false
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Replace false with true to change the motors direction.
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Re-upload the firmware.
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Once uploaded, connect back the touch screen and power up the printer from the mains again.
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Continue from previous step.
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Go to Tools -> Preheat
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Press the extruder icon to toggle to the bed.
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Power on the bed by setting its temperature to 60C - typical for PLA printing.
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A red LED should shine on the back of the heated bed and it should begin to heat up.
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Avoid touching the bed whilst hot!
Check the polarity of the power cables from the heated bed to the MOSFET, you might have them the wrong way round.
My heatbed does not work properly. It lights up with the red LED for a while, but the temperature does not raise above room temperature on the screen. Also the bed does not get hot. After a while the LED is turned off and the printer seems to lock up. The touch-screen works, but move-commands does nothing.
I have measured the voltage on the mosfet and at the connections on the bed, they both show 24V.
Is there anything else i could try?
I have the same problem, even tried switching to the upgraded aluminium bed but it did not solve the problem
Justin W -
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Cancel: I did not complete this guide.
13 other people completed this guide.
3 Comments
Yeah i double checked that it was plugged in the right spot, and the power was on otherwise i could not controll the motors and everything else, i will try to reupload my touch screen firmware, maybe theres a problem cos i only got one extruder in the firmware even tho i took the 2s
Hey, first i have to say those are really nice guides, secondly i have got a problem with my printer fans (step 15) because they are working when i clip them to 12V but arent doing anything when I turn them on via the Settings as it is supposed to be
Have you checked that you have connected them to the correct position on the board. When trying to power up the print fans from the touch screen you need to make sure that you are connected and powered from the mains too and not just the USB port.
