When I press the switch for one second there is a horrible grinding noise from the stepper motor in the 3D chameleon. Is this normal?
When I tried printing, the firth thing that happens is the grinding noise, then the chameleon unloads one of the filaments so that it ends up far away from the y, then the printer starts "printing" with no filament loaded. I used the gcode generator. Not sure what else to do other than perhaps changing the code to press the switch 3.5 seconds to load instead of 5.5 seconds.
The grinding noise is a concern.
Does anyone other than you have this thing working? I have a brand new ender 5. The only modification I made was to buy a BMG clone (on your suggestion) and I installed it on top of the hotend in a direct drive configuration because I figured that would reduce the load/unload time. Perhaps I need to go back to an all stock setup - move the extruder back down to the side and reinstall the Bowden tube just prove that this thing doesn't work, even when I set it up just like yours in your Ender 5 videos.
Even perfectly shaped ends are hanging up at the bottom of the Y nearest the extruder. There's something wrong with the design. The compression fittings on the Y are just loose in there. Would have been better if that thing was one solid piece with no internal lips for filament to get hung up on. I now regret having made this investment. I need to take a break from this so that I don't end up taking a sledge hammer to my printer. I'll try again in a few days. If I can't get this sorted soon, I'll just ship all this crap back to you for a refund.
Multi colored prints are not worth this.
see my video for where it jams. NMostly at the bottom of the Y near the extruder.
I had thought this would take me 2-4 hours to set up. I think I'm up to 10 now.
Yes... the black will definitely jam with that string on it... the issue is that strings, when you push them, will fold back on to the side of the filament... making it wider than the tube it needs to go in. That's controlled by the temperature of the filament during the change. As for the loading, where is it jamming at in the Y adapter? Because that will tell you exactly where the issue is.
Maybe I need to take the Y apart to see if there's anything in there blocking things?
I just pulled them all out to take a photo. Apparently the black had gone through the extruder at some point. The others looked as in the photos and wouldn't pass through the Y. The white is also cut correctly but you couldn't tell in the first photo so I took a separate photo of it.
These are all cut by me at a 45 degree angle. Nothing will load now.
What does the tip of the filament look like? If it has swelled, it won't be able to load back in and needs to be trimmed off.
I started out with a two color print- Failed. Now I can't even get the thing to load at the beginning of a print.
I would add one thing... it's always wise to start out with simple color changing prints and not one with a lot of color changes. A print with only a few changes to start will help you dial in those parameters before you advance onto prints with color changes on ever layer.
The jams in the hotend, or Y adapter, are most likely due to bad tip shaping. Please see our FAQ on how to properly shape the tip. Generally, it's due to three things, stringing, swelling or a combination of the two. Pictures of the tips of the filament's tips will help me diagnose it. If they are in the Y adapter, it's possible the Y adapter screws are a little tight... loosen them by 1/4 to 1/2 of a turn. Also, make sure that the PTFE tubes are fully inserted into the pockets for them and that the lower tube has the chamfered edge pointed up, so that the filament doesn't catch on the edge of it as it is pushed down through it into the hot end.
First print failed half way through due to a jam in the hotend. I've made some adjustments and will try again.
After adjusting the current, and having things still not work, I unplugged everything and physically forced the unit into position 4. It took quite a bit of effort. I then plugged it back and and it appears to be working correctly now. I'll try that test print again.
Don't do that yet... Let me see a video of what it's doing first. It might simply be the motor current is too low. Check this thread out on how to adjust it: https://www.3dchameleon.com/forum/support/increase-stepper-motor-torque-current
25 seconds worked. Still having trouble with position 4. I might crack the thing open to see if there's something jamming it.
So... the clock on the 328P isn't accurate... and can vary. If it's too long, it will have no effect, but if it is too short, it will trigger the setup mode. Can you try halving the time... say to 25 seconds? (And keep halving it until you see the 3 vibrations.) Or, in the 20 second mode, advance it 10 times using 10 1/4 second pulses... then saving it again with the 20 second. As you advance it, you'll see it get closer and closer to the vertical position. If you go to far, 1 second presses will rewind it a step at a time. When you save it, it will automatically home (grind and bounce) back to the programmed position.
I used the 20 second press then got the thing to the right position and that seemed to be OK until I tried cycling through the positions with 1/4 second presses. Something is jammed in the 4th position preventing the unit from going all the way into that position. That messes up the rest of the position if I don't rehome the thing. Do I need to take this thing apart?
press for 30-35 seconds has no effect on my unit. (I tried several times between 30 and 35 using my watch)
And here is a video of the proper homing... notice that it reverse to a vertical with the top slot pointing straight down. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALm8QUqA-vA
Here's a list of all the commands in your unit.
Button press = Action 250ms to 1 second = next color
1 second to 4 seconds = home and go to color 1 (Note, pre-programmed offset applied in steps)
4 to 5 seconds = clockwise move - second press for continuous movement
5 to 8 seconds = counterclockwise move - second press for continuous movement
7 to 8 seconds = transfer control to next 3D Chameleon
8 to 10 seconds = cancel control transfer
20 to 30 = setup mode - special movement (1/4 second to advance, 1 second to rewind, 20 seconds to save.)
30 to 35 = reset to default mode
>35 seconds = no command
And I'm being stupid here... 20 seconds puts it into setup mode. Can you make it 30 seconds?