Grinding noise on home

I just went ahead and change the load and unload for tool 0 to 3.5 second press and 5.5 second press respectively. Now the filament moves the correct direction but cant seem to make it past to y. The chameleon seems to be pushing the filament in bursts (or maybe it looses grip on the filament a bit every so often, so that it surges forward then stops then surges forward the stops. Doesn't make it past the y.

Also the grinding!

I removed the Chameleon from my printer for troubleshooting. Apparently the unit is pushing more than one filament at times and not engaging entirely at other times. SO when filament 1 is engaged, filament 4 is also engaged so that filament 1 is pushed into the extruder while 4 is backed away. When I move the position 4 on the chameleon, both 4 and 3 are engaged so that they both move toward (or away from) the extruder in tandem. I emailled you a vid of this happening.

Your initial problem is that it's not homing correctly... all the other issues stem from it. When you home, it should always go to the 6 o'clock position after it hits the physical limit. You'll see it as a "bounce" once it homes. The default steps it moves to is 10, but it looks like yours is reset to 0.

To restore the default, simply press and hold the button for about 20 seconds... you'll see it respond with 3 vibrations of the selector motor (each about 1/2 second apart.) Optionally, the homing can be programmed with either a 12 second press, followed by 1/4 second presses to advance it one step, or 1 second presses to retract it one step, and the ending sequence is another 12 second press. When you end it, it'll respond with a single vibrations of the selector motor, which will save it to eeprom. (Normally, however, the default is all that is ever needed.)

is there a video that shows a properly configured unit so that I can see what is meant by "go to the 6 'oclock position"? I tried the 20 second thing and nothing changed.

Just did the 20 second click again and now it vibrates twice rather than 3 times.

Twice indicates that you're in setup mode... make sure you power off and back on before you press do the 20 second press, that way it's in normal boot mode. My guess is that an earlier attempt wasn't long enough and it put it in setup mode.

Bill

And I'm being stupid here... 20 seconds puts it into setup mode. Can you make it 30 seconds?

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 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

press for 30-35 seconds has no effect on my unit. (I tried several times between 30 and 35 using my watch)

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?

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.

25 seconds worked. Still having trouble with position 4. I might crack the thing open to see if there's something jamming it.

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.

First print failed half way through due to a jam in the hotend. I've made some adjustments and will try again.

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.