need help missing parts bed instructions wire .i need it all

#1
missing parts / lack of instructions ..
still waiting on replies from the creator .
I just got a 1.5 trying my best to put it together...
I decided to post it here also maybe get some more real time help... ..

missing a pulley and there were no instructions on how to put the belt on through the extruder any how...
no bed installation instructions so i am just going on the photo and how i think it would go .. which is not good... ...
the coupler that connects to the motor to the threaded rods no in depth instructions on those either .does the threaded rod sit freely in the hole on the bottom of the frame? am i suppose to lift the threaded rod to reach the coupler and have it hold the weight?i got this Tuesday i really do not wanna try burning anything out .. the lcd wire that connects to the black wire from the power does not connect the way the instructions show the wires ...... I received missing parts for the bed but once i put it together i notice the acrylic plates that connect to the bed will hit the motor before the end stop anything i done wrong???
 

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mwu

New Member
#2
Re: need help missing parts bed instructions wire .i need it

The wheels on the acrylic should run in the grooves on the aluminum extrusions. It looks like it is not in the groove and the acrylic is resting on the aluminum extrusion in your photo. I can't tell, but it looks like there may be enough clearance if you adjust the position of the right extrusion so the wheels run in the grooves on both sides.
 

GORDON.LAPLANTE

Administrator
Staff member
#3
Re: need help missing parts bed instructions wire .i need it

Hi Dave,

We sent you replacement parts on Friday. Check your email for the tracking information. As for the acrylic hitting the motor, we sent you replacement acrylic pieces which are a little wider. We had a batch of acrylic that was actually cut to the wrong size which caused the problem.

Best,

Gordon
 
#4
Re: need help missing parts bed instructions wire .i need it

yes i received the two rods was i suppose to receive more for that part then just the metal rods??
that connect to those acrylic pieces..
Still waiting on the pulley and more information on how the threaded rods connect to the couplers and how the rods sit on the frame...
also the lcd connection is not the same as in the instructions...

other then the missing pulley and the way the couplers connect to the rods i think i am 90% complete.
 

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#5
Re: need help missing parts bed instructions wire .i need it

I just got my 1.5 too. I got it together and its printed very well. I had the same problem with the acrylic plates. I rigged up a temporary solution and will be printing a different button bracket.
*For Gordon... I could not get the older version button bracket to fit well.

As for the threaded rods. They are not supposed to ride on the frame. Or they squeak. I have the stepper motor couplers set up to hold the weight of rods and x-axis/extruder.
 
#6
Re: need help missing parts bed instructions wire .i need it

hello, i finally have mine together.... properly ? i am not sure...
the power button does nothing for me unless i have a usb plug from the printer to the pc if i remove the usb the printer willl shut off! also from the panel or the pc i cannot get anything to move at all no function... i was able to connect i believe with repetier host or whatever at least i got a green light where it said connect but still no function from the printer...
 

mwu

New Member
#7
Re: need help missing parts bed instructions wire .i need it

I think the LCD connector in your picture is the culprit. It does need to look like the picture in the manual. The green wire on the 20-pin connector from the power supply is called the sense wire. The power supply sends 5V down that line and looks for a draw on it before it powers up. The other lines in that connector are a +5V and two grounds. The switch connects the LCD to the +5V and the sense wire to ground when pressed.

Since your plug is not in the correct spot, the sense wire doesn't get a drop in voltage and the power supply does not turn on. What happens when you connect your USB cable is that your computer is powering the electronics board but not the rest of the printer. That's why you cannot get the motors to move.
 
#9
Re: need help missing parts bed instructions wire .i need it

the way the connector is . there is no way for the wires to line up as shown in the picture in the instructions...the way the red and black wires are the plug would not connect aynywhere on the power supply.was i given a wrong wired part?
 
#10
Re: need help missing parts bed instructions wire .i need it

Looking at your picture. Yours is on the wrong side of the power supply plug. try 2 prongs in from the other side. the red and black wires face the outside of the plug.
 
#11
Re: need help missing parts bed instructions wire .i need it

here is my connector and power source.....look at the tunnels to the squares i think my piece was wired wrong ican be mistaken... so what now???
 

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mwu

New Member
#12
Re: need help missing parts bed instructions wire .i need it

Yes, it looks like your connector is wrong. You should probably talk to Gordon about getting a replacement.

If you unplug your power supply and add a paperclip between the pin with the green wire and the one next to it, your power supply should power up (rigged to be on)

However, I believe the other two pins are to power the LCD. So with that trick, i don't think the LCD will work. Actually, I think I was incorrect there. The LCD is powered through the RAMPS and Gadgets 3D shield. I'm not sure if the power button is lit when in use, but the extra +5v might be for an LED in the power button.

It looks like the strikethrough tag isn't working so I colored the incorrect statement red.
 
#13
Re: need help missing parts bed instructions wire .i need it

Yea looks like they crimped it on there sideways. I would rig it up to work until they sent me a replacement if I were you. Depends on how confident you are with your electrical stuff.
 
#15
Re: need help missing parts bed instructions wire .i need it

I took a picture of it but this forum wont let me upload my pictures. Place a jumper in the 3,4 position in the top row and the printer will turn on. Just unplug it to turn it off.
 

GORDON.LAPLANTE

Administrator
Staff member
#16
Re: need help missing parts bed instructions wire .i need it

Thank you for the help spudwheelie. We have emailed Dave and you are correct, you have to force the plug in to get it to fit. Unfortunately it was literally impossible for us to find a 4-pin molex connector to perfectly fit where it was required in the 20 pin connector so this was the best solution. It's a tight fit bit it does work.

The other solution was for us to use a 20-pin connector and only use 4 pins out of it but this would be a problem if anyone decides to switch power supplies.
 
#17
Re: need help missing parts bed instructions wire .i need it

Elaborating further on the info given by MWU and Spudwheelie:

Here is an explanation of the colored wires for the power supply and what exactly each wire connection between the power supply and the GMax does. Hopefully, this will assist others in troubleshooting as well as expanding their GMax using the power supply provided (i.e. adding additional LEDs to the frame and having everything come on when you push the LCD power button.)

Color Wiring Explanation Main Power Supply Connector

Black - GND
Orange - 3.3-3.7v
Red - 5v
Yellow - 12v

Purple/Green/Silver = Signal wire (these are generally the colors used but vary depending on model. There will only be one of these.) When used in a computer, the main connector would be plugged into the mother board and the computer's power button would close the circuit between this wire and ground. Effectively, jumpering/completing the sensing circuit for the power supply to come on.

Here is how the GMax is using the power supply:

The GMax draws BOTH 5v and 12v from the power supply. The separate Yellow and Black wired connector powers all of the 12v components (steppers, heaters, LED light, etc.) and the 5v (red/black) portion of the 4 wire molex connector powers all of the electronics (LCD/Arduino/Ramps). The other two wires on the GMax molex connector are green and white. The GREEN and WHITE wires flow through the GMax power button switch. The MAIN power supply needs to have the signal wire shorted to GND in order to come on. This is what the printer power button is doing. It is taking pins 3 & 4 on the power supply and basically jumpering/shorting them like the motherboard example given above. This is what SpudWheelie, pointed out when he said to jumper 3&4 directly. The downside of jumpering directly is that you remove the power button functionality from the printer (but it is useful for troubleshooting) and have to directly plug/unplug the printer to turn it on and off (or have the plug plugged into an external switch).

As MWU pointed out, the reason why the LCD came on without the power supply being powered was because the printer was connected to the computer via a USB cable and the USB cable provides 5v VCC to the electronics via the Arduino's USB port. So power was flowing through the Arduino to the LCD and other electronics (i.e. endstops) None of the 12v hardware would have been operational though.

My LCD screen came prewired and I only had to plug the loose connector into the main electronics board. When I went to power on my printer for the first time, nothing happened. My four wire molex connector was correct and it was seated as far as it would go.- I traced the problem back to one of the wires connecting to the power button on the LCD screen. It had come loose, so it wasn't closing the circuit on pins 3&4 which is what turns on the power supply. This had come prewired so it took a moment to troubleshoot. As far as I can tell, the LCD power button does not illuminate it just routes the 5v vcc to the electronics.

Once all that is sorted out, you can take advantage of the extra power pins available on the MAIN power supply connecter. Here is one idea that proved both cool and useful to me:

I wanted more light under the print head, so I removed the LED strip with 3 LEDs and replaced it with a double density LED strip containing 6 LEDs in the same space. While doing that I thought it would be nice to add another white LED strip overhead on the 18" horizontal frame (useful) and to also add add two RED LED strips under the 18" rails under the acrylic bed (cool) for really cool under lighting. I have a red/black XT so the red underglow under the acrylic bed is really cool. I even went as far as backlighting the frame in red, but that was a bit too much so I disconnected them. The LED strip on the extruder gets it's power right from the terminal block on the print head so that was an easy change. For the overhead and under bed lighting, I didnt want to use a separate power supply and I wanted the lights to come on when I powered on the printer, just like the extruder. So all of the LED strips were affixed to the frame and all of the black and red wires from the LED strips were capped and termintated with a single red & single black wire coming from the bundle. The red wire coming from all the strips (12v+) was plugged into a YELLOW (12v) port on the main power supply connector and the black wire was plugged into a black wire port (GND) on the main power supply connector. Now, when I turn on the printer via the LCD screen button all lights come on at the same time.

I will try and post pictures of my printer with lights and also show the connections but the forum is not retaining the pix I'm uploading.

Note: This same method can be used to draw 5v and 3v from the supply should you need to add additional electronics and such (i.e. camera). When adding components make sure you do not exceed the max current draw capable of the power supply.

Hope this helps.

Larry