5.7 KiB
This document provides a list of steps to help confirm the pin settings in the Klipper printer.cfg file. It is a good idea to run through these steps after following the steps in the installation document.
During this guide, it may be necessary to make changes to the Klipper config file. Be sure to issue a RESTART command after every change to the config file to ensure that the change takes effect (type "restart" in the Octoprint terminal tab and then click "Send"). It's also a good idea to issue a STATUS command after every RESTART to verify that the config file is successfully loaded.
Verify temperature
Start by verifying that temperatures are being properly reported. Navigate to the Octoprint temperature tab.
Verify that the temperature of the nozzle and bed (if applicable) are present and not increasing. If it is increasing, remove power from the printer. If the temperatures are not accurate, review the "sensor_type" and "sensor_pin" settings for the nozzle and/or bed.
Verify M112
Navigate to the Octoprint terminal tab and issue an M112 command in the terminal box. This command requests Klipper to go into a "shutdown" state. It will cause Octoprint to disconnect from Klipper - navigate to the Connection area and click on "Connect" to cause Octoprint to reconnect. Then navigate to the Octoprint temperature tab and verify that temperatures continue to update and the temperatures are not increasing. If temperatures are increasing, remove power from the printer.
The M112 command causes Klipper to go into a "shutdown" state. To clear this state, issue a FIRMWARE_RESTART command in the Octoprint terminal tab.
Verify heaters
Navigate to the Octoprint temperature tab and type in 50 followed by enter in the "Tool" temperature box. The extruder temperature in the graph should start to increase (within about 30 seconds or so). Then go to the "Tool" temperature drop-down box and select "Off". After several minutes the temperature should start to return to its initial room temperature value. If the temperature does not increase then verify the "heater_pin" setting in the config.
If the printer has a heated bed then perform the above test again with the bed.
Verify stepper motor enable pin
Verify that all of the printer axes can manually move freely (the stepper motors are disabled). If not, issue an M84 command to disable the motors. If any of the axes still can not move freely, then verify the stepper "enable_pin" configuration for the given axis. On most commodity stepper motor drivers, the motor enable pin is "active low" and therefore the enable pin should have a "!" before the pin (for example, "enable_pin: !ar38").
Verify endstops
Manually move all the printer axes so that none of them are in contact with an endstop. Send a QUERY_ENDSTOPS command via the Octoprint terminal tab. It should respond with the current state of all of the configured endstops and they should all report a state of "open". For each of the endstops, rerun the QUERY_ENDSTOPS command while manually triggering the endstop. The QUERY_ENDSTOPS command should report the endstop as "TRIGGERED".
If the endstop appears inverted (it reports "open" when triggered and vice-versa) then add a "!" to the pin definition (for example, "endstop_pin: ^!ar3"), or remove the "!" if there is already one present.
If the endstop does not change at all then it generally indicates that the endstop is connected to a different pin. However, it may also require a change to the pullup setting of the pin (the '^' at the start of the endstop_pin name - most printers will use a pullup resistor and the '^' should be present).
Verify stepper motor direction
Make sure the printer.cfg file does not have "homing_speed" set for any axis (or set it to a value of 5 or less).
On cartesian style printers, manually move the X axis to a midway point, issue a G28X0 command, and verify that the X motor moves slowly towards the endstop defined for that axis. If the motor moves in the wrong direction issue an M112 command to abort the move. A wrong direction generally indicates that the "dir_pin" for the axis needs to be inverted. This is done by adding a '!' to the "dir_pin" in the printer config file (or removing it if one is already there). For example, change "dir_pin: xyz" to "dir_pin: !xyz". Then RESTART and retest the axis. If the axis does not move at all, then verify the "enable_pin" and "step_pin" settings for the axis. For cartesian style printers, repeat the test for the Y and Z axis with G28Y0 and G28Z0.
For delta style printers, manually move all three carriages to a midway point and then issue a G28 command. Verify all three motors move simultaneously upwards. If not, issue an M112 command and follow the troubleshooting steps in the preceding paragraph.
Verify extruder motor
To test the extruder motor it will be necessary to heat the extruder to a printing temperature. Navigate to the Octoprint temperature tab and select a target temperature from the temperature drop-down box (or manually enter an appropriate temperature). Wait for the printer to reach the desired temperature. Then navigate to the Octoprint control tab and click the "Extrude" button. Verify that the extruder motor turns in the correct direction. If it does not, see the troubleshooting tips in the previous section to confirm the "enable_pin", "step_pin", and "dir_pin" settings for the extruder.
Next steps
This guide is intended to help with basic verification of pin settings in the Klipper configuration file. It may be necessary to perform detailed printer calibration - a number of guides are available online to help with this (for example, do a web search for "3d printer calibration").