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Help! My new Makerbot Replicator 2 is not working! — Parallax Forums

Help! My new Makerbot Replicator 2 is not working!

william chanwilliam chan Posts: 1,326
edited 2013-07-10 18:33 in General Discussion
Hi,

Anybody has experience with Makerbot Replicator 2?

After going though the calibration steps, the LCD display just went blank. Pressing the buttons produced no sound.
I opened the bottom cover and found that the fuse is intact and the power adapter is still supplying 24v to the ATMega1280 board. Some leds on the board is still lit.

I found that the ATMega1280 chip is too hot to touch after switching on for a few seconds. Is this normal?
I also found that the ATMega board supplies almost 9v to the stepper motor controllers even though the stepper module silkscreen indicates 5v only. Is this expected?

Anybody has a Propeller board I can replace the ATMega1280 board with?

Thanks in advance.

Comments

  • lanternfishlanternfish Posts: 366
    edited 2013-07-10 00:15
    Hi William. Have you contacted the Makerbot people? The Makerbot website states that they offer the Makercare Service Plan.
  • william chanwilliam chan Posts: 1,326
    edited 2013-07-10 00:30
    Hi lanternfish,

    I did start a Makerbot support ticket but haven't received a response yet after 24hours.
  • william chanwilliam chan Posts: 1,326
    edited 2013-07-10 00:33
    UPDATE:

    Seems like the 5v switching regulator on the Main Board is outputting 9v instead of 5v.
    All 5v test points on the board measures 8.9v including the botsteps. ( stepper controller ).

    I think this is the reason why the ATMega1280 chip is too hot to touch.
    Do you think the board is fried?
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2013-07-10 09:12
    9 Volts to 5 volt logic... usually fatal. Headroom is suppose to be about 10% or 5.5volts. And even the extreme ultimate maximums in data sheets is usually 7 volts tops.

    Read the ATmega specs in the PDF.

    If the board works after such abuse, it would be a miracle... call the Vatican.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2013-07-10 09:16
    Loopy Byteloose wrote: »
    If the board works after such abuse, it would be a miracle... call the Vatican.

    And buy a lottery ticket.

    Sorry to hear about your issues, William. Not the sort of fireworks you wanted for your July 4 birthday...
  • Beau SchwabeBeau Schwabe Posts: 6,566
    edited 2013-07-10 10:52
    "9 Volts to 5 volt logic... usually fatal. Headroom is suppose to be about 10% or 5.5volts. And even the extreme ultimate maximums in data sheets is usually 7 volts tops." - Just an FYI ... The Zener voltage for the 5 V process is typically about 7V which means that any voltage greater than that will start to conduct current when normally it was blocked by a "diode effect"... this further reinforces the ultimate maximum of 7V.
  • GadgetmanGadgetman Posts: 2,436
    edited 2013-07-10 14:31
    Doesn't the Makerbots use standard Arduino boards?

    Maybe a good chance to upgrade from the Arduino Mega1280 to the Mega 2560 ? ;-)
  • Duane DegnDuane Degn Posts: 10,588
    edited 2013-07-10 15:32
    Could the processor chip be replaced (assuming it's burnt out)?

    Based on Leon's recommendation, I've used ChipQuik to remove smt chips successful. Leon, was right. the stuff works great.

    I'm betting replacing the chip would cost less than the whole board.

    BTW. I don't know of a Propeller replacement for this board but there is a CNC control object for the Propeller. I'm currently working on getting my new CNC machine (router) hooked up to a Prop.
  • william chanwilliam chan Posts: 1,326
    edited 2013-07-10 18:33
    I would be very concerned if my regulator had the smallest chance of outputting overvoltage.
    Is this a common issue in 4430 switching regulators?
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