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I upgraded my Ender 3 with a new Mobo, the 4.2.7 version.

My current setup is:

Printer Specifications:

  • Ender 3
  • Upgraded Motherboard 4.2.7 (Silent Stepper Drivers)
  • Marlin FW Upgrade to Version 2.1.x
  • New metal extruder handle
  • Replacement bed springs
  • New complete hot end
  • Everything else is in stock

Prior to the mobo upgrade, everything was working fine. Now I'm having problems with the extruder. I did use at first the Ender3 32bit 4.2.7 firmware, but it did happens too. The e-steps for the filament length have been adjusted. Once I start spinning the extruder, the extruder stepper starts grinding and jumping/rewinding the extruder wheel with the filament to the back; sometimes even 8-10 mm. Also, if I manually hold the filament back, it springs back. It seems that there is no power/power coming from the stepper motor.

So I would like to check how much power the driver needs and gets. How or where can I find the required voltage for the drivers? How to adjust the drivers?

Any tips or references are welcome.

iPadawan
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2 Answers2

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There are different versions of the 4.2.7 main board. This is an excellent video made by YouMakeTech:

To prevent the answer to become unusable due to link rot, a concise summary is shown below.

The correct drivers can be "read" from the written letter on the card reader: enter image description here

enter image description here

Depending on the driver, you need to find out what the maximum Vref for your stepper is (this depends on the maximum current rating of your stepper), e.g. for 2208, 2209 and 2225 drivers the Vref is calculated by the same equation: enter image description here

The Imax (maximum curretn) is depending on the used stepper: enter image description here

Use the nominal values to prevent the steppers to become too hot.

The Vref can be adjusted by the screw potentiometers next to the drivers, use a voltmeter while adjusting:

enter image description here

0scar
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I would try to reinstall the old board and see if the extruder still skips.

If the extruder is not having an issue with the old board installed, you'll need to visit Creality's Updates page and install the Marlin 2.0 firmware designed for the 4.2.7 board. Please use a how-to video on YouTube for installing your new board, you will need to calibrate E-Steps, calibrate PID Temperatures, etc. as outlined in the video.

If the extruder continues its behavior, the extruder is under-extruding. Please check out The Holy Bible of 3D Printing troubleshooting: Underextruding printer to get to the bottom of it before you upgrade to your new silent board. Then I can pretty much guarantee you have either a clogged nozzle or a hotend that's too cold during printing to melt the plastic at a fast enough rate.

The third thing is you need to upgrade the stock Ender 3 extruder because the stock black extruder bracket is absolute garbage, and it alone would cause a skipping and flaking extruder. Get the sweet stainless grey one for 15 USD on amazon. Blame Creality for that oversight.

Please respond back if this didn't help.

agarza
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Citadel
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  • Thank you for your reply. All the items that you describe is already investigated or was replaced at the moment at the change. - Even when I left it run through freely, with only a tube it happens. I can push the filament back during having the extruder stepper run with 'motion' and with a 200mm run setting. The metal pressure handle is tight; for testing I did even put a washer behind the spring to get even more pressure to no avail. What I can try tonight is to exchange the Z and E cable ( at the stepper side ) and run 'motion'->'Z' to see if there is a difference. – iPadawan Nov 09 '22 at 07:57
  • BTW, Under extrusion will never let the wheel and filament jumping back. The part in the article where it reads 'The motor is Clicking' looks more like the symptoms. Also I would like to check the voltages to have them right and sure. – iPadawan Nov 09 '22 at 08:04
  • @iPadawan Ok if you have isolated the problem to the bowden tube itself, I'm guessing you have a bowden grip/clog. The bowden tube may be damaged or there could be debris or residue in the tube. Go on Amazon and order a new blue capricorn tube and fit it to the printer using a how-to youtube video. This should fix the problem in this case. – Citadel Nov 09 '22 at 16:12
  • The tube is brand new. – iPadawan Nov 09 '22 at 21:21