Gen4 Interface Board death?
Dan Newman
Odd thing happened with my previously working (but quite new) Gen4 Interface Board.
The Gen4 Interface Board worked fine for about 3 days and then the LCD screen blanked
out and now the interface board doesn't work at all. Specifically, during a build it
changed to what I believe was a very dim display with a blank row, a row of filled
rectangles, blank row, and then a row of blank rectangles. The LEDs seemed to be working
on the interface board. The build on the ToM finished just fine. The buttons did not
seem to work any more on the interface board. A reset didn't fix things: LEDs seemed
to work, no response to button presses (not even activating things on the ToM when
I went through sequences which should have). And no display although it would flicker
every couple of seconds. (And no, no USB cable was plugged in to the motherboard.)
Adjusting the contrast / brightness has no effect.
The Gen4 Interface Board's LEDs seem to work: the green POWER LED comes on. Briefly, when
the motherboard is reset the green FOO LED flashes. The red DEBUG LED flashes every second
or so (could be a two second period; I've not timed it). The ToM itself works fine and
can be driven via RepG over USB and from SD card (build initiated from RepG).
I have
0. Done my Gen 4 Interface Board testing with no USB connected to the ToM and, of course,
having power cycled the ToM. When I power cycle or press the reset button on the
motherboard, the interface board's LEDs go dark and then come back on.
1. Reseated all the connectors (throughout the ToM).
2. Checked to make sure that no interface board buttons are stuck on.
3. Have checked all the interface board's solder joints -- all clean, no bridges etc.
4. Checked the external ribbon cable for continuity (all good) and checked for shorts (none).
5. Checked the internal ribbon cable for continuity (all good) and checked for shorts (none).
My best guess is that some component within the LCD module has failed in a fashion which
makes the entire interface board not work (e.g., is shorting something critical to ground).
Comments?
Thanks and Happy New Year,
Dan
P.S. I've also filed a support request with MBI.
Mark Cohen
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Mark Cohen
NMTC-S16400XFYHSAY-05
http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Microtips-Technology/NMTC-S16400XFYHSAY-05/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMt7dcPGmvnkBodJ4P%252bCTn9w%252bT1rHVyMeig%3d
On Dec 31, 6:15 am, Mark Cohen <markcoh...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Your lcd probably burned out. I think i saw the same part at mouser.com for about $14. You will also need the strip for the ribbon cable to plug into. I can send you what i thnk is the part number for the lcd if you like.
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
>
> - Show quoted text -
stevecooley
On Dec 31, 12:51 am, Dan Newman <dan.new...@mtbaldy.us> wrote:
> The Gen4 Interface Board worked fine for about 3 days and then the LCD screen blanked
> out and now the interface board doesn't work at all. Specifically, during a build it
> changed to what I believe was a very dim display with a blank row, a row of filled
> rectangles, blank row, and then a row of blank rectangles. The LEDs seemed to be working
Sounds like exactly what happened to me. I realize how simple this
sounds, but did you try hitting the reset button? Someone here
suggested that to me and it worked.
Erwin Ried
it will be dangerous for all kind of devices, they are very sensitive
(I broke a few similar ones just by misplacing a pin).
When you turn the contrast up to max, do you see black squares in the
lcd?
On 31 dic, 10:46, Mark Cohen <markcoh...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I think it is this one
>
> NMTC-S16400XFYHSAY-05
>
Dan Newman
On 31 Dec 2011 , at 9:45 AM, Erwin Ried wrote:
> Very weird, I don't think the LCD can short something when they fail,
> it will be dangerous for all kind of devices, they are very sensitive
> (I broke a few similar ones just by misplacing a pin).
>
> When you turn the contrast up to max, do you see black squares in the
> lcd?
Nothing other than the periodic flicker (which is the backlight fluctuating
in intensity I believe).
Dan
Dan Newman
Yes, I had tried that. The LEDs go out, there's a slight dimming, and then
the LEDs come back but that's it. Ditto for power cycle. All of this with
no USB connected.
Dan
Dan Newman
On 31 Dec 2011 , at 9:45 AM, Erwin Ried wrote:
> Very weird, I don't think the LCD can short something when they fail,
I believe that the backlights can fail such that their V+ (Vo)
sees a very low resistance path to ground (Vss). [Vo and Vss being
the pin names on this particular display unit.]
> When you turn the contrast up to max, do you see black squares in the
> lcd?
Another observation. At max contrast (pot turned fully CCW), there's
nothing visible. Just a tad away from full CCW, I can faintly see
rows 1 & 3: all dark blocks; rows 2 & 4: nothing.
Also, the faint flickering (1 second) of the backlight corresponds
with a dimming of the power LED. So it's as though the current
is dipping significantly every second.
Behavior is identical after reset or power cycle. No recognition
of button presses by the ToM's motherboard. And, I swapped out the
external ribbon cable (made another one: I have plenty of ribbon
cable and IDC connectors around).
Dan
Mark Cohen
The previous one is grey. I do not have a source for it.
On Dec 31, 8:46 am, Mark Cohen <markcoh...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I think it is this one
>
> NMTC-S16400XFYHSAY-05
>
>
> > - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -
Dan Newman
On 31 Dec 2011 , at 2:37 PM, Mark Cohen wrote:
> acm1604c is the other type of lcd they now use with a blue background.
That is what is in mine (QC'd in 2009). Electrically it appears identical
to the one you cited a Mouser part no. for: same pinout, voltage ranges,
etc.
I'll wait and see what MBI support has to say after the holidays are over.
Interesting tidbit is I noticed some solder flash in the interface connector
receptacle on the Makerbot Motherboard v2.4. Small but possibly across a
couple of pins nonetheless. I removed it. Wasn't my doing as far as I can
tell -- I wasn't doing any soldering in the vacinity of that puppy (or
anything else within the electronics bay). It was bonded to the
receptacle itself so I suspect it didn't just fall in and instead splashed
in while hot. Removing it didn't improve anything. I believe it was near
pins 6, 8, and maybe 10 (CANCEL, D4, and D6). May explain why the CANCEL
button seemed flaky….
Dan
Classic 8620184 Whiteboard Marker
just this sort of behaviour. Perhaps you unplugged it for some reason
and put the cable back reversed? Easy enough to do..
Dan Newman
For my interface board, the connectors are keyed and so it cannot
readily be plugged in backwards. And it had been working previously
so it's not a case of a misoriented IDC connector. I will however
check again when I open the electronics bay this evening and make
sure I didn't somehow force the connector on the wrong way around:
at midnight when I'm tired, I can manage all sorts of amazing feats :(
Thanks,
Dan
Jetty
but it might be time for another check.
These 2, happened to me at different times and had exactly the same
symptoms as you have:
1. I had a total of 3 dry joints on the Makerbot Motherboard that I
spotted. I resoldered all of them
on the back, these were where Arduino Mega pins D22-D53 are on the
Motherboard.
It's possible if you have a dry joint that it could become non-
connecting later on, mine was DOA.
Generally all the soldering on my Motherboard was lousy, so I
resoldered everything I had any concerns about.
Also, a lot of flux was left on the board which I removed with some
Isopropanol.
2. The other day, I was doing some maintenance on the G4 Interface and
it didn't work after I put it back together.
It turned out on further investigation that the ribbon cable (grey
one) had broken some of it's
connections where it goes onto the header. These wires in that
ribbon cable are very inflexible and break
very easily. Also, I didn't see that most of there were broken until
I took it apart again, i.e. a visual or testing it at the connector
end
would not be guaranteed to detect it.
Failing that, detach the Motherboard, but leave all ribbon cables
plugged in and check the following connections
for continuity at the Motherboard and on the back of the LCD Module
(i.e. all the way through)
Motherboard D33 -> LCD RS
Motherboard D34 -> LCD Enable
Motherboard D38 -> LCD D4
Motherboard D39 -> LCD D5
Motherboard D40 -> LCD D6
Motherboard D41 -> LCD D7
If you don't find any issues, then check at the LCD end for a short
between all of those pins and ground, and also +5V.
Then finally check them for shorts between each other and also
adjacent arduino pins.
Then if still no luck, resolder all joints that are on those lines (it
could be a mechanical break in certain orientations of the pieces of
cable/modules/connectors).
Those are the only connections the LCD module uses. If non of that
solves it, then it's likely your LCD is blown.
Most LCD modules are very static sensitive.
Dan Newman
found a broken joint on the interface board receptacle, and one other suspect
joint. Reflowed them all and some others for good measure and now things
appear to be working….
Thanks everyone for taking the time to write up your suggestions -- they
were all appreciated.
Cheers,
Dan
Matt Smollinger
on the solder jobs for my gen4 (which I just got for Xmas). I
inspected mine with a magnifying glass before attaching it and
thankfully I didn't see any cold joints. However there was a crap ton
of flux on everything which is what caused the inspection. My Gen3
boards looked spotless by comparison.
Matt
Dan Newman
On 1 Jan 2012 , at 8:45 AM, Matt Smollinger wrote:
> Very nice catch. Yeah I've been underwhelmed with the quality control
> on the solder jobs for my gen4 (which I just got for Xmas). I
> inspected mine with a magnifying glass before attaching it and
> thankfully I didn't see any cold joints. However there was a crap ton
> of flux on everything which is what caused the inspection. My Gen3
> boards looked spotless by comparison.
Yes, I hit mine with 100% isopropyl before reinstalling....
Dan
W. Craig Trader
Dan Newman
On 15 Jan 2012 , at 11:47 PM, W. Craig Trader wrote:
> So did you get your gen4 board working again? Mine just suffered a static
> discharge, causing the LCD to flake out. (New working rule -- never let my
> wife touch without grounding myself afterwards.)
Mine has been working fine since cleaning up the motherboard.
Dan
P.S. Here's Mouser part numbers for two likely replacements
668-NC-S16400XRGHS (was available last month; appears out of stock for good now; was only $13)
668-NC-S16400XFYSAY ($16)