Makerbot Replicator 2 won't power

[Tami Brass]

Our school has two Makerbot Replicator 2s.  One had issues out of the box and after close to a month of working with the folks at Makerbot, with them sending me parts to replace and me replacing them, we eventually sent it in for repair - had a gantry alignment issue we couldn't resolve.

Now our 2nd Makerbot - with only about 25 hours on it - won't power up.  The power adapter is fine - blue light, I see a light on the back of the Makerbot when plugging it in. The LCD at the front seems dead.  I tried plugging the printer into my PC, and my PC recognized when I flipped the switch, so there is power flowing.

Ideas?  I'm concerned the LCD is fried.  Anyone have something similar happen?

Thanks,

Tami

[Dan Newman]

In this forum there was one similar report a few months back. I believe
MBI had to replace the motherboard but I could well be misrecollecting.
That said, know that there is a fuse on the motherboard as well as some
status LEDs which indicate if 24V power is being received and if 5V power
is being produced on the board. You have to open the bottom cover to
access these.

If the 24V power LED isn't illuminated that would suggest that someone
tried to plug in the power connector rotated 180 degrees off. Doesn't
work but can damage the pins to where you now cannot properly plug the
connector in at all. If the 24V power LED is lit but not the 5V one,
then check the fuse. Actually, check the fuse regardless. Slender
glass tube with metal caps at each end. Has a thin piece of wire
in it which sacrifices itself to protect the bot. Often leaves
some black smudging on the inside of the clear glass when that happens.
You can pull the fuse out to inspect it, but not with power going
to the bot.

Dan

[Jetguy]

Re- update the firmware.

You said the PC detects it. That indicates the USB to serial port conversion chip is working and that is powered by the same 5 volts that powers the main processor.

Discussed in another thread the LCD is ALSO controlled by the main CPU. If it has a bad or corrupted firmware, then it  appears dead but is not.

 

Follow the Makerware firmware update instructions.

By that, I'm saying Makerware is the software on the computer that flashes the firmware to the bot.

[Jetguy]

[Tami Brass]

I tried doing the firmware update, but Makerware doesn't see it. My computer definitely knows when I turn the Makerbot on and off, but Upload Firmware is gray.

Tami

[Tami Brass]

I may wait until I hear from their customer service before checking this one. We'll see if I hear back by tomorrow.  I did the ticket this morning.

Tami

[Dan Newman]

I believe that MBI support has a tool they
can send you that will simply send the firmware
to the bot. Problem you are having is that MakerWare
is expecting to get a specific response from the
main processor on the bot. But if the main processor
isn't working correctly, it won't get that response
and as a result it won't let you load the firmware.
But, you need to load the firmware in order to get
that response. Catch 22. Hence the tool from MBI
that bypasses that and just sends the firmware to
the bot.

Dan

On 7 Nov 2013 , at 2:58 PM, Tami Brass wrote:

> I tried doing the firmware update, but Makerware doesn't see it. My
> computer definitely knows when I turn the Makerbot on and off, but Upload
> Firmware is gray.
>

> <https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-tB7u6wMm90g/Unwa4__12JI/AAAAAAAAAbE/g5iHydCDS_M/s1600/Firmware.png>

>
> Tami
>
>
> On Thursday, November 7, 2013 4:15:56 PM UTC-6, Tami Brass wrote:
>>
>> Our school has two Makerbot Replicator 2s. One had issues out of the box
>> and after close to a month of working with the folks at Makerbot, with them
>> sending me parts to replace and me replacing them, we eventually sent it in
>> for repair - had a gantry alignment issue we couldn't resolve.
>>
>> Now our 2nd Makerbot - with only about 25 hours on it - won't power up.
>> The power adapter is fine - blue light, I see a light on the back of the
>> Makerbot when plugging it in. The LCD at the front seems dead. I tried
>> plugging the printer into my PC, and my PC recognized when I flipped the
>> switch, so there is power flowing.
>>
>> Ideas? I'm concerned the LCD is fried. Anyone have something similar
>> happen?
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Tami
>>
>

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[Jetguy]

FWIW I found the Tool Dan just mentioned that may solve this for you tonight.

https://groups.google.com/d/msg/jetty-firmware/qRZ_9-OmrXA/B0VwmIZOi9MJ

 

I'm copying them both (Windows and Mac versions) here to make life easy

[Jetguy]

From the readme in the files:

###############################################################################################

BotTool was programmed and tested using Python2.7(32bit), it is recommened that Python2.7(32bit)
be installed on you system and added to your system path before using BotTool

Usage:
 - Be sure to stop the MakerWare background service (if MakerWare is installed)
 - Execute run_BotTool.sh(Unix) or run_BotTool.vbs(Windows)
 - From the GUI select the port that your bot is attached
 - Select the firmware .hex file you wish to upload to you bot
 - Press the "Upload" button and follow the onscreen prompts

 

 

This should get you to a state with working firmware. It's not the latest but then you can use Makerware to perform a normal update process.

[BruceA]

I have had the same issue twice with my Rep 2. First time the LCD went blank as in off when a SD card was plunged in. I purchased my bot from BillbyCNC in Australia and their service is second to none. Had a new LCD and cable to me over night. That ran for a few weeks and then the LCD got dimmer and dimmer, replaced that one and it has been running fine ever since. It will be interesting to hear what was causing the problem on your one. 

[Tami Brass]

All - quick followup.  The power issue was a firmware problem.  Makerbot support got back to me Monday (after I complained on Twitter that I'd done two tickets Thurs and Fri).  They sent me an app (BotTools) that helped me fix it quickly.

Thanks for the support/suggestions!

Tami

[Kim Wayne]

Hi Tami, is the firmware software that you had to load?  Did you have to replace LCD, cords or motherboard?

On Thursday, November 7, 2013 4:15:56 PM UTC-6, Tami Brass wrote:

[Brass, Tami]

Yes, in this case it was specifically software. They sent me the appropriate firmware and instructions for applying.  Went really well.

Tami Brass

Director of Instructional Technology

St. Paul Academy and Summit School

tbr...@spa.edu / (651)696-1444

Sent from my iPad

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