Change DRV8825 to SilentStepStick TMC2208

[garaujo]

Hi all.
I just installed the SilentStepStick TMC2208 and I must say the quality improvement and noise reduction are remarkable.
Thank you to you all that helped me with your posts and comments.

[tgala]

Hi @garaujo!
By any chance, do you have photos of the before/after parts? I would love to see the quality improvement!

Thanks!

[garaujo]

Hi @tgala.

Sorry for the delay. I didn't come here for a while.

Please go to the following link with 2 cubes printed before and after I changed the drivers. Easy to spot which is the one printed before and after
There are still some issues I haven't tweaked yet, like ghosting and wrapping, but those are relatively easy to fix.

https://meocloud.pt/link/d39eb78c-1b52- ... 121157.jpg

Hope it helped.
Cheers!

[tgala]

Awesome!
The quality improvement is clearly visible.
It's a shame you have other quality issues, have you tried following the "Prusa Fixes" document? download/file.php?id=62

[garaujo]

Yeah, I know it's a shame and I'm quite frustrated with the output quality of this printer.
Yes, I did all the things recommended on that document, and much more, like replacing all the linear bearings, replacing the hotends, the threaded rods, reprint some parts, etc.
Right now I'm tweaking with the firmware settings trying to improve something more.

[tgala]

What about your threaded rods? Are they completely flat? Sometimes they get bent and you get inconsistent layer heights.
@MrDoom, can you lend us a hand?

[MrDoom]

Hi @@garaujo

to solve Z axis problems with the original rods the best solutions I found are:
-Lube the threaded rods very very well, I use lithium grease, beware it is messy and turns dark/geyish quite fast with consistent use
-Make sure the brass nuts are completely still on the X gantry, if they spin even the slightest you will have issues
-Make sure you have the couplers correctly installed, 5mm inserted on each side and the middle (springy part) without anything to allow it to compensate some misalignment due to the bend of the threaded rods
-Run up and down the Z axes a couple of times to allow the lube to properly propagate
-Reduce the Z axis speed to 2 on the printer menu on "Control" > "Motion" > "Velocity" > "Z axis", alternatively add "M203 Z2" to the start Gcode
-Decrease the Z axis acceleration to 50-100 on "Control" > "Motion" > "Acceleration" > "Z axis", alternatively add "M201 Z50" to the start Gcode

Other than that you can change the threaded rods to 5mm trapezoidal rods and that make quite a difference vs the default one out of the box (albeit if you follow the previous advises it should have similar results) but you need to customize some parts to allow the insertion of the new trapezoidal nuts.

As for the ghosting, lower the print speed and acceleration, for warping clean the glass very well with window cleaner until it squeaks when rubbing, prior to printing.

[AndyFrew]

Hello...i think the lines on the firmware are self explanatory, you uncomment the first one if you want the TMC2208 on the extruder only or the second line if you replace all 5 stepper drivers. Other than that you just need to change the stepper drivers themselves

[Benji]

Hey guys

I have some questions:
1. Where do you bought the TMC2208 Stepper driver? I can buy some cheap china parts or some really expensive parts.
2. Is there any soldering necessary other than soldering the header pins?
3. If I install 5 TMC2208, I only have to uncomment like this:

// If your helloBEEprusa has Trinamic TMC2208/2100 stepper drivers please uncomment the correct line
//
// -Trinamic TMC2208/2100 on the extruder
// #define hBp_TMC2208ext
//
// -Trinamic TMC2208/2100 on all axis
#define hBp_TMC2208all

Thank you

Best wishes

Benji

[DomingosRodrigues]

Hi Benji,

You can use any stepstick with TMC2208 that is based on the watterot electronics design (most chinese clones are).

Yes you just need to uncomment one line and it should configure the firmware to use them, you will then need to tune the current for each stepper motor using a screwdriver on the small potentiometer they have.

Best regards