My Velleman K8200 is skipping sideways by a few mm at certain points during printing, leading to a ruined print. It occurs on different layers/heights, so unsure how I go about tracking down the cause of the problem. Any advice appreciated!
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MB3D
2
It’s either due to too weak motors that can’t accelerate and break as the controller board wants them to perform or its based on a slicing error. For the first one you have to check, that the rods are lubricated and that the printhead can.travel freely to any position. If that doesn’t fix the issue, you have to print at slower speeds or adjust your stepper drivers, check online and YouTube guides for that. In the case of an software issue you have to check the printing preview of your slicer (if possible). Also generate multiple gcode and print them, if the issue occurs on multiple different gcode, then it’s definitely the first cause. Cheers, Marius Breuer
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Thanks Marius. I’ve printed a couple of things using Slic3r to slice and I haven’t had the issue yet. At this stage it seems the problem may have been caused by using Cura to slice. I’ll continue to monitor. 
You can increase the voltage of the motors on the arduino boards. Might help. I have a somewhat similar issue. Sometimes the print warps upwards and the printer head collides whith it and then skipping all the following layers sideways. Have not really found a solution for that.
It may be due to loose belts . I had a similar problem with my vertex K8400. The rods where unparalleled and made significant resistance to the motors wich resulted In skips and shifted layers . Try tensioning the belts or make sure that the rods are perfectly parallel. Also I find mechanic oil to ease the resistance.
Had the same problem. had to fasten the screw of the pully (of the belt). It came loose after a year and I think this was caused by vabrations
Check to see if your set screws are tighten on the belt gear connected to the stepper motor rod. Once you do that make sure when it prints you don’t want to hear any kind of friction of the linear bearings. I use WD-40 to clean up the rods and help clean out the bearings of any dust or small particles that may get trapped inside. I use pneumatic oil at the moment to keep the linear rods well lubricated to prevent the rods from drying up. Friction can cause minor steps when being pulled by a belt so maintenance is key on the K8200.
The problem can also occur if the printing head hit the object you’re printing.
Sometimes, the plastic warps slightly up and the printing head hit it.
You should try to improve the cooling of your plastic with a better fan nozzle : Fan duct/nozzle V6 for K8200 / 3Drag and frame mounting Clip by eytec - Thingiverse
Have you adjusted the voltage on your stepper drivers up to 0.55V?
W_4
10
I had the same issue. I changed the original belts to GT2 belts with 16 tooth pulley.
Problem solved.
Thanks for all the feedback guys. So far I’ve slowed down the print speed and haven’t had the problem again. I’ll look into all the suggestions.
