Mars Pro 2 LCD stops working part way through print

[evansandy]

Hi Guys,

Has anyone else had this issue?  The LCD on my Mars Pro 2 just stops working part way through prints so they fail.  Its a brand new machine and I have had lots of completed prints on it but it will randomly fail and when check the exposure after cleaning up the LCD is blank.  Switching it off and on again fixes the issue but it can just stop again at any time.

The machine has been updated to the latest Firmware and its displaying the layers on the touchscreen.

Any clues?

Cheers
Andy

[cliffyk]

Have you reported the problem to Elegoo support? (this is a user forum, and as fine as it is it is not an official Elegoo support portal) contact them at 3dp@elegoo.com.

My only DIY suggestion is to open the puppy up and check and double check all connections.  Is the cooling fan running during printing the failed prints, does it stop at all--is the machine adequately ventilated with nothing piled next to it, and not up against anything?--it could be the curing lamp and/or it's driver is overheating and shutting down...

[evansandy]

Have you reported the problem to Elegoo support? (this is a user forum, and as fine as it is it is not an official Elegoo support portal) contact them at 3dp@elegoo.com.

My only DIY suggestion is to open the puppy up and check and double check all connections.  Is the cooling fan running during printing the failed prints, does it stop at all--is the machine adequately ventilated with nothing piled next to it, and not up against anything?--it could be the curing lamp and/or it's driver is overheating and shutting down...

Thanks cliff. Yes I’ve reported it but had no response yet. However I think you have pointed out the issue. Heat. The wife likes to keep the house at about 900 degrees so it might be too hot for the machine. I’ll try and adjust the temperature in my work room and see if it helps. Cheers Andy.

[cliffyk]

Have you reported the problem to Elegoo support? (this is a user forum, and as fine as it is it is not an official Elegoo support portal) contact them at 3dp@elegoo.com.

My only DIY suggestion is to open the puppy up and check and double check all connections.  Is the cooling fan running during printing the failed prints, does it stop at all--is the machine adequately ventilated with nothing piled next to it, and not up against anything?--it could be the curing lamp and/or it's driver is overheating and shutting down...

Thanks cliff. Yes I’ve reported it but had no response yet. However I think you have pointed out the issue. Heat. The wife likes to keep the house at about 900 degrees so it might be too hot for the machine. I’ll try and adjust the temperature in my work room and see if it helps. Cheers Andy.

Yeah, 900° is pretty warm--my SWMBO is the opposite, 68°F in the winter suits her...

[BlindPR]

have the same problem, only 1st layer printed. after that lcd is blank, i wrote to support. they give me a 2.23 fw. flash. nothing = the same problem. i think its lcd curing screen. support send me new lcd. changed - 1month printed well. and now i have the same problem. printed about 20 minis. lcd is working fine - test it on another printer with chitu mainboard (not elegoo). only powerup - try. repeat.

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that the problem https://youtu.be/eXdh5O9-wfs

[cliffyk]

have the same problem, only 1st layer printed. after that lcd is blank, i wrote to support. they give me a 2.23 fw. flash. nothing = the same problem. i think its lcd curing screen. support send me new lcd. changed - 1month printed well. and now i have the same problem. printed about 20 minis. lcd is working fine - test it on another printer with chitu mainboard (not elegoo). only powerup - try. repeat.

---

that the problem https://youtu.be/eXdh5O9-wfs

To me it is obviously a hardware issue with the mobo and/or on-board power supplies (not the wall wart, I mean the on-board supplies for the various peripheral devices, LCD and LED drivers, etc.). I would think it unlikely to be a firmware problem.

My first thought, that it was heat related, seems to have been in error as on BlindPR's unit it appears to happen erratically and so soon in the print cycle--nonetheless it would be worth a shot to monitor the mobo temps with a "point-and-shoot" IR gun (or even a well-calibrated finger or nose) and see if anything is getting hot.

Elegoo seems to be having some significant QC problems. After the success of the Mars they pushed out a bunch of new models in very rapid succession and seem to have pumped up production as well¹. Many here and elsewhere are reporting hardware problems with the Pro and Pro 2.

Just as a FWIW-FYI--and completely unrelated to your problems; I had inadvertently loaded the "Pro" firmware on my plain ol' Mars and now have the same trendy dark UI as your Pro 2, I did not notice for weeks as it ran great. Then I noticed one day when it booted that the splash screen told me it was a "Pro"...

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¹- Adding new products and ramping up production at the same time is nearly a sure-fire way of screwing things up--more than one successful company has gone under when attempting to do so. The Chinese are not great at QC anyway; they cannot afford it at the tight margins under which they operate, for them it's cheaper just to send out a new unit.

[ChrisKrieg]

I can confirm that I'm having the same issue. It first occurred back in October a week or so after I bought the printer. I contacted support and they sent me the current 2.23 firmware. After uploading the firmware to the printer, the problem was resolved. However, I believe it was a false assumption at the time that the firmware fixed the issue since it has recurred this week.

TL;DR The metal vat seems to cause my issue. I believe that the culprit is mechanical in nature and related to pressure on the LCD screen during the initial layers of the print. Using plastic vats solved the problem. This might be because the base of the plastic vat is slightly oversize, lifting the plastic frame away from the LCD a fraction of a millimeter.
To truly identify the root cause of the issue, I'd need to open up the machine and check the routing of the LCD ribbon cable to ensure there are no kinks, damage, or pinches, but I'm avoiding that since I've found a solution for now. Anyone seeing the same issue could try to shim up their metal vat by lining the aluminum border of the Mars' vat pocket with paper strips.

I've tested several things. These are in chronological order until I reached a fix.
1. The symptoms occur across all print files, regardless of size or when I sliced them. Even files that ran successfully in the past are failing today.
2. After testing a few prints without the build plate or vat installed, I identified a startup sequence that seems reliable. Startup > Immediately start the print.
3. When running a print without the build plate or vat installed, everything works as normal. The LCD properly masks the layers.
4. When running the same print with the metal vat and build plate installed, only one or two layers are printed before the LCD turns off completely, preventing any more material from being exposed to the UV LED.
5. After a print fails, testing the default Elegoo logo also fails. The LCD seems to no longer work after it fails on a print.
6. Restarting the printer seems to get the LCD running again. I'd test by removing the metal vat and build plate and running the Elegoo logo test tool.
7. Running the print with build plate only (with paper layer to protect the LCD) works normally, with the LCD masking the layers but also letting patterns of light through. This indicates that there may be an issue with the vat. Perhaps tightening the vat lockdown screws causes some electronic connection within the frame to be pinched or compressed.
8. Running prints with the plastic vats that I bought work! I'm trying to identify why the metal vat that came with the printer would cause problems, but that is the last remaining factor. Two tests with all the same equipment and resin installed: plastic vat worked while the metal vat print failed after one layer. This reinforces my suspicion that the metal vat is somehow exerting more pressure on the LCD or affecting some electrical connection within the frame.

[BlindPR]

Replacement of motherboard did not help. print one layer only. after 3-4 restarts print normal. than again 1 layer. same file. same settings. i don't know wtf with that printer but i'm really dissapointed((((((((((((((((((((.