Geeetech

For the first time, I'm attempting to print ABS on my i3. While heating the bed, the printer encounters a problem and shuts off. I can barely get it up to 88 degrees Celsius before it shuts off.

Has anybody else run across this problem? Do you have any suggestions about where to begin searching for the problem?

You don't mention how you control your printer. I control my 12 Pro B using a serial link and Repetier-Host V2.2.2 rather than the printer's manual controls and files on an SD card. . Repetier-Host has a rather neat option to display the Temperature curve of both the hot end and the heated bed. I found it especially useful when I was getting weird prints where the printer display would show the hot end temperature reading being very erratic. Having the temperatures graphed showed that it would apparently jump by quite a few degrees at times and even occasionally shut down the print with an Over Temp error. The problem was eventually solved by ensuring that the thermistor lodged in the hole in the extruder block was making good contact with the sides of the hole. It had been floating fairly freely in the hole so was giving false readings as it "rattled" about.

For the heated bed I'd check the bed thermistor is properly secured to the bottom of the bed. Some sort of heat resistant tape appears to have been used to secure it. If the thermistor isn't held firmly against the bed, I reckon you could get similar problems. The temperature curve display in Repetier would show this. Normally shows a rising curve to the target temperature (You can also view the bed's output, i.e. when the heating element power is on or off.) The temp will overshoot slightly as the power is removed then you should get a decaying sine wave till the actual temperature meets the target. Very useful!

I hope this helps with diagnosing your problem.

Play Bonny!

Soadyheid