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TUNING.md

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Using your blot

Now that your blot is assembled, the next step is to set it up for your first drawing & tune it.

Start by moving the rails all the way to the right and forward, as shown below

Next, connect the power adapter to the port labeled "Usb Power", and connect your computer or laptop to the other port. Connect the servo motor wires to the 3 pins as seen at the top of the image. The brown wire should go to "B", the red to "R", etc. Connect the stepper motor wires to the adapter, which is connected to the board.

On your computer, head to the editor, and click the "Machine Controls" button on the top right. The click "Connect to Machine".

On the pop-up, select your blot. It might be labeled as XIAO RP2040 or similar

Once it's connected, go back to machine controls and click pen down. Put the toolhead on the servo as shown.

Place the pen in the holder, and tighten the screw

Finally, head to the machine conrtols and hit run machine

Tuning

You'll need to tune your blot after assembly, and every once-and-a-while when it's drawing something incorrectly.

We recommend using the Blot logo as a test image. It's a good way to see if your blot is drawing correctly, with a good variety of straight, curved, & diagonal lines.

If well tuned, it should end up looking something like this:

My blot only draws in diagonal lines!

This probably means that only one of your motors is turning correctly take the belt off your blot and hold each motors axle to see which motor is behaving, erratically or weekly. 

Blot only vibrates instead of moving

This is a sign that your stepper motors are either wired incorrectly or don’t have a good connection.

  • Unplug and replug your stepper motors.
  • Make sure your stepper motors are plugged in the correct direction. The red wire should connect to the side labeled "red".
  • Make sure the stepper motor horizontal breakouts are connected. Steppers do not directly connect to the main board.

My blot draws weirdly

This usually means your belt is not tight enough.

  • Check if your belt pulley is attached tight. While your blot is powered on, try twisting the pulley. If it moves, it's not tight enough.
  • To tighten it, use your smallest allen key to tighten both screws
  • If your pulley is tight, try tightening the belt
  • Move the belt clip forward. Attach the belt to the clip as tight as possible. Pull the belt clip as much as possible. Screw it in place.

My belt keeps getting loose

Ensure that the t-nut is 90 degrees from the alluminum extrusion