I am looking for some help with this homing issue.
my 4x2 Shapeoko 5 has been running well for over a year. I have access to a Nomad 883 that has not run since the new machine arrived. Today I wanted to make sure it would run, so I plugged it into the computer and set it up as a new machine via CM640. the quick check of the nomad went well and I unplugged it from the computer.
my mistake was thinking CM would remember the Shapoko, it apparently didn’t and the initilazition process crashed it into the home corner.
first recovery step was to “setup new machine” in CM. following the procedure gave me the first HM08 error codes.
second recover step was to check the homing switches are working and they all light up when I pass a wrench by them.
I powered everything off for a few hours and came back to the same behavior.
I have done casual checks on the collar between the x lead screw and the stepper. also checked the x homing switch physical position, incase it had been bumped by the crash. I have checked the rails and screw for debris.
the behavior when I get the error is, “connect to cutter” appear fine, “initialize machine” send it to home, z axis has normal behavior, x axis finds home but does not retract for the slow homing. the x axis light stays on. the y axis moves home with normal behavior.
Everytime you run the configuration CM remembers that. In the past I had an SO3 XXL and SO3 XL and everytime I hooked up to either machine I just got into the habit of running configuration. However if you set up the Shapeoko last it is ready to go when hooking up to the Shapeoko. However if you move over to the Nomad you would need to run configuration. As long as you stay on the same machine after configuration no changes need to be made in CM but every time you move to another C3D machine you have to run configuration.
Most people only have one machine so it is not an issue. Those lucky enough to have 2 C3D machines of different sizes must run configuration when moving your computer with CM on it. CM remembers the last configuration and assumes you are still on the same machine when a new session starts. The only way around running configuration is to have two computers and each one dedicated to a particular machine.
The Nomad was on loan to me, it is gone now. This computer will only be driving the SO5 from now on.
I forgot to mention in my first post that the MDI command g28.3 was working for me, my understanding is this command will establish the current position as home, allowing for jogging and zeroing. with this I was able run a simple program.
while it was running I was hearing a soft sound when the x axis would shift direction. it turns out the x axis lead screw nut was loose. I tightened the two screws and now it will initialize. with the loose screws it makes sense the x axis homing was not working. the machine was trying to move away from the homing switch but it was not moving enough to clear the switch.
I guess my remaining question is when did they loosen? while I was running a program or when it crashed while initializing with the wrong machine profile. should I be disassembling the carriage to check for more loose screws?
Yes, if you haven’t, check every fastener on the machine. Invest in loctite. Better to check, loctite and tighten now, all in one go, than to run into issues later that you have to spend time troubleshooting. I found loose screws on pretty much every pre-assembled part when I did the assembly and still missed a few that came apart later.
If you use Locktite be sure to only use removable. Permanent is permanent and takes a torch to loosen it and Shapeoko machine and fire dont mix well. Not sure locktite is even necessary unless the same bolt keeps loosening.