Job stopped when running the Hello World file

Hello everyone, please help!

I just bought the XXL and finished the installation. I installed Carbide Motion and followed the instructions (initialize the machine, zero and rezero the machine, then load the “hello world” file). I started the job, but after about 2 seconds, the machine stopped moving. I tried to pause and start the job again, it did nothing. Once I stopped the job, the machine moved back to home and park. I tried a few times, it always stopped after 1-2 seconds, as you can tell from the pictures. Do you know what could cause this issue? Thanks so much in advance!
IMG_4657
IMG_4652

Can you share the gcode file you are running ? They must have changed the hello world example, I don’t recognize it.

Thanks Julien! I downloaded the files from here.

The files I used are attached.box_logo.nc (35.6 KB)
box_art_hatch_path.nc (28.6 KB)

Mmh. Nothing wrong with those files. In theory it could be intermittent USB communication issues, but it would most probably have caused errors to be reported in Carbide Motion, and the machine would likely not respond correctly afterwards…strange.

  • Can you grab the log traces of such an interrupted run ? In Motion, go to Setting, “Open Log”, keep that window open, run your job normally, and copy/paste everything in that (messy) window, maybe it will give us a hint as to what is going on.
  • Try a different USB port (or even PC) if you can, just to rule out things that are external to the machine?
  • I assume you can jog normally for a long as you want, after homing ?
1 Like

Please see the log below. To your question #3, yes I can jog normally as long as I want after homing. But sometimes Carbide Motion froze (the status stayed “Busy” forever) when I tried to jog. So I had to relaunch Motion again and redo homing and initialing the machine. That usually fixed the problem. I am using a very old iMac. it might be the issue. But i am also wondering if that also caused the interruption too. Thank you so much for looking into this!

Here’s the log. it’s too long to copy and paste here. XXL-Log.pdf (221.4 KB)

If your communication drops for a couple of seconds, you will have to home to restart the system and ensure that you have not missed steps. I expect that you have one of the following, a bad USB wire or port (e.g.:drops when you move it); a static electricity discharge probably from the low humidity if you live in a northern climate at the moment but usually a vacuum system makes this worse; an EMI interference from an electrical wire but this is normally caused by the router. For the last two, you can ground your Shapeoko frame and any vacuum piping, separate the wires so they don’t run parallel.

Mmh that does not sound right. I did some stress testing on jogging sometime ago, and the worst I was able to get is an error message/pop-up, with no functional impact.
If you do have a way to try with a different computer/USB port/USB cable, that’s what I would do first.

I could not spot anything obvious in the log file, but I only had a quick glance because I’m heading to bed right now, it’s getting late here.

2 Likes

Thank you both @luc.onthego and @Julien! I tried with a different (newer) computer and it worked! My iMac is 12 years old. It’s still working but probably too slow for the Carbide software. Once I switched to another computer, those problems went away. I was able to run the hello world files successfully without a hiccup! Thanks again!

3 Likes

If you get communication errors from the USB you may have to tie up the usb cable to keep it from being stressed during movement and disconnect. My USB port on the controller is hit or miss so once I secured the cable with a wire tie and stick on wire tie holder I have had no further communications problems. If you Mac is 12 years old check for firmware updates. USB has made a lot of changes in the last twelve years. By firmware I do not mean OS updates but the firmware that is on the main board.

2 Likes

The other thing to check is your power management. Depending on your Mac O/S version, some settings make the USB port, hard drive, screen go to sleep when (or shortly after) the computer keyboard is not in use to save power. For example, I use my old Macbook to run CM and I have it setup so it does not go to sleep when it is plugged-in.

3 Likes

Thanks very much for the tips @gdon_2003 and @luc.onthego! I’ll check on the firmware and tie up the USB, and the system settings. Never thought of these little details before. Very helpful! Thanks!

2 Likes

FYI I had a similar issue with the start stop. To remedy the issue I tried a ground receptacle and it worked. I live in a house that only has grounded receptacles in half the house.

Anyhow it worked!

1 Like

So I have the XXL, and it’s been working fine but yesterday just started having issues similar to what you describe, but in addition to the random “hard stop” in the middle of doing something, I am getting errors when trying to connect, or after successful connect, Carbide Motion loses connection to the cutter.

Got a very thorough list of things to try from Will Adams, including replacing router brushes, making sure cables and power cords are separated as much as possible, and a few other things.

Will advise as I work through the suggestions.

1 Like

It sounded like mine was a different issue. My Mac was too old to run the jobs. After I used a newer computer, the issue was fixed. But I am not sure what happened to yours, @Gray Good luck!

This topic was automatically closed 30 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.