Machine is about 2 weeks old. Some projects have run great, but I’ve recently ruined 2 due to z axis losing counts and cutting far too deep, sometimes z is off 1/2". It did this a couple times in my first day, where I smashed into the bitsetter, but I didn’t realize what was happening. Also, Y axis sometimes has a stutter that is not mechanical induced, I can recreated it by grabbing the connectors (R or L) while jogging and induce the step loss.
Tonight, mid v-carve run, I heard the z axis stutter and went over and sure enough, letters were carving much too deep, and when rechecking z zero it was off ~ 1/2".
I have a email in with support, with pictures.
Here’s where I’m at.
belt tension good, checked with finger method
pulley set screws good
all connector locks are engaged
I can recreate the y axis stutter by moving connectors while jogging - note, all wiring is zip tied securely, and is not being pulled or stretched
I cannot recreate the z stutter
I have read a lot of other posts, and most point to wiring harness or connectors.
I am now having trouble trusting the machine, and ruining projects is killing what is otherwise a fantastic machine.
Are you sure the bit isn’t slipping in the collet?
Are you using two wrenches to tighten? I was not initially, I relied on the button and one wrench and had similar problems. Only use the button to get it tight enough to not fall out and then use 2 wrenches to get it real tight.
I’m certain it’s not the bit slipping, I marked the shaft to see that possibility.
I will try the zip ties. I checked for burn marks, couldn’t see any. I was going to bring home a thermal camera and check for any hot spots, but not sure if it will be noticeable. This works on loose connections in industrial panels but thats a different animal.
One of two things regarding the belts vibrating. And let me say I have not looked up the chain to see how you set your belts (late. tired,just finished a cut)
If they are loose and vibrating (slapping) it needs to be much tighter. Lots of threads on here describing how to set them. If the are tight and you are getting harmonics down them. they are too tight. You will break a belt in short order.
Sorry I did not go in depth. I was up at 05:00 and it is almost 01:00.
Thanks Michael. I’ll check them again. So far I’ve experienced that the movement along the Y-rails is the loudest, crunchiest, and causes the most vibration. X side to side is smooth as glass and quiet, as is the Z motion.
Zip-tied all the molex connectors, and re-routed some of the wires better. This has solved the stuttering on all axis.
New problem tonight, when doing tool change the z just kept plowing through the bitsetter. Stopped machine, re-initalized, did it again. Power cycled machine, no problems now. Zero on the z was not lost, so for whatever reason it acted like it didn’t see the sensor from the bitsetter, but I did see a red LED on both crashes. Not sure what this is about yet.
This was happening to me as well. I traced the whole problem down to the wiring quick connectors. They would actually get hot. The machine would miss steps and lose where it was usually on the z axis. Carbide ended up covering things under warranty and it seems to be running smooth now.
Try wiggling the wiring while it is moving and see if it “skips”.
Discovered my problem today Ryan. The Y2 motor (left side) was not functioning at all. I initialized the machine as normal, then went into Jog/Fast Actions. Before jogging I removed both belts, left and right, so I could observe the motors. The right side spun freely and smoothly. The left side motor stuttered and vibrated, back and forth and did not complete even one revolution. I checked all of the connections: same result. The right side Y motor was moving the entire gantry all by itself, thus the crunching and vibration on the left side. Now I know why none of my cuts were coming out.
I have an email in to Support. Hopefully a new motor will be in the mail soon.
