Shapeoko 5 Stepper Failure

CNC Machines
1

Hi all,

I have a Shapeoko 5 Pro 2x2, haven’t used it much (I’d estimate <10 hours on it). I was machining an aluminum part today and partway through the program everything stopped and Carbide Motion threw an error - I closed it before writing it down, but it said something along the lines of ‘program stopped due to unusual communication from the controller. Controller may be in an unknown state’

I e-stopped the machine, then reset it and connected to Carbide Motion. Everything reconnects fine, but when initializing the machine the Y-axis homing is incredibly jumpy. When powered on I can move the left ballscrew by hand but the right is locked in place by the motor. I’m guessing the jumping is because only the right motor is moving the gantry.

Any recommendations on troubleshooting where the failure actually is? There was a faint burning smell when I stopped the router but no clue where it was coming from. Unsure if it’s a motor, wiring, or controller issue.

2

Power down and unplug and wait 30 minutes or so to allow things to reset.

Check all the wiring and connectors, and review the hardware.

Let us know what you find out at support@carbide3d.com

3

Thanks Will! Shot an email to support - short answer is it looks like something electronic. When removed, neither motor works when plugged into the left-side Y port and both work when plugged into the right-side port.