Skipping X-Axis and strange motor noises

I was investigating an issue with my X-axis skipping on a couple of cuts when I ran into an issue. I went to initialize the machine and it started making kind of a grinding sound when moving along X and seemed to move the wrong way. Here’s a link to a video showing what happened.

Immediately prior to this, I had been moving the gantry manually trying to see if there were sticking spots or anything I could feel. It seemed to move well with no issues. I had also checked the set screws on the X-axis motor pulley, as well as both the Y-axis pulleys. None of them were loose at all. I’d also checked the V-wheels, which seemed fine - tight but movable with pressure. Lastly, the belts also seem in good shape and not loose.

The skipping only happened twice and the incidents were sporadic. The first was while I was doing a finishing pass with a bowl bit. It was taking off about .01 of material, so should not have been bound in any way. I was watching it and as it moved along the X-axis, it made a “clunk” sound and next thing I know, the machine is cutting through the right side of the bowl. I thought maybe the pulley had caught on some bits of wood so I cleaned everything well and it seemed fine after that for several other projects, and then it skipped again on a much larger cut two days ago. I was in the room but not watching it and I didn’t notice until it was finished.

I’m happy to check other things or provide additional details. I’m hoping someone can help.

I may have figured this out. My v-wheels on the x-axis had quite a bit of gunk in the groove. I cleaned all of them, x and y, and then did a bunch of test jogging, which seemed fine. I ran some small cut jobs and those also went well.

I’m still a little concerned about the grinding and backward movement in the video, but maybe that can also be explained by the dirty wheels?

When I clean and do maintenance on my SO3 I remove my X and Y belts completely. With those out of the way you can move freely move the machine through it’s full range of motion making cleaning, checking, and adjusting V wheel much easier. It also gives you a chance to flip those belts over and give them a good inspection while also checking the belt idler bearings and mounting hardware.

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