After several weeks of successful operating, I’ve been troubleshooting a new issue this morning. When attempting to zero my machine after setting up for some cuts, the Y-axis is jamming/getting caught when trying to move to the furthest south position. I have some projects to work on and will need to resolve this because it is definitely not supposed to be doing this.
I took a video to demonstrate what is happening when I try to move Y south. It hits a point where it starts jumping. See video here: Dropbox - CNC - Simplify your life
I tried to shift my material further north on the waste-board and now it is happening about halfway down the board.
First, from the video it looks like it’s just the left hand side of the X axis that is jumping, not the right?
Did you already take a close look to make sure there’s no clamp or bit of workpiece catching on the dust boot / cutter etc. when the machine is trying to come forward?
Try powering off the machine and then slowly moving the X axis all the way to the back and the front, it should smoothly move all the way, this will let you check if there’s any mechanical obstruction. If you do this too fast the stepper motors will wake up and start to interfere, you’ll get a lumpy juddering, just slow down, an inch every couple of seconds sort of nice slow move.
If that is OK, re-initialise the machine, keep the router over to the right and up at the top of the Z travel, try to jog all the way to the front, can it do that without getting stuck?
It is possible that the pulley on the left stepper motor is loose. You can mark up the end of the motor shaft and pulley to check this, see this post
When you suggested to power off the machine and manually manipulate the Y-axis, I discovered it was catching some material on the far (right side) and completely obstructed. I cut down the material and it is now resolved.
Feeling foolish over such a silly mistake I made. Thanks for your help!
When you have a problem always go to basics first. With power off does your machine move smoothly front to back and side to side to the mechanical limits. Check your v wheels and belts.
Always go to basics first, most issues are resolved quick and easy.
