Sound-proofed Nomad, completed 1st wrench tutorial, problems homing w the 2nd

OK, I received my used Nomad from Skeletonx http://community.carbide3d.com/t/nomad-for-sale/5121 and after a few hectic weeks at work, I finally got around adding the sound proofing materials and doing the 1st wrench test. I wanted to add peacemaker rubber sheeting to the exterior, some STC rated weather stripping, and acrylic panels to the front. I made an aesthetic mess out of the big panel ( which is 1’’ thick) with the acrylic glue. Probably shouldn’t have added glue all over it - just to the sides, as I did with the smaller ones (1.25’’ thick) which look much better , but I was afraid that the vibrations may make the thinner panel rattle against the thick one if they weren’t joined in the middle (as it didn’t sit completely flat). Oh, well, I can still see what’s inside.

Then I tried the second (face) test and something strange happened. First I got a “limit switch hit” message. After turning the machine on and off, this happened:

Can somebody tell me what’s going on and how to fix it? This is very frustrating.

Your z-axis motor is bad, or more likely the connection at the top has been damaged. On the original Nomads there is not any strain relief on the wires to the z-axis motor, and so that connection point often has issues. It’s happened to me twice.

Contact support and @Jorge will get you sorted in no time.

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thanks for your input. I just got it and was very careful with it. I hope I wasn’t sold a defective $2000 machine.

It will get straightened out, don’t worry about it.

The thing is, sometimes having a problem or two like this with a used machine provides tons of education that will come in handy later on.

That is, there is a silver lining to every cloud.

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Thanks for the kind words. I sure hope so.

I e-mailed the seller (Skeletonx) and he now says that “if you don’t set up the job in the correct sequence, it has a tendency to cut air where the z axis will be off. Took me a few tries to get the setup sequence correct.”

Not sure if this is the problem, but I wish he would have mentioned this issue before.

I bought mine directly from Carbide 3D, and have had this exact issue two different times. It’s a relatively simple fix. Look at your z-axis motor, is the cable connected to it with a white plug connector type thing? If so you’ll just need to replace the cable, and add strain relief to prevent this recurring.

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You mean this thing at the top?

I probed that connection and it turns out the yellow cable is loose. So what do I need to do, replace the cable?

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Yes, if the cable can’t be properly secured so as to make a good and reliable connection, then you’ll need to either repair things, or contact Carbide 3D ( support@carbide3d.com ) and we’ll sort out what’s involved in making this right.

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Mirror view from behind

If you’re handy with a soldering iron, that’d be an easy fix (plus some strain relief as @MrHume noted) — no problems if not though (and I suspect not, or we’d not be having this conversation). Saw your e-mail in our help system, and it’s been referred to the California office which handles Nomads.

The moral here is horrible noises are usually electrical, and one should just shut the machine down and check the wiring and not use it until the wiring continuity is checked.

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I live in San Francisco, so good to know the office is close. I will heed your advice and not turn the machine on again until the wiring continuity is reestablished. Thanks!

p.s. I’ve never learned to use a soldering iron, unfortunately

Here’s a couple photos of my fixed version. I repaired the connector with a soldering iron (badly) and then globbed some hot glue on it for added strength. Jorge also sent me a replacement Z-Axis motor assembly that does not use that kind of cable, but I am keeping it until this one breaks again.

And here is the strain relief. One of these little stick-on posts for zip ties has made all the difference.

Fear not! Knowing C3D support as I do, you will be back up and running by the weekend.

EDIT: ps. I learned to solder (badly) by watching tutorials on adafruit.com. This might be a good time to add a new skill, plus soldering is super fun.

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Thanks man! appreciate the help. That strain relief makes sense. I did something similar with my phone charger and duct tape and it really worked.

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Does that white plug connector come off, and if so how?

p.s. OK, yes, it did

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Yep, the white thing unplugs from the motor, as you have discovered. The wires are obviously not meant to be able to come free of the plug though. Have C3D support not gotten you a new one? If so I’m very surprised!

I don’t know if this will help, but I fixed mine by stripping the insulation off that yellow wire a bit, tinning the end with some solder, then touching the iron to the little metal collar inside the white plug and kind of jamming the yellow wire back in there. Took a few tries, and scorched up the plastic a bit, but once I got it in there it seemed fairly secure. I tested for continuity and then put a few drops of hot glue on to help hold things together. It does not look nice, but it works perfectly, especially with the strain relief.

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Alright, so I got a soldering iron https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06X944YDW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and I practiced stripping and connecting 2 small wires, which was easy enough. However, this seems a little hard to solder, being cut so close to the insert. Is there any trick to solder this or do you think it would be easier to get a new insert and recrimp? Thanks

I’ve done a fair amount of soldering, but admittedly I’m not great at it. Keeping that in mind the first thing I would do is get all of the crimped ends out of the plastic connector first. There should be a little plastic tab that you can carefully pry under with the tip of an xacto blade or jewelers screwdriver. I’ve never messed with that specific connector style, but they mostly work the same. You then “may” be able to open the crimp a little to give yourself some real estate to solder to. Be careful though, if you deform it too much it might not fit back into the plastic. Another thing I do when doing tiny soldering jobs like that is use a pair of small needle nose pliers, wrap a rubber band around the handles to make them spring closed. Use the pliers to hold your crimp upright while soldering to give you a better angle and to keep it from rolling around. I would definitely give it a shot, I’ve made worse things serviceable again.

Dan

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Congrats on the new tool! Yes, be particularly careful trying to solder the pin inside the plastic connector. 9 times out of 10 you will melt the connector and get into a bigger bind. Yes, I speak from experience. You want to remove the pin - if you get it out OK you can reuse, if not you will have to get a new pin - either way you need to get that pin out. Typically these connectors have a leaf spring retainer. If you look at the connector in your picture there are a series of small rectangular windows where you can see the side of the inserted pin showing, This is where the leaf retainer should be. With a set of needle nose pliers (gently) push the end of the insert pin as far into the connector as it can go. Then look into the rectangular window and you should see the end of the little leaf showing. Gently take a xacto knife point or small jewellers screwdriver and push the leaf inwards until it is flat (but not too far in so it bends). Now the fun part. With the xacto or screwdriver holding the leaf down draw the insert pin out with the needle nose pliers. Sometimes takes a little gentle jiggling but once the leaf spring clears the top of the rectangular window it should be smooth sailing. If you are lucky the pin will be undamaged and you can try cleaning up the remains of the wire inside the pin by drawing the individual wire strands out one by one.

Hope that helps!

P.S. some of these type of connectors have a retaining leaf on both sides of the connector, but I don’t think that is the case with this particular type - just check for those rectangular windows on both sides.

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Just out of curiosity, have C3D not sent you a replacement? If so I’m shocked. Or do you just want to fix it for the practice? Completely understand that desire, just wondering…

Oh, also, did you watch the tutorial on adafruit.com? It’s very helpful for new solderers.

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