My Shapeoko 4 XXL was working fine and suddenly started acting up on me. It started with some hexagonal cuts. Everything went wrong, and I stopped the machine. I believe the end mill dropped. I tightened it more and filled up the broken part of my wood with some epoxy so I could recut it anyway.
It never did that to me before. But for some reason, this tool path is not going according to the preview in Vectric.
I recently changed my router for a Makita after it broke. I did some cuts yesterday with no issues, it seems.
All the belt seems ok, same with the wheels.
I haven’t been able to properly use my machine for about 3 day. I’m really getting frustrated I hope i will find help with you !
One thing i did different is that i transfered the 3d model to a second sheet in vectric so i can have separate plane.
It could be lost steps. You said the belts look good. Missing or damaged teeth on the belt? Could it be a mechanical interference from the dust hose or dust and debris?
I have had issues with the connectors not staying together causing an intermittent connection. I solved that by putting a zip tie on it after I checked for damage to the pins and socket.
No, everything sounds good. I have some imf protection on the router and the vaccum seems to be fine. Same with connector. I wonder if my vectric file is corrupted ? Because I throwed several shapes on my wasted board all along the x axis and no issue…
I doubt if the Vectric file is currupt, but I could look at it for you. If you believe that the end mill dropped, you should look at depth of cut, sharpness of the cutter, dust in a loose collet, and my #1 suspect (after Zman’s on point connector issue post) is static. Is your machine properly grounded? If you want…post the Vectric file and I can look.
The one from yesterday is on the right. Today, it’s all distorted.
How to fix it then if it’s statics, since I didn’t change my setup. The only new thing is my router, but I cutter with it yesterday without issue.
The only electronic issue I have had since I bought the second-hand machine is that button. It doesn’t seem to do anything. I have no idea what it is, and the previous owner told me that it wasn’t working when he bought it. I’m owner number three.
Do you know how to test for statics since, it’s a bit upsetting because I won’t know when the machine decide to go wild. Also wood is expensive ahaha
Before you spend a lot of time chasing static electricity - from all the reports I’ve seen, the primary symptom of static is having the machine disconnect, and killing the cut right there.
What you have looks way more like a mechanical problem (losing steps), or a problem with the wiring going to your stepper motors. From the picture, all the distortion looks horizontal, again pointing to a mechanical / wiring problem.
S4 is belts, right? Check the pulley(s) on the stepper motors.
I will, but I didn’t have a problem before my router broke, and I changed it for the Makita. I never had a problem for a day and a half.
I never had an issue for a month. The temperature here is really high, and the air is dry.
Do you have a video on how I can check those tomorrow?
Yes, it’s the belts. At my first inspection, everything seemed fine.
Indeed, I made some cuts in the MDF spoilboard without any issues. I measured everything, and it’s square. It started to be problematic while engraving.
New brushes can create a static problem until seated.
When you determine the pulleys are correctly set with a set screw on the flat of the shaft, mark it with a witness line.
The thick layer is just me redoing the drawing over the previous one. The pen isn’t very stable either.
I started to make a pen holder and made some shapes on paper. No distortion.
Then I added the router to the equation. No distortion.
Then I added the router and the vacuum dust collection. No distortion.
Then… I got the idea to turn on the ceiling fan.
It froze Carbide Motion and stopped the machine.
Usually, the fan is on before I start a project. I will try to start the fan and see if I get the distortions.
Any idea what could cause that?
The house is pretty old. Except for the CNC, does that sound like something to be concerned about in terms of electricity?
I used one of those plug testers too to see if everything was grounded.
I also wanted to say that this button, that someone mentioned was to turn off the machine, doesn’t seem to work. Anyone has an idea on how to make it work?
Try pressing the button once and wait. My machine runs idle for a few seconds when I flip the breaker to it. It doesn’t shut off right away, meaning there is residual backup power. If that doesn’t work, try pushing and holding down the button and see if it will turn off then. If nothing works on that button then someone wired it wrong if it is supposed to be a shutoff button.
Update:
I spent a whole 10 minutes drawing and now I’m getting an error. The errors are part of the design, nothing tripped. I haven’t done the grounding yet.
If I turn the light switch on and off in the room, there’s no issue. It’s only when I trigger the fan on during the machine’s running time that the CNC stops, Carbide Motion freezes, and I have to shut down the machine and end the task on Carbide to work again.
It seems like all my stepper motors are fine, the belts are fine, and the wheels are fine.
I admit I don’t really know how to check up on the motor properly. I haven’t found a tutorial and don’t understand the vocabulary.
I wonder if it’s different while using hardwood with more resistance, dust, and static.
If you are getting an issue when you turn on the ceiling fan, to me that would indicate an issue with that circuit. If the fan has a rheostat, and multiple items on that circuit, there is a problem that is back feeding to your machine. Find another circuit that does not have the fan on it, run a stout extension cord to it to see if it happens again. The common thread you have noticed it the fan.
Not everyone can designate a circuit to their machine, but the way i got around having any issue with my machine being on other circuits and them failing causing my machine to disconnect is I ran a wire to a single outlet and put in it’s own circuit breaker so nothing else ran on that circuit. I still have to ground my machine in places, but the circuit issue has been addressed immediately.
We don’t take into consideration when we plug in our machines into old home circuits and the machine alone could be drawing too much power and making the machine disconnect or whatever it may be doing, sometimes it might even trip the breaker. Old homes are normally underpowered with two few circuits and circuit breakers that are underpowered for the demands of the modern day. Plus circuits can be multiroom wired and thus putting too much strain on the system.
If this is a viable option, you could run your own circuit to your machine. If not, then maybe upgrading switches and even fan units might help with the issue you are having.
Would you mind telling me a bit more and sending some pictures if you have the time?
If you also have some interesting links on how to make such a circuit, I would be interested.
I have several breakers around the garage drawers. I could try that. I just don’t feel confident if I have to go plug it into the main power from the city.
