I’ve been using my shapeoko 4 pro for about a year and a half now. Today during initialization, the x axis makes a very loud vibration noise all the way over. The sensor light comes on when it gets to the edge but the motor doesn’t stop. It keeps making the very loud noise and the initialization process never completes. I checked the belt. It is good, clean, and aligned. The pulleys all turn properly. I can disconnect the power to the motor and manually roll the router housing/motor smooth without any hang-ups. I always unplug the machine when not in use. Does anyone know what might be causing this? Also, are the motors interchangeable? Like, can I switch 2 motors to see if the problem follows the motor or stays on the x axis? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
The usual culprits are mechanical. If you are confident that your pulleys are all tight then check the electrical connections. Leave the machine on for a while and see if any of the connections feel hot. Poor connections tend to heat up due to high resistance. With the machine on the stepper motors are engaged and that is the maximum torque they will produce. Since it is a 4 Pro the X movement is on the linear rails. Have you lubricated them? You can simply wipe the rails down and apply some Vactra #2 oil on them. They have a maintenance guide somewhere here on the forum. If the bearings are dried out it will feel hard to move.
Thank you for the info. I have not lubricated them and will definitely do so. Would this cause it to continue trying to push over even after it’s triggered the sensor?
For maintenance/oiling see:
https://my.carbide3d.com/docs/maintenance/
For the switch, power up and connect to the machine and go to Settings — are any switches stuck on under Active Inputs?
If you present metal to the switch does it activate?
Let us know what you find out at support@carbide3d.com and we’ll do our best to look into this with you.
I pulled out my manual and I believe I was mistaken on the model. I have the shapeoko 4 xl. I didn’t understand what the linear rails were so I pulled out the book and I’m thinking that mine does not have the linear rails. It’s just the 4 xl. Are the different axis motors switchable? Can I swap the X and Y motors to see if the problem follows the motor? No switches are stuck on active. When I touch metal to them, they activate.
I don’t see an open ticket at support@carbide3d.com — please write in there and we’ll get this sorted out.
I figured it out and fixed it! So here is what happened in case anyone experiences the same thing. When initializing, the y axis goes all the way back and then there is a loud noise as the x axis moves over. I mistakenly thought it was the x axis because that was the only axis still moving while the noise happened. But the noise was in fact the y axis. The little piece that triggers the y switch had fallen out, I’m sure from vibration over time, so the y motors were still running. I found the little metal piece, screwed it back in, and all is well again. Simple fix. Whoop whoop!
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