My XXL is locking up 
…Trying to cut a pocket and it’s locked up 5 times before it reaches 20%. This is so frustrating! It used to be enjoyable making sawdust with this machine. Now it’s just a waste of time. The funny part is that I can cut this pocket with a handheld router in a fraction of the time. I could make the template on the CNC but it would probably just lock up! 
I’m gonna have two fingers of Marker’s Mark and call it a day.
Huey
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By “locking up” do you mean the job stops and the machine stops responding to any command from the G-code sender? If so, this sounds like the dreaded EMI-related disconnects. There are lots of posts on the forum on how to try and address this, I have collected the usual suspects here, but YMMV.
If you want us to help troubleshoot this annoying issue, maybe share as much info as you can on the setup/conditions when this happens
- what sender are you using (Carbide Motion ?)
- what kind of material are you cutting ?
- do you have a router or spindle, and is is grounded ?
- how’s the ambiant humidity where you live right now ?
- whether you had dust collection running ?
- whether this happens if you run the job as an air cut with the router off ?
- is this behavior new, and did you change ANYTHING in how/what is plugged around the machine recently
- that other thing I can’t think of but will turn out to be the root cause
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Very sorry to hear about this difficulty.
Please let us know about this at support@carbide3d.com
As @Julien noted, this is most likely a problem with EMI and you should check grounding, your general electrical setup (circuits with compressors such as refrigerators or air conditioners can be problematic), as well as the condition of the carbon brushes on the motors of the trim router and possibly vacuum.
Also check that your USB cable is solidly connected and not getting bumped, and that there isn’t any software running on the computer which might interfere.
If you don’t find anything to address, we’ll do our best to work through this with you.
1 Like
Sounds like you might need Stillhouse Black Bourbon to finish this one! 
Seriously though @WillAdams’ support is awesome!
Julien, WillAdams,
Thank you for your reply and assistance. Three back to back trips (D.C., NYC, Las Vegas) and other life activities have kept me from working on this issue until now. The machine is working more reliably right now 
I’ll answer your questions and what I have done…
I would get a red banner in CM saying the it’s not communicating with the controller.
- what sender are you using (Carbide Motion ?): Carbide Motion 4.0.416
- what kind of material are you cutting? : Wood (Cherry, Rosewood, Mahogany)
- do you have a router or spindle, and is is grounded ? No
- how’s the ambient humidity where you live right now ? around 50% I’m in Northeast Florida and until recently, I ran a dehumidifier in the shop and kept the humidity around 40-45%.
- whether you had dust collection running ? Doesn’t matter. I tried it both ways and it still locked up
- whether this happens if you run the job as an air cut with the router off ? Have not tried it.
- is this behavior new, and did you change ANYTHING in how/what is plugged around the machine recently. It’s a new problem. It’s happened a couple of times in the past, but nothing consistent. When it started happening a few weeks ago it was very constant…and annoying
- that other thing I can’t think of but will turn out to be the root cause.
- Checked the brushes on the Makita router and they are about half worn. That may have been a major part of the problem. The router was starting to show signs of wear: didn’t change speed as smoothly as it used to and if I adjusted the speed quickly, it would hesitate before reaching the desired speed. I cleaned the contacts on the armature and flipped the brushes 180 degrees and it runs much better. I ordered a new router and replaced it, so I will order a set of brushes and keep the old one as a spare.
- Cleaned up the wiring a bit and separated the AC lines from the USB, probe, and DC cables.
I’ve been able to run several jobs without interruption so far!
Today I placed snap-on ferrite cores around all the cables going into the controller and the router power cable. Hopefully, that will take care of any RFI. I have a little experience in solving RFI issue from a previous life so I know it’s an iterative process and intermittent issues are the toughest to solve; but, I am cautiously optimistic about the results so far.
Has anyone determined what is actually causing the failure such as interference entering via the power line, stepper motor wires, limit switch wires, USB cable, etc.?
Thanks again for the guidance.
Huey
2 Likes
I’ll have to stock up on that! 
1 Like
If it were one single cause, we’d have fixed it in the electronics — apparently there’s a lot more filtering now on the newer ones which works for most folks — usually cleaning up wiring, esp. not running the router power cord along the drag chain addresses this for everyone else, but we’ve had some pretty wild fixes such as one customer where nothing worked until they came home and found that a faulty transformer on the electric pole near their home was being replaced.
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Malfunctioning electric transformers are a major source of radio frequency interference, it causes issues with electronics especially radio and TV receivers. Unfortunately, it is hard to detect for the average person, you really need a spectrum analyzer to do the job properly, if you think this could be the possible cause, power utilities will investigate as they are responsible to fix those.
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Well, I was able to run a fairly long job today without a hiccup! 
It’s a gift for my sister who is a retired Navy Chief.
It’s really nerve wrecking to cut a long 3D job and hoping the machine doesn’t lock up an hour into it! Hopefully this machine will stay reliable for a while.
Huey
6 Likes
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