Stalling Steppers

[Pres]

That's why I mentioned Mobil 1 "0W-20" oil.
(low temp viscosity is minimal.... and it's cheap -relatively so

[epineh]

Originally Posted by mrscheider It was 15 degrees in my garage last night!

I don't think I would function at that temperature, though I guess we are at different extremes of the scale, right now it is about 9.00 pm here and the ambient temp is 26 degrees... celcius that is, which works out to about 79 degrees fahrenheight !

I would definately look at warming things up a little before doing a "real" run of code.

Russell.

[Pres]

With that cold of temp it seems likely he would have more of a problem with
"cutter chatter"?

[ataxy]

definitlty a bit to cold best temprature in my opinion is 22c to 26c

[mrscheider]

Guys,
Thanks so much for the replies. Tsalaf did suggest it was the oil viscosity previously... as did Prez but it didn't actually "click" until I saw it in practice.. if that makes sense? Anyway, from the strikingly one sided opinion of it being way too cold for the system, I am brimming with confidence again that this is the resolution! Thank you all for that!
I will bring the setup into the basement tonight and let hopefully I can put this to rest.
Tpworks, Stroudsburg PA is home to me. Hemlock farms is so close, I'm sure I've seen some of your homes there! Small world.

Best regards everyone,


Michael

[Fixittt]

I have a small maxnc machine in my computer room. It gets cold in her over night. I have a xylotex 4 axis driver 269 oz steppers with mach3. I cut wax for jewelry. I have found that when my machine is "COLD" it doesn't want to run right. Missed steps ect. I chased this demon down until it clicked. What happens to metal (aluminum in my case) as it gets cold. It shrinks. Sure not by much, but with all the different thicknesses of the parts of the machine, I know its not shrinking at the same rate. So in the mornings I started putting a space heater in the enclosure that my mill is in. I let the machine get warm. wipe on some way lube with a foam paint brush and get after it. It seems to have solved my issue. Food for thought.

[Pres]

Originally Posted by Fixittt ... wipe on some way lube with a foam paint brush....

What type (& viscosity) of "way lube" might that be?

How do you get it on the lead screw nuts and into the middle of the gib area?

Just wondered.
tia,
Pres

[mrscheider]

All,
Let me just say thank you to each and everyone who commented on this thread. It all seems so obvious now.. but two days ago, I just couldn't put it together. Thank you for all the extra pairs of eyes!
I brought the machine into my basement where it is 60- 65 degrees..
I ran 26000 lines of code yesterday without a single hiccup.
Brialliant!
I played it safe and downed to 20ipm too... but 3 1/2 hours was the longest I ran without a clitch.
Today I am running 32000 lines @ 20ipm. I feel confident this particular issue is behind me.
Thank you all once again!

Michael

[Fixittt]

I use WAYLUBE 68 I get it free from a friends machine shop.

I apply it to the ways with a foam "Corner" paint brush.

I have pretty exposed screws and nuts. With rubber way covers on them. I just jog the axis back and forth with the lube soaked foam brush touching the screw. The rotation of the screw pulls the lube into the plastic nut. As for the ways I dab the lube on the ways and jog the axis back and forth.

Originally Posted by Pres What type (& viscosity) of "way lube" might that be? How do you get it on the lead screw nuts and into the middle of the gib area? Just wondered. tia, Pres