Problem- Do Stepper motors just die?

[crackstar]

A briefly as I can: I bought a practical CNC machine about 4 years ago. Put some good time in on it the first three years till I blew up my Y-axis controller. Got a new one, installed it, started to get things working again, and everything was smooth and nice. Then my computer blew up (motherboard), then I got a DUI and couldn't use my shop for a year. Now I want to get the thing up and running. I started to try to calibrate my machine and the .ini file and noticed that now when ever I try to rapid or even medium transist either of the gantrys (x or y) the steppers seem to lurch and jerk. With the motors disconnected the gantrys slide freely with no noise, even with the pinions engaged in the racks.

So I am wondering, are my motors just dead. Is it a bearing problem, oh yeah the motors are Pacific Scientific PowerMaxII's model # M22NRFB-LNF-NS-00. I learned that the air gap can get funky in these and screw up performance, and they haven't been in the most controled environment.

What else would work as a direct replacement motor that isn't as expensive, Danaher wanted like $216 for one.

I don't know,....

if you got any questions for me feel free, If I posted this in the wrong place I'm sorry, I'll try to get some vids on Youtube this evening so you can judge for your selves

thanks alot

crackstar

[Pplug]

I had the same problems with my setup at one time. I found that Mach could not get a steady clock frequency and the mill would jerk around allot and the steppers would stall quite a bit. Follow the directions on how to optimize your computer for mach 3.

Good luck!

[crackstar]

Im, using WINCNC to output, I use BobCAD to generate my code. You mention clock freq.? Would using too old of a Windows 98 machine cause this? I'll try it on the XP machine see if it helps. thanx