Motors grinding and moving inconsistently

[icecats]

Hello,
I have a CNC Router Parts CRP4848 machine with the following specs:

• NEMA 23 DIY electronics kit (with Leadshine MX4660 stepper driver) and Ethernet Smoothstepper
• 420 oz-in NEMA 23 stepper motors with 3/8" shaft
• Mach3 control software

The problem that I am having is that the motors sometimes grind and move inconsistently/not at all. When this occurs, all motors are affected. The strange thing is that the problem is not consistent; I have found that if the motors are moving poorly, I can wait a period of time and then they will often move smoothly again. Conversely, if everything is functioning well, the grinding will sometimes start to occur after a period of time.

Here are some things that I have tried to solve the problem to no avail:

• reload the provided Mach3 configuration file
• check mechanical components for wear and easy movement
• disconnect all mechanisms from the motors so that they are free-spinning and free of load
• check that the MX4660 DIP switches are set at the recommended values per page 9 of the CNC Router Parts wiring guide

It should also be noted that the machine has been moderately used for several years with success. Additionally, the MX4660 was replaced at one point.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

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[nlancaster]

I found on some keling stepper drivers, the dip switch settings were backwards.
I don't know if it is the same for yours.

[MaxFrenzy]

Did you figure out what was causing this issue? If you have the same settings as before and xml config, the same drives (or in your case, the all-in-one driver), the same motors, the same PC, and they all worked before and all the motors experience the same flaw at the same time, I'd question if the power supply isn't delivering consistent voltage and starting to fail.

[icecats]

Did you figure out what was causing this issue? If you have the same settings as before and xml config, the same drives (or in your case, the all-in-one driver), the same motors, the same PC, and they all worked before and all the motors experience the same flaw at the same time, I'd question if the power supply isn't delivering consistent voltage and starting to fail.

Yes, the issue was resolved!!! I decided to categorically go through every connection in the electronics box. I used a multimeter to test the 5v power going into the Smoothstepper. I noticed that when the multimeter probes were pressed into the screw terminals on the Smoothstepper, the machine worked fine; when the probes were removed, the machine went back to grinding/etc.
Based on this behavior, I realized that there was some type of loose connection on the power input for the Smoothstepper. I took off the screw terminals and soldered the wires directly to the board. The machine has worked great ever since.

My recommendation would be to check all connections that have to do with the Smoothstepper board. My understanding is that the Smoothstepper acts as a buffer between the host computer and the stepper drivers just in case there is a loss (even brief) of communication with the computer. However, the Smoothstepper needs a reliable power supply and ethernet connection to work well.

Let me know if any of that solves your issue. I know firsthand how frustrating this problem is!!!