Help Please - Z-axis NOT functioning


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Thread: Help Please - Z-axis NOT functioning

  1. #1
    Member ddv0605's Avatar
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    Default Help Please - Z-axis NOT functioning

    Hi,
    Please help!
    Im new to CNC machines and just bought an Industrial Artesan 4x8 used for 3 months. My Z-axis is just making a buzzing sound and not spinning when I try to hold pag up or down keyboard keys. I was told to change the stepper motor controller then the power transformer and the Z was still not working(X and Y axis work fine). I plugged the Z stepper motor into A different controller and then the Z works fine. I was told to check all boards inside the control box for burned components but all are fine. The “life help support” refused to help since I didnt buy directly from them even though the machine is technically brand new. The only part that I haven't changed yet is the one on my 2nd photo uploaded here.
    Thank you

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    Default Re: Help Please - Z-axis NOT functioning

    My guess would be either a dryjoint on the board or a broken wire. difficult to diagnose without being there.



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    Default Re: Help Please - Z-axis NOT functioning

    Did the Z axis ever work properly?
    If so, was there anything of note that happened before it stopped working?

    When you swapped the motor to the other driver, did you use the same wiring harness going from the motor to the driver? In other words, which end did you swap - the motor end, or the driver end?

    What control software does your machine use? Mach 3?

    There are a few things that can cause a stepper motor to make a buzzing noise and not move (or move very poorly):
    1: One of the motor coils may be disconnected from the drive (or if it's a 5 or 8 wire motor, there may be more than one coil disconnected).
    2: The drive may be failing to put current thru one of the coils (same effect as above, but different cause).
    3: The drive may be set to a current level that is too low for the motor.
    4: The motor may be physically overloaded (either the motor was sized too small for the load, or something is jammed.. however, you say it works when connected to a different driver, so this is not the problem).
    5: The controller may be trying to make the motor spin faster than it can; or accelerate faster than it can.
    6: The step pulses going to the driver may not be a clean signal.
    7: The power supply may be having trouble supplying enough voltage or current to the motor drivers.


    Possible troubleshooting steps for the above problems (by number):
    1: At the plug that goes into the stepper driver from the motor, check the resistance of each coil. From the photos, I think you have 4 wire motors. That means that each coil will be connected to two pins on that plug, and there will be two coils. The two coils will not be connected together. So, you should measure a few ohms between one set of pins, and also a few ohms between the other set of pins. Cross-checking the pins should show an open circuit (if it doesn't, and it is in fact a 4 wire motor, then you have a short somewhere, either on the wiring harness, or in the motor itself).
    2: Testing this requires an oscilloscope, and knowledge of how to use it without blowing something up (one side of the oscilloscope probe will be connected to mains earth, and if you connect that to the wrong spot - BANG - you will fry something). However, you can swap motor driver modules to see if the fault follows the module.
    3: If the motors are all the same, then check that the current is set to the same value for all the drives. Otherwise, try to find the specs on the motor and on the driver to figure out how to set the current (it may be written on the motor and the driver case, or there may be a part number you can google for).
    4: Disconnect the motor from the load (i.e, the ballscrew), and see if it turns OK. Check the ballscrew by turning it by hand - it should not be jammed. However, you have gotten the Z axis to move when plugged in to the other driver, so this is not your problem.
    5: This will require changing the settings on the control software. I may be able to help more with this if I know what controller software you are using.
    6: This can be caused by a variety of factors ranging from software incompatibility with your PC to damaged hardware; or even a virus on the PC.
    7: This also requires an oscilloscope to test; but if the power supply is able to drive the other axis motors, and the Z is the same motor; then that is not your problem.

    I hope that helped somewhat...



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Help Please  - Z-axis NOT functioning

Help Please  - Z-axis NOT functioning