About 15 years ago, I was given a Phoenix GS CNC router/engraver with outdated electronics. I replaced the electronics with Spark Concepts CNC xPro V3 controller and three Steppersonline DM860T drivers. Today, I found out that the Y-Axis was not working properly. The Y-Axis had a mind of its own - sometimes it moves in wrong direction. I checked to see if any wires are loose but no wires are loose. The LEDs on the CNC xPro controller are red instead of green and the LEDs on the drivers are green. The stepper motor has eight wires coming out of it. Each pair of wires are joined into single wires, turning a 8-wire motor into a 4-wire motor. The label on the motor says:
Eastern Air Devices LA34BJK-P500
5A/10A 1.8 deg
I need some kind o wire tester that doesn’t require me to cut the wire to measure continuity.
OK, if the individual movements are smooth even though they change back and forth, then an intermittent DIR line is most likely. (This will not damage anything other than the work…)
If it “jitters” and makes “growling” noises, you might have an intermittent connection to one coil of the stepper motor. (This can damage the stepper driver; it’s essentially like unplugging the motor while it is running.)
From the way you describe it, I’d start with the DIR connection from the control board to the stepper driver. You can try moving that cable and see if it gets worse. When they are intermittent, it’s almost always at the connector itself, not somewhere in the middle of the wire.
I moved the wires going to “bad” motor from one driver to other and wires going to a good motor to the driver that was connected to the “bad” motor. The good motor became “bad” motor and the “bad” motor became good motor. I tried checking the wires between the control board and the drivers. Is it possible that the control board may be bad? I can’t find the specs for Eastern Air Devices LA34BJK-P500 motor I think that the companies that made the CNC router and the motors went out of business.
I’m not sure I completely follow your description. Stepper drivers can be damaged; for example, by moving the parts too fast by hand. The stepper motors act as generators and can burn out the driver chips. That’s another possible failure mode.
I have an Arduino Uno board that I want to test the motors following the instructions at TB6600 Stepper Driver + Arduino + NEMA Motor Wiring and Control (Uno Mega Nano) I don’t know if I can connect 3 drivers, 3 limit switches, and auto-zero probe to the board. I don’t want to buy anything until I’m sure that the drivers and motors are working. I’m trying to find a new CNC control board that can be connected to external drivers and use OpenBuild Control software.
You don’t generally need end stop switches on a CNC since you mount your material, set your X0,Y0, Z0 point and run your design. If you don’t do the work to make sure your design fits your machine or don’t zero your work space to your material then the end stops might save you but otherwise they are not needed and the Nano will do 3 axis and probe since that’s how I used it.
For a CNC router, I personally prefer limit switches. Set up right, they can let you recover your zero if something goes wrong. I have definitely made use of that.
For a CNC mill, you are likely using work coordinates anyway and limit switches aren’t worth the trouble. I didn’t install any on my CNC mill.
To check if the DIR line is wrong, what I would do is to simply disconnect this line.
Then try to move this axis (it will go in a single direction).
If the motion is fluid, then the problem is definitively on this DIR line. Disconnect both ends (motor and driver) then use a simple multimeter to check continuity of the cable (shake it to improve test). If continuity is broken then change this single wire.
If continuity is not broken then probably a problem with the driver.
On Monday, I tried to replace the Spark Concepts CNC xPro V3 controller with Arduino Micro board on screw terminal board but when I tried to connect the Arduino Micro board to OpenBuilds Control software, the software couldn’t find the serial port for the board even after selecting the serial port in the drop down list. I tried Arduino Uno and Arduino Mega boards and they connected with the software but they don’t have screw terminal boards. I have 2.54mm Dupont Connector Kit but I’m worried about the wires coming off the boards. I have ferrule kit but the smallest ones were junk.
Today, I tried two Arduino Uno boards and the Y-Axis motor still have a mind of its own. I don’t have spare motors and drivers to trouble-shoot the problem. I don’t have money to buy new parts.
Today, I tested a stepper motor from another CNC router and it worked. I connected new wires between “faulty” stepper motor and Arduino Uno board. I tested the “faulty” stepper motor and it worked!