K40 y-axis stiff and noisy. showing resistance. Any Clue?

Lasers
1

Hello everybody,
I am new to the forum. My need to solve a problem with my K40 has led me to this forum. Thank you for your help in advance.
I have a brand new monport k40 and I have never turned it on. I have upgraded the exhaust and have added an air assist.
As I was adding the air assist I had to move the gantry and noticed that the gantry runs very smooth on the x axis but the y axis is horrible. It is showing resistance and makes a sound that is nothing like a stepper motor being manually pushed. It feels like a train that is not on it’s tracks. I also noticed that the pulley on the left side (facing the machine) is, in my opinion, loose.

I created a video of the problem. It is 31 seconds and it shows the problem I have. At the end it shows the loose pulley.

Once again, any help would be great! Here is a link to the video. Thank you. :slight_smile:

2

I was going to say to look at the belt tension on the Y axis. Maybe try eliminating things by disconnecting the belt. And if you have bearings on each side take the side that’s perpendicular to the X axis and don’t touch it but try loosening one end of the other side bearing rail. Because if they are not perfectly parallel then they will bind.

3

Great idea. Since the belt on the left is loose in my opinion I will remove that to see if it flows any better. Thank you.
The fact is I never actually turned this machine on yet. I am just assessing it based on my experience with diode lasers and how smoothly the x axis is moving on the k40 compared to the y axis. Thank you for your suggestion. :slight_smile:

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4

I am not seeing a way to edit my prior post but “now” should be “how”.

5

Fixed it for you. (Folks have to use the forum for a while to get the ability to edit because spammers kept posting, and then a few days later editing their posts to turn them into spam. :rage: Spammers are why we can’t have nice things.)

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6

Thank you! Spam, the first meal of the internet and still being served. :slight_smile:

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7

Hi, just letting everyone know that adjusting the belts on the k40 did fix the Y axis issue. It is running smooth. Thank you for the help.

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8

@Baron you can click the “Solution” button on the post which gave you information about tightening the belt or just the comment you made about it being the solution. Others can more quickly find the solution this way.

Good to hear you’re back to running smooth and quietly.

9

Thank you, it seems that one of the Admins might of done that already by the time I read your message. It is not glowing green in one of your posts, and of course that you for the solution. :slight_smile:

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10

I mean now IS glowing green in your posts.

11

I plead guilty as charged. :grin:

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12

Thank you everyone for all the help. I finally turned on this k40 and the chiller worked fine and the x and y axis also worked fine. :slight_smile: I did notice that the mirrors are off. The first mirror is sending the beam about a mm or 2 to the left of the second mirror. It is not hitting the mirror at all so I will be adjusting them. I actually bought new mirrors and I have to install them anyways so just as well that they were off. I am looking forward to learning how to adjust them. I have watched many videos. :slight_smile: once again thank you everyone for your help. :slight_smile:

1 Like