I have been using the blackbox to control my cnc for over a year with no problems. No changes in the wiring or setup, but all of a sudden, one of the Y motors just stops mid-cut or even before I start the cut. One side starts moving, the other stays still and racks the machine. I have read a few posts on here that talk about either a wiring problem or a bad stepper driver. Unfortunately, none of the posts have any resolution posted after the first few comments, so it is hard to determine if they are accurate or not. I have not made any wiring changes, so I am doubtful that it is a wiring problem, which would lead me to a bad stepper. Does anyone have any other thoughts on other possible issues or resolutions? Thanks in advance.
Probably wiring. Loose connection, broken wire. Swap the Y1 and Y2 motor wires at the blackbox side. That will help you determine if its a driver or not.
Wear and tear over time can break off wires inside the insulation, especially places where it bends back and forth. Multimeter out the cable for continuity, and then replace as needed
Thanks. I'll check it when I get home this afternoon. But there shouldn't be any wear and tear on the Y axis wires, those don't move at all. I could see the X or Z because they run thru the cable chain, strange.
Okay. So I did some troubleshooting... The original problem was that the Y2 motor was cutting out and the Y1 was working normally. I swapped the Y1 & Y2 wires into the blackbox and now the Y1 is not working but the Y2 is working. So it would seem that the stepper driver is the problem, right? If that's the case, what now? or is there something else that I need to look at? The blackbox is in a closed box with a dust filter, very clean, no dust or anything on or in it. I just can't think of anything else that it could be other than the stepper driver at this point. I did troubleshooting all the way back to the blackbox. Help!
You did swop on the BlackBox end right? To also eliminate any extension wiring in between? If so, speak to http://support.openbuilds.com/support/home
yep. swapped on the motor end and the Y2 motor worked on the Y1 wire, but not the opposite. Then I put everything back to normal and swapped them at the blackbox end with the same result. I'll contact support. Thanks.
well, I complained that no one had posted their resolution to the problem I was experiencing, so I wanted to make sure that I didn't fall into the same trap. The problem was that, my fan on the blackbox had died and the stepper driver was overheating, so the blackbox kept shutting it down in an effort to save it from burning up. Apparently, my stupidity far exceeds the level of automation required in the blackbox to keep it safe, because I kept just rebooting the blackbox in order to reset the safety feature and ended up burning up the driver. In my defense, the blackbox is inside a cooled and filtered enclosure, so I couldn't see that the fan had stopped running. The good news is that Openbuilds is a totally kick *** company that sent me the required parts to get the blackbox up and going again and I am up and running with a new lesson learned. Great company! excellent customer service! call me a customer for life!
