Hi, I just got my workbee with blackbox and nema23's to the point I could test jogging. After some initial troubleshooting, I can get other axes to jog nicely, but the Y2 motor keeps grinding and the Y axis subsequently gets misaligned. I am sure there's something very basic I must have missed, but I would greatly appreciate pointers on what to look at next. Heres a vid of it: EDIT: Thought I'd add that all of the motors are wired with the exact same order of wire colors on the connector. I think a wiring problem would have it grinding all of the time, right?
Check things like couplers not binding on motor case. Did you check that the leadscrew turned smoothly? Disconnect the motor shaft from the coupler and see if you can turn the leadscrew by hand (you will probably have to do both sides as this is the Y axis). Report back what you find. Alex. Edit:- an intermittent connection on one wire can also cause those symptoms.
Thanks Alex, I will try disconnecting the couplings tomorrow, and if they both move equally easily, I will just try to switch the wires around to see if it makes a difference.
Rather than randomly switching wires around, after checking that you have good connections (not gripping insulation instead of wire for example) see;- docs:blackbox:faq-identify-motor-coils [OpenBuilds Documentation] If the kit is from Openbuilds the colour coding on the motor wiring will match the Openbuilds instructions - may not if you got it somewhere else. Alex.
Thanks Alex. I checked the cabling, and thought of something else; the Y axes being misaligned. I measured and there was 1mm difference between the two ends, so I loosened those and jogged the carriage to each end to tighten it in correct position. That seems to have done the trick. Now that I am jogging the machine to each end of it travel, I found another problem. The Z axis inverts the control. I mean, I push Z axis up button, it goes up, then I let go and push again, and it goes down. I push it again and it goes up again. The same with the down button on the openbuilds control. Quite weird. Could this be EMI interference? It is the longest servo cable...
I know you said you checked the cabling, but the most likely cause of that is one wire making an intermittent connection. Alex
I found a loose cable on the z servo, i will test in a moment but I am quite sure that was the reason for weird z behavior.
Thanks once again, Alex, that was it. Now I have been able to calibrate the axes too, just need to tidy up the cabling a bit and find a place for the unit now. Any week now...
