Hello, All
I started putting my X-carve 1000mm together today finally, and after 10 hours (yeah, I had a few breaks), I finally just installed the completed gantry on the rails and secured them to the base.
My question right now it, how smoothly and fluidly should it move (the X axis side to side, and the gantry itself on the rails? It seems quite stiff and tight, but I’m not sure if this is normal?
I searched some other convos for the answer, but didn’t see what I was looking for.
Thanks
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it will depend on how tight the wheels are. too tight, and it will be hard to move. a bit looser and it will be like warm butter
To help with this analogy…the wheels should be just tight enough that when you spin them with a couple fingers, the gantry moves. If they spin freely, tighten them.
Then you’ll know what @ChristopherLathan means by warm butter.
So hard to explain in words! Put it this way…
If I push it, should it continue to move on it’s own, or no?
No. there is going to be some tension
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Another slightly different method than Neil’s is hold the gantry from moving with one hand, and try to turn (slip) the wheels with one finger. If they do not slip with one finger, but do slip with two fingers, then they are sufficiently tightened.
Thanks, guys.
Well, I finished assembly earlier today, and it doesn’t work.
I have power because fans are running, but the green power light isn’t on.
Ebrake is off, and it won’t connect to the computer.
Super frustrated. Took me 3 days to build with 2 screw ups (caught early enough thankfully!)
Any suggestions?
Are you sure? I only ask because this is THE most common issue with “no power”.
Bypass the E-stop for the time being.
Next question! I’m sorry, guys!
Ok, so I replaced the crimps on the estop and I have power!!!
I started the easel setup, and I have correct movement on all axes. Yay
Homing switches, help. First try moves the Z axis up, and it did NOT stop. I had to hit the estop. Checked and found out I had the bump stop too low, and it wasn’t allowing the switch to engage, so adjusted it up. Great.
Tried again, almost crushed the switch. It’s not stopping like it should. Checked all wiring, and I have power, everything is plugged in correctly.
What am I doing wrong? Thanks
First make sure you have the switch wired to the right place on the controller (i.e. z wired to y will not work).
Second, check that one wire attaches to the “COM” terminal of the switch and the other to the “NO” (normally open) or “NC”
(normally closed) terminal of the switch. I prefer to use the “NO” terminal, but follow what ever your instructions tell you to do. If if one of your wires DOES NOT connect to COM, that’s a problem.
Third, power up your controller. If you have a digital-multi-meter (DMM) set it to measure 20V DC. Then measure the voltage across the two terminals at the controller with the switch open. The voltage should be ~5V if you connect to “NO” and ~"0V if you connected to “NC”. Now press the switch with your finger and measure the voltage across the terminals. the voltage should swap. (i.e. ~0V if “NO” and ~5V if “NC”). If the voltage does not change you either have a bad connection or you are not connected to the switch you think you are. If you do see a change, then there is a software issue or a problem with your controller.
If you don’t have a DMM, shame on you - you just made your life harder. Now what I would do is set the Z-axis as low as it will go, and set it to home. As the z-axis is homing, go press the y-axis switch, then the x-axis switch and see if either stops the z-axis. If either does, then the switches are miss wired. You don’t need to run the axis into the switch to see if the stop works, you can use your finger or a pencil to trip the switch - just make sure you get it out of the way before it gets crushed. If you got this far and you still don’t have the z-stop working, go get a DMM and go back to step three.
Thanks for your reply! I do have a DMM and will try step 3 tomorrow. I’m only in the initial setup with Easel and the part it says “test homing switches”.
Exactly what should happen when the switch is depressed? Should the axis cease to move at all?
In the machine inspector, aren’t there little indicators for the switches. Press a switch and see if that changes.
Nothing will happen when you press a switch unless the machine is homing. What’s your $27 grbl setting? If it’s $27=1, change it to $27=5.