My x-axis still don´t move

Is it normal for the beltwheel to touch the Makerslide as in the picture ?

I don´t know how to upload to youtube (I have never done that before)

Yippie

I did it

From your picture it looks like the belt is not aligned with the idler wheel and might be pinched between the flange of the wheel and the makerslide. It also looks like it is pulled to the side which might mean that the belt is too loose.

Take another picture that shows the X axis motor pulley and the two idler wheels (may take two pictures).

Ok sir
out to the shop again
I´ll be back…




I hope you mean this kind of pics.
And I don´t know if I can tighten the belt anymore

Good morning Kristian. Sorry it took a while to respond. It is just now 9 AM here.

It’s a little hard to hear in the video, but do you hear a rapid “tuck tuck tuck” sort of noise coming from the stepper motor?

If so, that eliminates a few things.

Yes sir

It sounds as if the missing teeth in a gear :slight_smile:

No problem, I´m glad someone take time to help me with this
if it possible.

Great. That’s what I heard too. That’s a normal sound that can be made by a perfectly healthy stepper motor when it kicks back. Basically all that it usually means is that for some reason the stepper doesn’t have the strength to move, so instead of keeping force applied, it kicks back a step. Best of all, it mostly eliminates wiring as a cause.

If it were me, what I would try next is loosen the belt on the X-axis just a little bit and try and move the axis through easel. Your belt tension should be tight enough that it makes a sort of twang when you pluck it, but not so tight that it puts too much pressure on the motor. Just guess at it for now. We can fine tune later.

If that doesn’t get it, loosen the belt so that the stepper pulley can turn freely without moving the carriage. You’ll probably need to remove the tensioning bolt holding the belt clip to the makerslide bracket to get it loose enough. Then try and use easel to move the machine in one direction or other along that axis. If that sound stops and the pulley spins, we know that the problem is probably one of two things.

EDIT: while the belt is loose, move the carriage by hand. It should move smoothly and easily. If you feel resistance then there is an issue in that.

Yippie
Now we are on the way.
I´ll do that tomorrow,
because we soon are going out for dancing a couple of hours to a liveband
But when I have done what you suggested, you get feedback. OK ?

Sounds good. Have fun!

Thank´s
we will…:grinning:

I just noticed something in that picture. Your V wheels are set as tight as they can be. When you get back, try loosening those some first. That may be your problem. The eccentric nuts should be adjusted to hold the wheels snug, but not tight. With a little effort, you should be able to spin the bottom V wheels using two fingers. If they are too tight they can prevent the carriage from traveling freely.

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I would recommend fully loosening the V-wheels (1/2 turn), loosening the belt up 3-6 turns (now sure how much you have sticking out), then giving it a shot. Like @BradT pointed out, the V-wheels are most likely too tight and the belt may be too tight, and either one of those can cause the stepper motor to “lose steps” like it is doing. After you get it moving, you can dial in the belt tension and V-wheels.

I’ve got the tension on mine set at ~3.1 pounds to pull up 1 inch at mid-span, and V-wheels are only slightly difficult to spin with one finger.

Each machine will be different, but between @PhilJohnson’s numbers and mine you should be able to get closer to dialed in.

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Good afternoon Brad (and all the other helpful members on this forum too)

I have now loosen and thighten the belt,
And I have loosen and tighten the v-wheels one by one
And the x-axis is still rocking side by side when all the v-wheels are loose and still it will not go.
So I tighten all the 4 wheels one by one
When I start tighten the one on the lower right (standing behind the x-carve)
The x-axis start moving a little bit.
But when I continue tightwen the lower left it´s start rocking side by side again
I set in the easel to 200 mm and tried but still the same results.
But when i just give it a very little press in the direction when I press the arrow on the computer
and oops, it goes all the way the 200 mm as I set.

I know you said you adjusted the potentiometers before, but it sounds like the x-axis still doesn’t have enough power to move, especially when you say you gave it a little press and it went the 200mm. Have you adjusted the potentiometers after you reset the belts and wheels?

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Yeah. I think @Tarry_Brindle may well be right.

It sounds like the stepper doesn’t have adequate power to break inertia (get moving), but once started, it can move. That could be some form of obstruction or the current going to the stepper

If you have a multimeter, you can use that to check and set the current. @LarryM has a great post on that here:

It is mentioned in Larry’s post, but @RobertA_Rieke has an excellent video showing an easy way to adjust the potentiometers without a multimeter here:

Good afternon Tarry (local time:9.30 pm)

No I didn´t adjust the potentiometers after reset the wheels and belt

I´ll do that tomorrow, and return with feedback on that.

Maybe the problem is that you have too much of a life outside the shop. All these BBQs and dancing…

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