When Carvey is not in use, it makes a high pitched sound. I suspect this is the steppers holding position. Is there a way to kill the motors when not in use (even if manually with g-code)?
Are others experiencing the high pitched wheezing when Carvey is sitting idle?
I notice this as well and on mine it is coming from the motors. I just turn off the power supply to the g-shield when it is not in use.
I’ve noticed the same issue. And after using my Carvey for a few days the sound has actually become louder. Initially there was a high pitch sound when the machine was not in use but it was not very loud. Now the sound has gotten a little bit louder and it sounds like there is a fan running too. Maybe the sound of the fan was there too initially - but it ran more silent.
I’m wondering if there are some of the not-so-accessible components that should be cleaned regularly?
The best thing you can do is turn off the power. The steppers are engaged and the fan is on providing cooling. I believe there are different noise levels depending on which of the steps the machine ended motion on. It’s random.
I’ll what other solutions are possible.
Hi, $1 parameter in grbl configuration sets the step idle delay time. When this is set to 0, the motors are deactivated (they do not receive current) after each move. So, they are energized just to move, then they receive no more current until the next step. A value grater than 0 and lower than 255 will keep them powered for that amount of milliseconds after each move. Setting this to 255 will keep them ALWAYS on. Also when your machine is idle, and if you are using microstepping, depending on the position inside the phase where each motor is stopped, you will hear a differently pitched noise, because the driver will send a sinusoidal current to each phase, rather than a constant current. That’s, I believe, the origin of the sound. Setting $1 to a value different than 255 would remove the noise, but I believe it should be done carefully, because when motors are not energized they do not hold tightly their position, and can be moved by external forces (like the force exercised by the bit carving the material on the CNC mechanics).
