Suddenly stops carving intermittently (3018-Pro)

Hi, and happy new year!

I have been trying to carve my first project, but the machine suddenly stops moving, while the motor keeps running, at different points. I am using the SainSmart 3018-Pro. I have double checked the machine and computer settings and everything looks as recommended.
When the machine stops, I get the " How does it look?" window, so the software thinks that the project has been completed, but it is somewhere halfway. I am not an expert with CNC, I am trying to learn it. I would really appreciate your help. Thank you very much!

A

Usually, for the 3018 anyway, this is either the pc going to sleep so you’ll want to make sure that’s turned off… or possibly usb selective suspend mode. Both of these are fairly easy to correct and then you can retry the carve.

Thank you @SethCNC for your help.
I have done both but still have the same issue. I am doing a 2 minutes project, and the furthest I got is 26%, then it jumps to 100% while it is stuck in same place. Please let me know if there is anything else I can try to fix this issue.

Thanks again.
A

1 Like

Yo tenia el mismo problema ,tallando acrilico con profundidad de 0.3 mm a veces dejaba de tallar,pense que era problema de nivelacion de la maquina y no fue asi ,porque una linia al lado de la otra tallaba una y la otra no, la solucion fue reiniciarlo todo desde el principio, porque pudo suceder que con el apuro de armar y probar la maquia me saltara algun paso y parece que asi mismo fue . Reinicio completo de la maquina y adios problema ,ahora estov feliz con mi x carve nueva.

I am having this same problem. It is not a power settings problem. It only runs for 45 seconds or so before it stops moving and spindle keeps turning. I have to power down, as I have no manual controls to raise the turning spindle.

Are you running the 3018 using easel? If so can you go into machine inspector and read the alarm? (Im guessing alarm #1 or #2) if using candle then the alarm number will show in the console (bottom right, you might have to scroll down to see the console section)

If its alarm #1 or 2 then likely the next command is telling the cnc to move past its limits… this is usually because of the safety height setting.

In easel go to machine >general settings and reduce the safety height AND origin safety height to a lower value… i like to run it at 1-2 mm on my 3018 :man_shrugging:

Hi Christopher,
I fixed my issue by the following:

  • Replaced the USB wire from the machine to the computer by a new one.
  • Connected the machine to a power hub and then to the computer.
  • Set the power plan of the computer to screen never sleeps.

Now it is working well.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

  • A
1 Like

That’s why I use the offline controller, it is stupid but very stable.