Oh gosh, that doesn’t sound good. Funny you say that, I could only connect to my laptop once and then I had to reboot the xcontroller to reconnect.
If you hear back from a Instructables could you post here ASAP? You might prevent me blowing out my second board.
Good luck!
Oh and which chip blew for you? Mine was Y1
I rebooted, shut off and on the X-controller…many times, reinstalled drivers, used a different USB cable. I even took apart the controller and reconnected all the cables twice and still nothing. I’ll followup with what Inventables tells me. Hopefully they could provide a little more insight on why this is happening. And I blew the Z-axis chip. Strange too because that motor was not even in use when it happened. Anyway…good luck to you as well!
I’ve had another look over mine - turns out the direction pins (9, 10, 11) were blown on my ATMEGA328. It’s labeled U8 on the board, what I thought was a silkscreen smudge or a manufacturing artefact was actually a tiny burnt/cracked case when I felt it. You may want to check yours, would explain your USB issues.
R
Hope you have better luck with inventables than i have… I have missing nuts bolts and other stuff + a bent ball screw … All i got back from them was “send us a video of the bent ball screw” like thanx for the support…
Didnt even acknowledge the missing nuts bolts n hardware…
Wish they would do something about the software… Ive used cnc since i was in my 20s and in all my years ive never seen software waste more time doin nothing in my entire life… Easal is goin to b the demise of small business wood shops with all the wasted travel time… Back n fourth up n down move around from spot to spot removing no material …
Then we wonder why things are burning up… 4 hour carve for a 30m project is nuts…
Anyone know how to use 3d solid works with this machine n dump easal?
Ok sooo…first off sorry for the delay in responding. I read your message and went to look at the board hoping to find something similar but mine was fine…no damage to ATMEGA328 chip. I looked over the whole board to see if anything else was damaged and everything looked fine. So as of right now I haven’t been able to solve the connection issue. I did however hear back from Inventables. They sent me out another board and advised me they were going to reach out to their engineering department and to try to hold off on using it until I hear back. Well today I heard back and they asked me to confirm if the fan on the back was working and if it was blowing in rather than out. And sure enough it was blowing out. I had mistakenly installed it in the wrong direction which could explain the blown chips as they were more than likely over heating. I looked over the instructions and there isn’t anything very specific in which direction the fan needs to blow. But when I put the machine together I didn’t even consider which way it was supposed to be installed. So I’m still waiting for confirmation on if this was the problem…which I’m almost sure it is. That being said you may want to check yours out and see if your issue is the same as mine.
Hey Tim… sorry to hear about the lack of customer service you’ve been given. I must say though I have been nothing but impressed with the help they’ve given me. When I first received my X-carve, the hose for the dust boot was missing. I sent a quick email and they overnighted the hose. And then they sent me out not one but two boards that were damaged…more than likely due to me installing the cooling fan backwards. Perhaps they dropped the ball concerning your issue which is strange to me since it’d be such a simple solution just to send you out the needed parts. Hopefully they get them out to you.
Got an example of this? Easel doesn’t generate the most efficient toolpaths, but I’ve never seen anything that bad.
If you don’t have CAM, you can import solid works models into Fusion 360. But that’s gonna be a process for V-carved signs.
Did Easel estimate 30mins but used 4hrs?
=> Post your GRBL parameters, especially $110-112 and $120-122
No it said 4hours n 21min but i ran the same piece on my buddies xcarve running on the software from his job and it took 36min
What did his give for an estimated time?
Can you share the project?
Okay, most likely due to different speed settings and/or bit size/usage.
A small bit will travel a lot longer than a larger bit as the stepover is a percentage.
I suggest you post the Easel project so we can make feed/speed suggestions to optimize carve time.
Thanks Thomas - I will check that out. Good luck with this board - fingers crossed for happy carving!
I was looking for something else when I found your post but I had the same problem. Factory smoke escaping the X-Controller. I really had to examine my machine but I found that the wiring was not loose however the stranded wire had fatigued and broken. Tiny stranded wire attached to a screw is probably not the best idea and has been eliminated in newer releases of the machine. None the less the fatigued wire failed from all the back and forth motion and shorted against the frame or another wire and (POOF) factory smoke and the end of that project for several weeks while I sorted it all out. The good news was that Inventables gave and has consistently given excellent customer service when given the facts and the opportunity to make good.
Yes, you have to understand, electronics components work because they are filled with magic smoke. Once the magic smoke leaks out, the component ceases to function. Magic smoke refills are VERY hard to find.
I got some handed down to me a looooong time ago, probably unobtainum in the modern world 
I was wondering if anyone actually figured out what was happening to your board. I have had 4 controller boards, every time the Y1 chip burns out. It burns out when powering up, as soon as the switch is turned on. The gantry was not push or moved at all. I love my X-Carve, but it scares me every time I power it on… will it burn out this time? I have replaced all the stepper motors. and triple checked all the wiring. Something is going on, I just have no idea where to start.
