Rough movement in the x y and z axis

[dbrannen]

4 month old PRS Standard 96 x 48 with spindle in a High School shop environment. Very few issues until today when we moved the z axis (either + or -) and had some not too deadly chattering / stuttering when it moved. Pulled the motor and checked the pinion, greased everything and tried it again. This seemed to make a little bit of a difference in the z axis smoothness of movement but it is still not ideal.

Now both the x and y axis are moving very, very roughly (not sure what terminology to use here...chattering / vibrating / stuttering?) throughout the respective ranges of motion. Doesn't sound like grinding gears but almost as if the rollers are catching. Everything is tight and we really don't have an excessive amount of hours on the machine yet (though we are working on it).

If anybody could help a bewildered shop teacher out I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks in advance for your help!

David Brannen
Southern Oregon
www.gphsmanufacturing.org

[dbrannen]

A couple more things I neglected to mention. When we shut the machine down and move the x and y axes by hand they are smooth as can be. Checked that the frame / base is still square and it's perfect. Axis motors are all good with no pinion issues. Sweepers are oiled and functional.

David Brannen
www.gphsmanufacturing.org

[scottp55]

David,
Just out of curiosity, what is your "packet ET" #
(do a single axis move about 4 inches/ do nothing else/type UD in command line and packet ET # is down bottom)
Is problem with DC running or anytime?
DON"T move spindle very far or fast by hand...It generates current!
Is it in one particular location or anywhere?
All USB connections clean, and wires not tightly bundled or coiled tight?
Nothing searching for an update, and no thumbdrive in a port?
Any wireless components in the loop?
Just mentioning thing I've run across.
scott

[Kyle Stapleton]

Looks like you are doing great work up there.

Post a video with sound, it will help out a lot.

[Kyle Stapleton]

http://youtu.be/Srv4kRnWbkw
Does it sound anything like the noise at the ten sec. mark?

[dbrannen]

Scott,
I'll check the packet ET tomorrow when I go in (not sure what that is but ill follow your instructions).
All issues are in the complete range of movement and not isolated to a particular location.
This is pretty much the first time since firing her up that we have moved the axes have been moved manually (we made sure to shut all electrical down prior to pushing carriages by hand).
No wireless components used but we did have a thumb drive in the monitor port.
Updates are current.

Reading your suggestions just turned a light bulb on over my head though. Earlier in the day we encountered an issue with the software that ShopBot helped us with. Starting the control software resulted in a yellow box "Starting Controls" and it just sat there. Tom at ShopBot walked me through fixing the software issue. I didn't personally move the machine around post fix but a very trustworthy student brought the "chattering" issue up when he tried to run aN inlay project.

I am thinking (in large part due to your suggestions) that we may have a software issue as opposed to a mechanical one. I will get in the shop over the weekend to run your suggestions.

Thank you so much for your expertise. If your ideas work I'll put you on our Christmas card list!

David

[dbrannen]

Kyle,
I will see if I can't figure out how to post a video of the issue over the weekend. I realize how much this could benefit my request for help. The sound of our issue will really tell the story.

Thank you for your help!

David

[dbrannen]

No, doesn't sound like that at all. So hard to describe but if I were to try....sort of like every third tooth of a pinion missing during movement. Probably a terribly lame description but it's all I've got right now.

David

[scottp55]

David,
It doesn't matter if the power is off. When we got our Desktops, Shopbot specifically mentioned that when we crated it for Craft shows, to either align the gantry with the vehicle in case of sudden stops, or use original packing to immobilize gantry/spindle. It can fry your boards.
Programs should never be run from thumbdrives, and thumbdrives should be removed.
ALL antivirus/automatic updates/internet/and power saving features should be turned OFF.
Has keyboard/monitor/mouse been having any issues?(Once a keyboard was dying/and once a HDMI connection was loose and had intermittent hard stop sounds on all axis)
Be nice to know what the software problem Tom helped you with was.
Does it sound like a hard stop noise?
Vid with sound like Kyle said will help the big guys the most.
Just trying to eliminate some suspects for the pros.
scott

[srwtlc]

As Scott mentioned, let us know what your Static and Packet ET test shows. This will tell you whether or not your PC's USB system is performing good enough to keep a solid data flow to the controller. If possible, don't use a USB 3.0 port. Run the test with the control box in some other free ports to see if one is better than the other. If you are using a USB hub, try it without. If you aren't using a hub, try it with one.

You can find information on this in C:\Program Files (x86)\ShopBot\ShopBot 3\Help\UD Diagnostic Notes.pdf