X movement is a little "jerky"

[conceptmachine]

another newbie question!ok here's the problem,my first project is surfacing the spoilboard.when the bot moves in the x it's a little jerky,my move speed is 2 ips,it will jerk even doing an air cut.when moving the bot with the keypad it seems to be ok (no jerking)my jog speed is 3ips and it seems ok as well,any ideas on what to look for?
shawn

[fleinbach]

A loose gear or improperly adjusted spring tension will cause this. Check the tightness of your pinion gears on the X-motors. Also check the tension on the springs. If both of these things are ok I would look at your USB cable. If the connector is even slightly loose you can have all kind of problems. Make sure they are pushed in all the way and not run in a location where vibration can affect them.

[conceptmachine]

thanks for the quick responce frank,i know my gears are tight i put locktite and double set screws on the pinions,im not sure of the spring pressure,how should i set them?ill check the usb cable though i think its ok.
shawn

[fleinbach]

According to the manuel you should tughten the spring until it just starts to open then 3 full turns.

[zeykr]

Shawn, I see you have an older prt. With the original PRT board, certian slow speeds can sound "rougher" than slightly higher speeds such as jogs. It may be that you are hearing this difference - how does the cut look?

The new 4g upgrade board for the PRT does make things much smoother both in sound and cut.

[conceptmachine]

Ken,it sounds ok you can see and feel the "jerk" while it moves in X,as far as the cut it seems good but all i've done so far surface the spoilboard.I plan on upgrading to the 4g board when i get the extra $$$$.
shawn