Seems like a read a thread about this problem but I can't locate it again. Although I have had my Phlatprinter for a long time, due to health problems I am just now getting the chance to set it up and I have got troubles.

I have the stock EZ-CNC setup and the only mod was the addition of the ZBNs.

So I followed the instruction videos to the letter and here is where I'm at...

Axis X and Z work perfect, of course, but when I jog the Y axis it only makes a loud noise unless I hold the shift key to get it moving, then it travels fine but 50% of the time it moves in the correct direction and 50% of the time it runs in the wrong direction..??

- First I checked all connections then I replaced the wiring - no help
- Replaced Y axis stepper motor with MPJA stepper - no help
- Replaced controller chip with high temp replacement from Digi-Key - no help
- Tried velocity settings from 1 to 40 - no help
- Tried vRef setting thru entire range - no help

I suspect the controller board but would appreciate some feedback or suggestions from you guys, especially if you have dealt with this problem before.

 

I'd try lowering the 'acceleration' rate. I had what you described enough times to go to that setting first thing.

 

Hey thanks tbird. I tried your suggestion just now but still no luck. I went from 20 to 1 one step at a time but the results are the same. Still have to hold the shift key to get it started then it may not travel in the correct direction..??

 

I remember when I was trying to use a laptop I had tha similiar problem.

Whats your computer specs?

 

Thanks Flash, I'll try your suggestions.

3DMON, I am using a 2.8ghz Intel based desktop machine with 2 gig ram running WinXP Pro.

 

Sounds like it's probably something Flash suggested then.
Keep us posted.
Hope you get it fixed.

 

OK, this morning I disconnected the allthread and the gantry travels easy along the entire printer.

With the allthread loose the stepper now travels in opposite directions when I toggle between the up and down arrow keys but I had to set the velocity to 39 to get it to do that, it just won't work any lower.

Also the Y stepper will not start turning unless I hold down SHIFT? This time I tried adjusting the acceleration one step at a time from 0-40 then from 40-100 ten steps at time (40-50-60 etc.).

Right now I have no allthred hooked to the Y stepper motor with velocity set to 39 and acceleration at 20 and the stepper moves in both directions as long as I hold SHIFT to get it started moving.

Any ideas?

Oh yea, I also re-checked the wiring connections. I don't have a terminal block in line with the Y stepper, the wires on these MPJA steppers were long enough to reach the controller board.

Any and all help appreciated.

 

Hi 7up, Glad to see you are back on the project!
Lets try a few things here
Try setting your Vel to 20 and your Accel to 10 just see if you can jog you Y axis without holding shift.
Are you able to jog the other axis without holding shift?
If you hit tab while on the main run screen to bring up the jog shuttle, what is your Slow Jog Rate percent?
One thing to try is to disconnect the X stepper (power off) and hook the Y in its place. Put the X in place of the Y and see how the machine reacts to see what type of results you get from jogging with the Y and X swapped. This will tell us a lot about whats going on.
We'll get through this
Mark

 

Thanks Mark. In the process of trying your suggestion of swapping the steppers at the board I discovered that the screws in the terminal blocks on the controller board were tightening but they were not putting any pressure on the stepper motor wires, even with the wires doubled over and when I tried to back the screws out they would turn but they would not back out. They're stripped I guess. I had 1 screw on Z, 2 screws on Y, and 1 screw on X in this condition.

To remedy this I removed all the stepper motor wires and soldered them straight to the underside of the controller board. Now Y and Z work perfect but X just makes a ratcheting sound like it is slipping in the pulley, it will not move. I have checked all the obvious problems and replaced the chip but no luck. It is non slipping, no binding, tried the vref, it just stays in one spot and makes a ratching sound..??

I'm gonna hook up another stepper to X today see if that is the problem before I start hacking away.

The stock stepper that I replaced on the Y axis is good, should I use it on the X or would I benefit from putting a MPJA stepper on there?

 

Right now it is set back to 20 but I tried it from 20 to 5 one step at a time. Thanks for the suggestion tho.

 

I agree with Flash here.
Please let us know the results
Mark

 

Thanks for the help, it was a bad chip but before I figured this out I ran across this controller that I placed a bid on but didn't expect to win... but I did.

It is a NIB 3 amp, 3 axis controller that can be upgraded to a 4 axis, it has a spindle control relay already on-board, uses a parallel connection interface, has a DB 15 connector for joystick control, does 1, 1/2, 1/4, and 1/8 steps, is Mach3 compatible, has same power specs a the EZ-CNC controller and comes with a 1 year warranty. Best of all I got it for $79.00 bucks. :mrgreen:

Here is a link to their website. They ship from Sacramento , CA. and I think the regular price is $95 plus shipping but still a good deal at that price considering the features. I'll post more info next week when it arrives.

http://www.lightobject.com/3-Axis-TB843 ... -P274.aspx Attached files

 

Glad you got things figured out.
That board sounds promising. Keep us posted on it.

 

On ebay...

Here is a buy it now ad but you can get it from the guys store in the link above. He will probably start another auction in a day or two.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0194861725

 

That board looks promising! thanks for the link
Glad to hear that you have solved the problem
Mark

 

Well the controller board works fine, I tested everything except the onboard spindle relay, that will come later.

It performed as good as the stock controller and only took very little tweaking to achieve smooth operation.

Pros
- all connections, once tightened down, are modular, they all unplug. A 4 wire terminel plug for each stepper and 2 wire plug for power
- expansion connector for adding an additional axis
- huge heat sink withcooling fan (included) with onboard connector for fan
- gameport style connector for joystick control

Cons
- vref is hardwired, in order to change the vref you have to replace a power resister which involves soldering, this could be elemanated by replacing it with a proper variable resister
- controller chips are hard wired not in a socket
- Does not work with stock power supply, I used a 24v 13A desktop supply (overkill) the board is rated for 12-24v
- physical size is about 1-1/2 times larger than the stock board (no biggie)
- online PDF manual which is useless as well as online help forums, also useless

All in all it is an OK controller but I would not recommend it unless you are familiar with electronic circuits and comfortable with soldering. I think I'll save it for tinkering with some other cnc projects

Due to the fact that I couldn't adjust the vref "on the fly" my steppers did get pretty hot after about 20 minutes of run time so that was the extent of my testing. I am using the Vexta steppers on X and Y axis, the board stayed warm but not hot.

I think I'll stick to the stock controller until the **PHLATBOARD** is available. BTW the new high temp controller chips from Digi-Key seem to be working great, no troubles.

Catch me later,
-Buk

 

Klondar, glad to here it is working out for you. As I said it did perform as well as my stock board but I really didn't run it thru its paces to see the top performance it is capable of.

EMC2 huh? I have been meaning to give that a try. If it works well with this board would you mind sharing your settings o maybe some tips for someone new to EMC2?