Z Axis Stall 308

[badger]

Ok, have searched found several items related to 308 however they mostly talked about the probe.

Trying to get my first machine that was sitting for awhile ready to give to a friend so he can use it. Its been cleaned and when I try to test it with a board in and go to measure it gives me Zaxis stall 308.

Checked options and im getting the 0000 numbers to change when it is moved. Z truck feels stable nothing appears to be pinched unsure what could be the causes for the stall at this point.

I know I can just give it to him and let him figure it out but would like to give it to him working. Not charging him for it but would like to have it working none the less. He has already purchased the rock chuck, Ive already replace the flexshaft cable and cleaned it. Just not sure what all the causes could be for 308 without having a list to check it against.

[mikepail]

I'm having a similar problem, although it happens when I am carving a project that first asks for the 90 degree V and then the 1/8" cutting bit. I get the Z stall error when the 1/8" cutting bit is "measured".

I think I may be on to something, but I need a few more passes to know for sure. I use the Rock Chuck as well (and love it), however, I think that the 1/8" bit may extend out of the chuck to far and when the machine tries to calibrate the bit that has been inserted, it expects to be able to go closer to the board before making contacting, hence the stall. Luckily, I just have to cut away part of the heat shrink that I place on the 1/8" bit to allow the bit to go into the chuck further.

This sounds like it could be the same problem that I'm having. You can look at my post, in this same topic a few days back.

[dbfletcher]

I ran in to the same issue today... also with rock chuck. Took the collar off the bit and tried again. It was happy. I also beleive it has to do with how long your carving/cutting bit extends from teh rock chuck. I have the 1/2 with sleeves so the sleeve also adds a bit.

Doug Fletcher

[badger]

This current machine still has the qc in it and not the rock chuck.

[mikepail]

dbfletcher,
I have all but conclusively confirmed that it was the length of the exposed bit causing the problem.

badger,
Not sure what to tell you, unless your 1/8" bit is extending too far from the bit adapter for the QC.

Mike

**CARVEWRIGHT**
Any chance you guys can allow for a bit to be even 1/8" of an inch longer without causing a Z Axis Stall? When you load the 1/8" bit and it homes itself on the brass roller arm, I believe the firmware instructs the Z truck to lower itself too far before slowing and checking for contact with the brass roller.
I believe what is intended is for a "controlled stall" with the brass roller arm, so the machine knows how large of a bit is inserted. The machine does not look for this "controlled stall" untill it has lowered itself past a predefined amount, call it FULL_SPEED_LOWERING_DISTANCE.
Any change you can make FULL_SPEED_LOWERING_DISTANCE about 1/8" shorter, ie, check for the controlled stall a little sooner?

[Digitalwoodshop]

That No mans land on the rails between the bearings is most likely the problem... You need to push a rag between the upper and lower Z bearing and clean the speed bump off your rails..... Then rotate each bearing 100% and wipe it clean too...

Next clean the Z Belt and all the cogs of the upper and lower pulley.

Make sure you have the New Z Bundle... If not it is needed...

AL

[mark1945]

I never had a 308 before, several other z stalls and usually just a saw dust problem and easy to fix.Been so hot here I havent turned on my machines for a couple of weeks.Did download 1.152 started to carve a project today and got a z stall 308,tried another carve on 1 of my other machine got the same thing.1 machine has QC chuck the other an RC Eliminator chuck.tried my 3rd machine and it got zstall 308 also.Guess i will go back to 1.15 and see what happens tommorow.

[badger]

Still no go. Rails are clean, replaced circuit board behind ztruck, power on and I am getting resistance on the truck only other thing I can think of is the 14pin cable. Checked sensors and they all appear to be working fine.

[badger]

Upgraded to 1.152, still no go. Called LHR and confirmed everything else was working correctly so went ahead and ordered couple more 14pin cables. Last resort.

Did however noticed they changed their shipping prices, was a nice find.

My current 14pin cable appears to be in good shape with a couple nics here and there so could possible be the nics are worse than they appear.

Does it have to be a flat ribbon cable? Wouldnt a different setup using a cable instead be more sturdy where you are not damaging a ribbon cable all the time?

[Digitalwoodshop]

I had considered taking the wide fiber packing tape and placing it on both sides of the flex cable only in the exposed flexing area to act as a safety sleeve.... A 14 pin.... condom.... :roll: Keep you flex safe...

AL

[badger]

Actually sounds like a decent workaround. Thanks AL

[badger]

Check out link

Worked it and was able to get rid of the 308 error.

Looking for those that know the machine inside and out to see if their interested in receiving the motor I removed to look and see if it was actually the encoder. Im clueless on what to look for on that but would hopefully help others out in solving this 308 error.

http://cncartguild.forumotion.net/troubleshooting-f26/z-axis-stall-308-t187.htm

[fwharris]

That you got it fixed and that my W.A.G. helped you out!!!

Thanks for the update!!

[Zap]

Hello all! I am the lucky recipient of Badger's machine. I have gotten it home and after an epic battle removing the QC (I think Badger had dipped it in loctite :D ) I got the RC installed and tried to do a quick test carve.

Everything seems to go well until it assks me to "jog to touch position" which I do and press start. Then it goes to Zero then and does the up/down thing. However, when it goes to the touch postion, it goes down and the bit hits the board and I get the Z Axis Stall Error 308 again.

I have cleaned what I think is the sensor on the bottom of the Z Truck and raised the bit as far into the RC Sleeve as I dare and I still get it.

I am a total newbie here so the more detail and/or pictures you could provide would certainly be appreciated. i.e.
That No mans land on the rails between the bearings is most likely the problem... You need to push a rag between the upper and lower Z bearing and clean the speed bump off your rails..... Then rotate each bearing 100% and wipe it clean too...

Next clean the Z Belt and all the cogs of the upper and lower pulley.
is probably crystal clear to most of you but I have only the faintest idea of where the rag should go. :(

[badger]

(I think Badger had dipped it in loctite





lol... sorry bout that buddy

[badger]

Everything seems to go well until it assks me to "jog to touch position" which I do and press start.

We figured that out, pressed stay under rollers instead of selecting not to.

Hes gonna level the head first and then see what happens.

[fwharris]

We figured that out, pressed stay under rollers instead of selecting not to.

Hes gonna level the head first and then see what happens.

Great idea to get everything all squared up and level before you start up!

[Zap]

Gotten further:

I leveled the head asembly and while I am still getting an occasional stall I have gottten two small carves out of it.

[fwharris]

Gotten further:

I leveled the head asembly and while I am still getting an occasional stall I have gottten two small carves out of it.

Small steps but it sounds like you are making forward progress. Thanks for the update and keep us posted..

[mtylerfl]

We figured that out, pressed stay under rollers instead of selecting not to.

Hes gonna level the head first and then see what happens.

Hmmm - I don't know what the "stay under rollers" has to do with the "jog to touch" prompt. Actually, it sounds like someone set your machine option to always prompt you for a manual jog to touch (i.e., that option may be turned ON for some reason). If that's the case, you can turn it OFF by going into your User Options (0), (keypad #5) and toggling the Jog to Touch ON/OFF (keypad #1)

[badger]

When asking he stated he told it to stay under the rollers, Ive always selected no since I add the other 7" wasnt sure if the jog to touch was a response if he selected Yes to stay under rollers.

[Zap]

Well, I got the one carve done but now I can't get it to carve again. I goes through everything just fine. Rollers back adn forth, Y axis back adn forth and Z axis up and down during measuring and homing. Then it does "Finding Surface" just prior to starting the carve adn it goes up/down next to the brass roller then mooves over to the board and goes down and hits the board (without turning) and stalls.

:confused:

[fwharris]

Well, I got the one carve done but now I can't get it to carve again. I goes through everything just fine. Rollers back adn forth, Y axis back adn forth and Z axis up and down during measuring and homing. Then it does "Finding Surface" just prior to starting the carve adn it goes up/down next to the brass roller then mooves over to the board and goes down and hits the board (without turning) and stalls.

:confused:

Zap,

Does the cut motor come on during any of the homing sequences?

Do you get any error messages after the stall?

[Zap]

Yes sir, after the bit selection prompt it moves the truck out for you to insert the bit. Then when I hit OK it spins briefly.

[fwharris]

Yes sir, after the bit selection prompt it moves the truck out for you to insert the bit. Then when I hit OK it spins briefly.

Easy on the sir...LOL

But you say when it goes to start the carve the cut motor does not come on.

[badger]

Easy on the sir...LOL

But you say when it goes to start the carve the cut motor does not come on.


Thats correct, after all the homing sequences it moves to the location of the board lowers to start the carve and then the dreaded 308 again. And it just stops

[fwharris]

Thats correct, after all the homing sequences it moves to the location of the board lowers to start the carve and then the dreaded 308 again. And it just stops

If I recall the Z pack motor on this machine is one you had swapped out because you were having the same issue. I would double check (sure you might have done it already) all the wire connections for the z motor and even the cut motor including the door switch.

This is becoming more than a head scratcher!!!

[HighTechOkie]

Have you (or Badger) done a thickness calibration?

You might also loosen the two screws on the z motor, make sure the z tension screw it tight and re-tighten the z motor screws.

As a last resort, I would recommend to completely remove the z truck and then re-assemble. It is a good idea to have a spare set of screws and bearings on hand as the head of the screws can strip out easily, requiring them to be drilled out and replaced so you can correctly load(tighten) the eccentric bearings.

From what I understand, a Z axis stall error 308 basically means the z motor is requiring more current than normal. Either due to mechanical resistance or the bit is hitting the wood sooner than expected.

Rob

[Zap]

Thank you. I plan on calling LHR on Tuesday and then order whatever parts needed. The sandpaper belts aren't tracking correctly and have worn a little on the control pad side so I figure I'll replace those and fix the tracking. I've also noticed the O-ring on the Brass roller has a nick in it so I'll order that as well. Crazy thing is I got it to cut three small projects but I'm not sure what I did to get there.

I think I'll spend some time in designer this week making some projects until the parts arrive and then do some rebuiling. :)

[want2learn]

take off the back plastic cover of z motor, check for sawdust, mine was full of sawdust, giving me a z axis stall

[philpop]

I to get quite a fiew "Z" axis stalls and there is no saw dust under that cover.
Do you have any sujestions to help me.

[Zap]

take off the back plastic cover of z motor, check for sawdust, mine was full of sawdust, giving me a z axis stall

I just had time to go check this today and although I didn't see any sawdust there I blew it out, along with the rest of the Z Truck, really well and I'll be if it didn't start carving!

Thanks all!

Zap

[Digitalwoodshop]

Might have been a loose plug on either end of the Z Motor.... Under the dust cap or at the motor circuit board....

Good Job,

AL