Board Feeding And "X-Axis Stall" Problems After I changed The Left Traction Belt [Archive]

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Squirrel86

05-22-2012, 10:49 PM

fwharris

05-22-2012, 11:51 PM

Hello all, I've had my CarveWright for about three months now and I've been able to do some amazing work with it. About two weeks ago my left traction belt ripped and I had to buy more. After I replaced the belt and reinstalled it onto the machine I started another project. Once that project started the truck did all the depth tests and touched the plate then the board and so forth. Once the bit reset to the starting position, the board moved to the left side if looking at the keypad and slowly (I mean freaking slow!) until the machine popped up an error that said possible board removal. I tried at least 10 more times, resetting the machine each time. Finally, the tech at CarveWright told me to try a different pattern, which worked. He said it was a glitch in the pattern hat happens every so often. The pattern made it about 30% through until it stopped and gave me this error:

Z-Axis Stall
ERR E06-0303. Press Stop

I have put a lot of hours on this machine since I bought it with no issues prior to changing the traction belt. Here are a few things i've already checked:

-Checked the head pressure with a scale and it measured 78 pounds.
-The firmware is the latest and greatest.
-I have cleaned the machine vigorously.
-I cleaned all the sensors with air duster, making sure not to damage anything.
-I've wiped the rails with WD-40, I didn't spray it.
-Nothing is obstructing the truck.
-The board is square, the same thickness (3/4 inches thick) and is not a dark wood (I've tried birch, oak and natural pine).

I am a Drill Sergeant at Fort Leonard Wood and I make all of our going away plaques. Ive taken on this task because Army Regulation will not allow unit funds to pay for them. These Drill Sergeants that do their time honorably deserve something nice when they leave. The only reason I say that is because I am due a plaque real soon and I would really appreciate some help with this. Thank you all.

Squirrel,

Welcome to the forum and thanks a bunch for your service!

First thing I see is WD-40! It is a good cleaner but it is not a lube, especially for the CarveWright. Most use some type of dry lube (I'm sure others will post their likes). I use a Teflon dry lube after cleaning the rails and bearing faces and corner posts with either alcohol or paint thinner. Spray the lube on a rag and wipe them down.

A quick test you can do to check the machine movements, @ main menu on the machine press "0" "8". This will take you into testing the Y,Z,X and cut motor. Just follow the prompts on the display for each. During the Y,Z,X test watch, listen and feel for any unusual jerking motion, out of the ordinary sounds.

On your boards run a piece of masking tape on the underside edge of the board that goes against the squaring plate so the the tape rides on the brass roller. It give the roller a better bite on the board. Always leave a small gap between the board and sliding plate. The plate should never be up snub to the board. These could have been the cause of your belts tearing.

On the belts, check to make sure the ends are not rolling over. The paper belts seem to have a tendency on some machines to drift to one end or the other. If they are then trim off a 1/2" or so to remove the roll over.

Digitalwoodshop

05-23-2012, 01:10 AM

Drill Sergeant,

AL here, a Retired Navy Chief. I see this is your first post so WELCOME !!!! This is a Honorable thing you are doing... WOW... You should post some pictures...

First off it is possible that a belt has rolled under on the X and this is causing you problems. Usually the one under the Cut Motor drifts toward the Keypad. It will bind to the plastic edge guide on the Sand Paper Trays and that Sir can be the cause of the very slow movement. The Z Stall might be unrelated and can be looked at next....

A few things to keep in mind is the Sliding Guide, as it should be the thickness of a Quarter away from the board and never touch the board. A Slightly tapered board can sink you... As it will jam.... You need to watch board storage... IF you had a board standing up on a Cement Floor in a Humid place it is possible that the end on the floor could swell up in width and thickness causing this problem.

But more than likely it is a rolled under belt... So the question is "Why so Belts drift toward the Keypad?" My theory is that when I cut a bunch of 6 inch wide boards for signs, this stretches the keypad side of the belt and the unused side is normal and the Funnel Shaped belt starts to WALK... I installed new belts in a post called the 250 Hour Maintenance a few weeks ago and just the other day needed to cut my belt.... What I do is with the power off, I cut the belt between the roller of the tray at the muffler end but at the keypad side. I cut between the flat tray and the end roller and use a pair of pliers to grab the end. I then rotate the belt by hand ripping 3/4 inch of belt away all the way around... If I cut a bunch of 11.25 inch wide boards the belts don't walk.... Only with the narrow boards...

I have actually ripped my belts multi times as seen in the pictures as they walked over months before I replaced them. What happened when the belt walks is that it Jams against the plastic guide, OR it rolls under about 1/4 inch and doubles the thickness of the belt and at the same time raises the board higher OFF the Brass Roller. The Brass Roller is what the computer look at as the board is moving in length or X. Loss of contact with the brass roller and the computer will keep moving until the correct numbers of pulses are received by the computer. SO this is why we see in my Oval Clock the multi thickness cut out of sequence... You can see the board lost contact with the brass roller 4 times... I recommend adding a piece of masking tape on the under side of the board edge where the Brass Roller runs. This soft area lets the teeth of the brass roller bite in and sort of makes a Rack and Pinion between the board and the brass roller. As you can see below, "It's all about the Brass Roller".... IF you are doing a Cut Path and the board looses contact with the brass roller, it can snap the $40.00 bit.. Hard Woods like Maple and Oak can be so hard that the brass roller can slip or slide... The Masking Tape is insurance for the $40.00 bit....

So now for the Z... A failure item can be the wide FSC Cable.... It is a Consumable in my opinion as it can only flex so many times. It is flat sheet copper and plastic... Bend a copper wire enough times and it will snap.... The FSC Cable has vulnerability at any sharp bends.. Any Sharp Bends like where it comes out of the Z Motor Board, can magnify the bending to a short area and cause the failure.... To check the cable for damage... Power off, Move the Z head to the top Mechanical Stop. Power on, Options, Sensor Data, Z Data and it should be 0000. Move the head and it should change, return to the top mechanical stop and it should again be 0000.... IF it is different..... One cause we saw posted this week and other times is the Plastic Encoder Wheel on the back of the shaft of the Z Motor is letting the Clear Disk ROTATE ON the Shaft... IT should be glued to the shaft and indicate shaft rotation by the little lines that make pulses blocking the light for the Encoder LED and Sensor.... Every line is a pulse.... IF the wheel spins free then you get a stall.... OR a Air Carve... Blow the dust out of the encoder too... See my picture with a bunch of sawdust in the Y Encoder....

Now for the FSC CABLE.... It supplied the Power to Move the Z Motor and the new test in the Designer lets you test the motor.... A ADDITIONAL TEST would be to gently FLEX the FSC Cable WHILE the Z MOTOR is being told to MOVE... A break in the cable will then show up..... SAME TEST with the Encoder 0000 test.... But move the FSC Cable while moving the head up and down. IF a broken wire is in the FSC Cable then Pulses will be missing and a return to the top mechanical stop will not be 0000 as it should be....

OK... That is lots of stuff....

I will pile on somemore... The Roller Rail Bearings can get sawdust inside them and freeze up... So marking them with a marker and moving the head to check to be sure they don't SLIDE on the rails.... I had to replace a Y and a Z Bearing during my 250 Hour Overhaul and didn't know I had a frozen bearing... So the machine can cause them to slip and then give you a stall....

It may turn out that the Z Stall was related to the X Problems.... and actually be good...

It's almost 2 AM and my Fire Tags just finished in the UV Oven... I do a Epoxy Dome over the tags like you see on Car Logos.... Once you get this working.... I would like to work with you and DONATE some Epoxy Dome Color Inlays for your Plaques... Something to make them POP.... Like a LOGO or something.... You would make a Carve Region and insert the Dome.... This is something I have been wanting to expand into with my Business... The Fire Tags were my Sunday Project, still working on them tonight for a Thursday Delivery of the Bushkill Tags.

Remember at 250 Cut Hours....

Change the Cut Motor Brushes

Change the 2 bearings in the Y Gearbox.

Clean and Lube the Machine. I use Chain Lube with Molly on the Jacking Screws and the 4 smooth posts.... Many like Dry Lube..

My phone number is 570 Six Eight Five 9663 or WOOD. You can always call or send a email question....

If you have not found the Tips and Tricks on the LHR page, it is worth the time to read it...

So it sounds like a rolled under belt.... Let us know,

AL

FCC(SW) USN Retired

Picture of FSC Cable, Cut Belts, Encoder Dirty, and showing the black marks with shadow. Fire Tags... I can print a full color logo for you.. Any Shape... Use the CW to cut the tags.

Digitalwoodshop

05-23-2012, 01:18 AM

Forgot to add the Oval Sign pictures where the Brass Roller lost contact.... A HIGH outfeed table can cause this too.... As it raises the board off the roller...

That is a SHARP LOGO.... If you can, send me the electronic file... I would like to make some for you....

digitalwoodshop AT aol.com

AL

Squirrel86

05-24-2012, 10:37 PM

First of all, I would like to say that I'm going to reply as a mass post to all the responses I received. I apologize if I offend anyone by saying this, but I never though I would receive this much help! I am truly grateful for all the 100% accurate and helpful tips I received!! My apologies for misleading everyone about the WD-40, I used it to clean the rails before I applied a Teflon based lubricant. Sorry about that, when I typed the email, I was on almost day 9 of trying to figure this thing out! I did the X and Y test, but when I tried the last one, the truck just jerked about 1/16" up and down and the screen exited back to the choice menu. I checked all the key points that all of you posted,and man I have really missed all these areas! I'm curious about the FSC cable, is there a better one out there? Long story short, I read a post before I posted my problem that stated that sometimes when you load a pattern to the memory card, somehow the firmware becomes glitched. I formatted the memory card, and now its cutting. I'm boggled by this but it works! I also made a checklist of all the things that were known issues to look at in the future. I trimmed my belts and I know a big issue that I overlook all the time, which i know i shouldnt, is the amount of dust that collects under the hood. I bought a shopvac and about a lifetime supply of canned air today!! Are there more things I could replace of modify to prevent of lessen damages and breaks to the machine? I should probably start a new thread on this, or is it ok to post it here? Or is there already a thread for this? Im posting some pictures as well of some things I've already completed. Thank you all once again, this project i started means alot to me. It is so easy for a Drill Sergeant to say the smallest phrase or seamingly harmless word and a Soldier takes it the wrong way and we can have our hat and badges taken away and loose our rank. Its even easy for a Drill Sergeant to loose their temper and put their hands on a Soldier, it happens every now and then. My point is that the way money is going with the Military, it is almost impossible for a unit to fund going away plaques. I think that if you leave your Drill Sergeant duty with no investigations and your head held high then you should have a nice plaque to remember your time. On top of that most of the plaque shops around here just give a generic plaque and its not what they deserve. Long story short, the amount of appreciation I have to all of you that took time out of your day to help me is unmeasurable, I thank all of you very much. I apologize this is so long, I have one last issue, I started a web site to make a little money on the side and have fun. I really have fun taking a blank slate of wood and turning it into something a person loves. With that being said I would like some feedback on my web site. I bought a CD off of EBay that had a bunch of patterns on it and I asked the seller where they came from and he said they were royalty free. Ive looked on the forum and noticed some of the same work being posted but I don't wanna put my web site out there if it includes anything someone owns and doesn't want sold. Ill elaborate more on the thread if all of you would not mind taking a peek and giving me some feedback and maybe "test" my website. Thank you once again.

fwharris

05-24-2012, 11:34 PM

No offense taken sir and hope mine about the wd-40 did not offend you. Great to read though that you were just using it to clean with and are using the dry lube.

I am not aware of any other fcc cable other than the one from CW. Matter of fact I just had to replace mine as I started getting the stall error message. Mine had a break in it right at the vertical support bracket. They do wear out from all of the back and forth movement of the Z truck.

Great to hear that the card reformat got you back up and running.

Will be looking for your project post and your link to your new site. FYI, it is ok to use any pattern posted here to make any carving you want. That is why we post the patterns is to share for others to carve. It is not ok to sell these patterns. The CD you got off of ebay is a whole other topic, do a search here on "is it ok for others to sell pattern posted on the forum".

Well best of luck and post any issues, questions and by all means your carvings!

Squirrel86

05-25-2012, 12:26 AM

No offense taken, I'm still learning, so everything at this point is taken as constructive. Where do you buy a replacement cable at? Just in case I encounter that problem. Even though formatting the card worked, all of the tips were not in vain! They were immediately put into my "CarveWright For Dummies" checklist that I'm making for myself. Here are a few of the projects I've created. They're not that great yet, I'm slowly getting better with the CarveWright system. I also must apologize for not introducing myself, my name is Jeramiah! My website is www.L-JCrafts.com if anyone would like to check it out and give me some feedback. I'm still working out the pricing, I don't want to rip anyone off. Also please do not get angry if I put patterns up that I shouldnt, if there is a pattern on there that I should remove please let me know, thanks again. 53442 534435344453445534465344753448

chief2007

05-25-2012, 08:12 AM

Like your work, When I started my military career over 33 years ago, I did boot and AIT and Fort Lost in the Woods, lol. After my enlisted was up, I went Air Force - Finished out Chief Master Sergeant / E-9. Retired in 2011 and started the carving hobby, so you can imangine, I do a lot of military carvings as well.

My son is currently in the Army 68W, Combat Medic currently @ Fort Hood, He just finished his second tour to the sand box.

Feel free to PM me if you if ever need something. Your web site is great, best of luck with the carvings

Digitalwoodshop

05-25-2012, 11:37 AM

WOW.... Great Website... You will do WELL with it.....

A few tips...

If you can TAG every photo you post on your site with key search words, it will help the search engines bring you up.

If you have not purchased your web domain name for at least 5 years, go back and add a few years... Search Engines tend to ignore 1 and 2 year names even if you have GREAT Tags..... If you search "Accountability Tag" as in the Fire Tags, I pop up in page 1 of Sites and Images with the BIG BOYS.... 99% of my business comes from people just typing in a search... In 5 years I have spent close to $5K and I ask every customer how they found me.... 99% from a search and 1% word of mouth. I got 2 calls for $5K and no orders... SO TAG the Pictures... That is your BEST advertizing.... And for Military Customers...... A few Fliers on base and even a few FREE ads in the Military Papers.. EVEN from other POSTS and BASES.... Squid and Air Force Bases TOO.... What you do is very Marketable... Ever base has a newspaper and Guys read the ADS..... YOUR future Customers....

I see the Gold and Silver Pins and Coins.... I can also print on Metal like 2 inch metal disks with my current process. My printer does not have white ink as my blanks are white.... So I could not print white on a Brass Plate... But I could print the other colors... I have my heart set on buying a $14K USED or $24K New Solvent Based Printer with a 13 x 24 table in the next 3 months.
http://www.directcolorsystems.com/inkjet/direct-jet-1324.php It prints WHITE... So I could make pins like the ones shown then Epoxy Dome over it... For a real SHARP product. I send you a reply to the PM about Doming and my offer for a Dozen FREE Domed Logos you can add to your plaques and to add to my product line.

I see from your pictures that you don't have Centerline Text yet. As the Project Money builds you can add that to your machine. For now a GREAT TIP..... You can design a plaque and use OUTLINE TEXT and send it to anyone of us as a email with Centerline. We can open it and then convert the Outline Text into V Carved Centerline Text. Save it and send it back to you.... You can open it and adjust the text for size or position but NOT CHANGE THE TEXT.... as in Spelling.... Then you can CARVE IT as CENTERLINE TEXT... FREE for NOW... You will want a V60 and V90 bit... For most of the plaques you would want the V60 bit as it makes finer letters.

Tell the person you send the mpc to what the name of the font is... I believe it is changed now and if I open a mpc that uses a font that your computer does not have, it shows up on the Designer Font List between the ones you have so you know you need to download it.... Back a few years ago when ChrisAlb and I were rushing to do the Signs and Plaques for Pine Forest Camp, He sent me the mpc's. I cut them.... Took them to him for painting and he said "YOU Changed the FONT !!!!"... Well, I did not, but the Computer did.... I did not have the font and it substitute it without telling me.... NOW it tells you.... I would search some FREE FONT sites and download and load some fancy fonts.... All fonts that Designer Uses are the ones in your Computer.....

Find the Post on KEYTAGS.... I posted about the KEY TAG font.... That would be a GREAT Product to ADD to your line.... Think DESK NAME TAGS.... Think STACKED NAME CUT OUTS.... RANK ON THE Bottom and Name on the TOP..... The trick here is to assign a 1/16th end mill bit or the 1/8 inch cutting bit and set the depth to leave a skin on the bottom of the wood to hold all the little parts together. Then SAND the Skin off the bottom.... This could be done with a Hand Sander or a Thickness Sander.

IF you design a Centerline Text Word in Designer and select the V90 Bit in Designer BUT use a V60 bit in the machine, the letters will have a Y on the ends.... As it thinks the bit is bigger as in a V90.... Just for troubleshooting..... I learned the hard way....

As for the FSC Cable... I consider it a Consumable and you should get 2 or 3 years out of the cable if your careful cleaning the machine. Careful to not make sharp bends in the cable when you install it other than where it turns 90 degrees.

Dust Collecton.... I recommend the Ringneck Blues Metal Dust Hood for your machine when you can get it. I also recommend getting a 1 HP Dust Collector. Vacuum Cleaners are not designed to run for hours in a Suction Mode except for the Commercial Fein versions. They will overheat and can catch on FIRE.... Speaking of FIRE... Get a Battery Smoke Detector and place it above your machine....
I recommend the METAL Dust Collector as you can GROUND IT..... Along with the machine... I use a Copper Wire with 3 Gator Clips on each end..... METAL COLLECTOR, Infeed Tray, and Machine FRAME clipped on one end and 3 places on my Dust Collector on the Other End... The Dust Collector is grounded through the electrical plug. NEVER drive a Ground Rod into the ground near your machine and attach a ground wire.... This can make a condition called "Ground Loop" and is dangerous. Using the House Ground is BEST... Along with a METAL Dust Collector....

AS for the Shop Vac.... Remember.... DOZENS of users have KILLED their machines using a Shop VAC and a PLASTIC hose to clean the machine. The sawdust flowing through the PLASTIC HOSE creates a STATIC ELECTRICITY CHARGE and this ELECTRICAL CHARGE will SNAP or ARC to the machine and KILL THE ELECTONICS... Usually the Post will say.... "I was in the middle of a 6 hour carve and stopped the machine and VACUUMED OUT the Sawdust." "NOW the Display is BLANK and the MACHINE IS DEAD"...... Yes, you KILLED the MACHINE with a PLASTIC HOSE..... About $600.00 to replace the Computer, Keypad, and Power Supply... So this is why I recommend a METAL DUST COLLECTOR..... STATIC.... That is what I USE..... I made my first METAL Collector from Copper Circuit Board Material in 2008... I now use the RINGNECK BLUES METAL COLLECTOR as it has better Suction due to the Design... I had a SLOT cut in the bottom sealed with Weather stripping that hung over the machine lip edge. I still have my concerns over the Shop Fire posted here last week.... A Plastic Dust Collector.... With no disrespect to the user, I have my reservations about a plastic dust collector building up a static charge and starting a fire... I tell the story about my Lightning Bolts of Static in my machine.... I painted my collector black and one day I am doing a Cut Path and hear "SNAP", "SNAP", SNAP.... I look inside the machine and I see a Lightning Bolt about an inch long between the Metal Dust Collector Hood and the 1/8 inch Cutting Bit.... I look and the Ground Wire was off the METAL COLLECTOR but the other 2 wires were connected to the machine.... As soon as I hooked the Ground Wire back to the Metal Collector the Sparking Stopped.... Being painted, it must have been insulated from the machine frame.... So a Plastic Collector and a high velocity air with wood chips and you have a perfect Static Electricity Generator.... A Spark Plug takes 12 thousand volts to jump less than 1/4 inch.... For my machine to have a 1 inch SPARK.... That's a Whole Lot of Voltage.... Speaking of VOLTAGE.... I was working in the shop the other night and hear a Scanner Call for a 11 year old girl Electrocuted climbing over the fence into a Power Substaton.... http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120525/NEWS/205250343/-1/NEWS

I started out with a Bag type dust collector but later upgraded to the paper filter version. Get the best Dust Filter you can as the fine dust escaping the bag is getting into your lungs....

OK... Back to WORK...

AL

Squirrel86

05-25-2012, 07:16 PM

Cool deal, I apreciate the help. I've noticed alot of veterns on here. I have to give a big Memorial Day thank you to all the veterans before me and currently serving. I can't imagine how proud you must be with your son serving, thats awesome! Without you guys that served before me, we as Soldiers would not be where we are now, so thank you all! I appreciate the compliment on my web site, I thought the prices were too steep though, what do you think? I do this for fun and I don't want anyone to think I'm just trying to make a few dollars. Honestly its really about people being happy with something I created for them.

Squirrel86

05-25-2012, 07:43 PM

I've read alot about the centerline text but honestly Im just waiting to get my money right for that software plus the pattern editor software as well. Thanks for the insight on the shop vac tip, I've been lucky then, cause I've been using my shop vac like a drunk surgeon inside my machine! I bought my web domain for a year and I really didnt know that google searched like that! Thats another bullet on my list of things to fix! Also, what do you mean by "Tag" my photos? My advertisement scheme was thwarted by the fact that when i started gearing my hobby towards the military I had already sold a few custom plaques for military and civilian and never took pictures! Im having to start out fresh building my picture gallery. Im slowly working on it though, it helps getting feedback on everything.

bergerud

05-25-2012, 08:26 PM

Another web problem is that you have your email posted on the forum. These forums are mined for such things and the next thing you know, you will be on junk mail lists.

easybuilt

05-25-2012, 08:30 PM

Wonderful information Al! Thanks for the advise on the phone, your the best.

fwharris

05-25-2012, 09:00 PM

"TAG" is like a key word for the search bots. Tag words; wood carvings, carved plaques, custom carvings etc etc..

Digitalwoodshop

05-25-2012, 09:50 PM

Floyd is Correct again... When you post the pictures to your site, look at where you can type in a description and possibly below that a place to add more info... That could be the Tag Area... Even the Description, add as much info as you can... IT is what the Search Bots that put the Word "Military Plaque" with YOUR Picture of your Plaque.... So think of descriptive words.... Custom Award Plaque, End of Tour Award, V Carved Wooden Plaque, (insert Military Buzz word Here)....,

Picture some guy sitting at a desk with the job to GET a "End of Tour AWARD" and starts typing it in his search engine.... In FACT.... DO THAT.... Do some searches.... for Sites and IMAGES.... See what pops up.... Many AWARD Shops use a Laser Engraver.... It BURNS the Text and Logo into the Plaque... I am lucky I have 2 Very Very Very old Laser Engravers.... One only works with Win95... The other works with XP that I am using on this computer... I traded 3 MUCH Older Laser Engravers to my Laser Buddy for the 2 Epilog Lasers... He had someone that had 20+ of them in a business and wanted more... I have a Rotary Engraver too...., a Vinyl Cutter too.... Lots of TOYS.... I almost went Bankrupt over 4 years ago.... Too many Bills with the Equipment... Rolled it into my Building Loan and saved the business... It has been all up hill since...

So you: 1. Have Talent, 2. Have a GREAT Machine, 3. A GREAT PRODUCT, and 4. The Desire to make it WORK.... And you WILL....

And think at some point taking it from a HOBBY to a Business... Look at the Zoning Issue where you live, doing a business.... But there are SERIOUS Positive Points of Opening a Business on Paper.... You can track all your materials and sales.... You can claim the Equipment you buy and all the software, patterns, and materials.... Your CW would go on a 5 or 7 year deduction where every year you can deduct 1/5th of the cost you paid. You would need to think about State Sales Tax too.... But that is way in the FUTURE.... I believe the IRS looks at it as a Hobby until you make over $5K but check with a Tax person for advice...

Another forum I visit as much as here is http://www.engravingetc.org I belong to the Pay side but the open side has the older stuff. IT is a GREAT Forum with Great People like HERE... I learned about Doming form that site... It is mostly Award Shops. A guy made a Video and Posted it while at a Lost Wages (Las Vegas) Trade Show.... I saw it and knew it was the answer for my tags... before that I was dipping them in Spar Varnish.... YUK.... You can pick up IDEAS..... That is the same reason we come to the CW Site...

AL

hray

05-25-2012, 11:03 PM

Thank you and your son for your service i was a combat medic in veitnam 67-68-69 was shot at a lot and hit twice the last time was shapnel from a 82 millimeter mortar
thats the on that ended my millitary carear thank and yours for your service to our nation

chief2007

05-26-2012, 06:27 AM