Truck stops making passes.

[eastcutty]

I would think this is an unusual problem-
Everything seems to be working beautifully, getting excellent, precise detail on carving. Cutting into a 4.5ft (1" thick, 11" wide) oak board with a few projects on it in series. Excellent results on first carve, halfway thru second: the X- and Y- and Z-axes stopped moving. The bit still spins but just sits at the end of the last pass.
Observations: no error messages-OK, spinning stops and truck is raised when cover opened-OK, truck can be moved on Y-axis by hand with same resistance to motion as always and belt+ rollers all appear fine and belt tension unchanged(snug)-OK, close cover and hit ENTER to resume, motor starts and Y-axis re-homes and Z-axis returns to last point cut (Y- and Z-axes seem to work perfectly with no binding, stutter, slop observed at all)-OK. X-axis operation cannot be verified at this time.
At this point, truck remains motionless while bit is spinning smoothly, with no X-axis movent.
Cutting and servo motors, truck, and cable all at lower side of normal operating temp range. All cuts 1/8" or less deep. Above STOP/RESTART procedure repeated several times- no change. Additional note- when truck moved laterally a few inches by hand, the truck returns to last cut point automatically- when moved to far end of pass length, it will then stay at that end instead.
Memory card wiped and re-formatted prior to project upload, all carvings saved as a Group in Designer, uploaded as one combined project.
As of this writing, board is still in place, machine ON, card inserted, project loaded.
That should give you enough to go on to start, any ideas, anyone?

[eastcutty]

Me agan, UPDATE
In the time it took me to investigate the problem, then write the question, it seems to have recovered and is now running again. I don't believe anything needed to cool down, etc., but the fact that it's now running- with no changes made- when it stopped running before is of only limited comfort when the cause of the interruption remains mysterious. Any ideas?

[cnsranch]

If you don't have additional support for a longer board (outfeed/infeed rollers), the board will tip due to its weight, and will leave the tracking roller. Beyond that, you did everything I would have done to correct the error.

I have had projects load onto the card with an error or two - carves an errant bump, or line that shouldn't be there. RE-doing it as above, and all's well.

Someone calls them "Carvewright Gremlins".

[eastcutty]

Me again. The CW issue I previously described has come back after cutting 3-4 more inches of the same carving at high quality. Nothing's hot, nothing's broken, nothing slipped, no error mesages, excellent carve quality. At Cover Open/restart, the truck made one pass from keyboard end to motor end, then stopped there. Same as before. Anyone?

CNSRanch- thanks for the tip, but I always use outrigger/feed rollers on anything over 4ft, and am using them now. If this is a 'gremlin' as you suggest may be the case, am I to expect the issue won't return? Hoo-BOY, I've had my share of quirky problems with my machine, and fixed them all, but this one has me stumped!

[bergerud]

I have noticed that if the x belt steps forward and the board does not, the process stops as you describe. With a gentle push on the board, I will bet it continues. I think that if the brass roller does not confirm board movement, it stops. So, I think your problem is that the sandpaper belts are slipping on the wood. You may need support for the ends and/or masking tape under the board for grip.

[SteveNelson46]

Check your FFC cable. It's the one connected to the back of the Y truck. It could have a break and only separating at the far end of its travel.

[eastcutty]

tried all of that

[Digitalwoodshop]

After reading the first post I was about to post the Standard Question in a case like this... Post the MPC? If copy protected send to someone like AskBud or the many other designer experts.... MY first thought is that the problem was a CARVE Region of ZERO Depth "Between" your projects.....

Honestly... I would reformat the card and load the latest Designer. Make sure you followed the directions for installing the latest designer as I have not gone that far but may have required a UN INSTALL of Designer before updating.... I am thinking your Designer is "Corrupted"....

SO post your Designer Version and how you got to that point... IT may have needed a UN INSTALL....

AL

[eastcutty]

The 'pattern' is actually a graphically adjusted photograph of a street scene, not an MPC per se, but I do these all the time and get excellent results with no problems (not like this, anyway). I snapped a pic or two when investigating- I'll post them here in a sec.
No zero-depth carve region existed between carvings- they abutted each other at the same depth to be cut apart later on. Again, I do this all the time.
I use Designer daily and the machine every few days, at least. This is the first instance of this occurring.
Currently running 1.184 on Rev.A machine. I have always stayed on top of updates- I have yet to load the latest, tho.
559455594655947Boundary between carvings is hidden under/inside machine (lock lever released for better carving view).
Pic #1 shows machine running after restart- you can just make out faint line across carving about 1/8" away from bit, that's where all the restart atempts were made. Later, this was easily removed from carving with a fingernail.
Since first posting, I have removed board from machine to investigate cabling sensors, etc. All seem OK.
5594855949(Both same view, different lighting) 'Boundary' line (1st bottom/2nd top) is at 2nd carving (right side in pics) roof peak.
Got that? No? How about if I just say "runs up the middle of the pic(s) as taken".

[eastcutty]

Additional info: Y-axis belt track, Z-rails, etc all blown free (low-pressure, hand-pumped)of sawdust and checked for pitch clots/obsructions- all good and smooth, bearings free and smooth rolling. No change.
It is worth noting that I generally re-route the cut motor exhaust via non-restrictive large diameter latex tubing and use it to provide constant blow-sweeping of cutting area- works great! Keeps the entire inside of cabinet from getting any pile-ups of sawdust. Additional wooden 1x1x24in risers are laid underneath to facilitate blow-thru of dust from cutting plane down, out, and away via machine bottom. So, no, there were no build-ups/obstructions before, during, or after issue.

[fwharris]

Are you getting any error messages on any of this? If you have observed the machine stop, what did/does the display say? If it stops and re sets back to the main menu, it could be a bad power supply or loose power connection.

It sounds like you have down draft dust collection hook up. What are you using to collect it? Dust collector or shop vac?

[bergerud]

Your machines behavior sounds exactly like the behavior I noticed when the board fails to move forward. If the belts are not slipping on the board, it could be that you have too much backlash in the x gears or even a missing tooth. After all else is exhausted, I would check the x gears.

[Digitalwoodshop]

IF I understand the problem: The pictures pointed to the problem..... The thin strip left over wood on top of the board on each side are what the rubber rollers use to push DOWN on the board. I believe this is TOO THIN to put sufficient pressure on the board letting the sand paper belt spin under the board... Since the Brass Roller is not moving to the correct location the sand paper belts continue to spin... I don't think LHR Anticipated this condition and the Sand Paper Belts continue to move until the Brass Roller reads the correct number of pulses. I bet there is no timer or alarm circuit for that condition as it would be very rare... Again... A WAG... Wild AL Guess.... The Firmware Lord might chime in on that little gem.... Every WAG helps US learn about the machine...

Since this looks like some Rough Oak boards, the Thickness might be a issue also.... The board might be THIN in areas....

To solve this problem... I would TAPE some wood rails along side your board and be sure they are even on the end to prevent measuring problems. This would give the Oak Board something to hold down. The 2 inch Masking Tape on the bottom of the board holding the two strips of wood to the board. You will need to adjust the width of your designer artwork.


This will end the problem... in my opinion...


AL

[bergerud]

My experience Al is that the machine does exactly as described when the belt slips. This happened to me as I was experimenting with my rotary jig design. The x does not continue rolling as I also expected. The process just stays on hold until the brass roller moves again. If I pushed on the board, it would go again.

[liquidguitars]

I had this issue and it was a chiped x transport gear last week. The truck was running but would not more forward. the odd thing is i had a jam in the board and had a idea that it was toasted, however i tested the machine using the measured function and it measured right... lol.