If one of your stepper motors decides to stop moving and the others are moving during a CNC milling or laser cutting job, then there could be two things that could be causing this.

- The motor found its limiting torque (usually comes with a not-so-pleasant sound). This is where the control software is trying to move the stepper motor too fast (velocity, or too fast too quickly, acceleration) and the load against the stepper motor (inertia of the machine, or the material against the end mill while milling). Recommended action is to lower the velocity and/or acceleration, and/or lower the feedrate when cutting.

- There is a wiring issue with the wiring from the driver to the motor. This could be a loose wire, or a chafed wire (or two shorting together). It can also be a loose digital wire from the controller board to the driver. Sometimes wire ties can be the culprit. Recommended action would be to thoroughly inspect the wiring.

It's probably not the limit switches since that would cause a stop to the entire motion of the cnc router or laser machine.

Sometimes Mach3 will show a status when something goes wrong, but in cases where the motor is stopping due to its torque limit, then that would not be shown in the status. It's always good to check it anyway.

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I need to clarify my situation a little better after going to my shop and trying to run another program on Mach 3. About 15 minutes into the milling process all the motors (2-X axis, Y axis and Z axis)stop but the program continues to run. I stop the program and after a couple of minutes when I try to restart the program all the motors start working again. Then after another 15 minutes or so, all the motors stop again. I checked and rechecked my wiring. This has never happened to me before when running the same programs with the same setups and motor speeds. All of a sudden when I reloaded a program I successfully used before it does this. Do you have any recommendations?

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Yeah, it sounds like a more complex issue. Have you tried running in the air without using the spindle. This may be a power related issue.

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That's exactly what I did. I ran the program without the router motor on just to see if the motors would get through the whole program but they stopped working after about fifteen minutes and then I was able to start them again after about 3 or 4 minutes. I never had this problem before so you can imagine my frustration especially after ruining a couple of projects on expensive material.

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Sure. I can completely understand. Try this: disconnect all but one of the driver from power and digital connection and do the air run. Repeat this for each driver and note your findings. This will rule out the drivers causing a power failure.

Also, is your stepper motors and drivers on a separate power circuit from the computer?

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I will try disconnecting each driver and digital connection, which will be a real pain because it will be hard to access.

All the stepper motors, drivers and computer are plugged into the same power strip.

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Ok, so there is no power failure going on, but I believe it is necessary to test each stepper motor and driver pair individually. Hopefully that will lead to a conclusion.

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It will take a little time but I will do it and report back on my findings.

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Curious, what machine is exhibiting this problem?

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I purchased a BYCNC kit back in 2009 with an approximate cutting area of 2' X 4'. I later changed out the Z-Axis Motor and controller for a larger one and have two X-axis motors and controllers. In 2010 I rebuilt the machine out of birch plywood instead of the particle board that the kit supplied. I sent Patrick pictures to him. The machine never gave me a problem till now.

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Thanks for the update. This is Patrick by the way. I answer pretty much all of the Customer Service questions. That machine has given quite a good history.

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I love the machine and made a number of samples of my work for my e-commerce site, but I can't start selling product until I know this problem is solved because I will not be able to fulfill orders. I finally got all the electronics out of its enclosed protected area near the machine so that I test each controller as you recommended. I hope the problem can be rectified. Will let you know.

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Thanks.

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I tested each stepper motor and driver pair individually and they worked so what might be the next step?

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Did each stepper motor driver pair work for the full +15 minutes?

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Yes, I had them in operation for over 30 minutes.

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Ok, well it’s good that the motors and driver are ok. We are now down to the power supply and the breakout board as possible causes for the stop. I have a feeling it may be the power supply where with all three drivers drawing current and the power supply maybe getting too hot. Is the fan in the power supply working? You can also test to see if there is 36 volts on the power supply voltage output (V+ and V-).

Regarding the breakout board, if you have an oscilloscope, you can test if the driver pulses are outputting, but I would consider this as a last resort after you determine if there is a problem with the power supply.

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I tested the power supply with a voltmeter and each output was registering 39-40 volts. I think the problem may be the g-code. I am using V-Carve pro to do design and output to Mach 3 Mill g-code. When I studied the g-code lines I noticed that further into the program the z-axis g-code stopped zeroing out to move to the next part of the carving. In other words both the x and y keep moving and the z just stopped working because there was g-code missing. I think something is missing when the design was converted to g-code. I noticed that when I ran a simpler project it worked without problems so I need to investigate this further.

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New Update, Its not the g-code. I started to run the long program and everything was working fine until about 45 minutes into it, all the motors stopped working (but the program was still running) and there was a high pitched hum. When I put my hands on the motors they were all trying to move but it seemed they were all stalled. I turned the power off, gave it a minute and when I turned it back on I was able to move the motors again. Could this be a power supply problem?

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It does sound more and more like a power supply problem. Did you test the power supply after the motors stopped?

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No, I did not. What should I be looking for.

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It’s good that you know the voltage during normal operation, so you have a base understood. If the power supply is the problem, the voltage will be reduced or non existent when measured after the problem.

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Also, check to see if the fan is running on the power supply when the motors stop. That may (not absolutely) be an indication.

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I'll run another test, check the voltage and fan when the problem occurs and let you know. Thanks for hanging in there with me as we try to resolve the problem.

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It’s my pleasure. This service is rarely used and is faster then email. Odd nobody uses it. Any recommendations you can give would be great. No problem using this FAQ to pose ideas as this resolution will be cleaned up later.

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It might be that people do not realize you can communicate through the sight like this because they are so used to e-mail and texting. You may want to explain this feature in the customer service section.

I ran the program this morning and it did not take long before the motors stopped. While operating the voltages for all three motors was 46 volts, when the motors stalled (and again there was a high pitch hum) the voltage went up to 60 volts and the fan on the power supply was operating.

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So, the driver work individually, but not all together. There is a high pitch sound when the motors fail. You have noted 60 volts from the power supply and the supply fan remains on. This is a difficult issue to resolve, but it seems to me that your power supply may be bad. The 60v measurement tells me that the current dropped and ohms law tells us that is current drops, volts will rise if the resistance stays the same.

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As one last test I am going to test each driver again and let them go through the entire program because it seems that the failure can occur at the beginning or towards the end of the program. When I originally tested ach driver I let them run for about a half an hour and the program takes over an hour to run completely. I just want to make sure that it is not the drivers. I will report back when I finished but as you noted it may be the power supply but I want to make sure.

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That’s a great idea.

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I just ran the x-axis through the whole program and there was no problem especially since I have two NEMA 23 motors moving that axis. Before I check the Y and Z could having a NEMA 34 on the Z axis with appropriate controller be a problem. I used the larger motor on the z axis because the router I am using is a large 1 1/2 hp. I've run this program in the past with this set-up and have not had a problem.

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Having a, say 3.0 amp driver, driving a stepper motor that typically requires a 6 amp driver would not seem to be an issue since the driver is limiting the current draw, but the driver may not be able to handle larger coil and back EMF with the protection on the 3.0 amp driver. With that said, I don’t believe that is the issue in this case.

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I don't either because I was able to run this and other complicated programs with this set-up in the past. I will let you know on the y and z axis.

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Thanks

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I ran the Y axis and z axis separately through the entire program and there was no stopping or problem. I guess the culprit is the power supply and I'll order a new one and hope that resolves the problem.

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Yes, that is the most probable cause. Please keep me informed. Thanks!

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Received and installed the new power supply. I ran the program with the router on and it worked flawlessly. The program runs for an hour and a half and I did not have a single problem. I guess it was the power supply but I was glad to go through all the diagnostics we discussed before replacing it. I hope this power supply lasts a lot longer than the last one. Thanks much for hanging in there with me and coming up with the solution.

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It’s my absolute pleasure and I am so happy to hear that the power supply replacement solved the problem.

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Y axis stop working X & Z work fine Y axis has two motors have check wiring & connections new breakout board still the same port & Pin set OK dont no were to go next David

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my cnc plasma cutter will run out the program when cutting. what is the cause?

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The cnc plasma question shod be a separate question. Can you pise that question by clicking the customer service live menu button at the top? Thanks.

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WHAT CAUSES ONE OF MY TWO AXIS MOTORS TO STOP WHILE THE MACH3 PROGRAM IS STILL RUNNING

It seems to be getting some kind of interference or a short within the wiring or communication, try jogging the motors in the software without anything wired to the board. Then add one motor at a time to see if there is a short within your wiring or a faulty driver/motor.
If the USB breakout board continues to move the x-axis with no motors or driver wired to it, please email customerservice@buildyourcnc.com for a replacement or further troubleshooting.

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For tuning the motors in mach 3 should I be running a gcode or is keyboard jogging enough to determine the stall rates

Keyboard jogging will give you a good start at motor tuning since going from a stop to rapid travel speed is the quickest the machine will be required to accelerate. However, best practice is to also run test files and actually cut the type of materials you expect to deal with to test machine performance under load and make any fine adjustments needed for maximum performance.

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For tuning the motors in mach 3 should I be running a gcode or is keyboard jogging enough to determine the stall rates

Yes, the 651 oz/in motor requires a driver that is compatible to the motors (the motor will draw 6 amps max and the driver paired with this motor will be able to allow for a 6 amp draw). I would also recommend a 36 volt power supply for better high velocity performance.

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I HAVE ONE OF YOUR SMALLER STEPPER MOTORS RUNNING MY X AXIS BRIDGE CRANE AND IF IT IS MOVED TO FAST THE MOTOR SOUNDS LIKE SKIPPING STEPS WILL 651OZ REQUIRE A DIFFERENT POWER SUPPLY CONTROLER?

Yes, the 651 oz/in motor requires a driver that is compatible to the motors (the motor will draw 6 amps max and the driver paired with this motor will be able to allow for a 6 amp draw). I would also recommend a 36 volt power supply for better high velocity performance.

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I have one of your smaller stepper motors running my X AXIS bridge crane and if it is moved to fast the stepper motor sounds like it is skipping steps will the 651oz stepper motor require a different power supply and controler?

The drivers have quite a bit of protection, so you probably won't ruin anything. You motors are jumping and that is just the motors engaging from getting power from the power supply.

There could be many reasons your motors don't turn. Consider these troubleshooting tips:

- If you are using our parallel breakout board, make sure that the step pins are set for active low (config -> Ports and Pins -> Motor Outputs -> the steps pins should be enabled and set active low)

- The parallel breakout board is powered (connect the USB to the computer using a USB cable)

- In Mach3, make sure you have jog enabled (a little green button at thelower middle of the page in the program run screen).

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DS26

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My stepper motors stopped working all of a sudden. Mach 3 is running fine, just no signals getting to the motors. The lights on the motor drivers began blinking erratically when this started. Any advice where a problem like this can come from would be greatly appreciated.

Surely you know the brand motors you sold me?

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I bought your 3 axis combo and need to know what name brand is the motors and their ounces and the drivers

Is this a licensed version of Mach 3? If not and you are currently running the demo version, mach 3 will have only 500 lines of G-code available for cutting. Which will not allow you to cut or move the machine after the first 500 lines.

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Yes, It is a licensed version of Mach 3.

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Mach 3 stalls in the middle of a file and the dwell button is flashes randomly. Can't control motors and have to re-start Mach 3. Any help?

You will definitely want to adjust your debounce setting in mach3 if your emergency or limit switch is engaging.

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Did you ever fix this issue? I am having the same problem.

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Did you ever fix this issue? I am having the same problem.

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Did you ever fix this issue? I am having the same problem.

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Did you ever fix this issue? I am having the same problem.

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Did you ever fix this issue? I am having the same problem.

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Did you ever fix this issue? I am having the same problem.

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Did you ever fix this issue? I am having the same problem.

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Did you ever fix this issue? I am having the same problem.

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Did you try changing the denounce setting?

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Meant to say denounce.

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When I start my spindle I get a emergency stop in Mach 3. I have run shielded cable and it is grounded at the VFD it is wired per you site instructions. any idea what to check

To replace all of the electronics for a 4 axis system with all NEMA 34 motors, you will need the following components:

4 NEMA 34 stepper motors:
https://buildyourcnc.com/item/electronicsAndMotors-nema34-651ozin

4 drivers (one driver for each motor):
https://buildyourcnc.com/item/electronicsAndMotors-stepper-driver-6!0a

One controller:
https://buildyourcnc.com/item/electronicsAndMotors-electronic-component-breakout-Mach3-USB-Board

24v Powers supply for the controller:
https://buildyourcnc.com/item/electronicsAndMotors-power-supply-24v-1a-dc

2 48V power supplies for the motors and drivers:
https://buildyourcnc.com/item/electronicsAndMotors-power-supply-24v-36v-48v

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what do i need to buy for a complete replacement 4 axis cnc mill nema 34 motors mach 3

Dealing with the machine not cutting the design you may have correctly, could be a variety of things.
Most common, is the machine is not properly calibrated or tighten correctly (in specific areas).
To calibrate the machine, go to the settings(alt-6) page, and click the set steps per unit(right above the reset button). You will receive a tab which asks to select the a axis, once selected it will ask how much you plan on moving. Here you will enter a value of inches/mm's. The machine will move what it thinks is the correct length and might be dead on or might be off, we recommend doing this about 2-3 times per axis, and in long distances. (ex: for the BF you may do 2-4Ft on y-axis and 5-8Ft on the x-axis)

Make sure the v-groove bearings are tight, on the y-axis plate and z-axis, as well as the v-groove bearings on the gantry legs. (test: try moving them with your finger, if tighten correctly they will not move)
Also having the chain too loose will not move the machine enough to create your design, the chain should have about a 1" - 1"-1/2" of slack in the middle of the table when the gantry is in either of the far ends of the table. (larger machines will have a bit more slack).

Trying to run the machine faster then the bit can cut, or running with a old endmill/router bit.
This is a rare occurrence but is seen, having the correct endmill, feedrate, and RPM will have a great impact on your cut. They all work together in one complete conjunction, if one is off they will all be working incorrectly.
Each endmill will have its manufactured specifications.

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Why is my 4x8 blackfoot not cutting shapes correctly. I have ran the moter test in Mach 3 and still cuts terrible

If your motors are hot to the touch, this is normal. Current is being drawn by the motor coils as the motor moves and as the motor stays at a position. If the motor is not using the current in the coils to move (holding it's position), the energy will be translated as heat (rather than motion, sound or light). Even while moving, some of the energy will be lost as heat. Remember that energy cannot be created nor destroyed.

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Are the stepper motors on x and y axis suppose to be hot after running for approximately 30 min. I can touch them but they are hot.

Can you provide the model number of your VFD?

Yes, I have the "YL600 - 2S - 2K20"

It just came with a small booklet that is all in Chinese...

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I WIRED MY VFD (2.2KW VERSION) AND TRIED TEST RUNNING THE SPINDLE. CONFIGURED TO YOUR SPECS ON THIS WEBSITE, ONLY ISSUE IS WE GOT AN ERROR CODE. ERR 02, DO YOU KNOW WHAT IS? OR HAVE A LIST OF CODES? THANK

The parallel (printer cable) port is uses the computer as its main source of pulse trains to operate the motor driver directly. Parallel ports are a direct connection from the processor commonly referred to as GPIO pins (General Purpose I/O pins) and provides a convenient and powerful way to interface with the computer. The parallel breakout board is included in those kits only to condition those signals for use with the drivers.

The USB serves at the actual controller, sending the pulse trains, but the computer sends simple human readable instructions to the USB controller to tell the controller how to send pulses.

The non-technical differences that may serve as the most important information to you is that the parallel configurations allow for a wider variety of industry standard software that can be used to control the cnc machine. The USB that we offer requires the operator to use a software called Planet-CNC software which is a very well made and feature full cnc control software.

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USB Motion controller breakout board work with planet cnc software?

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what is the difference between parallel and USB electronics. I have a laptop that will run the mach3 program.

If your bearing does not turn anymore, it is possible to repair the frozen bearing.

You can carefully remove the shield on one side of the bearing. Use a very thin blade to remove the shield.

Once the shield is removed, use WD-40 or kerosene to wash out and clean any debris that exists within the bearing. WD-40 is a cleaner, not a lubrication agent.

You will then need to re-lubricate the bearing. Packing grease into the bearing will provide good protection not allowing too much metal on metal friction. There will be a layer of grease separating the ball bearings from the inner and outer races.

If you have a production environment, you may want to purchase extra bearings so that you will not have any down time.

If you have a rubber shield, just pry it out using any sharp object, like a utility knife. If your bearing has a metal shield, there may be a retaining ring along the outer race keeping the shield in place. Simply remove the retaining ring and the metal shield will fall out easily. If the metal shield does not have a retaining ring, that shield will not be able to be removed and a new bearing will need to be purchased to replace the frozen bearing.

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You built the first 36 inch Blue Chick for me. One of the V-Groove bearings on the X-axis froze. Is there a method of repairing this? Or do I order another and a spare. If so, what is the procedure to repair or order?

Polabs prepared step by step user guide for PoKeys57CNC and Mach4 to try answering such questions. It is available in our downloads section: https://www.poscope.com/wp-content/uploads/downloads/Pokeys/LibrariesAndPlugins/Mach4 and PoKeys57CNC - step by step guide.pdf

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What is the 24VDC Power requirement for the Pokeys47CNC? 1A, 2A? ...I'm running a separate 36VDC PS to the Stepper drivers and a 24VDC PS to the Controller.

Are you using a pendant that is plugged into the pendant connector of the Mach3 USB board? What is the pendant manufacturer? Or are you using a wireless pendant that requires a different plug-in?

Thanks

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Hi, thanks for the reply. Here's a little background first. I'm running Mach3 on a Lenovo X220 laptop, with Windows 7 Pro. The interface board is RnRMotion USB Card STB4100, the newer version with a 10 pin IDC connector for the hand controller. I built the hand controller/MPG from scratch, as I have many times before on different projects. I Teach Computer Engineering at SUNY in New York. It consists of several push button switches and an MPG (which uses two pull-up resistors). I saw that IN1-4 had built in pull ups shown in the boards literature. The switches and MPG are working fine, at least to the point of making some switch actions visible in Mach 3. These are the X,Y,Z,X10,X100. The check boxes in manage plugins window, show the states changing, but no where else in Mach3. The boxes in that panel were grayed out, but still responded to the switches. There are no indicators for the MPG that I could find. This leads me to suspect software and drivers.
I am confused about the Pin and port numbers. Mach3 has defaults to 0 or numbering reflecting the old pin numbering, that would be bogus considering the USB interface would make those obsolete. I did see places where The USB board controller was assigned to port 3. Many of the pins are never numbered, yet were supposed to be enabled.
Now, I have tried some many solutions that I might have an unusable setup. This brings me to another question concerning the license I purchased. The version of Mach3 that was loaded when I got my license was very old, and I wonder if it has been corrupted. Can I download a fresh version of Mach3, will that license work or are there special instructions to do so? Can I transfer the license to an older XP machine? I'd rather not since that machine isn't portable.
To your question about the controller, I'm using a 10 wire cable directly to the USB board. It isn't wireless. I do have control
of the motors. I can load G-code and the axis motors run as expected. I suspect and addressing problem or incorrect setup.
I Teach Computer Engineering at SUNY in New York.
I hope this provides enough info to affect a quick resolution with your help. Thanks for your help in advance.
J. Caretti

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Why doesn't the diagnostic show these bits changing, even though the handcontroller and buttons signals are making it thru to the manage plugins page, while Mach3 is running.

I am posing this question to the PoLabs folks. I will provide a respons when they get back to me. Thanks for the patience.

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Polabs response: The E-stop MUST be connected to the device that is used as the motion device.

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Here is more elaboration from PoLabs and a question regarding the need for multiple devices:
Although the PoKeys plugin for Mach3 supports multiple PoKeys devices, only one device can be a motion controller. Since, PoKeys57CNC is always configured as motion controller by the plugin, there shouldn't be more than 1 PoKeys57CNC used by the plugin at a time.
May I ask you about the application and why there is a need for multiple PoKeys57CNC devices?

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I am running 2 pokeys 57 devices on mach3, and apparently the e-sops are conflicting. Is ther a way to disable one or get them to work together?

Yes, the redLeaf is integrated into the redLeaf, all wired and configured. It is a plug and play system.

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replacing all electronic on a small cnc would like to use the redleaf hd +4 nema 34 motors does mach 3 included already installed