The driver's LED serves to indicate a fault condition. The driver chip has built in protection for overheating and over current. If the LED is on, most likely, the driver will stop until the condition is resolved. If you see the LED on, adjust the vref trimmer. First, connect a multimeter to the pads just next to the trimmer potentiometer and adjust until the voltage is lowered a bit. Alternatively, even though the PCB contains a vast amount of thermal vias and a relatively large ground plane connected to the belly of the driver, there still may be a need to cool the driver chip using a small heat sink. Do this only if you are not satisfied with the performance of the motor at the torque require.

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Under what conditions should the LED on the 3d printer driver be lit when the driver is connected to the MB?

Stepper motors are known to make different type of noises when in motion. So there should be no issues in regards to accuracy with the steppers. You also might be able to lower the noise that comes from the motors, by adjusting the acceleration and velocity of the motors. This usually tends to either make different noises or lowers the pitch of the noises.

Cool video(personal opinion, does not relate to BYCNC):

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My Nema 24 motors make high pitched alarm sound when changing directions quickly - what could be the cause? Red LED is lit on Microstep Driver CW230 but everything seems to run fine - is this a problem?

For the 3.0A driver (CW230), the red led means that it is functioning correctly. It is confusing that they are made this way, but if the red led is lit then everything is fine.

As the 6.0A driver (CW8060) the green led means that it is functioning correctly, and the red led when there is a error.

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there's a red light active on the inside the corner of my cw230 stepper driver, but there's nothing that says what it's for. is that bad? on the cw8060 driver there's two LED's and the red one says alert. are the red light's on both drivers supposed to mean the same thing?

Currently we do not know the values of the electronic components inside our drivers, since these drivers are supplied by our manufacture and replaced by them if a manufacture defect is present.
Please email us at customerservice@buildyourcnc.com for more information on possible replacements.

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I recently had a mishap with one of my stepper drivers which resulted in a resistor being burned out. Would you be able to tell me what the resistance is for the R25 resistor inside the 6.0 amp driver?

Many shielded cables come in various materials and designs, so having one with a copper mesh covering the inner insulator wire is no problem. We currently use a extension cord found locally at a hardware store and include one 18G wire for ground. So a specific shielded cable is not a required, unless being used next to specific and sensitive electronics that are extremely sensitive to noise and voltage interference than a shielded cable is required.

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I purchased a 2.2 spindle a while back and went to the electrical supply house to but shielded cable for the power run, I was on the web a while back and saw a picture of shielded cable that didn't look like what I had bought. should it have a copper like mesh wraped around the inner insulation. Thanks

I'm not sure I understand the question. You are looking for spacers or sprockets?

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Nevermind, I found my answer. Thank you

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Since you don't sell the hardware only package for the Blackfoot 4'x8' can you tell me what items I should look for for the chain sprockets, spacers to mount them to the 1/2" rod, and chain? All the other parts I can source from elsewhere

The EN terminal on the QJ8060 driver and all of our other stepping motor drivers is the enable terminal. We don't use this terminal and the driver will function properly if left unconnected.

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What are the EN connections used for on the QJ8060 motor driver? I notice that your video seems to leave them unconnected.

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

The Mach3 USB controller does not provide 5V output signals. The Inputs, Outputs, and PWM Spindle Speed terminals are separated from the 5V side of the board. The output terminals use the 24V portion of the controller and you will need a 24V power supply to make these outputs work.

Please watch the video below to completely understand how the outputs of this controller work. Make sure that you are using the RNRmotion.dll plugin and that the port for each of the outputs is set to port 3.

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[575] I cant get a 5v signal on any of the Outputs on the board. what Port# and Pin #s should I be using on Mach3?

This is correct if it is the Mach3 USB controller. You will also get a rapid flashing led if you jog the machine (assuming the machine is not in reset mode or e-stop mode).

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Is it suppose to be blue or red? Mine is red.

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The instructions for installing the USB board say there should be a blue LED light up when computer is connected. I get a flashing red LED that goes solid when I start

You will want a grease that can be used in high temperature and heavy load situations also called high load bearing grease. A simple google search will yield many results from which to choose. We plan to carry this product in the near future (by the time you read this, we may already carry it).

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what type of lubrication should one use on a 20 mm leadscrew and 20 mm round recirculating rail bearings

Nema-17/23 are wired, notice that the nema-23 has a white and orange wire (those are not needed):
Black to A+
Green to A-
Red to B+
Blue to B-

Also if using a parallel breakout board the wiring from the driver (https://www.buildyourcnc.com/item/electronicsAndMotors-parallel-breakout-relay#prettyPhoto/2/):
(X-axis 2-CP-,3-CW-)
For our USB breakout board (https://www.buildyourcnc.com/item/electronicsAndMotors-electronic-component-USB-Controller-Breakout#prettyPhoto/2/):
(x-axis CP-,CW- to ground)

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I have USB breakout board connected as: CW-> 5V, CP -> CP, and GRD to GRD/COMM next to 12-24V Pin.
The motor works perfectly in one direction.
Will not jog in the other Direction.
I still do not know what is CP- and CW- as it is not labeled on the board, unlike your other motor controllers.
Can you submit a wiring diagram for the 2.5 AMP controller


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is there a wiring diagram to connect a usb break out board which has 4 pins for each axis output to thedb 25 connector on a driver board used with parallel port configuration

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What is the cp- and cw- on the 2.5 Stepper motor driver modular unit. my motor will not run. i believe this is my wireing issue

We sell both coupling hubs that can be created to your specific needs. Which will be here https://www.buildyourcnc.com/couplings.aspx and would be the bottom coupling hub's, not the rigid couplings.

So essentially you would get the Single 1/2" Coupling Hub and the Single 1/4" Coupling Hub, and etc. for different combinations.

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I need a Rigit Coupling that is 1/2" on one side and 5/16 on the other side.Can you get that for me?

Three steps are involved: wiring the stepper motor to the CW230 driver, wiring the CW230 driver to the parallel controller and wiring power to the CW230 driver.

Wiring the NEMA stepper motor to the CW230 driver:
This will depend on the number of wires are coming out of the stepper motor. If the stepper motor has 8 wires, you want to wire it in bipolar parallel configuration. Check the datasheet of the motor for this configuration. If the motor has 6 or 4 wires, you don't necessarily need the datasheet, but it is quicker and more helpful. Otherwise, you can use a multimeter to determine the correct wires. Since both coils will have the same resistance across each, you can use a multimeter set to ohms, or resistance, to determine the wires for each coil. If there is OL on the multimeter for any two wires, that means it is an Open Line, or no connection. That could only mean that those wires are not on the same coil. If the reading shows a number, then those wires are on the same coil, and on a 4 wire stepper motor, that will be the wires to connect to either the A or B coil. If the resistance is half of a resistance of another set on a 6 wire stepper motor, then on of those wires if at the midpoint of a coil. On 6 wire motors, only use the wire pair that have the highest resistance. Those will be the wires on the ends of each coil. Connect one pair to the A terminals and the other pair to the B terminals.

Wiring the CW230 driver to the controller:
The Step-, or sometimes called CP- is connected to one of the numbered terminals between 2 and 7 and the DIR-, sometimes called the CW-, is connected to one of the numbered terminals between 2 and 7. X is typically connected to 2, and 3, step and DIR respectively. Y is typically connected to 4 and 5. Z is typically connected to 6 and 7. The 5v is connected to Step+, or CP- and DIR+, or CW+.

Make sure that Mach3, or LinuxCNC is configured for this configuration under ports and pins in Mach3, or the stepconf in LinuxCNC.

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Let me know if there are clarifications that are needed here.

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wiring for nema 24 stepping motor to microstep driver CW230. With BlueBrew board .

The file type to save for use with Mach3 is .tap or .nc. Make sure that you specify Mach3 as the post processor in Meshcam.

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Helo. I'm using Meshcam to generate the toolpaths. What type of files should I "save as" for the greenbull CNC using Mach3 with the UC100 USB to Parallel?

If the computer has been tested to be functional, it is most likely the breakout board which is faulty. Replace the breakout board and it should solve these issues.

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My blackfoot 4x8 Starts sending erratic commands to the machine randomly in the middle of a program or freezes altogether. Replaced USB Cable, updated software, updated firmware, tried other computers. What else should I do?

The blackTooth's 40 watt laser tube can be cooled with simple tap water. A bit of anti-freeze keeps the tap water clean and free of algae. The cooler the water, the better output you will get from the laser. A great source of information can be found here: http://www.buildyourtools.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=3452

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What kind of cooling system should we set up for the Blacktooth laser cutter laser tube? Can tap water be used? Is water temperature critical?

I created videos that explain how to setup and install the USBasp here:

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I have the AVR programmer USBasp. Should I download and use the sparkfun driver as your tutorial states?

The pocketing depth per pass will depend on the hardness of the material, the router/spindle you are using and on the melting point of the material. Use the feedrate that you would normally use for the size and type of end mill. You will need to test the depth per pass, starting at the full depth of the pocket. The spindle should have no problem, but if you are using a router, then it may bog down, so easing up on the depth per pass is recommended. If the spindle/router has no problem at the depths you are using, then you need to evaluate the edge finish to determine if it is acceptable. If it is not acceptable, then ease up on the depth per pass. Keep doing these steps until you have the finish and precision you expect.

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what depth increment should I use for pocketing and profiling with the 1/2" end mill?