Had a project get totally destroyed yesterday. Between different toolpaths, the router was moving from the far right to about 6 inches from the left eft side and it kind of jammed. Sounds like when you’ve gone beyond your max cutting boundary. I stepped away to take a breath and reassessed today.
I examined the lead screw, wheels, motor and connections. All seem good. No obstructions. Wheels aren’t too tight or loose and i can easily move the lead screw.
Couldn’t figured it out and was about to run a new job. While jogging to zero the XY, machine wouldn’t budge left or right. No issues on the Z or Y at any point. After doing all my checks again, I moved the lead screw to check for obstructions, no issue. Was able to get it jogging. Moved it around a bunch and the same thing as yesterday, it “jammed” moving left.
All three times above were on the left side area, but not in the same spot. Was also in different Y locations.
Not sure how this is related, but at one point while it is was jammed I clicked to jog one way and it did the opposite. That would imply a loose connection maybe? I checked the wire connections again. No issues.
Side note: I do have grounding issues I believe. I’m addressing those when I upgrade my circuits in a few weeks. Don’t think grounding would play into the jamming issue.
@Clt49er It has been know to happen that the motor shaft has snapped. First check to ensure that the coupler is tight on both the motor shaft and the lead screw. Then check the motor shaft itself.
Coupler is tight on both. I can feel the shaft from the left side of the motor moving. To inspect the shaft more should I unscrew the coupler and motor from the machine? Its in an enclosure. A little difficult to move out but will check it out.
Last night I let the machine run two jobs without the router on just to monitor. No issues. This morning I ran a real job and the moment I walked away an issue happened. Appears when it moved right this time it may have jammed. It starting routing a half inch left of where it should have.
Ex: Pencil on left is the correct carve.
Pencil on right is where it should carve. Router in the current spot is where it incorrectly carved.
@Clt49er I would check out the motor shaft as a last ditch solution. You don’t need to remove the motor. You can simply loosen the coupler from the motor shaft and move the lead screw by hand a short distance away. This will let you see the motor shaft to confirm that it is solid.
Did a few jobs tonight and didnt experience the same issue. Had something else happened. Perhaps a separate issue reoccurring? I am a mess. Lol. Also filmed it.
