Nice Work Ryan - First build working, but

ZenXY Troubleshooting
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Just want to give a shout out to @Ryan - damn good work man, this project is awesome and everything is so well laid out. :+1: :+1: :+1: :+1: :+1: :+1:

My first build is up and running after a couple small user errors with the end stops, all the docs say not to use the + cable, but with optical sensor that is not the case… :rofl:

When my table is running everything is smooth no glitching or rough movement but there is what I can best describe as a low hum or vibration or fan noise (there are no fans). The sounds does not appear to be coming from the steppers but it must be and just traveling down the belts? When I put my ear to the motors they are dead silent and no heat. Any ideas??

Also - what should the belt tension be? I have about 1" of sideways play maybe a little less between the corner cross blocks, maybe a little less everywhere else.

Thanks again and can’t wait to built my next one.

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Thank you for the kind words!

The noise sounds like it is the belt. Make sure the belt is smooth side to every idler, only one twist while in the tube, and your pulleys are at the correct height.

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Yep, the belts all look good and aligned. The reason I don’t think it is the belts is it makes the noise when there is no movement. At an idle you can hear the buzz, not all the time, it sounds like maybe the steppers are pulling against each other or one is stuck between steps. Nothing I can’t live with but it seems wrong.

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Sorry,I realized this was in the ZenXY section. My comments were N/A. Sometimes I forget where I am…:shushing_face:

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There’s not much that can make noise.

The steppers are the most likely culprit, what are you using for drivers? I’ve got DRV8825s on a RAMPS 1.4 board, neither of which is known to be the quietest solution, but mine only make noise when they’re moving. They’re quite silent when standing still.

I set my belt tension so that the belts only barely make any noise when “strummed” between the corner blocks. I think that “tight enough not to visibly sag” is about right.

Without knowing any of the specifics of your build, it’s kind of a guessing game for where noise might be coming from.

Some things to check:

  • Power supply. Most SMPS are going to be silent, but there’s always the possibility of some noise from a loose transformer core, or winding. Most likely something more akin to a buzz than a hum in this case, but something more mild might hum.
  • Control board. Make sure that all of the stepper drivers are fully seated and secure.
  • Wiring. See if any of it is loose or poorly fastened down. See if there’s any undue strain on any of it too, something where it’s strung tightly across a span.

See if the noise changes if you touch various things, including the table bottom. It might be something very faint using the table bottom as a sounding board to amplify it. If it continues with the machine not moving, then it’s unlikely to be the belts, but try touching those, too. It might give a clue.

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Thanks everyone, I will check all those items. I might have my belt little tight as well, I can loosen it up and give it a shot.
The good news is it is working well.

SRK Pro1.2 with TM2209 Drivers.
The power supply is solid I think, its brand new and it does not appear to be the source of the sound.

Like I said if I move the head around the table field manually, about 50% of the time I get the buzz once the head stops (1mm or 10mm) the other half of the time it is silent.

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I played around quite a bit and then dropped the current to 500ma on X and Y - Now it is almost silent.

Problem solved unless running that low of current is an issue?

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That’s fine. Less current is needed on the zxy. IIRC, my first prototype was close to 100mA. I was using an old network power supply and it didn’t have a lot of current capacity.

On my current table/counter, the LEDS take a lot more.

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