Power loss in one Z stepper

Hi guys, I know I had an issue before but I was able to fix it, but I’ve noticed that there’s one thing I’m not able to solve.

When I lift the z steppers, they just move okay up and down, no issues, but when I select a model and send it right in that moment the stepper that is on the router side does not lift properly, it’s like just moving half of the steps, and the sort of spring like connector between the stepper and the acme tread bar, one of those seems like it’s more open than the other and I’m not sure if that has anything to do it my issue

Make sure you’re Z speeds aren’t too high. The Z has 4x the number of steps/mm because of the screw pitch, so you need to go slower.

1 Like

I think I did something to avoid having the machine raise z-axis, however all the test I was doing previously with a pen were looking good. however, when I turn on the spindle, things get messed up.

At this point I simply don’t know what to do, and I am not using a 1/8 bit because the ones I have are too short

So that is skipping steps, or the machine is slipping. Which direction (on that cross) is the wheels and which direction is the tubes?

What size and type of bit, what feed rate and what depth of cut are you using? You can try cutting a lot slower and see if that helps.

You can try cutting in the purple foam from home depot. That will be just like this, but absolutely zero resistance. If you’re not having the problem there, then try slowing down in the wood. If you’re still having problems, then it’s not the load.

The Axis are based on the drawing (forgot to rotate the second pic)

I'm using a 1/4 bit(because the 1/8 bits I have are too short that barely reach the material but does not stick out enough to cut all the way through

Feeds XY10mms Z4mms, deep per pass 3mm

I will try to get some foam then.

(In the picture Show the Axis)

Try slowing down to 5mm/s xy. At least until we get some desirable results.

Also, are your Y motors wired in series?

yes, they are wired like that.

Then I will give it a try by slowing down that and see how it goes, I’ll post either tomorrow or maybe today afternoon the results cuz I right now I have to take my car to service

You might have to go to 24 volt power supply if your control board can handle it. If you are using Ramps, you can’t for practical purposes.

The series wiring scheme works great at keeping the motors in sync at the price of dividing the voltage between the two motors. When you need a little more juice for the router weight that may be showing up.

No, the motors are driven by current. So the drivers are going to leave the voltage “on” for longer to make sure there is the same current. The benefit of 24V is that you might saturate going fast, so 24V means you can move faster (but you shouldn’t mill faster).

There are many many machines running on cheap 12V power supplies that cen perform very well. 24V is the minority.

Is it a ramps board? Have you adjusted the current limits on the drivers?

Are the two Z axis steppers the same model? Have you verified that the grub screws are full tight on each coupler? If you disconnect the couplers and do a manual move do both motors move in the same direction?