Resolved - Motors not receiving commands from either easel or UGS

X-Carve Troubleshooting
1

I recently had to reflash my arduino with grbl and now none of the axis motors are responding to commands.

I can go through and get the automatic spindle control to function, and in UGS I’ve been able to confirm that movement signals are being sent from my computer to the arduino.

I’m at a loss for what’s wrong. The motors were all working before the flash, so I know it isn’t a wiring issue. I’ve also checked to make sure the g-shield is seated onto the arduino in the correct way, it is.

What am I missing?

2

Run the machine setup in easel.

3

I’ve run it.

When I get to the “wiring setup” I press the left and right buttons on each axis, and nothing happens (no movement). If I go past that part of the setup to the automatic spindle, I can turn that on through the setup process.

4

When you reflashed, did the arduino move to a different comm port? Make sure you are on the correct port.

5

I am communicating with the arduino. Easel is recognizing that it’s been plugged in.

6

ok…why did you have to reflash…what issue caused this to happen?

7

Basically, my macbook stopped communicating with the arduino. It can’t find it at all.

I have a spare arduino and it was was found by my computer, so I flashed it with grbl. When I switch back to the original arduino, it still can’t be found on any ports by the arduino ide, easel, or UGS.

8

Gotcha, so it is a communications issue…with the mac…on both arduinos…Sorry I don’t use a mac…I am sure someone on here does.

9

Thanks for the help so far @ErikJenkins.

I’ve been able to get the 2nd arduino flashed with grbl, and communicating with my computer but not moving the motors. It is however controlling the spindle through the easel software and is recognized by UGS.

The original arduino isn’t recognized by 2 different macs (I really need to get a PC in the house).

10

I didn’t help a bit…I tried…lol I hope you get it working.

11

Does UGS show grbl as locked? under the machine control tab hit the $X button.

Then try to jog the axis.

12

I can at least give you props for helping me.

It doesn’t show as locked. I can “jog” the axis in UGS and it shows that the command has been sent, but the actual motors don’t move.

1 Like
13

Silly question…is the 24 volt power supply turned on?

14

Yup, it’s turned on and I’ve checked my voltages to make sure that I’m getting power from the supply to the g-shield.

15

Then I am truly at a loss.

16

Unless the G-Shield is bad.

18

Can you think of a way for me to diagnose that?

With the power supply turned off, I can run the test of moving the axis around and getting the green lights to come on.

What I’m not hearing is the “click” of power activating the motors when the power supply is turned on and the g-shield/arduino is connected to my computer.

I suspect something’s up with the g-shield.

19

It sounds like your power supply is delivering power, but it is not getting through to the steppers. Does your fan come on? If not, your issue is somewhere between the shield and power supply.

If so, can you check the voltage on your stepper drivers by going through the procedure for adjusting the current potentiometer? Is there a reading?

21

Had an issue where fan wires and wire go into board were not making a firm connection and did the same thing. Not sure if it’s same problem, but worth checking

22

So here’s my progress.

I’ve confirmed that the g-sheild is getting 24 volts (the fan is also running). The capacitors on each axis are also at 24 volts.

I’ve also tested each of the pots, and they are each getting power and I can adjust it by turning them.

From what I can tell, the g-shield is ok and my wiring is alright.

What I suspect is that the arduino isn’t actually sending (or receiving) the command to activate the motors. GRBL is communicating with the arduino through a usbmodem port (OSX).