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I have ran into a problem with my Y-Axis and X-Axis stepper motors. The motors that I have on these two Axis are 380 Oz. Nema 23 Motors bought from CNCrouterparts.com.
When going through the “Settup your X-Carve” process with Easel, I am unable to get these two Axis to work. They will just put out a momentary click, and then they are unresponsive.
The motor that I have on the Z-Axis is the 140 Oz. Nema 23, and it works just fine:
I am thinking that it is likely a mix up with the wiring. The reason I think so is that CNCrouter parts has these motors upgraded with a DB9 connector (of which I just cut off). I am wondering if the color coding may be different because of this and maybe that I have the cables mixed up or something along these lines.
I have checked the eccentric nuts on the v wheels and adjusted them so that I can turn the v wheels with my finger, but not loose enough so that they spin freely.
I was hoping that maybe someone might be able to chime in and possibly point me in the right direction. I will likely send a link of this to someone at CNCrotuerparts.com to confirm the color coding of the motors. If someone knows a good way to test for this or any other things I might need to look at, please let me know.
Take note of the current rating on the newer motors, ie 3.5 amps per phase.
If you are using the standard X-carve electronics then the gShield can only provide, theoretically, 2.5 amps per phase. In reality the current is a bit less than that. So, you may not be able to drive the new motors sufficiently with the gShield.
If you are using the X-controller it should be able to handle the new motors well, but you may have to adjust the current limit pots to get sufficient current to the new motors.
Stepper motors don’t have to run at their max amps per phase, but as you reduce the current per phase you also reduce the torque.
This step is going to require you to remove the stepper and un-wire it from the terminal block. The easy method to find the windings is first free spin the stepper so you can get a feel on how freely it spins. Then short two wires together then attempt to do the same thing (spin the shaft with you fingers) if you get more resistance than the ‘open’ setup then those two wires are part of the same winding. Repeat this step with the remaining two to double check.
The next step is to wire the pairs to your terminal block. Jog the machine- if it moving is the opposite direction then it was configured- reverse the pair on the B side of the terminal block. [ A+ A- B+ B-]
As for the statement about the required amperage per phase- That rating for the MAX amperage that the stepper can take per phase. If you i.e. use a 4A driver configured at 4A with those steppers you’ll notice the steppers in the hold position will start generating heat. Those same drivers at 4A with a stepper rated for 2.5A per phase with generate ALOT of heat. Which is not a good thing. Anything less than the specified amperage per phase will only affect the overall torque rating. Mostly the holding torque. So using a driver configured for 2~2.5A on a stepper that rated for 3.5A will not cause it to not move.
@ymilord I think that is what is going on. I tried to do some research in regards to getting a better understanding of how the spec sheets for these stepper motors are typically laid out. It seems that in most cases that the A+ and A- are listed on the left of the motor symbol and the B+ and B- on the bottom:
I think I will try to rewire like this when I get home. If this does not work, then I will remove one of the stepper motors and diagnose/toubleshoot as you described.
The colors written in ink are the colors of the wires in the stepper cables I recieved from inventables, like you state. I just wrote them below the colors that I think that they need to correspond to on the wires coming from the motor.
That is how I have it wired up currently, and it is not working.
I just got off of the phone with CNC router parts, they said that when they have the DB9 wires installed, the colors do not match standard colors. He told me the following is likely the color configurations:
The Yellow cable coming from the motor is A+, so it should connect to the Red Inventables stepper wire that is A+.
The Blue cable coming from the motor is A-, so it should connect to the White Inventables stepper wire that is A-.
The Red cable coming from the motor is B+, so it should connect to the Green Inventables stepper wire that is B+.
The Green cable coming from the motor is B-, so it should connect to the Black Inventables stepper wire that is B-.
Fixed. The wire color combinations that the guy from CNCrouterparts.com gave me were correct. I just forgot to switch the red and blue wire on y2, but after that everything is now working!
