Atomstack A5 M50 PRO starts 'knocking' when powered on

LightBurn Hardware Compatibility Atomstack
1

My Atomstack A5 M50 PRO makes a “knocking” sound immediately after being switched on. With the same frequency as this knocking sound, a red and a blue LED on the motherboard are flashing.

This sound only stops when I disconnect both stepper motors.

I see exactly the same behavior even when using a different power supply.

Does anyone recognize this issue? I can’t easily find a replacement motherboard to test whether replacing that component would solve the problem.

Some videos of the described behaviour (with sound) below:

Replacing motherboard of my M50 A5 Pro with MKS DLC32
2

Looks like this thread My Atomstack A5 M50 PRO motors not responding, but that’s closed and it’s not possible to reply there anymore.
@raykipa Did you ever find a solution?

3

Looks the same, except your repetition rate is higher. My first guess is the controller board. Hopefully @raykipa has a better answer.

How old is the machine? Have you reached out to Atomstack?

4

I have purchased the machine in May 2003.

“I was searching for a replacement motherboard, for example on AliExpress, but I noticed that they are hard to find. Or should I search for a more generic motherboard instead?

5

That depends on how techie you are. It would likely require changing connectors and adjustments for the board mounting. You will also have to deal with a version of controller software. This should be the plan of last resort.

It will not be Plug ‘n Play unless you get the board from Atomstack. Have you tried to contact them?

6

Yes, I have send a message to Atomstack, but did not get a reply yet.
Do you any advice regarding a plug&play replacement?

7

Closest will be if the board is from Atomstack. But be aware the Chinese manufacturers will change things mid production run. I got a replacement Sculpfun board, from Sculpfun, that had a different connector layout on the board.

In my opinion, if it is a Chinese replacement, it is a Plug&Hope.

8

On the current motherboard I can see that it is a LaserBox ESP32 V1.0.
What I’ve noticed is that a replacement LaserBox ESP32 V1.0 is almost nowhere available for purchase.
Does anyone have any tips?

9

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805352357839.html

10

Thanks for the link. Unfortunately not available for shipping to The Netherlands.

11

You get Amazon there? Buy the ESP32 v1 from Amazon and use the links in this thread for the software. You get air Assist capability as a bonus.

12

You mean a LaserBox ESP32 V1.0?
That’s the same as the current board.

13

Only because I do not know if the v2 board is plug for plug compatible.

14

Woohoo. Nice to see someone posting links to my mod. Still works will with lightburn. Enjoy.

2 Likes
15

If I understand correctly, you created custom firmware for the stock LaserBox ESP32 V1.0 motherboard that is used in various AtomStack devices?

My motherboard seems to be defective, so I’m currently looking for a replacement. Besides the standard LaserBox ESP32 V1.0 board, I’ve also seen the Makerbase MKS DLC32 mentioned as a possible alternative.

With my Creality Ender 3D printer it was easy to find a replacement motherboard pretty much everywhere (Amazon, AliExpress, and several Dutch webshops), but for the AtomStack laser this seems to be much harder.

Ideally I’d prefer a plug-and-play replacement, but if the connectors are in different positions I can probably work around that.