Atomstack Maker R1 Rotary Chuck Just Shutters

[kevclift (Kevin Clift)]

I have a Longer Ray5 20W laser engraver (GRBL) that I have been using for a month with LightBurn (running on a Windows 11 HP OMEN i7) with no issues and decided to add an Atomstack Maker R1 Rotary to my setup. When it arrived, I followed the setup instructions using the recommended Y axis connection wire (black one with the switched center wires) but had no Y axis response. I switched to the white wire (straight through - pin to pin wire) and had some Y axis (rotary) movement but the rotary just shutters one direction then the other, occasionally advancing a few steps.

Did i get a bad wire? Is there some LightBurn setting that I’m overlooking? The available setup videos seem very straight forward but the process is the same for each and I’ve followed it to a “T”.

Any help or advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

[parsec (FerAS)]

Check if the wires aren’t loose at the plugs. Sometimes they move a little.

[kevclift (Kevin Clift)]

Well, an easy fix would be nice, but no luck. Everything is firmly in place.

[Albroswift (Al Fernandez)]

when I am playing around with stepper motors, what you describe is usually a reversed wire between field A and field B (2 phase stepper)

[MikeyH (Mike Hembrey)]

@Albroswift

is usually a reversed wire between field A and field B

This is why they provide 2 cables, one straight and the other with the two middle pins crossed.

@kevclift

occasionally advancing a few steps

This tells me it might be a parameter setting, $3 or $4.

Had a thought…
1 - 2 - 3 - 4 (straight)
1 - 3 - 2 - 4 (crossed)
1 - 2 - 4 - 3 (what if the stepper connector is wired wrong?)

[Albroswift (Al Fernandez)]

@MikeyH

This is why they provide 2 cables, one straight and the other with the two middle pins crossed.

Yep. There many combinations, reversing A+ and A- reverses direction, reversing B+ and B- reverses direction, Reversing any A with any B will cause stuttering/ rough advancing. That’s about all I know about it.

[Albroswift (Al Fernandez)]

@MikeyH

what if the stepper connector is wired wrong?)

That’s a good possibility

[kevclift (Kevin Clift)]

Good information. I will try flipping pins and then update.

[Albroswift (Al Fernandez)]

Between pairs there should be resistance like between A+and A- maybe 10 or 20 ohms +/-
No resistance between any A and any B.
(On the rotary motor)

[kevclift (Kevin Clift)]

Sorry for the late update. My schedule only allows me play with my toys on the weekend.

No luck on the wiring harness. I’ve rewired it to every possible pin combination, but I only get 2 results - No movement or shudder.

[MikeyH (Mike Hembrey)]

@kevclift

No movement or shudder.

Go with shudder. At least that indicates it is trying to move. It sounds like either [1] the stepper driver chip is bad or [2] the stepper is not getting enough current to actually step.
[1] hard shudder
[2] soft shudder

Have you played with the mm per rotation value? Just guessing, but that might make a difference. I have not had your issue, Ystepper ok, Rotary not, so I do not have much experience to call upon.

[Albroswift (Al Fernandez)]

Bummer it wasn’t something simple. If you can’t beg/borrow/steal another rotary to try, and it sounds like you are plugging it into a known working driver, start looking for things that are different. Is the rotary motor a lot larger then your Y drive motor?
Take some photos of the motors and plugs amd rotary and such, maybe something will pop.