Hi all, I’m fairly new to lightburn and laser engraving machines I’m general, so forgive me if this question may sound a bit obvious.
I’m having issues with my machine. I have an Atomstack P7 M40. Any movement except for homing results in the error message of hard limit triggered. I also notice a significant difference in the sounds made when the rehoming function is used vs for example setting the laser position.
This is becoming really annoying as I have only been able to use the machine once without this problem.
The attached photo is the error message that appears when I try to frame my project.
Any help would be appreciated Thank you in advance
What was the coordinate system in Start From: set to in the Laser Window? If not already, switch to Absolute Coords and see if this makes a difference. Absolute Coords is the most intuitive mode where your workspace matches your laser area.
Sorry I forgot to upload the image. Here is the error message. I tried working with absolute coords, I’ve had better luck with it but I still have to re home it about 20 times for it to work
One thing I’m noticing is that it appears your device type is incorrect. You are using GRBL-M3 when you should be using GRBL. I don’t think this would cause the issue but you should correct this.
Are you able to use the jog buttons in Move window to move the laser head at all?
Also try one thing:
Enable the “Show all” switch in Console Window
Run framing operation that normally fails
Turn off Show all
Copy and paste all output content from that window in a reply
I did use the jog buttons to move the laser head and I did notice, it moves a different direction than the button I press. Below is the output from the window
The reason why your jog controls aren’t working as expected is because I believe the “expected” orientation of that laser is 90 degrees counter clockwise. So that you’d be reading Atomstack right side up.
Also, did you change the device type from GRBL-M3 to GRBL yet? Make sure to do this. You’ll probably need to recreate the device to be able to do this.
Can you confirm that the resting position in the photo is right after a homing cycle?
If so, can you run through these tests?
after homing, push “Get position” in the Move window. Make note of the position.
use the jogging controls keeping in mind the expected orientation and move to top left, then do “Get Position” again.
repeat this for upper right
repeat this for lower right.
I want to make sure that the reported boundaries of the laser are the expected boundaries.
Hi the jog buttons now work as expected, as far as moving in the correct direction. However I noticed a problem with the X axis. Moving the X axis forward with the jog buttons doesn’t seem to work on the first two attempts. However, light burn still picks up the coordinates as if it has moved forward. This results in the coordinates being X=315 Y=0 in the top left and X=315 Y=210 in the top right. for the bottom right the coordinates are X=0 Y=210. This is all assuming the homing position is the bottom left.
I’m trying to get my head around those coordinates. Typically the coordinates for anything on the left side of the machine should have X coordinate of 0. And again, anything along the bottom would have Y coordinate of 0.
Is it possible that you the cables going to the stepper motors were plugged into the opposite port on the controller? Can you double check this?
It could also be that the orientation you had earlier was correct and that this is meant to be an upper-left origin machine.
Anyway, not super important right now since the jog controls are working as expected. Let’s see if it will burn in the correct orientation first.
This means you’re missing steps. Likely causes include
Belts are loose. Recheck all belts. Make sure there is no visible slack. The belts should be taught without being stretched.
Check that the pulleys on the stepper shafts are secure… make sure the grub screws are secured at the flat portion of the stepper shaft
This can also be caused by attempting to move too quickly and the motor can’t keep up. Fast speeds can also expose issues in the other 2 causes.
Can you review the mechanics and then power cycle and run tests again?
Okay, so I’ve adjusted the timing belt. The weird sound is not as loud, so I may need to loosen it a bit more. The manual says, the origin is front left, but other people I have spoken to have used bottom left, so I’m not entirely sure. I’ve attached a screen shot of the origin setting.
So assuming the homing=front left. The coordinates are:
Home- X=0 Y=0
Front right- X=0 Y=200
Top right X=200 Y=200
Top left- X=200 Y=0
Hi sorry for the late reply! Yes your diagram represents how i distinguish front left and top left. I don’t seem to be getting the hard limit trigger error. I think it was just a case of adjusting the timing belt. Thank you for your help!
Okay. Good to hear. Glad it’s working for you. I can’t honestly understand your coordinates but it should be okay as long as it’s not causing a problem.
Thank you in advance
