My girlfriend bought a “noname” CO2 laser machine (700x500mm) about 2 and a half years ago.
Up until now, everything was working fine.
But today, she told me that it was kind of stuck with a big noise.
When i looked up the problem seems to come from the software about the stepping motors (especially the X axis motor).
Let me explain :
When trying to move the laser in the y axis it moves quite correctly (i’ll explain after)
When trying to move the laser in the X axis the motor doesn’t move properly. The signal is sent to the motor but it cannot move right with a big noise like it’s jammed.
The LCD panel showed “system resetting” (see picture attached) and the laser head was in the upper right corner trying to move with this noise and “jammed feeling”.
I tried default reset (of course without saving the parameters before… ) and axes reset but nothing changed except the Y and X axis depth is wrong (like 300mm Y axis and can’t say for the X axis since it’s still jammed).
I’m quite sure it’s a software issue because at one point, the X axis motor worked fine but only on a part of the Y axis “zone” (like 1/4 of the Y axis starting from the bottom).
After another try of default reset and axes reset, it didn’t work anymore…
Not sure my explanation is clear (i’m french and lacking technical vocabulary ).
Dskall Check set screws on drive pulley for looseness.
There doesn’t seem to be any screw problem on the motor or the drive pulley.
dean448 check the stepper cables and connectors for any damage.
I did visually check the cables and connectors (pulled them out and put them back in) and there doesn’t seem to be any damage
jkwilborn The software didn’t de-configure itself, sounds like something is wrong with the machines hardware…
Yes eventually i tend to agree with you…
Does the Ruida reset on it’s own?
Each time I turn the machine on, it indeed resets on its own with exactly the same problem. On the LCD screen, you can see the same as in my first picture.
Are there a hardware error led (red) on the motor drivers?
There is no error led on the motor driver (green led only)
During the automatic reset at startup the 5v led on the X axis part of the mainboard turn on and turn off when the reset is over.
When I try to move the laser head with the arrows in the X axis, the LED doesn’t turn on. (Don’t know if it helps)
You can swap the motor driver → motor cables and see if the error follows the swap.
I’d only suggest that if it’s not resetting on it’s own. That is usually a power issue.
I didn’t swap the connectors since it is resetting each time on his own.
Since I’m not familiar with electronics, I don’t want to be hasty and prefer to wait for your “approval”
So it resets on its own only on power up. When I move the laser head with the arrows or when I send a file to cut via lightburn, it doesn’t reset on its own.
Yes there is a sticker !!! I didn’t get that it was the number that was important !..
I’m not at home this weekend. I’ll remove the sticker when I go back home.
I think it’s the same as you.
Led 3 from what I recall doesn’t flash after the resetting on power up.
I’ll confirm when I get home.
This is the boot sequence on my Ruida 6442g. I power it on at the beginning of the video and once it’s completed the boot, the run led flashes, while power is on.
You can see how leds 1 and 3 operate during the home cycle…
I watched your videos. thank you for the time you take for my problem !
I uploaded here the video of my boot sequence. Led 1 is not flashing at all…
Concerning your second video, the Y home switch is functioning well whereas the X one is not working at all. (I understood despite you mixup between Y and X )
I tested the three ways you showed, on the X one, no light on the home switch, no Xlimit checked on the LCD screen and no LED on the motherboard.
EDIT : I filmed the boot sequence and we can see that the X home switch’s light is red during the boot sequence only. Not working after that.
You’ll be able to see at the end that I was a little bit startled (to say the least) by the noise and sudden movement of the laser head
On the Ruida, the home switches are not used after a successful boot.
Is this the same as yours?
Not sure i understand that…
As i said the Y switch is working/recognised after the boot sequence whereas the X one is not.
Not sur it answers your question.
The Y home becomes active and the X never becomes active.
Are both of these working as in my video?
Try this… with power off, move head to cent of work area. When powered on, keep pressing esc on the machine console so it will abort the home sequence.
This should allow manual control of the axes from the machine console.
Does it respond to moving the head about with the keypad?
The Y home switch works as in your video, the X home switch doesn’t. (I didn’t film the LED on the mainboard but it’s the same, flashes with the Y home but not with the X one). Video
Does it respond to moving the head about with the keypad?
I did as you said (ESC when turning on with the head centered before when power off).
As you can see in the Video, The Y axis respond well but the X is kinda crazy (and like the motor is having a hard time moving the head).
I agree. I would swap cables and stepper drives either by themselves or as a complete set. Everything should still work as long as you keep output ports and stepper motors on the same line.
Your trying to move the problem and if you do then you know what is broken.
Sometimes just taking stuff apart fixes the issue. I would use contact cleaner on wire ends and connectors.
Therein lies the rub, I bought the ones you linked to, they and every one I looked at were only 3 feet long. I ended up having to splice in an extra length of wire to make it work.
These are the type of failures that could be a wire issue since it in an area of movement.
So… take you time diagnosing it. You only want to fix it once …
Don’t ignore @dean448 … it’s pretty simple to swap the stepper motor drivers and see if the problem follows. The connector above the label can be swapped with the other driver.
To jacks point about turning power off, never disconnect a stepper motor with power on. This applies to all steppers. Always kill power to the stepper drive first.
Hi everyone !
Thanks for all your messages. I will try to do that tomorrow (Swap the stepper motor drivers).
I bought a new one (not from your link since i live in France so : amazon.fr ) and if the test is positive that it is the X driver’s failure, i’ll replace it.
I’ll keep you posted with questions, videos and pictures
) and axes reset but nothing changed except the Y and X axis depth is wrong (like 300mm Y axis and can’t say for the X axis since it’s still jammed).
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