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Hi Guys,
I was printing a calibration cube today and out of nowhere the X tower stopped working and my hotend is melting it's way through the cube. I checked the cheapskate and the belt. Eventually I took the motor out and tried running the home command and discovered that the motor at the bottom of the X tower doesn't have any torque now, if i put my finger against the gear the motor just stops turning but it sounds like it's still trying to turn inside.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Ron

grimmindustries wrote:Hi Guys,
I took the motor out and tried running the home command and discovered that the motor at the bottom of the X tower doesn't have any torque now, if i put my finger against the gear the motor just stops turning but it sounds like it's still trying to turn inside.

Some possibilities:

• One of the four wires in the stepper cable is intermittent/broken
• One of the stepper coils has failed
• Your stepper drive has lost part of its driver circuitry

I'd try swapping the cables at the RAMBo and see if the problem stays in the same motor or moves to a different motor. You also might try measuring the resistances across the various pins for different motors (you should always get the same value for the same pair of pins). Or, look closely at the connectors.


Dan

Thanks Dan, I'll check the resistance, I find that the motor spins loosely compared to the other motors when they are powered off.

Or maybe perhaps the set screws in the pulley came loose. This happens really easily, especially when you don't tighten them enough.

grimmindustries wrote:Thanks Dan, I'll check the resistance, I find that the motor spins loosely compared to the other motors when they are powered off.

Try this when the cables are all unplugged. And do make sure the set screw isn't loose; that's what thread-locker is for. Locktite makes it in stick form (looks like blue glue stick) which is really easy to use.


Dan

I did use thread lock when I built the printer, I'm going to go buy IPA so I can remove the set screws. It's definitely something inside the motor.

grimmindustries wrote:I did use thread lock when I built the printer, I'm going to go buy IPA so I can remove the set screws. It's definitely something inside the motor.

I'm not sure there's anything you can really fix inside the motors, unless you find an obvious (and not buried) break in a wire. May be time to order a new one, or (if this is a new printer) talk to SeeMeCNC about a replacement.


Dan

I ordered a new one and I did find that the rod coming out of the motor was so loose it fell out. I'll have to see if I can liquid weld it back in.

grimmindustries wrote:I ordered a new one and I did find that the rod coming out of the motor was so loose it fell out. I'll have to see if I can liquid weld it back in.

Green Loctite should do the trick for you.

Thanks I'll try it.

So the Loctite didn't last, any other ideas for re-attatching the spindle to the motor?

Replace the motor.

g.