X and Y Axes¶
Motion Issues¶
Symptom Applicable Revisions | ||||||
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Possible Cause | Corrective Action |
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Keyboard Jogging is not enabled in Mach4. | Turn the "Keyboard Jog" toggle to ON. More information: |
Y Axis moves opposite of the expected direction. 🔗 All
Possible Cause | Corrective Action |
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Y Axis motor cable connections swapped at Plug and Play CNC Controller causing motors to rotate in opposite direction. | Swap Y1 and Y2 motor cables at Plug and Play Controller enclosure. More information: |
Y Axis binds when jogged in one direction. 🔗 All
Possible Cause | Corrective Action |
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CRP850-00E breakout board is not firmly seated into motor drivers, leading to motion in only one direction. | Reseat CRP850-00E breakout board into motor drivers to ensure all motors are receiving step and direction signals. |
Axis only moves in one direction regardless of jog direction. 🔗 All
Possible Cause | Corrective Action |
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CRP850-00E breakout board is not firmly seated into motor drivers, leading to motion in only one direction. | Reseat CRP850-00E breakout board into motor drivers to ensure all motors are receiving step and direction signals |
Y Axis binds when jogged in both directions. 🔗 All
Possible Cause | Corrective Action |
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Motor or cable on one side of the gantry is faulty. | Release R&P drive tension spring allowing motors to rotate without moving the machine. Check that motors rotate as expected. If no motion, test the motor with a known good cable to determine if the motor is faulty. If the motor does not rotate, replace the motor. More information: |
Mach4 configured for large format machine causing Y Axis motors to rotate in opposite directions. | Reconfigure Mach4 in the Avid CNC Mach4 Configuration window selecting "Benchtop PRO" or "Benchtop Standard" based on machine configuration. More information: |
Mechanical Issues¶
Symptom Applicable Revisions | ||||||||
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Possible Cause | Corrective Action |
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Belt drive over tensioned during assembly. | Reduce belt tension. Refer to machine-specific assembly instructions for tensioning guidelines. More information: |
Improper motor pulley location caused excessive wear of belt due to misalignment. | Adjust motor pulley location. See assembly instructions for machine-specific pulley location. More information: |
Aggressive cutting load putting excess strain on belts. | Reduce feed rate or depth of cut to reduce the load on drive belts. |
Electrical Issues¶
Symptom Applicable Revisions | ||||||||||
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Possible Cause | Corrective Action |
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Motor enable/disable switch is in the 'Off' position. | Check switch position and set to the 'On' position. |
Intermittent loss of motion while jogging or cutting. 🔗 All
Possible Cause | Corrective Action |
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Intermittent ethernet connection between Mach4 and the ESS due to a faulty ethernet cable, USB ethernet adapter, or USB port. | Perform the following tests to eliminate the ethernet cable/adapter as the cause of motion loss:
Replace cable or adapter if necessary. |
Loose power supply wiring in the Plug and Play controller. | Turn off and unplug power from the controller. Check the 5V and 12V power supply input and output wiring is secure. If necessary, reseat and firmly tighten connections. Check the 5V power wiring on the ESS (12V on WarpRunner/TMC3in1 for Plasma controllers) and secure if necessary. |
Loose breakout board connection in the Plug and Play controller. | Turn off and unplug power from the controller. Check that the CRP850-00E breakout board is firmly seated in the motor drives. For Plasma controllers, check that the WarpRunner or TMC3in1 breakout board is firmly seated in the ESS connection. |
Loose motor control wiring in the Plug and Play controller. | Turn off and unplug power from the controller. Check that all motor drive connections are secure. More information: |
Software Issues¶
Symptom Applicable Revisions | ||||
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Possible Cause | Corrective Action |
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There may be corruption of the network adapter settings that is causing connection interruptions. | Perform Windows Network Reset then rerun SCU application. More information: |
Homing Issues¶
Symptom Applicable Revisions | ||||
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Possible Cause | Corrective Action |
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Proximity limit switches not connected to correct input ports. | Double-check the sensor cable connections at Plug and Play CNC Controller. Note: A common mistake is swapping Y1 and Y2 sensor connections. More information: |
Noises¶
Symptom Applicable Revisions | ||||||
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Possible Cause | Corrective Action |
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R&P spring not sufficiently compressed. | Ensure spur gear is not excessively worn, then tighten the tension bolt as shown in assembly instructions. Notes: 1. Spur gear must be fully meshed with gear rack before compressing spring.2. Overtensioning drive assembly may cause binding and excessive wear on drive components. More information: |
Over compressed R&P spring is causing loss of motion or missed steps. | Ensure spur gear is not excessively worn, then tighten the tension bolt as shown in assembly instructions. Notes: 1. Spur gear must be fully meshed with gear rack before compressing spring.2. Overtensioning drive assembly may cause binding and excessive wear on drive components. More information: |
Accuracy & Cut Quality¶
Symptom Applicable Revisions | ||||||||
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Possible Cause | Corrective Action |
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Worn spur gear on R&P drive spindle assembly. | Replace drive spindle assembly. Belts may also need to be replaced depending on wear. More information: |
Material not adequately secured to table or spoilboard, allowing for movement when cutting. | Addtional or alternative workholding solutions may be required to eliminate movement in material while cutting. More information:Thin materials often require additional attachment to spoilboard in the middle of parts. Thicker double-sided foam tape is strongly discouraged as it can allow significant vibration while cutting |
Spoilboard not adequately secured to the machine, allowing for movement when cutting. | Ensure all spoilboard fasteners are secure. Add additional attachment points if motion/flex is still present after checking existing fasteners. More information:Depending on machine size and application, it may be necessary to move cross members or add additional spoilboard supports to avoid large sections of unsupported spoilboard. |
Dimensional inaccuracy: undersized interior profiles, oversized exterior profiles. 🔗 All
Possible Cause | Corrective Action |
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Overly aggressive feed rate or depth of cut causing tool deflection. | Reduce feed rate and test again for accuracy. Speeds may also need to be adjusted to maintain the desired chip load. More information:This type of inaccuracy is most often seen with small diameter tooling or cutting tools with long cutting flutes. |
Work offset shifted or not aligned with material corner after using touch plate to set all axes. 🔗 All
Possible Cause | Corrective Action |
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Tool diameter was not set correctly in the touch plate dialog window. | Ensure the diameter entered matches the diameter of the tool being used and re-run the touch off routine. More information: |
Circular profiles are cut out of round. 🔗 All
Possible Cause | Corrective Action |
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Worn spur gear on R&P drive spindle assembly. | Replace drive spindle assembly. Belts may also need to be replaced depending on wear. More information: |
Faulty motor on one side of the gantry. | Test motor on known good cable to determine if the motor is faulty. If the motor does not function as expected, replace the motor. |
Machine cutting oversized or undersized (significant error, approximately 15%). 🔗 All
Possible Cause | Corrective Action |
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Incorrect motor selection made in Avid CNC Mach4 Configuration. | Our NEMA 23 and NEMA 34 R&P drives have different ratios of steps/inch. An incorrect selection will cause significant dimensional inaccuracy. Reconfigure Mach4 and select "NEMA 23" or "NEMA 34" motors based on machine configuration. More information: |
Error Messages¶
Symptom Applicable Revisions | ||||
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Possible Cause | Corrective Action |
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Program extents may be outside of the area defined by soft limits. | In Mach4 with work coordinates set and G-code loaded, click Regen Toolpath to the right of the toolpath preview window. Inspect preview for cutting moves (green lines) or jog moves (white lines) that fall outside the machine work area (dashed yellow line). Any lines outside the work area will trigger a soft limit error. If found, reprogram toolpaths to ensure the program stays within the set work area. More information:Mach4 has a "look ahead" feature which analyzes upcoming lines of G-code to ensure no command contains errors or exceeds the machine work area. The default setting is 20, meaning Mach4 is always reading 20 lines ahead. Because of this feature, a soft limit can be triggered well before the machine would have been commanded to move outside of the work area. |