[glbreil]

I started up my mill yesterday and when I hit cycle start button to home the machine it said "Z axis encoder bad connection". X and Y axis both jog okay.

Of course the machine would not home so I went to the PID screen and the Z axis encoder says 0. The axis will not move and if I rotate the motor manually it does not change the encoder counts, however I switched encoder cables around to where it was on the X axis connection on the CPU and then when I move the motor manually it does count so the encoder and cable are good.

By my testing that means that the Z axis port on the CPU is not working. The CPU has both a W axis and a 5th Axis but if I just move the cable over to the W axis the buttons for the 4th Axis do not move the motor, but if I move it manually the encoder does count. Is there a way to use one of those other ports or does the CPU have to be replaced, or is there something else that might cause this.

Thanks Gary Breiling

[diycncscott]

I started up my mill yesterday and when I hit cycle start button to home the machine it said "Z axis encoder bad connection". X and Y axis both jog okay.

Of course the machine would not home so I went to the PID screen and the Z axis encoder says 0. The axis will not move and if I rotate the motor manually it does not change the encoder counts, however I switched encoder cables around to where it was on the X axis connection on the CPU and then when I move the motor manually it does count so the encoder and cable are good.

By my testing that means that the Z axis port on the CPU is not working. The CPU has both a W axis and a 5th Axis but if I just move the cable over to the W axis the buttons for the 4th Axis do not move the motor, but if I move it manually the encoder does count. Is there a way to use one of those other ports or does the CPU have to be replaced, or is there something else that might cause this.

Thanks Gary Breiling

Gary,

On SOME CPU7P3 boards, there is an internal ribbon cable connected from the back of the DB9 to the motion control board. It's possible that there is a problem with either the DB9 connector itself or the cable is lose or faulty. You can try checking that/swapping cables. Unfortunately, the Z axis encoder must be routed to the Z axis encoder input on the CPU7. If it turns out the encoder input on the CPU7 is bad, you'll have to return the CPU7 for repair/swapout.

Contact [email protected] or 814-353-9256 for help

[glbreil]

There is no ribbon cable it plugs directly into the mother board. I pulled it off and reseated it yesterday in hopes that would help. I think it must be a CPU issue but we are getting in to some real expense here so I would like to verify that is definitely the problem before I send it off. Do you know of a way to check it other than what I have done.

Thanks Gary

[glbreil]

I just wanted to let everyone know that with the help of Marc Leonard at CNCSNM who posts here I was able to verify my problem was the CPU and get parts. Great guy if you need help.

Gary