[Gojira]

Hey guys, My 6040T arrived last week and it came 95% assembled, All I had to do was fit the stepper motors and plug it in... A few questions have come to mind and I would appreciate some advice..

#1 Doing my research before It came various videos/articles said to turn the Axis by had via the knob on the stepper motor and it should feel smooth... All 3 of my axis feel very consistant and move quite easily but they do have a very slight grinding feel to them (very slight) and not a 100% smooth sliding feeling I was expecting (altho I have zero experience with stepper motors) oh and my Machine has ball screws if that makes a difference.

#2 Which lead me to my second question, Since it came assembled I was not sure if there is any adjustments to the slides/carriages anywhere? if so is there a link to the process to adjusting it correctly?

#3 Do I need to lubricate the sliding bars and ball screws? while doing my pre research I found that you did and you can use with a flow of oil or grease... I decided to use a spray grease and sprayed some on the X-axis ball screw and slide rails and then jogged it back and forth across the full range of movement but the ball screw and slide bearings have rubber "scrappers" on the outside and seemed to just push all the lube off to the ends... There does seem to still be a very very thin layer of lube on the slides but yeh, just wondering if thats normal.. Also on the Y-Axis underneath the machine the ball screw assembly actually has a grease nipple attached but none of the other axis do??

#4 Ok I accidently done this but I ran the machine past its limit of travel on the Z-axis while trying to use the tool offset attachment, for whatever reason it went up instead of down and maxed out, and it sounded horrible, made a bunch of loud clicking noises then stopped by itself and seems to be working as normal after.. Im sure this isnt good for the machine but just wondering what actually happens? And since it stopped by itself does the machine have some sort of overcurrent or over load protection?

Thanks guys, Im sure ill have alot more questions in then near future.

p.s. I had a look around and couldnt find any FAQ's for this machine? is there a link?

[Gojira]

Also, I noticed tonight that even tho the machine was turned off when I turned the stepper motors by hand there was some sort of feedback going to the other stepper motors... as In while I was spinning the Y-axis with my left hand I held my right hand on the X-axis stepper motors knob and could feel it flinching... it also made the Y-axis abit rougher to turn and could feel the feedback, As unplugging the stepper motors stopped it and all the axis felt smoother...

Im guessing that is not a good thing and likely due to the stepper motor wires not being shielded?

[handlewanker]

Hi....the stepper motors have coils and magnets inside and you will get a bumpy feeling as the magnets pass the coil faces when you turn them, even with the power off......with the power on they are practically immovable.
Ian,

[Gojira]

Yep I understand the magnets/coils on each stepper but whats causing the interaction between the steppers? Ie if i turn the X axis by hand I can feel the Y-axis stepper motor flinching.

Im guessing turning the steppers by hand is generating some current which is back feeding to the other steppers

[handlewanker]

Hi....I would assume so too........it's a puzzle though, as each stepper for each axis is connected to a separate driver but on the same breakout box....could be some leakage on the components....whatever.

I don't think it really matters as long as the axes all run when they should and not randomly when another axis is activated.

I doubt whether the small amount of current generated by flicking the steppers over by hand would be leaking to other axes due to poor cable shielding.......with power on, that's another story.

Once you power up and do a few axis moves you'll know if you have real problems.
Ian.

[Gojira]

212 Views of this threads and no questions answered except for "Handlewanker" helping? My other thread with a few other questions posted lastnight has 70views already and no answers? http://www.cnczone.com/forums/chines...-software.html

Seems this forum has a lot of people watching but no one with the knowledge or willing to help?

I do thoroughly search on google an other sources to find answers to my questions before posting and Either couldn't find an answer or couldn't come to a consensus with what Ive found so I don't think im being unreasonable and asking silly questions?

Had high hopes for this forum after getting some good input from "aaargh" on my first post

Am I doing something wrong?

[handlewanker]

Hi....when you make some parts and report back I'm sure someone will reply.......the 6040 is a pretty common type of CNC gantry router and many people have used them, you just need to pluck up the courage and mount a cutter to see what it can do.
Ian.