[J Butler]

I have a large CNC plotter that I built around five years ago that has been working at my canvas shop constantly without fail, but today it broke down and I would like some help troubleshooting the problem or perhaps someone out there has had a similar issue.

The Y axis suddenly started making a lot of noise in the middle of the path and would no longer move properly. It appeared at first that something was jammed in the track but quickly determined that the problem was not mechanical. After trying a few times moving it the x axis started having the same issue. Both the x and y axis have NEMA 34 stepper motors and the z axis has a NEMA 23. The Y axis is a larger motor. The z axis is still working properly. When I jog the machine it moves erratically and makes a lot of noise. Since it is two of the motors and they all run on independent drivers I can assume it is not the motors, drivers or wiring to them and likely the break out board, smooth stepper, power supply or Ethernet cable. I tested the power supply (not under load) and got slightly above 36v. Please help if you have any input on this!

Some info about the machine:

Mach 3 to
50'Ethernet cable to
Smooth Stepper Ethernet version to
G 10 Break out board (older version) to
Drivers for each Axis (CW230 and QJ8060) to
NEMA 23 (z) Nema34(X,Y)

[J Butler]

***Update Fixed*** The problem was a melted terminal on the driver. I replaced it with a Stepperonline brand one that fixed the issue. The new drivers suddenly made my once musically noisy machine silent. The second axis was a red herring. I must have not connected the motor harness properly while I was trouble shooting it. I have read that the green terminals on the drivers melting is fairly common so a good place to look if you are having similar issues.

[Werdelin]

***Update Fixed*** The problem was a melted terminal on the driver. I replaced it with a Stepperonline brand one that fixed the issue. The new drivers suddenly made my once musically noisy machine silent. The second axis was a red herring. I must have not connected the motor harness properly while I was trouble shooting it. I have read that the green terminals on the drivers melting is fairly common so a good place to look if you are having similar issues.

Hello Butler, this is a little off-topic. From your post I read that you have nema23 and nema 34 on the same cnc... have you ever had issues doing this, do they have the same power supply, did you have to modify your machine in any way compared to a similar one with all three axis running for example nema23?
Thank you
Best regards
Werdelin
The reason I ask is that I am about to upgrade my mandible / cross section, and I am afraid that it is about to get too heavy