Hello,

I’m new to the forum, so please excuse any newbie questions.

I have an Avid CNC (a few years old, from when they were CNC Router Parts) Benchtop Standard 24x24 machine that has been working flawlessly for a few years, but just recently started acting up. The machine will sporadically make a loud binding/grunting noise and jerk when traveling in X, Y or Z. This occurs with or without a load, even when just jogging the machine. After the noise/jerk, the head will be out of position by up to ~10mm.

Separately, though perhaps related, the machine often refuses to respond when started up. Jogging with the arrow keys provides feedback in Mach3 that the machine is moving, but the machine remains still.

I’ve checked and lubed the ball screws and tracks, and I can move the machine in X, Y & Z by hand when it is powered down. Considering that multiple axes lose position in the same event, I’m now reluctant to believe that the issue is mechanical.

Ive reinstalled the last stable version of Mach3 and the smoothstepper plugin, confirmed that the smoothstepper control board is communicating with my PC, unattached/reattached every internal and external connector twice, and have restarted the machine and pc several times.

Any insight or guess as to what may be wrong?

Thank you