# Belts not retracting on initial calibration **URL:** \ **Category:** Uncategorized\ **Created:** [June 3, 2024, 12:28pm UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/belts-not-retracting-on-initial-calibration/21348 "2024-06-03T12:28:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ghinton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c4cdca/32.png) [@Ghinton](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/Ghinton)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 12:28pm UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/belts-not-retracting-on-initial-calibration/21348/1 "2024-06-03T12:28:53Z")
Calibrating my belts for the first time since building on latest software. When I press retract, the fan starts for a second but then turns off. I also noticed the z seemed to move quite slowly and quietly compared to the calibration video. Not sure if that is a problem or not? I’m guessing the machine is sensing tension but I can move my belts in an out through the entrance hole of the arm easily. Could anyone offer any suggestions? Thanks in advance, G ---
**Author:** ![Ghinton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c4cdca/32.png) [@Ghinton](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/Ghinton)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 12:29pm UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/belts-not-retracting-on-initial-calibration/21348/2 "2024-06-03T12:29:25Z")
![Screenshot 2024-06-03 at 1.24.25 PM](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/uploads/maslowcnc/original/3X/d/d/dde6b96dd656ac273ea3f7eacf735b3b88be3a29.png) ---
**Author:** ![jwolter](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/forums.maslowcnc.com/jwolter/32/30787_2.png) [@jwolter](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/jwolter)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 12:42pm UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/belts-not-retracting-on-initial-calibration/21348/3 "2024-06-03T12:42:09Z")
Those later offsets are way too high. Have you tried increasing the threshold current? ---
**Author:** ![Ghinton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c4cdca/32.png) [@Ghinton](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/Ghinton)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 9:30pm UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/belts-not-retracting-on-initial-calibration/21348/4 "2024-06-03T21:30:10Z")
Sorry, I’m not really sure what that means. I’m following the YouTube guide and this hasn’t seemed to have come up. Is it a software or hardware issue do you think? ---
**Author:** ![ronlawrence3](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/forums.maslowcnc.com/ronlawrence3/32/7886_2.png) [@ronlawrence3](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/ronlawrence3)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 10:58pm UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/belts-not-retracting-on-initial-calibration/21348/5 "2024-06-03T22:58:52Z")
> [@Ghinton](#): > > Sorry, I’m not really sure what that means. click/tap setup button, then click/tap config here: ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/uploads/maslowcnc/original/3X/8/3/832408432b3e908a7ceea9379b02f0503b41661c.png) Then change the retraction force here: ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/uploads/maslowcnc/original/3X/d/6/d6527cf5905fd977b84ad8964ec827983d6930a4.png) and save, then try retract again. ---
**Author:** ![dlang](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/forums.maslowcnc.com/dlang/32/859_2.png) [@dlang](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/dlang)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 12:46am UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/belts-not-retracting-on-initial-calibration/21348/6 "2024-06-04T00:46:05Z")
Ron Lawrence wrote: > > [@Ghinton](#): > > > > Sorry, I¢m not really sure what that means. > > click/tap setup button, then click/tap config here: > > ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/uploads/maslowcnc/original/3X/8/3/832408432b3e908a7ceea9379b02f0503b41661c.png) > > Then change the retraction force here: > > ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/uploads/maslowcnc/original/3X/d/6/d6527cf5905fd977b84ad8964ec827983d6930a4.png) > > and save, then try retract again. does that change both retraction and calibration force? or just retraction force? David Lang ---
**Author:** ![boxomatic](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/forums.maslowcnc.com/boxomatic/32/23939_2.png) [@boxomatic](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/boxomatic)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 6:27am UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/belts-not-retracting-on-initial-calibration/21348/7 "2024-06-04T06:27:51Z")
just retraction. You have to go up in the fluidNC menu to change the calibration force. ---
**Author:** ![dlang](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/forums.maslowcnc.com/dlang/32/859_2.png) [@dlang](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/dlang)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 6:42am UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/belts-not-retracting-on-initial-calibration/21348/8 "2024-06-04T06:42:39Z")
Derek Graham wrote: > just retraction. You have to go up in the fluidNC menu to change the calibration force. we should probably change this to do both from this UI, if you need the higher current for retraction, you probably need more for calibration (although since you are not fully filling the spool, you may get by with a little less) probably should be combined with a frame flex test. David Lang ---
**Author:** ![Ghinton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c4cdca/32.png) [@Ghinton](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/Ghinton)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 11:06am UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/belts-not-retracting-on-initial-calibration/21348/9 "2024-06-04T11:06:32Z")
So what do we think I should change that value to? ---
**Author:** ![ronlawrence3](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/forums.maslowcnc.com/ronlawrence3/32/7886_2.png) [@ronlawrence3](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/ronlawrence3)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 12:50pm UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/belts-not-retracting-on-initial-calibration/21348/10 "2024-06-04T12:50:13Z")
I’d start with 1800 and work up by 100 until all the belts retract fully. If the number is over 2200 I’d try a few cycles of extend / retract and try setting it down again. From my experiences with this, it will loosen up. I think when I put together my most recent arm and put it on I had to go up to 2200, but now I’m set at 1800 with no extension issues any more. ---
**Author:** ![gazinux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/dec6dc/32.png) [@gazinux](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/gazinux)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 2:12pm UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/belts-not-retracting-on-initial-calibration/21348/11 "2024-06-04T14:12:00Z")
Regarding the retraction force value, I am curious how that translates to milliamps. Anyone know? Cat6 can only carry so much power and not sure if these cables are shielded and I was starting to wonder if these ethernet cables for powering servos are causing or attracting EMI. ---
**Author:** ![boxomatic](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/forums.maslowcnc.com/boxomatic/32/23939_2.png) [@boxomatic](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/boxomatic)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 3:33pm UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/belts-not-retracting-on-initial-calibration/21348/12 "2024-06-04T15:33:29Z")
I’ve assumed it is milliamps. Isn’t the max current for the motors 4000 where they will alarm or something if exceeded? Maslow #3 yesterday couldn’t get one of the arms to fully retract. Finally worked at 2400. After that I backed it down to 2200, then 2000, then 1800 after an extend/retract at each level. Maslow#2 I upgraded to 0.74 and tried to re-run calibration. Its retract current had been the default 1300 and had calibrated previously on 0.73. I need to look when I get on-site today, but I may have upped the calibration current from that because after ~30 minutes of cutting it was stopping itself from what seemed like loose belts. Hence new firmware and upped the retract current. Anyway, it failed calibration. And one thing we noticed was a creaking during calibration that hadn’t been present during the first calibration. Last week we heard more of that on Maslow#1 but attributed it to a different frame. Now I’m wondering if it was the fact that Maslow#1 was on newer firmware with me setting calibration current to match what was required for retract all. Seeing how the belts wind, especially when they are too long, I realize that additional current may not be necessary for calibration beyond the bump from 1300 to 1500 that happened in 0.73 because the belts are not fully retracted during calibration. I’ll have notes later on that. ---
**Author:** ![gazinux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/dec6dc/32.png) [@gazinux](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/gazinux)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 3:57pm UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/belts-not-retracting-on-initial-calibration/21348/13 "2024-06-04T15:57:45Z")
> [@boxomatic](#): > > noticed was a creaking during calibration that hadn’t been present during the first calibration If the drive gear assembly bearings are not seated all the way down the drive gear can clip the opposing bearing. Not saying its the cause of the creaking but its a potential cause of noise and depending on the wobulation of the plane based on cutting forces the creaking from gear clipping the bearing may be intermittent. Regarding the variability of the retraction current levels across your maslows and across arms, I think we could use a test capability to ramp up current so we can give a health score to an arm that indicates inherent resistance differences due to manufacturing or assembly inconsistencies. I think @dlang mentioned this before… ---
**Author:** ![gazinux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/dec6dc/32.png) [@gazinux](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/gazinux)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 4:04pm UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/belts-not-retracting-on-initial-calibration/21348/14 "2024-06-04T16:04:47Z")
> [@boxomatic](#): > > the max current for the motors 4000 where they will alarm or something if exceeded? I don’t know but 4amps down cat6 cable seems like a lot of current for cat6… And I noticed our M4 cat6 cables are unsheilded (UTP) \<— replacing these with shielded cat6 cables may be something to explore ---
**Author:** ![Ghinton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c4cdca/32.png) [@Ghinton](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/Ghinton)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 4:12pm UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/belts-not-retracting-on-initial-calibration/21348/15 "2024-06-04T16:12:55Z")
Changing that value to 2400 seems to have fixed that problem. Onto the next! Thank you guys! ---
**Author:** ![dlang](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/forums.maslowcnc.com/dlang/32/859_2.png) [@dlang](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/dlang)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 6:15pm UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/belts-not-retracting-on-initial-calibration/21348/16 "2024-06-04T18:15:34Z")
gazinux wrote: > [@boxomatic](#): > > the max current for the motors 4000 where they will alarm or something if exceeded? > I don’t know but 4amps down cat6 cable seems like a lot of current for cat6… the motor current doesn’t go through the cat6 cable, that goes through a pair of dedicated wires. > And I noticed our M4 cat6 cables are unsheilded (UTP) \<— replacing these with shielded cat6 cables may be something to explore yes, that would help David Lang ---
**Author:** ![gazinux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/dec6dc/32.png) [@gazinux](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/gazinux)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 6:59pm UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/belts-not-retracting-on-initial-calibration/21348/17 "2024-06-04T18:59:55Z")
I am going to buy this 5-pack of 1ft shielded cat6: > **[Amazon.com: Cable Matters 10Gbps 5-Pack Snagless Short Shielded Cat6A Ethernet...](https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-Snagless-Shielded-Ethernet/dp/B00HEM54DK?tag=maslowcnc091-20)** > > Amazon.com: Cable Matters 10Gbps 5-Pack Snagless Short Shielded Cat6A Ethernet Cable 1 ft (SSTP, SFTP Shielded Ethernet Cable, Shielded Cat6 Cable, Cat 6 Shielded Network Cable) in Black : Electronics ---
**Author:** ![bar](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/forums.maslowcnc.com/bar/32/10_2.png) [@bar](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/bar)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 7:29pm UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/belts-not-retracting-on-initial-calibration/21348/18 "2024-06-04T19:29:44Z")
> [@gazinux](#): > > Regarding the retraction force value, I am curious how that translates to milliamps. Anyone know? It’s not mA, it’s just reading from the ESP32 ADC. We could convert it if we wanted to though. > [@gazinux](#): > > Cat6 can only carry so much power and not sure if these cables are shielded and I was starting to wonder if these ethernet cables for powering servos are causing or attracting EMI. The power for the motors doesn’t actually flow through the Ethernet cable (for exactly that reason) ---
**Author:** ![bar](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/forums.maslowcnc.com/bar/32/10_2.png) [@bar](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/bar)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 7:30pm UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/belts-not-retracting-on-initial-calibration/21348/19 "2024-06-04T19:30:30Z")
That’s a great find. Let us know if you can tell the difference! ---
**Author:** ![gazinux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/dec6dc/32.png) [@gazinux](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/gazinux)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 7:32pm UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/belts-not-retracting-on-initial-calibration/21348/20 "2024-06-04T19:32:07Z")
I am a month or so away from being able to finish my assembly and test… Hoping others also try those shielded cables… [Next page](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/belts-not-retracting-on-initial-calibration/21348.md?page=2)