# Ian\_Tolond: Errors and issue with calibration 1.20 and Maslow 4.1 vertical (orientation) **URL:** \ **Category:** Troubleshooting\ **Tags:** calibration\ **Created:** [April 8, 2026, 3:12am UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/ian-tolond-errors-and-issue-with-calibration-1-20-and-maslow-4-1-vertical-orientation/25689 "2026-04-08T03:12:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ian\_Tolond](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/forums.maslowcnc.com/ian_tolond/32/28956_2.png) [@Ian\_Tolond](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/Ian_Tolond)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 3:12am UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/ian-tolond-errors-and-issue-with-calibration-1-20-and-maslow-4-1-vertical-orientation/25689/1 "2026-04-08T03:12:39Z")
1. Attempting to calibrate the Maslow on a vertical table. 2. Connected to Maslow AP 3. Retract all (success) 4. Extend all (1800mm) success 5. Mounted Maslow on a vertical table (4 anchors) 6. Run find anchors - get an error, see serial 7. somewhat lost as to what to try next. ---
**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:** [April 8, 2026, 3:28am UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/ian-tolond-errors-and-issue-with-calibration-1-20-and-maslow-4-1-vertical-orientation/25689/2 "2026-04-08T03:28:02Z")
I think that this is the issue here: > [MSG:INFO: Requesting state change from Retracting Belts to Belts Retracted] > [MSG:INFO: Succeeded] > Find Anchors > [MSG:INFO: Requesting state change from Belts Retracted to Finding Anchor] > [MSG:INFO: Cannot start calibration until the belts have been extended] > Find Anchors What is happening here is that when you press “Retract All” the machine is trying to pull the belts all the way in to set their home position. You only want to use retract all when the belts aren’t connected to the frame. A fair bit has changed since this video, but this is a good starting point for understanding how things should work: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/mQwz0omOKJc/maxresdefault.jpg "Maslow Calibration Walkthrough 1.05") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQwz0omOKJc) ---
**Author:** ![Ian\_Tolond](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/forums.maslowcnc.com/ian_tolond/32/28956_2.png) [@Ian\_Tolond](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/Ian_Tolond)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 3:58am UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/ian-tolond-errors-and-issue-with-calibration-1-20-and-maslow-4-1-vertical-orientation/25689/3 "2026-04-08T03:58:27Z")
Updated firmware, index files. ( am I required to update the Yaml file as well?) Retried, retract, extend, mounted on board, then find anchors. Seemed to go further and began to calibrate. I did notice a few skips where the sled was lifting at one side at different times??? Is this a vertical = false/ true issue setting? ![IMG_5871](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/uploads/maslowcnc/original/3X/3/f/3f1168aeaf958aa6fe42bcc6ec88a24413c056dd.jpeg) ![IMG_5867](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/uploads/maslowcnc/original/3X/4/a/4acac8600c683104f0b4118a388b65faeeca4a47.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![ian\_ab](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a587f6/32.png) [@ian\_ab](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/ian_ab)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 7:07am UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/ian-tolond-errors-and-issue-with-calibration-1-20-and-maslow-4-1-vertical-orientation/25689/4 "2026-04-08T07:07:24Z")
There is no need to edit maslow.yaml normally. A successful Find Anchors will do that for you. Just to be clear on the exact sequence initially (until you get a successful Find Anchors) 1. Click on Setup With Maslow not connected to Anchors Retract 2. Extend and connect to anchors 3. Click On Find Anchor Locations Maslow should drop a little then pull all belts tight (here it is using gravity to determine if Maslow is vertical or horizontal). It should then do a slack belt movement to pull around a rectangle. (here it is making a rough estimate of the approximate location of your Anchor Point). It sends the data back to your computer for processing. Next it should go around your work surface 3 times, pausing after each circuit to send data back to your PC for processing. Each circuit is larger than the previous. Belts should stay reasonably tight during this process. Maslow tipping may affect the accuracy. 4. After 3 iterations it will make 2 more stops and end up back in the center. 5. If successful it will then go to Ready To Cut. Before trying to cut any thing I suggest you raise the Z axis to a reasonable value (40mm) and set Z Home. Load a GCode file (without a bit in) and run it, just to get a feel for how the Maslow operates When you are comfortable load something to cut Adjust the Z until bit is just touching the material Set Z Home AND Have fun. ---
**Author:** ![Ian\_Tolond](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/forums.maslowcnc.com/ian_tolond/32/28956_2.png) [@Ian\_Tolond](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/Ian_Tolond)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 8:44am UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/ian-tolond-errors-and-issue-with-calibration-1-20-and-maslow-4-1-vertical-orientation/25689/5 "2026-04-08T08:44:13Z")
this is the serial output if this helps - I do see. “Calculated Fitness Too Low”, my frame is based on this design but in 15mm plyboard (2420 height by 3000 wide) [Maslow-serial.log](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/uploads/short-url/3oS8w5LwwidRl9ZrS3ibJh6Kk25.log) (52.9 KB) [Maslow+Frame+Metric frame.pdf](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/uploads/short-url/e4j7aZpML4Nk82iP5r6js8jCcFT.pdf) (142.4 KB) ---
**Author:** ![ian\_ab](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a587f6/32.png) [@ian\_ab](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/ian_ab)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 9:54am UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/ian-tolond-errors-and-issue-with-calibration-1-20-and-maslow-4-1-vertical-orientation/25689/6 "2026-04-08T09:54:12Z")
Please just stick with one topic, until we get you up and working. Otherwise, it makes it difficult to remember if we have asked for particular information before. This one will do. Can you put a copy of your maslow.yaml file here. I think you have posted it before, but I can’t find it. What I want to try is seeding a standard frame into the maslow.yaml with the following values: tlX: 0 tlY: 2400 trX: 3000 trY: 2400 blX: 0.000000 blY: 0.000000 brX: 3000 brY: 0.000000 and see what it does when you run Find Anchors. Can you also try (on the bench for this) retract, extend and pull out the belts, repeated 3 times, then post the resulting serial file here. What we are looking for is deviations less than 1 for the 2nd two cycles. This will give us an indication of whether the arms are OK or not. Also, what **retraction force** have you set? Retraction force is used during Find Anchors and the lower it is the better, consistent with all belts retracting completly. ---
**Author:** ![Ian\_Tolond](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/forums.maslowcnc.com/ian_tolond/32/28956_2.png) [@Ian\_Tolond](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/Ian_Tolond)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 11:51am UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/ian-tolond-errors-and-issue-with-calibration-1-20-and-maslow-4-1-vertical-orientation/25689/7 "2026-04-08T11:51:54Z")
I will send the yaml file tomorrow - the unit is at my workshop ---
**Author:** ![Ian\_Tolond](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/forums.maslowcnc.com/ian_tolond/32/28956_2.png) [@Ian\_Tolond](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/Ian_Tolond)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 11:54am UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/ian-tolond-errors-and-issue-with-calibration-1-20-and-maslow-4-1-vertical-orientation/25689/8 "2026-04-08T11:54:39Z")
most settings are factory - force is 1300 from memory when - the pieces are attached to the belts there os a slight overlap - mine are quite small- could this impact this ? ---
**Author:** ![ian\_ab](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a587f6/32.png) [@ian\_ab](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/ian_ab)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 11:58am UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/ian-tolond-errors-and-issue-with-calibration-1-20-and-maslow-4-1-vertical-orientation/25689/9 "2026-04-08T11:58:44Z")
> [@Ian\_Tolond](#): > > the pieces are attached to the belts there os a slight overlap - mine are quite small- could this impact this ? Not sure what you mean here ---
**Author:** ![ian\_ab](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a587f6/32.png) [@ian\_ab](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/ian_ab)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 12:13pm UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/ian-tolond-errors-and-issue-with-calibration-1-20-and-maslow-4-1-vertical-orientation/25689/10 "2026-04-08T12:13:17Z")
> [@Ian\_Tolond](#): > > force is 1300 from memory What you can try here is set retract force to 700, extend and retract. If all belts retract, excellent! Otherwise increase it by 100 and try again. What we are aiming for is the lowest possible value where Maslow retracts all belts consistently. ---
**Author:** ![Ian\_Tolond](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/forums.maslowcnc.com/ian_tolond/32/28956_2.png) [@Ian\_Tolond](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/Ian_Tolond)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2026, 1:50am UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/ian-tolond-errors-and-issue-with-calibration-1-20-and-maslow-4-1-vertical-orientation/25689/11 "2026-04-09T01:50:03Z")
files attached ![Screenshot 2026-04-09 at 9.45.45 am](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/uploads/maslowcnc/original/3X/2/a/2a1ae64aa73e52a5207e2f5e1294dc2c95682a6c.png) [maslow.yaml](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/uploads/short-url/p8xMj39PyXiCW8vqaBZoLTCBy2l.yaml) (6.8 KB) ---
**Author:** ![ian\_ab](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a587f6/32.png) [@ian\_ab](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/ian_ab)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2026, 2:12am UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/ian-tolond-errors-and-issue-with-calibration-1-20-and-maslow-4-1-vertical-orientation/25689/12 "2026-04-09T02:12:36Z")
> [@Ian\_Tolond](#): > > when - the pieces are attached to the belts there os a slight overlap - mine are quite small- could this impact this ? What do you mean here. Are you talking about where the belts attach to Anchors? Maybe a photo would help. ---
**Author:** ![Ian\_Tolond](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/forums.maslowcnc.com/ian_tolond/32/28956_2.png) [@Ian\_Tolond](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/Ian_Tolond)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2026, 4:37am UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/ian-tolond-errors-and-issue-with-calibration-1-20-and-maslow-4-1-vertical-orientation/25689/13 "2026-04-09T04:37:23Z")
yes - belt anchors- i did trim (the are all under 5mm) so I think it maybe a non-issue ---
**Author:** ![Ian\_Tolond](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/forums.maslowcnc.com/ian_tolond/32/28956_2.png) [@Ian\_Tolond](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/Ian_Tolond)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2026, 4:40am UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/ian-tolond-errors-and-issue-with-calibration-1-20-and-maslow-4-1-vertical-orientation/25689/14 "2026-04-09T04:40:05Z")
I changed tension to 700- re ran the process - retract- extend- find anchors, appeared to work this time- i did not a slight lift on the sled once during calibration, however nothing like the previous one. (log attached) [Maslow-serial (2).log](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/uploads/short-url/dZ07qv5hg3BdD1xnB9LWCGiSsLG.log) (32.5 KB) ---
**Author:** ![ian\_ab](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a587f6/32.png) [@ian\_ab](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/ian_ab)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2026, 5:46am UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/ian-tolond-errors-and-issue-with-calibration-1-20-and-maslow-4-1-vertical-orientation/25689/15 "2026-04-09T05:46:03Z")
Not a great result, but a pass. Re-running Find Anchors may improve it a bit. Belts need to rotate around Anchor points, too tight will cause problems. ---
**Author:** ![Ian\_Tolond](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/forums.maslowcnc.com/ian_tolond/32/28956_2.png) [@Ian\_Tolond](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/Ian_Tolond)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2026, 8:53am UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/ian-tolond-errors-and-issue-with-calibration-1-20-and-maslow-4-1-vertical-orientation/25689/16 "2026-04-09T08:53:28Z")
The anchors are a little tight for rotation, may have to attend to this. Can I simply re run locate Anchors again.( no need to retract extend) release tension first? What do you mean by not great? ---
**Author:** ![ian\_ab](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a587f6/32.png) [@ian\_ab](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/ian_ab)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2026, 9:38am UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/ian-tolond-errors-and-issue-with-calibration-1-20-and-maslow-4-1-vertical-orientation/25689/17 "2026-04-09T09:38:51Z")
> [@Ian\_Tolond](#): > > The anchors are a little tight for rotation, may have to attend to this. They really need to be free to rotate. The maths depends on the belts going straight from the Anchor Point to the centre of the router. Any angle deviation messes up the accuracy. > [@Ian\_Tolond](#): > > Can I simply re run locate Anchors again.( no need to retract extend) release tension first? Jog to the middle (or set home to middle (0,0) then Click Home. Release tension then you can re-run Find Anchors. It will go through the same routine again, but use the existing values for the initial seed and hopefully get a bit better. > [@Ian\_Tolond](#): > > What do you mean by not great? Originally the limit for fitness was 0.5. This was lowered to 4.5 a long time ago. Most people are getting fitness values above 0.8. The higher the better. You can have a look at this simulator [Maslow CNC Calibration Simulation](https://barboursmith.github.io/Calibration-Simulation/) Paste the CLBM line from your serial log file into simulator. Data points in the simulation should look pretty rectangular after a few seconds. Yours look distorted. ![Screenshot 2026-04-09 194337](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/uploads/maslowcnc/original/3X/2/0/20b9bd9c98826eb0a9da998f7605eb56f7a91056.jpeg) What it is attempting to do is find the optimum intersection point for all of belts in each position, much the same way as GPS works. ---
**Author:** ![Ian\_Tolond](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/forums.maslowcnc.com/ian_tolond/32/28956_2.png) [@Ian\_Tolond](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/Ian_Tolond)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2026, 11:19pm UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/ian-tolond-errors-and-issue-with-calibration-1-20-and-maslow-4-1-vertical-orientation/25689/18 "2026-04-09T23:19:02Z")
Understand - i run these and see where it all lands ---
**Author:** ![Ian\_Tolond](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/forums.maslowcnc.com/ian_tolond/32/28956_2.png) [@Ian\_Tolond](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/Ian_Tolond)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2026, 2:45am UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/ian-tolond-errors-and-issue-with-calibration-1-20-and-maslow-4-1-vertical-orientation/25689/19 "2026-04-10T02:45:35Z")
Checked Anchors, some were less ‘free’ the man others. These are the 3D printed anchors from the not shop. Additionally I purchased the quick release pins from Amazon ( link in not shop also). It appears to be sticking on quick-release pins more than the 3D print. To confirm, is it expected the pins rotate in the 3D printed anchor points? ( and the belt anchors rotate with the pins?) Also I noted the Maslow sled, regardless of location apart form centred home, is slightly tilted- normal? Fix? [Maslow-serial (1).log](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/uploads/short-url/8MTAVmmRyThNbJFbxCc96jKhjm6.log) (21.4 KB) ![IMG_5900.HEIC](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/uploads/maslowcnc/original/3X/a/1/a1521df5a3cb563ae84a047826bc2686dedec60f.jpeg) ![IMG_5899.HEIC](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/uploads/maslowcnc/original/3X/4/2/4209a63182ad51a2d7fa221c4daf3de5bfc5c312.jpeg) ---
**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:** [April 10, 2026, 6:35am UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/ian-tolond-errors-and-issue-with-calibration-1-20-and-maslow-4-1-vertical-orientation/25689/20 "2026-04-10T06:35:25Z")
Ian Tolond wrote: > Checked Anchors, some were less ¡free¢ the man others. These are the 3D > printed anchors from the not shop. Additionally I purchased the quick release > pins from Amazon ( link in not shop also). It appears to be sticking on > quick-release pins more than the 3D print. To confirm, is it expected the pins > rotate in the 3D printed anchor points? ( and the belt anchors rotate with the > pins?) it doesn’t matter which part of this is pivoting, but the belt end should rotate so that as the belt is pulled, the pivot point of the belt end is at the pin. the pin, the belt, the arm, and the center of the router where the bit is are all in a direct line > Also I noted the Maslow sled, regardless of location apart form centred home, is slightly tilted- normal? Fix? the sled can rotate wihtout the bit moving, so it’s rotation doesn’t matter. Now, as you move around, one or more arms will hit the frame, and what should happen is that when one arm hits the frame, the frame conforms to the movement of the arm. If it can’t (either because there is another arm hitting the frame, and they can’t move, or because cable/hose/etc stops the rotation), then the fact that the arm and belt are no longer straight does introduce some error. It’s usually not enough to matter, but enough of it can matter. the tool at [http://lang.hm/maslow/maslow4\_frame.html](http://lang.hm/maslow/maslow4_frame.html) lets you put in dimensions and see the places where adjacent arms will hit along sides and opposite arms will hit in the corners, the bands you see indicate the amount of angle between the arm and the belt. above the graph is a chart that gives rough indication of how much error in effective belt length is introduced at each band. As you see, going a few bands in is unlikely to be noticable, but going a lot of bands in is more likely to cause grief. David Lang [Next page](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/ian-tolond-errors-and-issue-with-calibration-1-20-and-maslow-4-1-vertical-orientation/25689.md?page=2)