Initial Setup - One Channel of board does not aplly voltage to motor

Troubleshooting
,
1

Hi All,

I built my Maslow 4.1 a few months back, never had the time to turn it on.

Today I finally started on the actual set-up:
I upgraded to Firmware 1.16 without problems.
I followed the instructions to pull in all belts, which is where I am stuck: 3 belts are being pulled in (at 1300), on belt (Top Left, Uppermost arm does not move).

After searching a bit on the forum, I moved up the force to 1500 and 1800 and tried again. Still no movement. I noticed that all the other motors spools turn a little bit (looking into the case of the motors), when clicking “retract all”.

To find out if the motor is broken, I connected the motor to TR (second from below) and tried retract all again. This time the motor moved for about 10cm (at 1300 force), with force 1800 I got the belt to be pulled in fully. At the same time, the motor “TR”, which I connected to channel TL did not move at all anymore.

Using the manual command $TRO / $TRI (BR/BL/TL etc…) I got all three motors at BR, BL and TR to extend / retract the cables a few millimeters for testing (the log ends with “[MSG:INFO: 200]”. Using the command $TLO / $TLI does nothing (The logs ends with [MSG:INFO: 201]).

I then tried to measure with a multi-meter, if the motor at channel TL gets some voltage. To do this I extended all four belts for ca 10mm (using the above commands, physically switching the connection for the non-working channel). and hit “Retract All”. This gives me a few seconds to measure voltage at the soldering points on the backside of the board: All working motors show a few volts of current, except for Channel TL.

Conclusion: All motors and encoder cables work. The channel “TL” either is broken, or I am doing something wrong.
A pointer in the right direction is certainly appreciated.

Best Regards
Jochen

PS: an excerpt from the logs (I can make the full log available)
[MSG:INFO: Encoder connected on Top Left]
[MSG:INFO: Motor detected on Top Left]
[MSG:INFO: Encoder connected on Top Right]
[MSG:INFO: Motor detected on Top Right]
[MSG:INFO: Encoder connected on Bottom Left]
[MSG:INFO: Motor detected on Bottom Left]
[MSG:INFO: Encoder connected on Bottom Right]
[MSG:INFO: Motor detected on Bottom Right]
[MSG:INFO: Current z-axis position loaded as: -75.000]
[MSG:INFO: No saved belt positions found in NVS - machine will remain in UNKNOWN state until belts are calibrated/extended]
[MSG:INFO: Starting Maslow Version v1.16]
Retract All
[MSG:INFO: Retracting all belts]
[MSG:INFO: Requesting state change from Retracting Belts to Retracting Belts]
[MSG:INFO: Succeeded]
[MSG:INFO: Bottom Left pulled tight with offset 0.000]
[MSG:INFO: Bottom Right pulled tight with offset 0.043]
[MSG:INFO: Top Right pulled tight with offset -0.011]
#Comment: State of machine never stops “State: Retracting”
Extend All
[MSG:INFO: Extending all belts]
[MSG:INFO: Requesting state change from Retracting Belts to Extending Belts]
[MSG:INFO: Cannot extend the belts until they have been retracted]

1 Like
2

Hmm that is really strange. It sounds like you have done an excellent job of testing. I would say for sure it’s a board issue issue, but the only thing that makes me hesitate is this bit:

That means that the board is measuring some current going to that motor.

I’m going to DM you a code for a free replacement right now, but it also might be worth poking at it a little more while it’s in transit in case we learn something else.

3

Hi Bar,

thanks again for the speedy answer!

I’ll be happy to test further to (maybe) isolate the error without a replacement board. I would be needing your advice what to try though. Currently I am pretty much out of ideas.

What I can do is post a (commented) log, once I am not a new user anymore :slight_smile:

Best Regards
Jochen

1 Like
4

It might be worth taking apart the spools and sanding & polish the belt spools so they spin easily by hand. I don’t think it’s the root cause but might help and certainly will help avoid some other issues.

Dano

5

The only other thing that I can think to check is the motor connectors.

Where are you measuring the voltage when you measure it?

6

Hi Dano,

That is a good suggestion (saw the topic about getting the retracting force to below 1000). I will certainly try this, tonoptimize operations.

For the current problem: Connecting to another motor, all four arms get full retraction with force 1800. So I would rule out too much friction on the arms for now.

Jochen

1 Like
7

Hi Bar,

I was measuring on the underside, at the soldering pins directly beneath the connector (I was thnking maybe a blind soldering spot).

Jochen

1 Like
8

A blind solder is a good guess for what could be going on.

Does moving the connector around have any impact?

9

Hi All,

I might have the same problem. One of the Z-axis connectors is not working for me. It’s not the motor itself, both motors work if I test them in the other Z-axis connector. Tried to wiggle the connector but it doesn’t help. Any ideas? The board says V1.10b, have firmware 1.17

Thanks, Ivo

1 Like
Problem with one Z-axis motor that is not working
10

the first batch of 4.1 boards had this as a common failure mode, @bar will
probably contact you shortly with a code for a free replacement.

David Lang

Ivo wrote:

1 Like
11

Yup! That sounds like the issue to me. I will DM you a code for a free replacement right now!

12

Thanks @bar @dlang

13

Hi All, Hi Bar,

just to note, the new board works perfectly on first try. Without re-assembly, all motors now work with force 1300. (which is an unexpected improvement: the other board needed 1800).

I will consider the issue closed.

I can try my first setup on the weekend now :slight_smile:

Thanks again Bar for the quick help.

Cheers Jochen