Ordered 4.1 on kickstarter - cannot get board to recognize a Z motor on one port

Troubleshooting
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1

Hello Maslow team,

I’m finally getting around to setting up my Maslow 4.1 from the Kickstarter campaign — I had some personal life stuff that delayed the build, but I’m excited to get started now.

Unfortunately, I’m running into a persistent issue I can’t seem to solve, and I’ve already gone through a lot of troubleshooting (including working extensively with ChatGPT). I’m starting to wonder whether this is a firmware limitation, a config oversight, or possibly a board issue. I’d really appreciate your insight before I look into purchasing a new control board.

:hammer_and_wrench: Issue Summary:

  • I’m running firmware v1.12, tested via both OTA and USB flashing

  • The Z-axis only drives one motor — the other never responds to jog commands

  • Both Z motors work when plugged into the same port, so:

    • :white_check_mark: Both motors and wires are functional

    • :white_check_mark: Both motor ports work, but only one is driven at a time

Here’s what happens:

  • If Motor A is plugged into Port 0 → it works

  • If I swap and plug Motor B into Port 0 → Motor B works

  • But whichever motor is in Port 1 never spins, even though…

:pager: Console Log Confirms Both Motors Are Seen:

[MSG:INFO: Axis Z (-100.000,0.000)]
[MSG:INFO:   Motor0]
[MSG:INFO:     tmc_2209 UART1 Addr:0 Step:gpio.15 Dir:gpio.16]
[MSG:INFO:   Motor1]
[MSG:INFO:     tmc_2209 UART1 Addr:1 Step:gpio.46 Dir:gpio.38]
[MSG:INFO: Z Axis driver test passed]
[MSG:INFO: Z2 Axis driver test passed]

So the board clearly detects both drivers, and the configuration parses without errors.

:test_tube: Troubleshooting Steps Taken:

Working with ChatGPT, we tried:

  • Custom YAML configs where both motor0 and motor1 are defined under Z: :white_check_mark: No config errors

  • Cloning Z to A (e.g. A: axis: Z) :white_check_mark: Parsed fine, but did not drive second motor

  • Verified UART1 pin conflicts and GPIO overlaps :white_check_mark: All resolved

  • Verified step/dir pins for both motors :white_check_mark: Correct

  • Swapping stepper ports to confirm it’s not wiring :white_check_mark: Working

  • Confirmed firmware shows both drivers initialized :white_check_mark: Passed

We reached a point where the firmware seems to support both drivers on Z, but only motor0 receives jog instructions.

:speech_balloon: Request for Help:

  • Is the Maslow 4.1 firmware actually capable of driving two motors under the Z axis?

  • Or is this feature not yet fully implemented in v1.12?

  • If not, is there a supported method (e.g., Z+A clone, Z2, mirrored driver) that is known to work?

Any guidance would be hugely appreciated — I’ve tested extensively and would just love to know if I’ve hit a limitation of the current firmware or if there’s a workaround I can use.

Thanks so much

Chris

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It sounds like you have done an excellent job trouble shooting. This is almost certainly a known issue. We had a batch of boards with a really high failure rate on one of the motor driers. I will DM you a code for a free replacement right now. That will almost certainly fix the issue.

I am sorry for the trouble!

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