I had my machine configured in a bottom feed design and recently switched to top feed. When I attempted to recalibrate I had two issues. First after taking the distance between motors I did not see an option to rotate the left servo back to the vertical position before extending first the left and then the right servo. The other issue I’m experiencing is both servos rotate the same direction when attempting to extend. The left servo appears to be turning the correct direction (ccw). This results in the left chain being considerably longer then the right, and the sled positioned to the upper right of the work area. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I don’t understand why someone would go that route, usually it’s opposite.
So perhaps clarifying the confusing terminology is step one.
If this was clear, then checking the settings in GC would be the next step before calibration.
If the problem persists, wiping the Eeprom and renaming groundcontrol.ini to start completely fresh has been reported to solve similar issues.
1 Like
@Gero. Thank you for your reply. I am going to work on it more tonight and I will try your suggestions. Can you explain your reasoning for wanting to do the opposite and go to a bottom feed design? I switched because of constant issues with chains wrapping around sprockets, and weak bungees. To me it doesn’t make any sense to fight gravity rather then use it to our advantage, but maybe I am missing some key advantage to bottom feed. I am new to Maslow and any suggestions what others have done for a reliable machine are appreciated!
1 Like
I changed to bottom feed because:
- replacing bungees with weight. That gives a constant weight on the slack chain. Bungees are weakest when needed and strong when not needed.
- getting the chains away from the sides gave me the chance to slide my sheet left/right to utilize the more accurate centre of the frame if the project does not need a full sheet.
- the chains get less chips/dust at the top
My at that time 0$ approach that work perfect is here:
1 Like
With the top feed you are fighting gravity in a different way that’s harder to
compensate for, the gravity is pulling the slack chain to be vertical, while the
sprockets are 15 degrees from vertical. This misalignment is FAR more than
chains are designed to handle and at the very least results in wear as you force
the chain onto the sprocket with some sort of chain guide, and is the primary
cause of the chain skipping.
David Lang