I have a onefinity Elite (Masso) and I’ve been having issues with the z setting lowering during a carve.
I know EMI can potentially cause issues like this so I moved my power cable out of the drag chain and so far it’s much better but still happening a tiny bit.
I also read the post about not having any issues with EMI and Masso.
I managed to rip the spindle end connector off of my cable while setting it up. I found someone local to solder it back together and was told it was shrink wrapped as well. I put it back together and had no problems. How likely is it that something could have worked loose or have been done improperly where it would power the spindle just fine but create EMI?
It did seem to make a big difference when I moved the cable, so I’m trying to eliminate potential causes if I can.
After it happened, i literally sat there and watched it, being fully aware of my surroundings, and something like EMI or in my case a Brown Out can often be confused.
I went and got the cheapest UPS i could find because I wasnt concerned about the battery backup time, and only needed a power conditioner.
I haven’t had a problem since.
Since the z20 has a known problem with the z dropping under spindle weight, a moment of z motor voltage drop would only amplify it.
To answer your question its not impossible for there to be a problem with the spindle cable, but it would be thus far unproven as the culprit.
My suggestion, do as i did, and when it does, let it drop, watching and taking note of everything happening at that time… but it’s on a dedicated circuit? The power available gets shared by everything on the meter, even if it was on its own circuit from a subpanel. Unless you have a totally seperate power source like a solar circuit with battery backup, it shares the same power available with the rest of your 220v appliances. HVAC, Dryer, Oven are high(er) consumers. My case it was the HVAC clicking on where turning on any appliance is likely the heaviest draw. Notice how the lights flicker when a vacuum turns on? That’s what i suspect is happening in your case
It has been documented that a user’s extreme bend over time broke something internally, but failing to mind the bend radius (which strain gets amplified in overfilled cable chains) is something that should be common knowledge not to do, especially with stranded wire found in consumer electronics
Elite Foreman, braking motor, Fusion 360, setting Z to bed. The Z starts quickly and dramatically moving down when I start a carve. If I feedhold or Estop and then recheck against the bed it’s can be off by over 5/8". Bit hasn’t moved in the collet. The machine is very new, with only a handful of operations. PwnCnc Water Cooled Spindle. I haven’t changed anything from the last carves which went fine. I know there are a few threads where people have experienced similar issues but so far I haven’t been able to find anything useful.
Was going to post the above but thought I’d try rerouting my spindle power cable outside of the drag chain. Ran several tests. It seems to stay put if I run an air carve, MDF seems ok, but solid wood carves still cause the Z to drop, but by much less (so far), about a 1/16th.
Any ideas? Is this just an interference problem? Is the higher power draw on solid wood creating more interference? Would grounding the machine help? It’s a shielded cable but should I add to it? It’s pretty darn infuriating with what is a brand new machine to have to do this kind of troubleshooting.
With the braking Z motor, it should at least in theory not drop because of a power outage/drop.
There was a pretty tight bend in the cable near the vfd that is no longer there because I gained some slack when I rerouted the cable. It’s also possible that when I pulled the connector from the cable, the cable itself could have been damaged internally. As I said spindle itself seems to be operating fine, I didn’t have any problems with it for several weeks and I’m not entirely sure how this would cause the Z to reset, but I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Hmm, that is interesting set of circumstances, and I can’t speak to the 1F braking motor specifically as I have an external brake that has since been discontinued shortly after I ordered it.
I have had an external brake for just over a year now, and through trial and error, I have learned not to have my estop set on power up. If I do, it will violently drop upon release, so that’s an easy fix.
I’m sure their brake follows the same logic as mine, as I worked with one of the onefinity backend employees directly while they were still prototyping prior to them releasing theirs. Mine has a spring that when power is applied and its not in an alarm condition the spring is opened allowing it to move. If power is removed or an alarm state is entered, the spring is locked shut. You do not want the spring to be applied while its trying to move because then it wouldn’t move while its applied and it doesn’t turn on/turn off during a carve because that would lead to premature wear.
When the Z Drops by the 5/8" I would think that would be enough to cause the closed loop steppers to alarm and need rehoming (provided you have that checkbox checked… if not you should)
If it only happens when you start a carve, and it happens mostly every time, and isn’t “randomly” occurring like mine was, I would first ask if you use the Dust Collection power port on the blackbox for a shopvac with it plugged into the CNC’s circuit. Next check connections at z brake motor, then try it without the brake motor and use the stock motor. If you can’t duplicate it with the stock motor, it would point towards the brake motor. If it happens with the stock motor, I would check other connections. If the other connections look good, I would evaluate what power you have consumed on the circuit, and entertain that that circuit is overloaded. Turn other non-essential (everything is non-essential except the CNC for troubleshooting) items off on the circuit.
I’m more convinced it’s not the spindle cable (prior to taking it apart) than I was before. The spindle cable is shielded. The 1F wires are not. The likelihood that the interference comes from a neighboring wire is more likely than it is from a shielded cable. A gnarly bend at the VFD I would think is less of a concern than if it was at a point where it would constantly flex and bend that would be a greater concern.
