Troubleshooting Guide
MaslowCNC Wiki: Electronics | Firmware | Mechanics | Software| Community Garden
This guide is a starting place to identify and solve issues with your machine. If you encounter and solve an issue which not covered here, and you think you could save some time for the next person please add it!
| Issue | Try: |
|---|---|
| Motors don't move | Run Actions->Test Motors |
| All motors fail test | Check power, check that power is plugged into Maslow shield, not the arduino |
| One motor fails test | Swap motors to see if problem moves with motor, if not try swapping the motor cables to see if problem moves with cable. Check that motors are in the correct plugs |
| Seeing "unable to resolve position" error | Run Actions->Calibrate Chain Lengths |
| Inaccurate cutting after previously accurate test shape (you may have had subsequent chain slippage) | Redo Actions->Calibrate Chain Lengths |
| Timeout Errors uploading firmware | Make sure to quit GroundControl |
| Connection timed out error | * Download latest versions of Ground Control and firmware; load blink sketch to arduino; install GC and firmware * re-route your USB cable away from the power cord * add RF chokes to your power cord * turn off all power-saving options on your laptop to prevent loss of power to the USB port (Hint: some may be in BIOS) |
| Sled tips (not flat against work piece) | Adjust height of sled connections to chain |
| Sled veers off course during cut | * Check for anything that could pull on the sled: a lip on the work piece, something catching the cord or vacuum hose * Check the gcode file for anomalies * Reduce the depth of the cut * Try a different (sharper) router bit * Wax sled surface * Check balance of sled by holding sled by chains and seeing if the top or bottom tilts toward work piece |
| Sled moves left & right correctly, but up and down are switched | Motor connections may be reversed; try actions -> test motors/encoders to see if the left motor spins when it says it is testing the left motor |
| Lose power or USB connection during a cut | Losing power while the machine is moving is going to mess up your home position. The position is saved to nonvolatile memory two seconds after the machine stops so a power outage while the machine is stopped won’t cause any loss of position When you turn the computer back on and launch Ground Control the file you were cutting and it’s position on the sheet will be saved. To resume the cut you will need to do Actions -> Calibrate Chain Lengths Automatic to restore the home position. You can then use these buttons:  to fast forward through the file until the point you want to resume. |
| error: Please set $12, $13, $19, and $20 to load old position data. | Clear EEPROM and reload firmware |
| “Sled not keeping up…” error, one motor unresponsive | Advanced Settings -> Position Error Limit to a large number |
| “Sled not keeping up…” error, both motors unresponsive | Check blue light on power supply and green light on motor shield |
| Not cutting to full depth | Check to make sure the z-axis motor mount is not interfering with the movement of the router. For the R22002 router, the head is larger than the body and depending upon how you position the z-axis, the part of the mount that the motor attaches to can ever so slightly catch the head of the router stopping it from lowering. In this case, the height adjustment "arm" will pop out of the groove in the router body and continue downward but the router won't. As you raise the height adjustment, the "arm" will pop back into the groove so it may appear everything is working but if you hear a pop or something as you lower the router, check to see if it's not caused by the router head getting hung up on the z-axis bracket. |
| z-axis moves randomly | Check that the z-axis motor cable is not too close to the router power cord. Also radio interferrence from the spinning motor is a reported problem, you can solve that by adding shielding around the cable that is earthed with the earth wire. |
| Description | Picture | Cause & Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Aspect ratio problems: Circles are cut as ellipses, Squares are cut as rectangles | ||
| ‘hooking’ on horizontal cuts at the top of the build area |  |
sled too heavy or power supply not keeping up try lowering the feed rate, check voltage of power supply when it happens, check if what happens for left-to-right vs right-to-left, and top-to-bottom vs bottom-to-top cuts |
| downward cut wanders instead of being straight | sled sticks sand it, wax it, add a layer of HDPE |
|
| square corner is rounded squiggly vertical line (typically lower corner of work area) |
 
|
sled sticking reduce feed rate sand/wax sled make work area more vertical |