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Gradus M1 Pro - no Z axis movement

Discussion in 'Controller Boards' started by jverb, Sep 5, 2018.

  1. jverb

    jverb New
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    Hello everyone,

    I'm new to the CNC world, and just finished my build of the OX CNC from SMW3D. It uses the Gradus M1 Pro controller board.

    I can connect to the board and jog X and Y but I get no Z motion at all.

    I noticed on the Bigfoot Stepper driver for Z, the red FAULT LED is lit.

    When I disconnected the stepper motor and powered up the machine, the FAULT LED is still lit.

    Is there anything I can do to troubleshoot this? Would ordering another Bigfoot be a good next step?

    Thank you!

    John
     
  2. Scotty Orr

    Scotty Orr Journeyman
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    The driver is probably fine. Your VRef may be set too high. To set VRef appropriately, follow the guide here: Bigfoot BSD109A : Panucatt Devices

    For my chinese Nema 23s, I have VRef set to about 0.75 volts.
     
  3. jverb

    jverb New
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    Hi Scotty,
    Thank you! I will give that a try. Much appreciated
     
  4. jverb

    jverb New
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    Adjusting the trim pot did not help.

    I ended up replacing the Bigfoot board, and now everything works perfectly. It's unusual that the board would be bad from the start, but that's what happened in my case.
     
  5. Scotty Orr

    Scotty Orr Journeyman
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    John, Thanks for reporting back! I hope your vendor did the right thing...
    I got the same Fault indications (on all three Bigfoots) when I was setting up mine, and the VRef settings did the trick for me. Thought maybe your situation was the same...
    In any case, I'm glad you got it up and running.
    Cheers,
    Scotty
     
  6. DarkPenguin

    DarkPenguin Well-Known
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    Make sure you're actively cooling the bigfoot drivers. They fry at the drop of a hat.
     

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