Motors don't move

I've just switched from a CNC xPRO v5 to a Blackbox X32. I had everything running on the xPRO, but the Y axis control was faulty (1/2 Y motor outputs not working correctly), thus the switch.

Yesterday, I connected everything 1-on-1 and copied my old GRBL settings to find out my motors didn't move and I hope someone can help me figure this out.

After some tests;

• I can control the coolant output
• My router spins up
• I can control the router speed
• When I use my emergency switch, nothing shows in the software but a LED lights up
• When I change settings, like "pulloff distance", I hear something moving physically
• When I try to home the machine, I get an ALARM 8
• When I check the troubleshooting tab, nothing changes when I manually press any limit switch
• When I manually press a limit switch, sometimes ALARM 1 triggers and sometimes I get a "GrblHAL 1.1f ..." message - pressing the switch again triggers an ALARM 1
• Switch lights are dimmed by default and light up red when pressed
• Pressing any jog key changes the location in the software (but doesn't move any motors)

Some things worth mentioning;

I have a RatRig KillerBee with Nema 23 stepper motors (supplied by them) and used their BlackBox wiring diagram. Which has exactly the same wiring for the motors as for the xPRO. Except for the limit switches which is strange, because I had everything working previously with exactly the same wiring although limit switch cables seem mirrored in the wiring diagrams.

I'm using a USB adapter of which the manual states you can't. I think this doesn't cause my problem since I can control the coolant, router etc.

I did not install the BlackBox Device Drivers since I'm on MacOS 13 and they aren't available for my OS (yet?).

An export of my settings:

Code:

$0=10.0  ;  Step pulse time, microseconds
$1=255  ;  Step idle delay, milliseconds
$2=0  ;  Step pulse invert, mask
$3=5  ;  Step direction invert, mask
$4=0  ;  Invert step enable pin, boolean
$5=7  ;  Invert limit pins, boolean/mask
$6=1  ;  Invert probe pin, boolean
$7=0  ;  Disable spindle with 0 speed, boolean
$8=0  ;  Ganged axes direction invert as bitfield
$10=511  ;  Status report options, mask
$11=0.010  ;  Junction deviation, millimeters
$12=0.002  ;  Arc tolerance, millimeters
$13=0  ;  Report in inches, boolean
$14=0  ;  Limit pins invert, mask
$15=0  ;  Coolant pins invert, mask
$16=0  ;  Spindle pins invert, mask
$17=0  ;  Control pins pullup disable, mask
$18=0  ;  Limit pins pullup disable, mask
$19=0  ;  Probe pin pullup disable, boolean
$20=0  ;  Soft limits enable, boolean
$21=1  ;  Hard limits enable, boolean
$22=1  ;  Homing cycle enable, boolean (Grbl) / mask (GrblHAL)
$23=1  ;  Homing direction invert, mask
$24=100.0  ;  Homing locate feed rate, mm/min
$25=1000.0  ;  Homing search seek rate, mm/min
$26=250  ;  Homing switch debounce delay, milliseconds
$27=10.000  ;  Homing switch pull-off distance, millimeters
$28=0.100  ;  G73 retract distance, in mm
$29=0.0  ;  Step pulse delay (ms)
$30=25000.000  ;  Maximum spindle speed, RPM
$31=5000.000  ;  Minimum spindle speed, RPM
$32=0  ;  Laser-mode enable, boolean
$33=5000.0  ;  Spindle PWM frequency
$34=0.0  ;  Spindle off Value
$35=0.0  ;  Spindle min value
$36=100.0  ;  Spindle max value
$37=0  ;  Stepper deenergize mask
$39=1  ;  Enable printable realtime command characters, boolean
$40=0  ;  Apply soft limits for jog commands, boolean
$43=1  ;  Homing passes
$44=4  ;  Homing cycle 1
$45=3  ;  Homing cycle 2
$46=0  ;  Homing cycle 3
$62=0  ;  Sleep Enable
$63=2  ;  Feed Hold Actions
$64=0  ;  Force Init Alarm
$65=0  ;  Require homing sequence to be executed at startup
$70=7  ;  Network Services
$73=1  ;  Wifi Mode
$74=NaN  ;  Wifi network SSID
$75=NaN  ;  Wifi network PSK
$100=200.000  ;  X-axis steps per millimeter
$101=200.000  ;  Y-axis steps per millimeter
$102=200.000  ;  Z-axis steps per millimeter
$110=3000.000  ;  X-axis maximum rate, mm/min
$111=3000.000  ;  Y-axis maximum rate, mm/min
$112=3000.000  ;  Z-axis maximum rate, mm/min
$120=150.000  ;  X-axis acceleration, mm/sec^2
$121=150.000  ;  Y-axis acceleration, mm/sec^2
$122=150.000  ;  Z-axis acceleration, mm/sec^2
$130=200.000  ;  X-axis maximum travel, millimeters
$131=200.000  ;  Y-axis maximum travel, millimeters
$132=200.000  ;  Z-axis maximum travel, millimeters
$300=NaN  ;  Hostname
$302=192.168.5.1  ;  IP Address
$303=192.168.5.1  ;  Gateway
$304=255.255.255.0  ;  Netmask
$305=23  ;  Telnet Port
$306=80  ;  HTTP Port
$307=81  ;  Websocket Port
$341=0  ;  Tool Change Mode
$342=30.0  ;  Tool Change probing distance
$343=25.0  ;  Tool Change Locate Feed rate
$344=200.0  ;  Tool Change Search Seek rate
$345=100.0  ;  Tool Change Probe Pull Off rate
$370=0  ;  Invert I/O Port Inputs (mask)
$384=0  ;  Disable G92 Persistence

 

Thanks David. That changes something. On the troubleshooting page I can now see when I manually press a limit switch.

Motors are still not moving though. And when I home, it does nothing and now gives me an ALARM 9 after +/- 15 seconds. Searched around a bit for this alarm and tried various mixes of $2/$3/$5 settings, disabled homing and put $22 on 5 (read that somewhere) without any result.

I'm going to identify the coils tomorrow to validate the wiring is the same as the xPRO (which it should be according to the RatRig manual). If anyone has any other ideas, please let me know!

 

Thanks David for your extended comment and help! There's movement!

For future reference;

• At step 3 I loaded the WorkBee settings (since the KillerBee is an improvement of the WorkBee)
• At step 7 motors were not turnable by hand
• ... so I skipped step 8
• $4 is indeed 0 by default (thanks Peter!)