CNC -
The second machine - Problems
Sometimes things don't work out as they
should and this section of the site is dedicated to such times. I will
try to collect information about the various mistakes I may make and
what problems I may run into while enjoying this exciting hobby.
Dirty ballscrews.
When I first set up the
machine I had my Geckodrive G210's set to 5uSteps per fullstep. Then one
day I decided to change it to 10uSteps in hopes of getting it even
smoother than it was. While testing and tuning the new setup the Y-axis
made some strange "klonking" noice now and then and the needle on the
dial test indicator I had set up made huge jumps back and forth. At
first I suspected the G210 but after talking to a couple if helpfull
gentlemens at the Geckodrive Yahoogroup the focus shifted from
electrical to mechanical. I took the Y-axis ballscrew out and this is
what I found:
This, apparently, is not very healthy for
a precision component and is in good need of some cleaning.
After cleaning both the nut and the screw
and reloading the balls in the nut I put the screw back on the machine.
It wasn't really a suprise when the Y-axis
sounded a LOT smoother than before and by tuning the trim-pot on the
G210 a little I could get it even better. It is still "ringing" at some
speeds but it's alot better than before. See for you self if you like:
This
video shows the Y-axis before cleaning the ballscrew. And
this one is after the
cleaning. You can see the "ringing" I mentioned but I couldn't get it to
go smoother that this. |