Not Sure Where to Start

Discussion specifically about the Shark's bigger brother, the CNC Shark Pro

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Brock Poling
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Nov 20, 2021 4:51 pm

Not Sure Where to Start

Post by Brock Poling »

I recently purchased a Shark Pro 24x24x4.5 from a buddy who is a fellow guitar maker. He upgraded the upper gantry to one of ThomR.com's aluminum systems that holds a liquid cooled spindle. I am trying to set this up and having some problems with some of the very basics. This system has the silver box style controller that connects to a computer. My friend was making guitars with it and claimed it worked great when he sold it to me. He said he never had any problems with it and was pretty much no help in helping me troubleshoot what's happening now.

I am hoping someone can point me in the right direction about how to straighten these issues out.
  • First, when I jog in the "slow" mode the x axis jog makes a horrible racket as it moves. When I jog in Medium or Fast mode it doesn't make this noise, just the normal hum you would expect.
  • Also, when I jog the X in medium or fast, if I jog hitting X+, let go, then hit X+ again about 70% of the time the X will travel in the opposite direction. It also makes a very fast chug, chug, chug, when it is starting or stopping it's jog in the X axis. I thought it might be binding up but I lubed the rails and screws with T-9 to no avail.
  • When I jog the Z axis I get different strangeness. If I am starting from the lowest point and trying lift it with Z+ it goes goes up half(ish) way, stops, makes a very subtle clicking sound. The only way to get it to keep going up is to let go and hit Z+ again. The same thing happens when I am trying to jog the Z axis down from the very top of its position.
  • When it comes to testing gcode, I have a very simple program to route a 10" square pocket in MDF about 1/8" deep. When I load the program I see the Gcode come into the machine, when I go to run it it lifts the Z axis up about .43" and stops.. no message, no nothing. Just stops. If I hit EStop (on the software) it still does nothing.
So clearly, I have a lot of issues to sort through, but don't have the foggiest idea where to start. And... since I am the 3rd owner of an older, modified Shark I think the chances of getting support from either ThomR or NextWave is going to be tough.

I suspect at the very least I have some sort of problem with the controller or the software... but as I say... not really sure where to begin looking.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Brock.

Rando
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Joined: Tue Jan 06, 2015 3:24 pm
Location: Boise, ID
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Re: Not Sure Where to Start

Post by Rando »

Brock:

Guess I should answer, since I'm "that" Thom Randolph ;) And, the chances of support from me are 100% yes of course you can! Homey don't abandon his products :D

First, which is your "x"? Along the length of the gantry? Or along the length of the bed? Most people have it as along the length of the gantry, so I'll assume that.

It sounds like one of two things is happening:
1) The X-axis rails and bearings need lubrication....BAD. Clean the rails with an oil-soaked cloth, then spread some light oil on the top of the rails, and run the system back and forth a bunch of times.
2) The x-axis bearings are not properly aligned. (You'll want a #3 philips screwdriver for this) To fix this, jog/raise the z-axis all the way up, and then loosen the four screws holding the bottom bearing block. Loosen them just enough so the bearing block is free to jiggle around, and then re-tighten those four. You can also loosen the four bolts (in a square pattern) holding the x-axis leadscrew follower bracket in place. First jog the x-axis so it's over near the x-asix stepper motor, then loosen the four bolts so the holder can move about, and then retighten the four bolts.

For the z-axis, note that the controller only lets it move a certain distance. It's as if it thinks it knows how far it can move, and only moves that distance. Mine stops at 7", even though the upgraded carriages give nearly 8.5" total travel.

Also, it sounds like the Z-axis bearings might be dry. Since they are brand new bearings in the system, if they haven't been WELL lubricated, they very well have almost none in them.

Personally, I despise "dry lubricants", but others swear by them. I prefer a good amount of light machine oil. Remember that the bearing blocks have wipers to keep out contaminants, so it will take a bit of back-and-forth to get lubrication in them.

Do you have a copy of the installation and alignment manual for the carriage upgrade? If not, drop me an email at thom@thomr.com and I'll send you the PDF. I included a printed copy of the manual in the original packaging, so hopefully he transferred that to you.

For the GCode, copy and paste the code up here and I'll take a look, see if there's something weird. You can also throw the code into a backplotter like http://www.ncviewer.com, and that might shed some light on what's happening.

Hope that helps,

Rando

Brock Poling wrote:
Sun Jul 17, 2022 3:34 pm
I recently purchased a Shark Pro 24x24x4.5 from a buddy who is a fellow guitar maker. He upgraded the upper gantry to one of ThomR.com's aluminum systems that holds a liquid cooled spindle. I am trying to set this up and having some problems with some of the very basics. This system has the silver box style controller that connects to a computer. My friend was making guitars with it and claimed it worked great when he sold it to me. He said he never had any problems with it and was pretty much no help in helping me troubleshoot what's happening now.

I am hoping someone can point me in the right direction about how to straighten these issues out.
  • First, when I jog in the "slow" mode the x axis jog makes a horrible racket as it moves. When I jog in Medium or Fast mode it doesn't make this noise, just the normal hum you would expect.
  • Also, when I jog the X in medium or fast, if I jog hitting X+, let go, then hit X+ again about 70% of the time the X will travel in the opposite direction. It also makes a very fast chug, chug, chug, when it is starting or stopping it's jog in the X axis. I thought it might be binding up but I lubed the rails and screws with T-9 to no avail.
  • When I jog the Z axis I get different strangeness. If I am starting from the lowest point and trying lift it with Z+ it goes goes up half(ish) way, stops, makes a very subtle clicking sound. The only way to get it to keep going up is to let go and hit Z+ again. The same thing happens when I am trying to jog the Z axis down from the very top of its position.
  • When it comes to testing gcode, I have a very simple program to route a 10" square pocket in MDF about 1/8" deep. When I load the program I see the Gcode come into the machine, when I go to run it it lifts the Z axis up about .43" and stops.. no message, no nothing. Just stops. If I hit EStop (on the software) it still does nothing.
So clearly, I have a lot of issues to sort through, but don't have the foggiest idea where to start. And... since I am the 3rd owner of an older, modified Shark I think the chances of getting support from either ThomR or NextWave is going to be tough.

I suspect at the very least I have some sort of problem with the controller or the software... but as I say... not really sure where to begin looking.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Brock.
=====================================================
ThomR.com Creative tools and photographic art
A proud member of the Pacific Northwest CNC Club (now on Facebook)

Rando
Posts: 757
Joined: Tue Jan 06, 2015 3:24 pm
Location: Boise, ID
Contact:

Shark HD movement issues

Post by Rando »

Brock:

I should add that some of what you're describing--namely the reversing of direction--sounds like it might be either broken wires, or maybe even loose connections inside the controller box. IIRC, the driver modules are mounted to a heatsink plate, but are not screwed into the main controller board inside the box. You might want to open the controller box (when UNPLUGGED!) and see if the driver modules are properly pushed into place. If that seems okay, check to make sure the stepper motor plugs are firmly attached with the thumbscrews, and that there isn't any wire fraying/breaking going on.

Rando
=====================================================
ThomR.com Creative tools and photographic art
A proud member of the Pacific Northwest CNC Club (now on Facebook)

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Kayvon
Posts: 552
Joined: Tue Oct 21, 2014 11:46 pm

Re: Not Sure Where to Start

Post by Kayvon »

Rando does excellent work with aluminum. What an upgrade!

You're in good hands with his support.

Rando
Posts: 757
Joined: Tue Jan 06, 2015 3:24 pm
Location: Boise, ID
Contact:

Re: Not Sure Where to Start

Post by Rando »

Where'd he go? :ugeek:


Hmmmm..... :?:
=====================================================
ThomR.com Creative tools and photographic art
A proud member of the Pacific Northwest CNC Club (now on Facebook)

Brock Poling
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Nov 20, 2021 4:51 pm

Re: Not Sure Where to Start

Post by Brock Poling »

Sorry... didn't mean to disappear. (I work out of town, then with a vacation thrown in for good measure it has been a couple weeks since I have been able to touch this.)

Much appreciated on the input. And thanks for the input Thom. It is great to know you will continue to support. I will check the wires and connections and report back.

My X axis moves the router from left to right across the gantry.
My Y axis moves the entire gantry unit from one side of the table to the other.

Thanks for the suggestions about the loose wires. I will check them. I did notice the wire controlling the Y axis (the one I am not having any jog issues with) gets pretty hot in one location. I can still hold it without pain, but it is pretty warm.

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