Microrouter Y axis not working

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Mani
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Joined: Sun 16 Jun , 2019 19:55 pm

Microrouter Y axis not working

Post by Mani » Sun 16 Jun , 2019 20:10 pm

Hi, the y axis on my Microrouter is not working. it makes a juddering sound and struggles to move, I have replaced the wires with the x axis and it seems to work fine which can only mean the lower driver board is gone.
I would like to ask if I can get hold of a replacement driver board from another denford router or mill, will that be compatible with my router, or are athe driver boards made specifically for a certain model.
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TDIPower
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Re: Microrouter Y axis not working

Post by TDIPower » Mon 17 Jun , 2019 21:26 pm

Just to clarify, you have you tried swapping the plugs over (X to Y) to prove a board fault rather than stepper/cable and the fault stays with the board output and the Y motor runs fine under control from X. It sounds like the motor or driver is 'missing steps' Have you checked the travel isn't binding? with the power off you should be able to wind the feed screws quite easily by hand.

it may be one of the Drivers IC's which are mounted on the heat sink which would be quite easy to replace. Google the IC and see what they cost, crack out the soldering iron (it would be a lot cheaper than a new board, unless you can get a second hand)

In general terms the boards are the same from mills and routers to lathes. There are some differences (some very different boards), I'm sure Martin or Steve will be along with better info on this. For some machines like the Microrouter, the Pro version has the same boards BUT has a cable taking the drive signals out to more powerful drive boards for stronger motors.

Pete

Mani
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Re: Microrouter Y axis not working

Post by Mani » Tue 18 Jun , 2019 9:17 am

Hi Pete,
First of all , thankyou for your help :), I have tried the steps that you mentioned, I swapped the x and y plugs which reults in the y axis working and exactly the same problem with x axis. when the machine is turned off the feed screws are easy to move so I am guessing it is the drive board that is the issue. I do not have much electrical knowledge but I can try changing the IC you mentioned and see if that fixes the issue.
Now all I have to do is identify the correct IC for the y axis he he he, I told you I have little electrical knowlege :)
is it 1, 2 or 3. any help would be appreciated.

Thanks
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TDIPower
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Re: Microrouter Y axis not working

Post by TDIPower » Tue 18 Jun , 2019 18:21 pm

Bit difficult to say for sure without digging out the diagrams, looking at the tracks on the board it looks like those from No2 go to the Y connection.

A quick search and here are the drivers,

https://cpc.farnell.com/stmicroelectron ... m%2Fsearch

Where are you located? I was an electronics engineer for many years, wouldn't take to long to swap out, possibly have a look to prove it.

Pete

Mani
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Re: Microrouter Y axis not working

Post by Mani » Tue 18 Jun , 2019 22:10 pm

Thats a very kind offer Pete , I am based in Derby and willing to travel a little and willing to pay for your time . But If you happen to live too far away then what I will do is order the part you sent the link to and see if I can have a go myself.

TDIPower
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Re: Microrouter Y axis not working

Post by TDIPower » Wed 19 Jun , 2019 17:29 pm

Hi, Im on the south east side of Barnsley, Not a million miles but still a drive, we could have a look if you want for a beer or two. If you have used a soldering iron and solder sucker or solder wick before you should be fine, you just don't want to be damaging the tracks when removing it.
There is no guarantee it is the fault though, when I have seen them fail I have seen damage to the surface of the driver, a crack or popped surface. If you can get hold of Martin or Steve from Denford they may be able to offer an alternative view point. It would be frustrating to replace the driver and find out it is the thing driving the driver. I will have a dig on line and see if i can see a diagram.

Pete

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Re: Microrouter Y axis not working

Post by TDIPower » Wed 19 Jun , 2019 18:53 pm

Just to step back for one moment.

When you fire up the machine you obviously need to home it in VR milling before you can tell it to move about. How are you getting past that point if it is not moving in Y correctly or is it moving just not in the same fluid motion as X/Z. So does go to the home switch and then back away and stop thus letting you then go to the JOG page where you can try and control with the arrow keys.

If that is the case it does sound like it is missing steps which would indicate a fail in the driver chip on one of the outputs. I would imagine the sound made by the motor would be repetitive/pulsing rather than the consistent sound from the Ok driven

Pete

Mani
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Re: Microrouter Y axis not working

Post by Mani » Wed 19 Jun , 2019 23:11 pm

When I hit the home button both x and z home fine but the y axis made a juddering sound but nothing moves. I then read up on this forum that there is a secret home function by double clicking near the home button and tried to use that, same outcome y was juddering. then I swapped the y connector with the x connector and the problem transfered to the x axis which lead me to believe its the driver.
After doing some reading I did think it might be the chip next to the heatsink and when you confirmed the same thing It did make sense to have a go and considering the cost I think it wont hurt to try replacing it.
I have ordered the chip and a soldering iron :shock: wish me luck
If this works Ill buy you a beer :D But I must warn you I also have a denford orac that I am itching to convert to mach3 and that can only be achieved with proper guidance Hint Hint.
Thanks for the help Pete
will let you know how it turns out.

TDIPower
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Re: Microrouter Y axis not working

Post by TDIPower » Thu 20 Jun , 2019 20:23 pm

Right, makes sense and good to see you have followed a decent logical approach and read up as much as possible.
If you have a hot air paint stripper with a thin nozzle it might be easier to tie a bit of string through the screw fixing hole so you can gently pull on that whilst warming all the pins at once, once its out you can use a solder sucker or solder wick to clear the holes.

Ahh now I know nothing of Mach 3, but there are lots that have done the conversions. I still haven't converted my Starturn from DOS control to the later VR turning, Only had the thing about 5yrs now!

Pete

tryagain10
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Joined: Mon 12 Dec , 2016 11:12 am
Hardware/Software: Microrouter v3

Re: Microrouter Y axis not working

Post by tryagain10 » Sat 18 Jul , 2020 13:57 pm

Hi guys,

Firstly Mani, I hope you managed to get your machine sorted.

I'm getting the same problem as Mani. I have replaced the driver chip, as suggested by TDIPower in this thread, but no change in behavior.

I have tried to do a bit more debugging and found the following:-

1) after pressing the secret home button, go to Jog tab where X and Z axis work fine, BUT so does the Y axis (without swapping any connectors). When you go back to the Home tab and press Y home, I get the funny juddering and the Y axis drives in the wrong direction and I need to press the Emergency Stop.

So just to be clear, what ever I do the Y axis works fine in the Jog tab, but judders and goes the wrong way in the Home tab.

Now I'm not sure if this behavior occurred before I replaced the driver IC, cause I never did this test.

2) the large capacitor and 2 bridge rectifiers are getting quite warm, not to hot to touch, but definitely hotter than I would expect.

Any suggestion?

Cliff

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