Probably silly problem with my stepper

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  • #6207
    leesaferite
    Member

    I bought a 400 step/rev NEMA17 from SparkFun and hooked it up to my brand new TinyG board just to see it do something. I followed the connecting to TinyG page in the wiki and issued a traverse command (g0x1000) to set the current. The stepper spins up but then stops moving but still makes a sound like it’s moving, then at the end of the traverse, it starts moving again.

    It seems like maybe the motor is not able to keep up with the speed the controller is using?

    I’m a total noob with this stuff. 🙂

    #6208
    cmcgrath5035
    Moderator

    Greetings.
    When seeking help, it is always helpful to provide some info:
    – TinyG hardware version ( you said brand new, so probably V8)
    – TinyG FW version and build – (likely 412.01, maybe 429.01)
    – How are you communicating with tinyG? (tgFX, Coolterm, putty, …)
    – If tgFX, what version and build installed?
    – What OS you running? (OSX,Linux, Win)

    A couple items stand out that might head you in the right direction.
    1. Most of the pre-built (or default) tinyG configurations at the moment are for 200 step per revolution motors, which yield 360/200=1.8 degrees per step.
    I don’t think driving a 400 step per rev motor with 200 step settings will damage it, but it may not work properly and for sure won’t move accurately.
    It sound to me that the motors may have been moving during the speed ramp up and ramp down phases, but not when constant velocity called for.

    2. Depending on tinyG FW version, you will find settings for X,Y and Z travel, min and max. Defaults might be something like $xtn=0, $xtm=180 (for a ShapeOko1 machine, in mm). TinyG may not traverse outside those limits, and you may see messages like “outside range” if using tgFX.

    Suggestion: Read thru the tinyG configuration Wiki pages a few times, get the basic configs set and rerun your experiment.
    And, when you finally have a real machine built, play in short steps, such as G0 X10.
    A G0 X1000 will almost always send your machine into a side rail at blazing speed and bang on it (or worse) for a while. Limit switches might help,if you have them, but their setup needs to be done correctly and verified as well.

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