LaserUser.com Forum (formerly RDWorksLab)

I'm searching for some help and I haven't found anything on this problem anywhere I've looked. I have an Orion 50W machine and had moderate success learning to use it last fall. I also found Russ's videos on Youtube and learned a lot from them. But the machine has been sitting idle since January and when I went to use it last week, the X axis doesn't move either way. The display shows it to be moving but it is not. I cannot even make it move using the arrow keys. I don't know if there is a setting in RDWorks that I inadvertently set wrong or if it is a mechanical issue. Could it be the motor or wiring? If so where do I get a replacement?

Any help would be appreciated.

Harrell

Have you switched the cables between the X and Y at the stepper controllers to isolate? Pick a side and start. Swap either the in or the out, one at a time and see what happens. Could be as simple as a loose connection.

you have to check connectivity between :

- ruida controller and stepper controller
- stepper controller and motor

search for loose wiring. you can also try to swap the wires (swap ruida/stepper and stepper/motor), that can help determining where is the problem.

if swapping ruida/stepper make it work, the problem is at stepper controller and/or wiring of stepper to motor
if swapping stepper/motor make it work, the motor is toast and/or the wiring of the motor is bad

I did try swapping the controllers and had the same result, y movement but no x movement as far as I could tell. Y was bottoming out so I had to switch it off but there was no x movement until that point. I have looked for loose wires and found none.

Where can I get a replacement stepper motor?

Depends on the size, They are out there from another supplier. I have some good use NEMA 23's from some decommissioned equipment. $50 plus shipping.

Maybe it is a short on the motor wires. Try measuring resistance from each motor wire to chassis (some metal frames have really sharp edges).

With instructions from Russ, I have determined it to be a wiring problem. So now I just need to replace a little bit of wiring in very tight places. Thanks everybody for the responses.