Could use some thoughts from the experts
For some time now the Triumph has had a glitch, to do with the X stepper motor going a bit crazy at times when vector cutting curves or circles.
I've been assuming the X stepper is probably to blame.
However, Yolanda and engineers at Triumph have been telling me they don't believe the stepper is to blame. The had me verify tensions on all belts, the tension or lack thereof of the rail bearings and rollers, all the basics. Everything is in order. Here's a video I made just for the Triumph crew to watch--
Here's some facts and anomolies about this problem:
-speed doesn't seem to matter much, I can slow the speed down to half what it's doing in the video and it will still do this- but, not as often or quite as 'violent'.
-it's ONLY the X axis that does it, the Y axis always works perfectly- I spent much time watching the Y stepper and holding onto the gantry while running, it never misses a beat...
-the main 'anomoly' that puzzles me, is that in the video, the table location where it started seems to be the worst area for this to happen. It DOES happen elsewhere, but in that general vicinity- about 8" from left and about 18" from the top- seems to be where the worst of it happens. I've had all the belts off to check head and gantry motion, smooth as I could ask for, no bumps or 'catches'...
- sometimes it will do it almost always, sometimes I can't ever get it to do it...
- I've noticed that from a cold start, it hardly ever does it-- actually I can't remember it doing it from a cold start during my tests.
- The machine rasters just fine. And vectors straight lines just fine, no matter the angle. It's only on curves, but rarely on quarter-circles or less.
So the kicker is, I just installed a new stepper that Triumph reluctantly sold me yesterday. While it's much quieter when running side to side than the old one, the problem remains...
Which brings me to these things:
XYcontrollers.jpg --- not sure of what exactly they're called, but I do know they control the stepper motors so I'll call them the "XY Controllers". It's fun watching the green 'in use' LED's, and I've watched them closely in some of my testing. I've noticed that the smallest stop of either motor is noticeable by a quick flicker... Like when doing a series of circles that are connected, when moving from one circle to the next- only .004" inch- the Y LED will 'blip', as the change takes place in the 3 o'clock position. And when watching the LED's when the machine is running a circle, the lights fade out and back in very smoothly as each axis goes thru it's motion. But when the X axis starts mis-stepping, a little or violently, the X LED fades out and in as smoothly as if the axis was moving normally.
SO--- My troubleshooting has brought me to these conclusions...
New stepper didn't help-
I assume these XY controllers are fed by the main controller, and since the LED's show smooth, fluid 'motion', this indicates the data they're being fed is correct--
I've checked both controller's connections, tightened the lug screws, etc, no change, better or worse--
Therefore, since the X controller input seems to be correct, but the output is anything but--
Main controller NO
Stepper motor NO
X stepper controller -- YES..?
Before throwing money at it, I'm considering reversing the wiring on the 2 controllers to see if the Y stepper starts screwing up...
Interestingly, Triumph told me a customer in Mexico is experiencing the same issue, and they're having a hard time troubleshooting it...
Thanks in advance for the replies!