So I’ve been trying to identify sporadic jagged cuts and jamming on my table with no luck. I’m about to loosen all trolleys and try doing a “reset” on everything.
To clarify… my air is dry… my consumables are OEM and new… my settings are perfect and then mid cut… serated blade… only to correct itself once the curve is finished.
The recent jamming on during a cut and doing manual movement is telling me it’s a mechanical issue. Anyone else get this, or know how to fix it?
What machine? Standard Crossfire, Pro or XR?
Which axis is jamming? X or Y?
If you have a machine with a powered Z axis, check for play in the Z axis carriage. The guide wheels on the right side are on an eccentric mount and can be adjusted by loosening the nut and turning the bolt with the flat on the end of it.
My bad, i have the Pro. It’s hit and miss but jams on both on the X & Y axis. I’ll check all the bolts and bearings this afternoon again, but i know there’s no play on any of the trolleys.
You don’t want the bearing adjustments too tight on the Y axis weldments. The tubes are not perfectly square or straight, so some bearings will not always be in contact with the rails.
If the X is binding, it could be the lead nut bracket. It must be square to the X rail or it will bind at higher travel speeds.
There is a possibility that the DC power supply in the electronics enclosure is not putting out the proper 36v DC that is needed for the stepper motors. You can test this with a meter across the DC output terminals.
Another user reported that he was getting jagged cuts and the cause was a wireless mouse. He was not experiencing any binding or jamming, though.
Good to know! I’ll be sure to check all the alignments and how tight it all is.
I use a touchscreen laptop that i operate on battery power only. I’ve even made it a point to turn off my Bluetooth stereo when cutting just in case lol. But it still happens sporadically.
If the table has been running fine until now, I would check the power supply voltage first. They go bad over time and start putting out less voltage.
I’ve been chasing the jagged edging for almost a year, making sure my air was dry… then it would cut no problems for a while only to happen mid cut at random.
Then the jamming started just recently.
The jagged(saw tooth)edge could be a couple of things, but I wouldn’t say moisture causes it.
On the times that I had it on a PTM60 torch, it was plugged holes in the cap of the torch causing the plasma to swirl erratically. You could actually hear the torch fluttering.
It could also be the torch wobbling when it changes direction, if the Z carriage has play in it. Grab the torch and try to wiggle it front to back and side to side.
The current binding situation could also cause it, because it’s not moving in a smooth arc with both the X and Y moving at the same time.
I completely agree with the plugged holes, because yes i can definitely hear a fluttering of the arc when it happens. The fact that it seems to correct itself when finishing the curve its cutting some times throws me for a loop. Then its good for a while only to happen again. While other times the whole cut gets it.
I’ve checked for anything loose and it’s all tight… maybe too tight🤷♂️