Stepper motors only move when homing

[Ya3ny]

I completed the initial set-up of the Duet WiFi only to find that the motors only move when home command sent (with a lot of noise). I followed a tip I found in another thread that read the following:

"With the motor not connected to anything, spin the spindle with your fingers. Then short 2 of the wires together and spin it again. If it's much harder to spin fast, then those two wires are a pair. If not, try shorting a different 2 wires together."
Posted by dc42

Following those instructions I determined the pairs and rearranged the wires. The issue remains even after switching the sides. Never disconnected the stepper motors while the board was powered.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[elmoret]

You can't move motors freely until they've been homed, though you should be able to move them towards the limit switch prior to homing.

Perhaps steps/mm or accelerations are incorrect? How did you build your config.g? Would be helpful if you could post it.

[Ya3ny]

; Configuration file for Duet WiFi (firmware version 1.17 to 1.19)
; executed by the firmware on start-up
;
; generated by RepRapFirmware Configuration Tool on Sun Nov 04 2017 19:28:13 GMT-0500 (Eastern Standard Time)

; General preferences
M111 S0 ; Debugging off
G21 ; Work in millimetres
G90 ; Send absolute coordinates…
M83 ; ...but relative extruder moves
M555 P2 ; Set firmware compatibility to look like Marlin
M665 R270 L395.5 B270 H500 ; Set delta radius, diagonal rod length, printable radius and homed height
M666 X0 Y0 Z0 ; Put your endstop adjustments here, or let auto calibration find them
M208 Z0 S1 ; Set minimum Z

; Endstops
M574 X2 Y2 Z2 S1 ; Define active high microswitches
M558 P1 X0 Y0 Z0 H5 F120 T6000 ; Set Z probe type to unmodulated, the axes for which it is used and the probe + travel speeds
G31 P600 X0 Y0 Z2.5 ; Set Z probe trigger value, offset and trigger height
M557 R270 S20 ; Define mesh grid

; Drives
M569 P0 S1 ; Drive 0 goes forwards
M569 P1 S1 ; Drive 1 goes forwards
M569 P2 S1 ; Drive 2 goes forwards
M569 P3 S1 ; Drive 3 goes forwards
M350 X16 Y16 Z16 E16 I0 ; Configure microstepping without interpolation
M92 X80 Y80 Z80 E663 ; Set steps per mm
M566 X1200 Y1200 Z1200 E1200 ; Set maximum instantaneous speed changes (mm/min)
M203 X18000 Y18000 Z18000 E1200 ; Set maximum speeds (mm/min)
M201 X1000 Y1000 Z1000 E1000 ; Set accelerations (mm/s^2)
M906 X1000 Y1000 Z1000 E800 I30 ; Set motor currents (mA) and motor idle factor in per cent
M84 S30 ; Set idle timeout

; Heaters
M143 S260 ; Set maximum heater temperature to 260C
M301 H0 S1.00 P10 I0.1 D200 T0.4 W180 B30 ; Use PID on bed heater (may require further tuning)
M305 P0 T100000 B4138 C0 R4700 ; Set thermistor + ADC parameters for heater 0
M305 P1 T100000 B4138 C0 R4700 ; Set thermistor + ADC parameters for heater 1

; Tools
M563 P0 D0 H1 ; Define tool 0
G10 P0 X0 Y0 Z0 ; Set tool 0 axis offsets
G10 P0 R0 S0 ; Set initial tool 0 active and standby temperatures to 0C

; Network
M550 PTLM _Duet ; Set machine name
M552 S1 ; Enable network
M587 S"C170512D5CFB" P"9053393116" ; Configure access point. You can delete this line once connected
M586 P0 S1 ; Enable HTTP
M586 P1 S0 ; Disable FTP
M586 P2 S0 ; Disable Telnet

; Fans
M106 P0 S0.3 I0 F500 H-1 ; Set fan 0 value, PWM signal inversion and frequency. Thermostatic control is turned off
M106 P1 S1 I0 F500 H1 T45 ; Set fan 1 value, PWM signal inversion and frequency. Thermostatic control is turned on
M106 P2 S1 I0 F500 H1 T45 ; Set fan 2 value, PWM signal inversion and frequency. Thermostatic control is turned on

; Custom settings are not configured

[mydayofplay]

Check if your endstops are making a connection to the board. The problem you are talking about happen to me or it was similar. There should be a red led light beside each stepper motor connection to the board lighting up if your endstops are connected correctly. I believe depending on normally open and normally closed endstops what I said may be reversed.. Just click your end stops and see if the LED lights I was referring to turn on and off.

[dc42]

After you home the printer, does the homing button colour in DWC or PanelDue change from orange to blue, indicating that homing was successful?

[Ya3ny]

@mydayofplay I tried with and w/o endstops connected. No difference

@dc42 It does not change colour and I don't allow it to continue moving for more than 3 seconds because of noise. Shouldn't ever sound like that

[elmoret]

I suspect the steppers are miswired, the most reliable method is with a voltmeter, or checking the wiring diagram from the stepper motor manufacturer.

This is especially true if multiple motors are exhibiting the same behavior.

[dc42]

You have this in config.g:

M574 X2 Y2 Z2 S1 ; Define active high microswitches

You have defined the microswitches to be active high and at the maximum end of each axis. Are they really all at the maximum end?

[Ya3ny]

@elmoret I will try using a multimeter to determine the pairs again.

@dc42 The endstops are at the very top of the delta printer. They are also normally closed with the light ON indicating they're not triggered. The endstop light next to the motor driver is also lit.

[dc42]

I'm sorry, I should have seen from your earlier post that it is a delta.

The firmware will not allow regular movements to be made on a delta before all the towers have been homed. As you are not allowing the carriages to home, the firmware is behaving correctly.

My suggestions:

• change I0 to I1 in your M350 command to enable interpolation. This will make it quieter.

• reduce the motor currents in the M906 command until you have it working properly. What is the rated current of your motors?

• test the 3 tower motors individually using G1 S2 moves as described here https://www.duet3d.com/wiki/Configuring_RepRapFirmware_for_a_Delta_printer#Testing_the_motors_individually

• the homing speed you are using may be exciting a resonance in your printer mechanics. Can you see or feel the belts vibrating outwards?

• if the motors vibrate very noisily but don't actually move the carriages, that indicates that the phases are not paired.

[Ya3ny]

Turns out the B+ and B- needed to switch places! Thank you all for your help but the x-axis driver seems to be dead as the Y and Z axis motors are moving..

[Ya3ny]

Is it possible to use the E1 driver for the x-axis just to get by until I get a replacement?

[dc42]

Yes, you need to include M584 X4 E3 in your config.g file, before any M350 or M906 commands.