i set up my new 4X8 pro with servos according to the instructions carefully, same with all the software steps.
Now, I turn on the controller and cnc12 and the machine won’t even move, stays in fault mode. Firstly, I can’t jog or press any buttons, but the proximity sensors clrear. Still get : 327 Fault job cancelled. (see pic 1)
Then, i proceed to turn off the EX controller, wait 5sec, turn on and I get the reset button, but all the proximity sensor "buttons’’ stay orange. If I press on the home, it stays in dwell time without moving (see pic 2).
Uninstalled and reinstalled everything, look for loose cables, everything seems to be plugged accordingly, waiting for a call with avid, but out of options right now.
I’m sure Eric will weigh in or Avid will get back to you, but in the meantime…
In the first screenshot CNC12 is reporting an Ethernet Communication Error so a) are you using the shielded cable Avid provided? and b) you might want to check those connections.
In the second screenshot CNC12 is reporting that 1) the touch plate is tripped - that shouldn’t prevent you from jogging the machine and 2) an Emergency Stop was detected and to press reset to clear. Did you try that?
Also, in the top right of the screen there is a red and black ‘Limit Over’ slider. If one or more of your limit switches are tripped, clicking that will temporarily disable them and allow you to jog the machine away from the switches. See the Machine Control Panel section at: CNC12 Router Users Guide - CNC Software
I’ve had an Avid machine for about six years and did the EX Controller/Servo upgrade a couple of months ago. I’ve found that CNC12 is pretty good about telling me what to do next. I hope this helps.
Thanks for you insight. In the meantime, I asked my good friend ChatGPT and was delighted with the precision of the answers, on the specificity of the machine and its components.
Long story short. The 327 error was from the input assignment that kept on reading the emergency stop as On even when off. So accessing that (alt-i), gave me the possibility to then jog the machine. Behold : then I stumbled across the infamous 9031 drive fault error.
Few more precision to the chat bot and diagnosis from it led me to find that the input 6 Driveok had a low activation instead of high in order to jog without fault. From then onwards, no more error codes and everything seem to be fine.
Don’t know if my path could lead to more serious damage to the machine, but as nothing was disconnected or rewired, I figured it was probably an inverted connection in the ex controller.
That’s where I’m at now, will be speaking to an avid tech tomorrow.
Let me strongly advise against what you have done…
You inverted the E stop which means it’s likely not working anymore. This is very unsafe. You likely have an issue with your actual E Stop wiring and you’ve bypassed it without fixing the actual problem
This is not OK to do. You have disabled the drive fault rather than address the core reason why it’s happening. This will affect homing, and the safety (and performances) aspects of how the machine works.
Outside of diagnosis you should not be messing around in the Alt I menu, you can seriously mess up the operation of the machine by inverting inputs.
Please wait for Avid to help out. Because you made these changes they will likely have you wipe your installation and start fresh, and address the core reasons things are not setup properly.
Ok thank you Eric. I won’t be doing anything before talking with a tech.
Just to be clear thought, the e-stop worked correctly after doing said changes. As for the DriveOk input, I can’t say that I fully comprehend the effect, but get the logic of what you said.
“DriveOK” is the signal the motors send to the controller to say “Im OK!” or “I have an issue and need to stop”
If they’re sending the latter there’s a good reason for it. If you “hot wire” your way around that signal the motors could be in a bad state and you could be potentially forcing them to move when they really shouldn’t be.
The state of the “drive ok” signal also effects the controllers ability to send signals to the motors to home properly.
Ok I understand, but then it means that it is a connection or wire issue ? Because before overriding, the motors wouldn’t even light up. Following your video step by step, I could get passed the “click reset button to get a no fault”.
Before the alt-i method, I reinstalled everything countless times, unplugged and replugged everything carefully. the sensors all trigger, but estop looks to be faulty inside the ex controller, and the servos, can’t say for sure.
