I am running Mach 4 on a Dell i5 with 16GB ram, 64 bit, and Windows 10 Pro.
Routinely check configuration via the ESS tool and all “green” checks. But…when running a program, CNC will momentarily “hiccup”. Sometimes just a minor , sometimes a major crash, looses it mind and tries to bore a hole through my spoil board to China. I am afraid to let it run unattended.
Running the latest version of vcarve pro. It does not matter which program I run. The glitches are very random. Even manually jogging the gantry can sometimes result in a crash. Sometime violently, like it ran into a brick wall!
PC is only used for the CNC. WIFI is off and I know of nothing else running in the background that would steal away CPU cycles from Mach 4.
Very random. often when it does glitch, the x, y z homes are no longer the same.
So, I cannot tell if this is a controller issue on the 4x4 CNC or if this is a PC issue.
Needing to do some multi-layer inlays and don’t want to proceed until I get this resolved.
This has been an intermittent problem for sometime.
I had similar issues but only when running larger g code files. I hid the preview window in Mach4 and it’s worked fine ever since.
I first thing I would try is running Mach4 on another PC. That should tell you whether or not it’s your current PC or not.
I’ve read static interference could also cause these types of problems as well. You might want to try grounding your dust collection hose / pipe and or using a shielded ethernet cable.
I have a similar problem now. Did all the above options. Still the problem presist.
It worked two days ago, i only added a wireless usb adapter to get acces to the internet. Removed it since. Unistalled all the related software. Regened the ess profile, just to make sure.
Created a new licence file and installed it. Now have the jerky problem.
I had the exact same issues. It was very frustrating and like you, I did not trust the machine. The issue turned out to be grounding/bonding. I installed a ground wire from the control panel to the frame, to each NEMA motor location and also to the Z spindle plate. (Dust collection creates lots of static charge at the spindle) I used Atlas wire from Automation Direct (Part# AWM16GYL)
I also added torroids to the spindle drive wires at the spindle control box. In the cable tray tracks of the Avid, I moved the spindle wires to one side and the other cnc control wires to the opposite side of the track. Noisy wires running in parallel on top of each other creates noise in the adjacent wires.
Finally, make sure the screen saver is disabled on your computer. When the screen goes blank after it times out, there is a noticeable pause glitch in the CNC operation. I also switched to a shielded ethernet cable.
The CNC has been running flawlessly ever since, even with very large gcode operations.
Also, check ALL screw terminal connections in your controller box to make sure they are all tight. When I received my CNC from Avid, I struggled with random issues and it turned out that a half dozen or so screws were not tightened from the factory.
I think a grounding/bonding harness should be included from Avid as standard. So many problems stem from this.