The Z Head movement across the Upper Beam stops suddenly. However, the motor pinions are audibly trying to engage with the racks. The sound and vibration will present the sensation of the machine grinding to a halt.
Z head stalling on the X axis.
If your Z-Head stops suddenly, yet still trying move along the X-Axis, there are several things to consider;
1) Clean the wheel channels and racks
The servicing article here covers the process of cleaning out the X-Axis wheel channels
2) Check the motor pinion setting
The motor pinion engagement with the racks needs to be set so that the surfaces touch correctly. If the engagement is too light, then the pinion rotation will skip over the rack teeth. If the engagement is too tight, then the pinion rotation will bind to the rack teeth causing them to jam. Both scenarios will cause the Z-Head to stall.
The servicing article here covers the process of setting the motor pinions into the rack
3) Check the wheel setting.
Like found with the motor pinions, the setting of the Z-Head wheels will effect the performance of the X-Axis movement. Again, if set too tightly, then there will be excessive resistance to the Z-Head movement. If the wheels are set too lightly then the Z-Head will become too loose to be able to operate correctly. Both of these scenarios will contribute, in part, to stalling along the X-Axis.
The servicing article here goes through the process of setting your wheels correctly
4) Check the motor pinion screws are tight
If you have loose pinions this may cause problems with stalling
This article goes through the process to check and fix loose pinions on your Z-Head
5) Ensure you have adequate extraction and check your cutter condition
Please check through our best practice for accurate cutting checklist to ensure your extraction has a MINIMUM flow rate of 70 l/s (litres per second) with a maximum hose length of 1.5 metres
6) Extraction hose best practice
Keep the best practice of removing the extraction hose from the Z-Head when not in use, this will prevent any stalling caused by an extraction hose that has lost its springiness
7) Should you find that there is still an issue with X-Axis stalling, having followed the relevant points above, there is one more set of checks to undertake which will help us to resolve your issue. This will show if the motors are engaging correctly;
With the power turned on to the Smartbench. Using your hands, apply in region of 5kg to 10kg of pressure to the Z-Head and try to push against it, along the line of the X-Axis. If there is any movement, please report your observations along with a video. to us via the Support Ticket system