Shark does unexplicable and inconsistant actions

[BobKrattli]

ED. You are Soooooo Good, I can't say THANK YOU enough, we took out the 4GB San Disk SD card put in a 2GB PNY SD Card, at frist the controller could not see the card,but after a complete shut down and back up, and from then on, we did three test runs and our problem was gone. I don't know if it does not like the brand or 4GB, but for now that problem is gone. We did see a differance on the screen, after we Load Sd card, it goes back to 01, but during the Run SD card process, we no longer see the lines of code scan down, it stays on 01, I don't think we made any changes to cause this. But the main thing is, we got three test in a row, of over 3000 files, ran, that has never happened since I got the Shark. Thanks Again Bob

[spinningwood]

Bob - That's great news. I'm glad it worked out. As far as the gcode not scrolling while the program runs, I have that happen every now and then as well. Usually after I've run several toolpaths in a row.

It doesn't seem to affect the way the shark works, but it did make me a little nervous the first time it happened. I don't worry about it anymore, but hopefully whatever causes that will get fixed in a future software update.

Enjoy the shark and post a picture of something you make now that it is working.

Ed

[BobKrattli]

I will get something posted when I get a project completed,now that I am back to what I wanted to do 2 months ago. I do have another question, but I for darn sure, don't want to create another problem. Is there an extension cord made for the XYZ cable, that can get my controller and computer another 4 or 5 feet away from CNC. The project I want to do is cutting into solid surface, and the dust from it is much more abrasive and finer than wood. I know I can, and have put up some buffer walls, but a few more feet would be nice. Just though I would ask. Bob

[spinningwood]

Bob - What I did intially was to build a small box that I put over the electronics. It had large vent holes in the sides and top of the box that I covered with a loose weave material. That worked, but now I've moved the electronics underneath the table I built for my shark. I put dust curtains around the sides of the table to keep the dust out but to also allow full access when I need it.

Another alternative is to put a fan next to the shark. Have it blow across the electronics and then the shark. It will keep most of the dust away from the electronics. It will also blow dust all over your shop unless you have the shark set next to a window / door so the fan can blow the dust outside. Blowing dust outside isn't a good solution if you have neighbors close (or a spouse that doesn't like a dusty vehicle).

Tim would probably be able to answer the question about extending the connection between the motor and the electronics.

Ed

[BobKrattli]

Ed Good idea on getting it under the work table, I will do some thinking on that. Don't have to worry about the neighbors or spouse problem where my shop is, I do have a fan blowing over the unit, next to a overhead door, which worked fine,until we got a south wind, the back end of my shop needed to be cleaned anyway, and winter coming on the doors will be closed. Ill wait to see what Tim has to say, like I said before I don't want to cause another problem. Bob

[zac]

Hi Guys
I have had the same issue with g code not scrolling on the control panel display, this is not a major issue. But at times the pause "button" is not enabled on the control panel when the program is running, the problem here being the only way to stop the shark is with the E Stop, which is not always desirable.Is there any connection between these faults? and what is the fix?
Wayne.

[jeb2cav]

With regard to the g code not scrolling - and at that point the pause is not available - I'm running a laptop, and I'd ensured that the screen saver was off, and all the other energy saving stuff. What I didn't consider is that the job may run for a while, and I'd be walking away. On my laptop, there is a default setting of turning the monitor off when there is no use after 20 minutes (when plugged in).

The only good news is that the job finished just fine. After seeing this twice (just got the machine), I dug into the energy settings and saw this 20 minute thing. I set it to "Never". In my case, since I set this to Never, I've not seen the g code scrolling "stop" and the Pause button remains enabled through all long jobs.

I think the app is a little sensitive to screen savers, computer locking out and requiring a log in after a period of no use, and perhaps some energy related actions taken while running a job.

[WOODEATER]

Re adding a longer cable for XYZ feeds to the motors, this shouldn't be a problem if not over fifteen feet. Just make sure that you use the same size wire and use good butt splices or even better solder the splices. I used a big cabinet that was the same size as the base of the CNC shark put the controller box and a multi plug outlet with switch also inside closed the cabinet doors. Have hardly any dust getting inside and is running cool. The only problem I had with the Shark so far was a chattering on the Y axis. Found out that I didn't oil the Y screw shaft and nut. After oiling it quit chattering. RDB New on this site

[cellofanatic]

Ouch! Same issue. Speed change during cutting changed X axis setting, and then Pause made Z jump up about 20mm...luckily not down! This was during a job. I then did tests on a trial circle (converted to Bezier curves), and pause/speed change etc had not effect on settings, so its a rare event. Going back to 'i' version to see if the problems disappear. Will report on conclusions!

[jeb2cav]

The thing that caused this in my setup was poor power. The power in my area has spikes - both high and low voltage. I purchased a UPS that you would use with a computer - not so much at all for the battery backup, but for conditioned power. If you have other tools - particularly a dust collector - plugged into the same circuit, you can get mystery behavior every now and then as well.