Troubleshooting is a necessary evil

Rule 1 – There is only 1 fault

This may or may not be true but you must work on this principle.

Rule 3 – Test things in the correct order

There is an order in which things must happen before other things can happen. For example my machine will not home. People can spend days figuring out what is wrong but there are basic things that need work before homing can occur Problem – Machine will not home.

1. Machine powers on – Check

2. Homing sensors change from Low to High when triggered – Check

3. No motor alarms – Check

4. All motors move in both directions – Bingo, I have an X axis motor problem not a homing problem

The motor must move correctly before homing can occur. In this case Homing isn’t working because the motor isn’t working and spending all day changing homing settings will not fix this problem. This is why methodical testing in order is required.

Rule 5 – Understand how it works

One of the things I like about machine building is you learn how it works. When you build your machine from the ground up you are also learning how it works and more importantly how to fix it. The people who learn the most are those who get things wrong and then work through the process to figure out why it doesn’t work. To help understand how various sections of your machine works the MASSO documentation has descriptions of how equipment connects to MASSO, Step by Step guides, videos, descriptions of how it works, MASSO AI and troubleshooting sections. Reading these will give the information needed to troubleshoot most problems. There is also the MASSO forum which has seen most problems and a quick search in there can often find a problem and solution.

Rule 7 – It’s OK to ask for help

There is nothing wrong with asking for help. The MASSO forum is a great resource and was set up to allow users to ask questions and to provide help to others using the knowledge that they have learnt. The advantage of using the forum is when a problem is solved it provides a record that others in the future can search and use it to solve their own problems.

There are a couple of basic things to consider when asking for help.

1. A detailed description of the problem should be given. In this day of multimedia you can share photos and videos of your machine and the problem you are having. Remember that others do not see what you can see so make sure that the description you give makes clear the problem you are experiencing.

2. Let people know what type of MASSO you have, MASSO Touch, MASSO G3 or MASSO G2 as what is relevant to one controller may not be relevant to another.

3. Share a copy of your Printable file if you have a MASSO Touch or MASSO G3 because it is most likely the first thing you will be asked for. It tells anyone who looks at it how your machine is set up.

4. If someone asks for additional information please provide it. It might give the clue that solves the problem.

5. Be patient. If you are having trouble fixing a problem when everything is right in front of you, think how hard it is for someone on the other side of the world who is working blind.

Substitution

Substitution is a great way to test parts of your machine especially as the machine has multiples of some of the components, but it must be used correctly.

Problem: – Z axis doesn’t move but the X axis moves ok.

The right way
Unplug both the X & Z axis at MASSO and plug the known good X axis wiring into the Z axis. Jog the Z axis and if the X motor moves correctly then the Z axis is good and the problem is either the Zaxis wiring or its motor. One simple test and
the fault is already narrowed down.

The wrong way
Plugging the suspect Z axis wiring into the good X axis is a very bad idea.

Why?

If the wiring is faulty and has already damaged the Z axis it will damage the X axis as well.

Never use suspect wiring to test an input or an output on MASSO.