Machine is chattering

[Steve McKee]

Okay, not sure how to describe this but when I'm running a job, both engraving and cutting, the machine will all of a sudden starting chattering/stuttering/vibrating/whatever. I was cutting some thin material and it made the cut look like a zigzag pattern. Of course when I'm engraving it makes the text pretty hard to read. Any one have any experiences with this sort of problem? Any clue what it could be caused by?

Thanks,
Steve

[Doug Griffith]

I had a similar issue when I first bought my machine. It was an out of tolerance linear guide on the gantry. Swapping it out fixed the problem. I figured it out by wiggling the lowest point of the air assist perpendicular to the gantry. There was quite a bit of movement.

[Mike Null]

It could also be that the machine needs a thorough cleaning or that you need new bearings.

[Dan Hill]

I just had that problem occur this past week. It turned out to be the x axis motor. A replacement is on it's way. Hope to be up and running by Tuesday. Hope your skittering problem is simpler to resolve, those motors aren't cheep.
Dan

[Dan Hintz]

I'd also make sure your encoder strip (and sensor) is clean.

[Scott Challoner]

I'd go with a good cleaning too. If that doesn't do it, vector a vertical and a horizontal line to see which axis is the problem. If you can do it easily enough, swap the x and y motors and see if the problem follows. If it does, it's likely a motor (or encoder strip). If it stays in the same axis, it's probably a bearing.

[Bill Cunningham]

Lube on the bearing track may help.. Put a little blob of white grease on the upper and lower grooves, move the head back and forth a few times to get the grease into the bearings. Then, take a rag and wipe all excess grease off the rail so there is nothing there to collect crud..

[Steve McKee]

Well, the problem seems to have stopped, for the most part. It still does it, but only if I pause the job and restart it. At least that's what happened the last 2 days. Didn't really do anything to the machine so I'm not sure what was/is causing it.

Steve

[Zsolt Paul]

Last time my machine did that, it was a bearing.