i Carver Noise... anyone have similar noises from their machine?

Gary Nelson

Member
Messages
51
Location
Hoopeston, Illinois
I bought a new iCarver 915-X in November and after considerable time getting familiar with Artcam software, trying to determine appropriate cutters, feeds, and speeds, and coming up with decent clamping methods, I think I'm about ready to start throwing chips. I've now started cutting but there are noises from the machine that really bother me and I'm afraid I'm just hearing a failure in the making. I'm hoping that others here are familiar with my iCarver or maybe even a different but similar brand and can provide some input on these noises... comforting or not, I really don't know how much I should worry about this.

I took a video that shows a couple of toy cars sitting under the spindle. This gives a pretty good idea about the path of the program and maybe some indication of what's going on when the noises occur. I believe the noises are related to pulsing of the stepper motors and related changes in speed and direction, but to me, they sure seem awfully loud. There;s also some vibration associated with the noises, but that's difficult to impossible to see in the video.

Any input will be appreciated... here's a link to the video:

http://s590.photobucket.com/user/ganelson/media/iCarver/no_spindle.mp4.html?sort=3&o=0
 
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Thanks for the quick input Jay. It's actually not the whining that bothers me... more the chatter and almost grinding noises. I think it's related to the pulsing of the stepper motors, but the noises is just too loud for me to believe it's normal. If you look at the video later I hope you'll get the idea. I appreciate the help.
 
Don't know a thing about them, but agree them noises seem to be the type you hear just before it all goes bad.:doh:
 
Yeah, both of those are vey quiet compared to mine, but they're really just doing a straight cut. In all fairness to the machine, in my case I'm cutting various profiles including circles and radii that cause the stepper motors to stop and change directions even. I just don't know how much noise really to expect from those actions, or how much resonance there might be associated with the changes. I guess that just comes form me not being at all familiar with these machines, at least not the cheap ones for woodworking. I retired from a manufacturing plant with plenty of CNC machines, but the quality was way superior to these small ones. If I'd heard these noises wham I was looking at the machine, I'm sure I would have walked away from it. Now I really just want to know how much sleep to lose over it.
 
I don't think those noises are normal, mine does not make anything like those kind of noises.

Have you checked for something loose? Check everything associated with how the unit moves, there are various parts that could come loose, it happens, in fact I think in the owners manual it is recommended to check for loose stuff fairly often, and lube the drive bars, the threaded bars that control the three axis movement.

You are cutting in router mode there, so the three axis are all moving at once, different from the engraving mode, or printer like mode where the unit moves back and forth in a straight line, but this machine is supposed to be able to cut in router mode.

Here is a short video of my machine cutting in router mode.....


It is not making those jitter, or stutter noises like your machine.

Please check over the machine for something loose, I do not think this is fatal, but I think it needs to be fixed.

Stu
 
I do not have this machine nor have I ever seen one in person. So take my questions for what they are worth, probably nothing!
Do you take deep cuts all at once? If not, are you taking to deep of a cut at one time?
As Stu says, check all parts for loose. There are different types of locktite for bolts under vibration and the correct one applied might help in the future.
Is the work piece tight? If it is loose it could be causing all types of problems for your machine.
Also, look over the crane assembly for loose parts as they would cause the bits to be in a bind.

Just my random thoughts. I am jealous, this and an epilogue laser are things I would love to own and put to work. But with a friend like Pete Simmons, I can't afford to own a laser!
 
Thanks Stu, that's actually kind of a relief just hearing that it isn't likely fatal. At this point I've removed the covers and table to expose the ball screws and cleaned them even though the only dust I found consisted of two fairly large "chips" hanging on one end of the x axis screw. After cleaning and oiling those screws I searched for loose hardware but found only a couple that were a bit looser than the others so I tightened them... maybe 1/4 turn to tight. The manual suggests that the ball screws be cleaned something like every 60 hours of operation... I probably have less than 20 hours on mine, so I'm not surprised that there wasn't much dust to be found.

I also have a video of mine cutting a circle 7-8" diameter... well, it's cutting air, but a circle program. It pretty well isolates the noises at the 90 degree intervals as the spindle moves around the circle. With the covers off I can watch the ball screws as they stop and change directions, and feel the pulses of the stepping motors as the noises occur. I'm pretty confident that the stepper motors are basically the source of most of the noise, but not necessarily the chattering of the frame.

As to cutting mode and speed... it's my understanding that the four options (router mode low, router mode high, carving mode low, and carving mode high) are actually just difference speeds of operation. Do you agree with that assessment? I recently found a 1/4" downcut spiral bit that cuts better than any others I've tried. I run in carving mode low and cut 1/8" deep with each pass. the cut is smooth and chips seem appropriate (not dust). The cutter doesn't squeal and there's no burning like I've gotten at lower speeds.

Do you think I'm trying to cut too fast maybe, even though the cutter seems to work well at the carving mode low speed?

In case you might want to watch some of it, here's a video of my machine going through the program for a 7-8" circle, operating in carving mode low.

http://s590.photobucket.com/user/ganelson/media/iCarver/915x_carving_low.mp4.html

Thanks again for the help.

Gary
 
Jonathan,

It appears that we must have been typing at the same time,,, but I do it one finger at a time, so you beat me with your post.

Yes, I've checked for loose hardware, but haven't found the culprit. I suppose I'll have to turn the darn thing upside down in case there's something underneath that I'm missing. You're right also that I should maybe use some lactate while I'm at it. That might even help with... galvanic corrosion?... is that what you get when you use steel hardware with aluminum parts?

As for loose material on the table... have you been watching and laughing at my clamping methods? I spent all that money on the machine and now can't afford the clamps to hold the material (not to mention the adaptor to hold my dust collection hose).

For not having one of these, you're obviously pretty sharp. Thanks for reminding me of things to keep focused on.
 
Carol,

Thanks for the link to the GeneralCNC forum. I've searched there for information on noise and had no luck. Might be me, but the search function got me nowhere. I also find that there are very few posts on that forum compared to this one... I wouldn't be surprised if you alone have more posts than the total posts on that forum.

I'm glad I found this one.
 
Well I'm also working with General CNC on the issue and the "maker", which I assume means Geetech, should already have a copy of the video. I'm really not sure it's made it to that far because based on the response, the initial response was that the noise is "normal"... but in at least one area is "interesting"... but needs to be evaluated by "the maker". I'm very limited on contacts with other users to see if the noises occur on their machines, which prompted me to search for other actual users. I have no problem with you seining it to whomever your contacts might be, because I really want to be sure I'm not doing something wrong, and that accurate information is evaluated.

The video was sent just last week and maybe the people who need to review it are on holiday or something, so haven't had time to check it out. If you think there's something to be learned through your contacts, by all means feel free to review it with them... and thanks for the help.
 
I don't think it is normal.

If you don't get a good response from General, then please contact me, I know the folks at Geetech well, I was one of the beta testers for them on the original iCarvers, I've met with them in person and worked with them here in Tokyo at a DIY show.

I think it is better to let the folks at General have a stab at it, before I go over their heads so to speak.

Keep me in the loop :D
 
I totally agree Stu, and may end up with a resolution through General CNC even though at this point it seems to be heading toward a nonissue to them. I actually don't mind waiting a short time, but I'm anxious to use the machine... but don't want to abuse it either.

I'll be sure to let you know what's going on and if I'm the problem, I'll let you know what not to do to your machine.
 
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