Stepoko Disconnecting from UGS

Robotics
1

Hello,

I have a Stepoko board on a Sparkfun Shapeoko Edition CNC that is disconnecting from UGS that is running on a Raspberry Pi 4.

Since the problem started I replaced the Raspberry Pi (used to be a V3), the USB cable, and have reflashed the Stepoko with the latest grbl 1.1h. The Stepoko will disconnect from the Pi at random times during a machining job. It can be in the first few seconds or many minutes later. This problem is happening with the router running and turned off so I do not believe it is noise from the router. I also have installed the conductive heat transfer foam to prevent ESD damage to the board, many years ago.

I see where the Stepoko board is out of stock and cannot be backordered. If the Stepoko board is actually bad, and Sparkfun does not have a replacement in stock, what are my options for getting the Shapeoko back operational?

Thanks, Glenn.

2

Hello Glenn.

We’ve seen this before, usually in winter and it seems to be related to static electricity building up on the machine and jumping between the different axes or into the motor wiring. One thing you might try is to bond all the stepper motors together electrically with a ground wire and connect that to an earth ground. That way, if static builds up, it’s drained away before it can spark and cause a disconnect.

3

I’ll give that a shot.

The unit is in an environment where the humidity is typically below 40% all the time so I would have expected this to have happened already if it were the cause.

4

I grounded the stepper motors to a known good ground as well as the Stepoko board so they were all at the same potential and the Stepoko still disconnects.

What is the next step?

Will you have Stepoko boards available any time soon? If not what are the options?

Thanks, Glenn.

5

So with the lack of timely response to the problem I am having with a rather expensive, and often used item from Sparkfun, I contacted Carbide3D about parts to remove the troublesome Stepoko board from my Sparkfun Edition Shapeoko. They replied within a day and have sent me all I need to remove the failrd Stepoko.

I have to say, if this is going to be the customer service experience with problems going forward, Sparkfun will not be the first place to look for things I need. This is sad as the support in the past has been excellent.

Glenn

6

Hi Glenn.

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. Sometimes, for a variety of reasons it takes a while to get back to someone.

We’ve seen this issue before and in the past static electricity appeared to be the cause but that might not be the case in your situation. The only other thing I can think of to try would be to run the board without your cutter going to see if that works but it sounds like you may be trying a different board now. I do hope the new board works for you and I’m sorry we didn’t respond quicker.

7

I ran the job with the cutter on and off which made no difference, stated in the original post.

I will be installing the Carbide3D controller unless you are able to get me another Stepoko board.

Glenn

8

Hello again Glenn.

Unfortunately we don’t currently have anymore Stepoko boards and I don’t see an estimate of when we will have more. You will probably want to go with the Carbide board. Wish I had better news for you.