Is There An Alternative To Motors Off?

[rb99]

I learned today the MO command doesn't work with my 4g. Do I shut off the controller now or is there a new motors off command?

Is moving the carriage by hand with the controller off still hard on the cards? How do I move them if I need to square up my X?

[steve_g]

Richard
You square up your machine by pulling against the hard stops while turning on your machine... an MO command would allow the machine to become "un-square". Moving the carriage should be done with the jog commands for anything other than very short, slow moves as the steppers become "generators" and create voltage when moved without being turned on... this voltage can harm the electronics.

SG

[Brady Watson]

MO only worked with the Cable Drive tools as far as I know. It is a vestigial command for anything newer.

You can move the tool by hand without any ill effects if you go slowly - like 1 inch per second, and not more than say 12 inches. The Geckos are protected against over voltage - to a point, unlike the 3G and older boards. You will have to turn off the control box to move the tool that way, and you will lose sync with your DRO as a result - so you'll have to rezero in XYZ.

If you need to align the tool to an existing part or jig, you can use Fixed mode in the keypad mode (SK) and move the tool in small discrete distances. Chuck up a sharp v-bit as an indicator point to help with alignment.

-B