Moving the gantry when the system is off

[jshoes51]

I've seen a few indirect references to not move the gantry by hand. Is this a no-no just when the control box is on, or even if the control box is off?

I've occasionally moved my gantry when the system is off with no ill affects. Am I playing with fire here?

[mitch_prest]

I would think that is you can move your gantry with the control box on, you have already had the fire...
it should be real hard to move when powered up.. and when not powered those little motors act like tiny little generators.. sending juice back where you don't want it...

[michael_schwartz]

This applies to any motor hooked up to a controller. For all intensive purposes when the machine is powered-up you shouldn't be able to move a motor without some considerable effort.

As Mitch described the motors act like generators and create a current when turned.

Its ok to gently push the gantry up against an end stop after you power the machine off, and it should be fine if it gets bumped a bit. I have leaned on mine by mistake and moved it a few inches on occasion.

[beacon14]

The more important part of the equation is not to disconnect any motor when it is under power. Don't ask me how I know this. Fortunately I learned that lesson back when it was only $100 for a new driver.

The Alpha machines are more robust and can handle more motor movement than the standard machines but it's still good practice to limit motor movement to a minimum when turned off.

[zeykr]

The original PRT controllers where very easy to blow by pushing the gantry with the power off. The 4G controller is much more forgiving, but still a good idea to avoid it.

[bcammack]

The more energy you put into moving the gantry, the more EMF you generate via the motors. So I move the gantry very slowly and gently when I must manually do so.

[magic]

I understood that the Alpha motor could generate it's own current and feed it back to the board. In any event, If you move the gantry by the keyboard then you don't have to C3 every time you turn it on.