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Troubleshooting
Find your problem in the list below, or look for the exact words of the error message on your screen.
Starting Up: Rose Engine Butler won't start - "lost contact - E-stop"
General Usage: Axis row grayed out - E-stop won't clear - Can't jog Sp1 - A setting change had no effect - G-code program won't run - Threading tab won't run
Error Messages: Joint following error - Latency error
Limit Switches and Signal Tower: Stopped on a limit switch - Red light / buzzer - Tower on when REB is off
Settings Program: Settings won't open - Tuning changes lost - "not assigned - cleared" - Jog speed change refused - Can't assign Sp1
Starting Up
Rose Engine Butler won't start
If Expansion Box - Connected is ticked on the Axis Selection tab, Rose Engine Butler looks for the Expansion Box when it starts, and won't start if it can't find it.
- Make sure both boxes are switched on before starting Rose Engine Butler, and that the Expansion Box's network cable is plugged into the Base Box.
- If you don't have an Expansion Box, or aren't using it today, untick Connected, then start Rose Engine Butler again.
The same applies to the Base Box: it must be switched on before Rose Engine Butler is started.
"Base box lost contact - E-stop" or "Expansion box lost contact - E-stop"
The Raspberry Pi stopped hearing from that box while Rose Engine Butler was running, so it put the system into E-stop. Check that box's network cable, the network switch, and the box's power, then press F1. See Lost contact with a box.
General Usage of the System
An axis row is grayed out on the main screen
That axis isn't assigned to a channel (plug), or it is assigned to an Expansion Box channel (06 - 09) while the Expansion Box isn't ticked as Connected. Assign it on the Axis Selection tab of the Settings program, then restart Rose Engine Butler.
The E-stop won't clear (F1 does nothing)
If an E-stop button is set as connected in the Settings program:
- the E-stop can't be cleared while the button is pressed, and
- it can't be cleared when nothing is plugged into the E-stop plug.
Release the button (or plug an E-stop button in), then press F1.
If you don't have an E-stop button, make sure E-Stop Button - Connected is unchecked on the Inputs, Outputs, and Sounds tab of the Settings program.
If a box lost contact, F1 works again once that box is back in contact - see lost contact.
Unable to jog the rosette phaser/multiplier spindle (Sp1)
The F3 Manual Control / Jogging screen can't be used to jog that spindle. It is the only axis which can't be jogged, because of the way LinuxCNC's AXIS screen is built.
I changed a setting, but nothing changed in Rose Engine Butler
Changes made in the Settings program take effect the next time Rose Engine Butler starts. Because the Settings program can't run at the same time as Rose Engine Butler, this normally happens on its own. If you don't see the change:
- make sure the change was saved (see Tuning changes were lost), then
- close Rose Engine Butler completely and start it again.
A G-code program won't load or run
The most common reason is that the program moves an axis that isn't assigned to a channel (plug). For example, a program that moves C won't run if C isn't assigned.
- Look at which axis letters the program uses (the G-code library lists them for each program).
- Assign those axes on the Axis Selection tab of the Settings program, then restart Rose Engine Butler.
The Threading tab won't run
Threading turns the work with the C axis, not with spindle Sp0, so C must be assigned to a channel. For a threading setup, put C on the plug the main spindle drive is connected to (by default, Sp0 is on channel 04), in place of Sp0. Assign it on the Axis Selection tab of the Settings program, then restart Rose Engine Butler.
Error Messages
Generally, these messages are seen on the lower right-hand corner of the screen when using LinuxCNC.
Joint following error ("joint 0 following error")
What it means
LinuxCNC is always checking that each axis is where it was told to be. If an axis falls too far behind, LinuxCNC turns the machine off and reports a following error. The number in the message is the joint, not the plug.
What it does not mean
- It rarely means the motor or drive is damaged.
- It doesn't mean the G-code program is wrong.
Common causes
- The axis is stalled or jammed, or something is in its way.
- The feed rate is too fast for the device.
- Max Vel or Max Accel is set too high for the motor and the load it is moving.
- A loose motor cable.
What to do
- Clear the error (click on the X).
- Check that the axis moves freely by hand, and that nothing is in its way.
- Power on (F2) and try again.
- If it keeps happening, reduce the feed rate, or lower the Max Vel and Max Accel values on Axis and Stepper Motor Tuning.
Another guide which may be of use is LinuxCNC Stepper Diagnostics.
Latency error ("Unexpected realtime delay..." or "error finishing read")
What it means
LinuxCNC has to send a steady stream of small instructions to the motor controller board, on a strict schedule, many times every second. If something on the computer delays it, or the instructions are slow getting through the network cables to the boards, the motors can't be kept in step. LinuxCNC then stops the machine and reports a latency error, rather than risk a distorted pattern.
On a rose engine, the motions have to stay in step with each other (for example, the spindle rotation and the rubber or cutter movement). If the instructions arrive late, the motions drift apart and the pattern gets distorted. Stopping protects your workpiece and your cutter.
What it does not mean
- It usually doesn't mean the machine is broken.
- It doesn't mean your pattern or settings are wrong.
- It is almost always the computer being briefly busy, or a connection problem - not a mechanical one.
Common causes
- Other programs on the computer using a lot of processing power. One of particular note is Firefox, especially with busy web sites open (e.g., Google mail).
- A loose or damaged network cable between the Raspberry Pi, the network switch in the Base Box, and the controller boards.
- Something else plugged into that network switch (a router, or another computer). Only the Raspberry Pi and the boxes may be connected to it.
- WiFi activity on the Raspberry Pi.
What to do
- Close Firefox and any other programs, clear the error, then power on (F2).
- Check that the network cables are firmly plugged in at both ends, and that nothing other than the Raspberry Pi and the boxes is plugged into the network switch.
- If the error keeps happening, note when it occurs (at startup, at a certain point in a pattern, or at random) and email us at ColvinTools @ Gmail [period] com -> mailto:ColvinTools [snail] Gmail [period] com.
Limit Switches and Signal Tower
An axis stopped on a limit switch
When a limit switch is tripped, LinuxCNC turns the machine off and shows an error.
- Clear the error (click on the X), then power on (F2).
- If the switch is set as a min or max limit, jog the axis away from the switch.
- If the switch is set as both ends, check Override Limits in LinuxCNC's Machine menu, carefully jog the axis off the switch (away from it), then uncheck Override Limits.
If a limit trips when no switch is touched, check the cable and connector - a broken or loose wire reads the same as a tripped switch. Also make sure any Limit Jack with nothing plugged in is set to Not used, because an empty normally closed (NC) jack reads the same as a tripped switch.
If a limit jack shows "not assigned - cleared" in the Settings program, see that entry below.
The signal tower's red light is on, or the buzzer sounded
The red light means LinuxCNC stopped the machine because of a joint following error, a tripped limit switch, or a box that lost contact. The buzzer sounds for a few seconds when the red light comes on. See those entries for what to do. The red light goes off when the machine is powered on again (F2).
Pressing the E-stop or stopping a program does not turn on the red light.
The signal tower lights or buzzer are on when Rose Engine Butler isn't running
The tower's relay board must be the type that switches on when its input is pulled low ("active low"). The controller board holds its outputs high whenever Rose Engine Butler isn't running (while starting up and after it exits), so a board that switches on when its input is high turns everything on at those times. Use an active-low relay board. (The Rose Engine Butler system we ship already comes with this type of relays.)
Settings Program
The Settings program won't open
The Settings program can't run while Rose Engine Butler is running. Close Rose Engine Butler first (click on the X in the top right of its screen, and wait a minute for it to finish shutting down), then open the Settings program.
Tuning changes were lost
Scale, Max Vel, Max Accel, and PID changes are only saved when you click Save All Settings on the Axis Selection tab, or choose Save and Close when the Settings program asks as you close it. If Close Without Saving was chosen, those changes are discarded. See Saving and Sharing Settings.
All other settings (channel assignments, Expansion Box Connected, limit jacks, E-stop, signal tower, backlash, jog speeds, measurement system and device names) are saved as soon as you change them.
A limit switch's jack shows "not assigned - cleared"
The axis that jack was set to is no longer assigned to a channel (plug), so the jack was set back to Not used. Assign the axis to a channel, then choose it for the jack again.
A jog speed change was refused and put back
In each group of jog speeds, Min must be no more than Default, and Default must be no more than Max. A change that breaks this is refused and the old value is put back. Change the values in an order that keeps them in that order - for example, to raise all three, change Max first, then Default, then Min.
Sp1 can't be assigned to a channel
Sp1 (the rosette phaser/multiplier spindle) always runs as a percentage of Sp0's speed, so Sp1 can only be assigned when Sp0 is also assigned to a channel. Assign Sp0 first, then Sp1.
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