Random E-Stop with CNC12 / Avid CNC with stepper motors

[corbin]

Hi Everyone! I’ve come across several times where CNC12 suddenly estops for no apparent reason. For instance, last night I left my machine on (not cutting) and at 6:59 PM it said “406 Emergency stop detected”, as seen in the msg_log.txt:

(1) 06-10-2025 18:56:37 406 Emergency stop detected
(1) 06-10-2025 18:56:37 490 Reset Initiated, Press Reset to Clear
(1) 06-11-2025 8:58:17 Created Weekly Report
(1) 06-11-2025 9:03:32 204 Exiting CNC…Normal Exit (66)

I came in this morning at 9AM, and it was in e-stop state. It generated a weekly report too. Restarting CNC12 didn’t fix it. I had to quit CNC12 and power cycle the Centroid Control Box to get it out of this state.

I looked at the Inputs and nothing was tripped. Cycling my e-stop button would show it activate and de-activate in the PLC Diagnostic Screen.

Is there anything else I can look into to figure out why this happens?

Thanks,
Corbin

[cncsnw]

You could use the PLC Detective logic analyzer to log when, and for how long, the EStopOk input was open; and whether any other inputs opened at the same time.

I came in this morning at 9AM, and it was in e-stop state. It generated a weekly report too. Restarting CNC12 didn’t fix it. I had to quit CNC12 and power cycle the Centroid Control Box to get it out of this state.

Did you try just pressing and releasing the Emergency Stop button?

[CentroidFrog]

Please post a fresh report.
Here is how:

[corbin]

You could use the PLC Detective logic analyzer to log when, and for how long, the EStopOk input was open; and whether any other inputs opened at the same time.

I came in this morning at 9AM, and it was in e-stop state. It generated a weekly report too. Restarting CNC12 didn’t fix it. I had to quit CNC12 and power cycle the Centroid Control Box to get it out of this state.

Did you try just pressing and releasing the Emergency Stop button?

I'll have to look into how to log stuff with PLC Detective and see if I can capture it; the problem is, this is very random and doesn't happen a lot (maybe 3 times in 6 months).

Yeah, in my post, I mentioned that I hit the E Stop, and verified the input was changing, and but it still wouldn't come out of the state until I rebooted the Acorn board.

Corbin

[corbin]

Please post a fresh report.

I'm currently running a 7 hour job, so I'll post it when I'm done. But I'm more curious about learning: what would you be looking for in the report files?

Corbin

[ShawnM]

Is your estop switch/button of good quality or is it an Amazon product? Is it set up as NO or NC?

[corbin]

Report attached.

[corbin]

Is your estop switch/button of good quality or is it an Amazon product? Is it set up as NO or NC?

It's an Avid CNC, which has pretty good quality products. It's NC and opens when the e-stop is activated. If it was the switch...wouldn't flipping it reset it?

[cncsnw]

Yes, if it were any ordinary PLC-reported fault condition, then pressing and releasing emergency stop would reset it.

If your problem were directly related to the emergency stop button, then you could replicate the problem simply by pressing and then releasing emergency stop.

In your picture of the Alt-i diagnostic window, note that OUT7 (your "NoFaultOut" output) is red (off), even though INP1 (your "EStopOk" input) is green (closed, okay). That means there is some other fault condition still present. You may need some help from Avid or Centroid to pinpoint what fault that is, if there is no accompanying fault message to explain it.

[ShawnM]

Is your estop switch/button of good quality or is it an Amazon product? Is it set up as NO or NC?

It's an Avid CNC, which has pretty good quality products. It's NC and opens when the e-stop is activated. If it was the switch...wouldn't flipping it reset it?

I was trying to rule out a defective switch.

As Marc pointed out you have other issues not yet defined. You have pressure low errors all through your error report along with tool touch off trips between the low pressure alarms. I'd spend some time trouble shooting those inputs.

That said your steps/rev are outside the sweet spot for a router. Do you have any gear reduction on this machine? This is another problem for another day. Here's some reading for you until then:

viewtopic.php?p=75374&hilit=sweet+spot#p75374