Centroid Community CNC Support Forum

Hi there everyone,
So I’m using clearpath servos along with the C86 board for what should be plug and play with acorn on a 2 axis lathe. This is my second C86 and it’s got a weird issue. Everything on the centroid side seems fine and it shows no errors, however jogging the Z actually moves the X and the X, while showing movement on centroid, does not turn the motor. Servo lights are green, switching around cables and servos shows that those are fine. This C86 board replaced one that straight up didn’t work last year. I’m just now getting some down time and would like to get this machine going.

What should I be trying? According to centroid (my computer) it’s showing no issue at all. The C86 board I have is not the newest one with the terminals for wires, just the molex connectors (rev 2 board). Do I need to get the newest board? Is there something else that would be causing this issue? It doesn’t even make sense that using the X axis plug on it would move the Z axis.

Any help is appreciated.

here is a report to look at

1. Can you provide a picture of how your C86 is wired? Looking for where you molex connectors are plugged in.
2. Are you using custom made control cables or cables from Tecnik?
3. Have you double checked wiring per the C86 user manual?
4. Can you temporarily switch the X and Z cables on a C86 and see what the result is? (Being cautious of the possibly unexpected movement than may arise)

I have 2 machines using C86 boards, one is a version 2, and the other more recent with the screw terminals. I prefer the plugs as I don't like the idea of mashing a bunch of common wires into a single terminal. I think version 2 should work.

On a side note, I keep an extra C86 on hand for trouble shooting or possible failure. While I think the board design is great, the build quality is a bit rough at times (SMD devices poorly placed, inconsistent soldering). I would suggest the same.

So I got it working,
Though I don’t understand why it’s working. Let me explain.

In order to get my second servo to move I had to plug it i to the Y axis and set that jumper to on. So my set up looks like this…

Z axis on centroid= plug servo into X slot on C86 board

X axis on centroid= plug servo into Y slot on C86 board

I’m happy that’s it’s working now, but I still have no idea why it’s working. I’ll mark what it actually does on the C86 and if you’re having issues with this board I might suggest trying this as well.

Any ideas on why it’s working like this?

If you provide a photo of how you currently have the C86 wired we may be able to offer some clarification. The C86 board also "remaps" the axis a little to allow it to support a hardware paired 5th axis on a controller, that may be part of the confusion.

That said, if you don't provide more information in the form of a photo, you are unlikely to get any more ideas because we can't see what you see.

IN CNC12 Lathe Axis 1=Z, Axis 2=X

Your report shows it that way:
Axis Label Motor Encoder Lash Comp. Limit Home Dir Screw
revs/in counts/rev. (inches) - + - + Rev Comp
1 Z 5.0000 6400 0.0000 0 0 0 0 N N
2 X 5.0000 6400 0.0000 0 0 0 0 N N

So you should be using axis 1(for Z) on C86ACCP and axis 2(For X) on C86ACCP

Remember C86ACCP also provides for a SLAVED axis, do not use that connector/header