Applies to

• ThermoFlex

Description

Causes

• Driver board not sending step commands
• Driver board  supplying insufficient current
• Stepper motor not receiving step commands
• Stepper motor does not rotate
• Stepper motor not operational
• Stepper motor not reacting to stage move to # command
• Firmware is causing lockup

Solutions

Driver board not sending step commands

Check to see if LEDs on the driver board are lit.

If LEDs are on, power is reaching driver board but board may be faulty:

• replace the driver board - see Replacing ThermoFlex Head Stage Stepper Motor Driver Board

If LEDs are not on, there is no power to the driver board:

• check that there is power to the machine
• check that the power cable 2-pin connection from the power supply to the driver board is secure at both ends, is correctly connected, and is not damaged
• check that there is power to the TEE board
• check that TEE board is not faulty

Driver board supplying insufficient current

If all components are okay and the motor board is stalled, current settings on driver board may be wrong.

Set all the dip switches on driver board as follows:

• set dip switches 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 to the left i.e.,switches are closest to the numbers 1- 6
• set dip switch 5 to the right i.e., away from the number 5 and closest to the "500"mA marking on the Driver Board

Stepper motor not receiving step commands

If the driver board has power, firmware and motor are okay, there may be a fault in the connection from the driver board to the stepper motor.

• check that the power cable 4-pin connection from the motor to the driver board is secure (upper right  position) and oriented correctly
• check that the cable, connector and pins are not damaged

Stepper motor does not rotate

If the driver board has power, firmware and all connections are okay:

• check connector and fit correctly if wrongly fitted
• replace motor- see Replacing ThermoFlex Head Stage Stepper Motor
• replace cable

Stepper motor not operational

If the stepper motor rotates with no linear motion of stage, following control problem, or stage moveto #  command with default values masked, the recovery spring my have failed. The stepper motor leadscrew has been driven out of motor, and is not being driven back into motor when motor rotates.

• replace recovery spring - see Replacing ThermoFlex Head Stage Recovery Spring

Stepper motor not reacting to stage move to # command

There may be a firmware lockout with machine hung in a busy state.

• check value of nvs parameter hsb

If hsb=1, then stage is busy and no other command can be executed.

If there is no physical problem causing this error:

• set the nvs parameter hsb=0,

Firmware is causing lockup

If stage is locked up with no response, there may be a firmware problem.

• reset machine

If problem occurs again, reinstall head stage firmware